Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  ·...

53

Transcript of Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  ·...

Page 1: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

In this segment you will get 1 All the relevant and required materials of subjects mention in the GS syllabus like

bull 100 IAS Exam Syllabus Covered with MCQs bull History of India and Indian National Movement bull Indian and World Geography - Physical Social Economic Geography of India and the World bull Indian Polity and Governance - Constitution Political System Panchayati Raj Public Policy Rights

Issues etc bull Economic and Social Development -Sustainable Development Poverty Inclusion Demographics

Social Sector initiatives etc bull General issues on Environmental Ecology Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require

subject specialisation bull General Science bull Current Affairs

2 Home assignment where Multiple Choice Questions of the learned chapters will be given for self evaluation

3 Important current affairs materials for civil services preliminary examination will be provided

4 Online Tests will be conducted after the end of each subject

5 At the end of your course five comprehensive test will be conducted to evaluate your performance

What candidates have to do 1 You just have to register yourself

2 After Registration you will get Log-in ID amp Password from Our Side

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS (PRE) General Studies (Paper-1)

Structure of the Course

S No Subject No of

Sessions No of Home Assignments

No of Test

1 Indian Polity amp Governance 16 16 2

2 Economic and Social Development 14 14 2

3 General Science 14 14 1

4 Indian and World Geography 15 15 2

5 History of India and Indian National Movement 10 10 1

6 General Issues on Environmental Ecology Bio-diversity and Climate Change 10 10 1

7 Science amp Technological Development in India 11 11 1

Total Sessions 90 90 10 FIVE COMPREHENSIVE TEST WILL BE CONDUCTED AFTER THE END OF THE SESSION

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

History of India and Indian National Movement ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY

bull Sources of Indian History bull The Harappan Civilization bull The Vedic bull The Mauryan bull Post Mauryan period (200 BC-300 AD) bull Gupta amp Post - Gupta period Society Economy amp Polity

MEDIEVAL INDIAN HISTORY

bull Chronology of Events in Medieval India bull North India between 750-1200 bull The Sultans of Delhi bull The Mughal Kings bull The Marathas bull Vijayanagar Empire bull The Saints of Medieval India

MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

bull Indian in the Eighteenth Century bull Rise of the Regional Powers bull Economic Impact of The British bull Indian Renaissance and Reform Movement bull Early Uprisings Against The British bull The Revolt of 1857 bull Nature and Causes For The Rise of National Movement bull The Rise of Neo-Nationalists or Extremistss bull The Beginning of the Gandhian Era bull The National Movements in 1940s bull Chronology of The National Movement INDIAN GEOGRAPHY PHYSICAL

GIST OF NCERT

bull The Harappan Culture Bronze Age Civilization bull The Later Vedic Phase bull Territorial States And The First Magadhan Empire bull The Delhi Sultanat bull Architecture bull Mughal Empire bull Social and Cultural Awakening in the First Half of the 19th Century bull The Revolt of 1857

Contents

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Growth of New India - Religious and Social Reform After 1858 bull Nationalist Movement

Indian and World Geography WORLD GEOGRAPHY GENERAL

bull North America bull Middle America bull South America bull Africa bull Europe bull Australia bull Asia bull Antartica bull Climatic Region of the World

WORLD GEOGRAPHY PHYSICAL

bull Lithosphere bull Atmosphere bull World Climatic Type

INDIAN GEOGRAPHY PHYSICAL

bull India Physical

INDIAN GEOGRAPHY GENERAL

bull Land and the People bull States and Union Territories bull Non-Conventional Energy bull Nuclear Energy bull Conventional Energy in India bull Electricity Power in India

GIST OF NCERT

bull India Location bull Drainage System bull Climate bull Natural Vegetation bull Soils bull Land Use and Agriculture bull Mineral and Energy Resource bull Sugar Industry bull Transport and Communication bull Our Solar System bull Land Form bull Composition and Structure of Atmosphere

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Indian Polity and Governance bull Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution bull Preamble bull Union and its Territory bull Citizenship in India bull Fundamental Rights bull Fundamental Duties bull Directive Principles of State Policy bull Constitution Amendment bull Emergency Provisions bull President of India bull Vice-President bull Attorney General of India bull Parliament of India bull Office of Profit bull The Judiciary bull Lokpal and LokAyukta bull Federal System bull Governor bull Antimdashdefection law bull Inter State Council bull Electoral System in India bull Panchayatraj Institutions bull Nagarapalikas bull Delegated Legislation bull Public Service Commission bull Comptroller andAuditor General of India bull Delimitation of Constituencies bull River Water Disputes India bull Right to Information bull Good Governance bull Seventh Schedule and Taxation Powers bull Professional Tax bull Order of Procedence bull Delhi Government bull Article 371 bull Fifth and Sixth Schedules bull Current Affairs National Polity updates

GIST OF NCERT

bull Why Do We Need A Constitution bull Philosophy of the Constitution bull Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution bull Executive bull Legislature bull Judiciary bull Local Governments bull Elections and Democracy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Economic and Social Development bull Economics An Introduction bull Economic Planning in India bull Fiscal System bull Monetary and Credit Policy bull Money Market and Capital Market in India bull Stock Markets in India bull Taxation System in India Concepts and Policies bull Inflation Concepts Facts and Policy bull Public Sector bull Banking System in India bull Poverty and Inequality Concepts Data Policy and Analysis bull Unemployment bull Agriculture bull Important Indices bull Bretton Woods Institutions and Others bull GATT and WTO bull Foreign Trade bull External Sector bull Economy Updates

GIST OF NCERT

bull Sectors of the Indian Economy bull Liberalization bull Human Capital and Human Development bull Growth and Changing Structure of Employment bull Indiarsquos economic interaction with the World

ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT CONCEPT

bull Organisms and the Environment bull Environment Habitat and Niche bull Environmental Factors bull Ecological Adaptations bull Population Biotic Community and Succession bull Ecosystem Structure and Function bull Natural Resources and their Conservation bull Biodiversity bull Pollution and Global Environmental Change

BIODIVERSITY

bull Biosequestraton bull Conservation bull Commission on sustainable Development (1992) bull Nagoya Protocol PROTOCOL

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull National Biodiversity Authority Chennai bull Project Tiger (1973) bull The Biological Diversity Act 2002 and Rules 2004 bull Concerns amp Issues bull The Biological Diversity Act 2002 bull Biological Diversity Rules 2004 bull Biodiversity ActRules and Intellectual Property Rights bull Iprs in the context of protection of Plant varieties and Farmerrsquos RightAct bull Recommended Actions bull The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) bull Country Implementation bull The International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) bull Background bull United Nations Decade on Biodiversity bull Top 10 Famous Bird Sanctuaries of India bull Types of Biodiversity bull Genetic Diversity bull Species Diversity bull Ecosystem

POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENT

bull Capacity Building for Industrial Pollution Management (CBIPM) bull Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

ENVIRONMENT MOVEMENT bull United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (1972) bull Brutland Commission (1983) bull The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992) bull Kyoto Protocol (1997) bull 1997 Rio+5 Conference New York bull Johannesburg Summit 2002 bull Copenhagen Climate Council (2007) and Summit (2009) bull Bali Action bull 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference

INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES

bull Alliance of Small Island and States (AOSIS) bull Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate bull The International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) bull Land use Land-Use Change and Forestry bull Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) bull The Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB)

NATIONAL INITIATIVES

bull Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) bull Green Development Initiative (GDI)

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) bull Indian Network on Climate Change Assessment bull The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR)

ENERGY

bull Jawaharlal Nehru National SolarMission144 bull Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission bull Nuclear Power in India bull Solar Power in India bull The Energy Conservation Building Code bull Wind Energy Programme in India

GENERAL SCIENCE bull Tissue bull Muscular and Skeletal System bull The Nervous System bull The Endocrine System bull Lymphatic System and Immunity bull The Respiratory System bull The Circulatory System bull The Integumentary System bull The Reproductive System bull The Digestive System bull The Excretory System

PHYSICS

bull Gist of Physics from NCERT Books

CHEMISTRY

bull Gist of Chemistry from NCERT Books

BOTANY

bull Photosynthesis bull Digestion in Plants bull Plant Reproduction

ANIMAL KINGDOM

bull Diversity in Living Organisms bull The Animal Kingdom

WHAT WHY amp HOW

bull Gist of What Why amp How

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

VARIOUS PROGRAMMES OF INDIA

bull IndiarsquosNuclear Programme bull IndiarsquosDefence Programme bull Indiarsquos Space Programme bull Science and Technological Development in India

UNIVERSE

bull Universe

SCIENCE amp TECHNOLOGY bull Science and Technology in India Policy Planning bull Space Research bull Atomic Research bull Defence Research bull Oceanographic and Antartic Research bull Biotechnology bull Information Technology bull Health Sector bull Laser bull Super Conductivity bull InternetComputer Glossary

CURRENT AFFAIRS 1 National

bull Constitutional Watch bull Governmentrsquos Plan Programme Policiesamp New Initiatives bull Political News

2 International

3 India ampThe World

4Science amp Technology

bull Science amp Technology (Concept) bull Scienceamp Technology (Current)

5 Health

6 Economy 7 (i) Energy (Concept) (ii) Energy (Current)

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

8 Environment

bull Environment bull International Initiatives on Environment bull Environment National InitiativesampPollution ControlMeasures bull Environment Current

9 Awards

10 Sports

11 Railway Budget

12 Union Budget

Multiple Choice Questions

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

FOR HELP CALL 011 45151781

Payment Options

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

POLITY

Public Service Commission

Ques 1 Give an account of the Public Service Commission

Ans

Union Public Service Commission State Public Service Commission Joint Public Service Commission The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a Constitutional body in India authorized to conduct examinations for appointment to the various civil services of the Union The Indian Constitution (Part XIV - Services under the Union and the states- Articles 315-323) provides for a Public Service Commission for the Union and a Public Service Commission for each state There can be a Commission for two or more states

The first Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 by the then British Indian Government

Constitutional Provisions Related to Public Service Commission Art 315 says that there shall be Public Service Commissions for the Union and for the States The Union Public Service Commission if requested by the Government of a State may with the approval of the President agree to serve all or any of the needs of the State

Joint Public Service Commission Two or more States may agree that there shall be one Public Service Commission for that group of States and if a resolution to that effect is passed by the House or where there are two Houses by each House of the Legislature of each of those States Parliament may by law provide for the appointment of a Joint State Public Service Commission (referred to as Joint Commission) to serve the needs of those States

Chairman and Members The Chairman and other members of a Public Service Commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

Sample Materials of Our Online Coaching

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

As nearly as one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission shall be persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Vacancy and Absence If the office of the Chairman of the Commission becomes vacant or if any such Chairman is by reason of absence or for any other reason unable to perform the duties of his office those duties shall until some person appointed to the vacant office has entered on the duties or as the case may be until the Chairman has resumed his duties be performed by such one of the other members of the Commission as the President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission amid the Governor of the State in the case of a State Commission may appoint for the purpose

A member of a Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until lie attains in the case of the Union Commission the age of sixty-five years and in the case of a State Commission or a Joint Commission the age of sixty-two years whichever is earlier

A member of a Public Service Commission may by writing under his hand addressed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission to the President and in the case of a State Commission to the Governor of the State resign his office

A person who holds office as a member of a Public Service Commission shall on the expiration of his term of office be ineligible for reappointment to that office

Removal Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

Misbehiviour is if the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission is interested in any contract related to Government or participates in any way in the profit thereof or in any benefit or emolument arising from it otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company the member is considered to be guilty of misbehaviour

Suspension The President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission and the Governor in the case of a State Commission may suspend from office the Chairman or any other member of the Commission in respect of whom a reference has been made to the Supreme Court until the President has passed orders on receipt of the report of the Supreme Court on such reference

In the following cases the President may by order remove from office the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission

bull is adjudged an insolvent or

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull engages during his term of office in any paid employment outside the duties of his office or bull is in the opinion of the President unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or

body

Strength of the Commission In the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission the President and in the case of a State Commission the Governor of the State fixes

bull the number of members of the Commission and bull their conditions of service

Conditions of service of a member of a Public Service Commission can not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment

After Retirement Resignation or Removal On ceasing to hold office by way of retirement resignation or removal

bull the Chairman ofrsquo the Union Public Service Commission shall be ineligible for further employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of that or any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Ques 2 Write a short notes on the Functions of Public Service Commissions

Ans It is the duty of the Union and the State Public Service Commissions to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union and the services of the State respectively

It shall also be the duty of the Union Public Service Commission if requested by any two or more States so to do to assist those States in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for any services for which candidates possession special qualifications are required

To be consulted The Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission as the Case may be shall be consulted

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull on all matters relating to methods of recruitment to civil services and for civil posts bull on the principles to be followed in making appointments to civil services and posts and in

making promotions and transfers from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointments promotions or transfers

bull on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a state in a civil capacity

bull on any claim by or in respect of a person who is serving or has served under the Government of India or the Government of a Slate or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity that any costs incurred by him in defending legal proceedings

bull instituted against him in respect of acts done or purporting to be done in the execution of his duty should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may he out of the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull on any claim for the award of a pension in respect of injuries sustained by a person while serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity and any question as to the amount of any such award and

bull it shall be the duty of a Public Service Commission to advise on any matter so referred to them and on any other matter which the President or as the case may be the Governor of the State may refer to them

The President for all-India services and Central services and the Governor for State Services can exempt matters on which Public Service Commission need not be consulted Public Service Commission need not be consulted with regard to Article-16 reservation in public employment or Art 335 striking balance between reservation and administrative efficiency

All regulations made by the President or the Governor of State shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before each House of Parliament or the House or each House of the Legislature of the State as the case may be as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modification whether by way of repeal or amendment as both Houses of Parliament or the house or both Houses of the Legislature of the State may make during the session in which they are so laid

An Act made by Parliament or as the case may be the legislature of State may impose additional functions on the Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission towards

bull any local authority or bull other body corporate (public sector unit) or bull any public institution

In short the functions are

Functions of the UPSC are to conduct examinations for appointment to the services of the Union

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Union through conduct of competitive examinations

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Central Government by selection through Interviews

bull Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on-deputation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Advising the Government on all matter relating to methods of Recruitment to various

services and posts bull Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services and bull Miscellaneous matters relating to grant to extra ordinary pensions reimbursement of legal

expenses etc

Annual Report Constitution imposes on the UPSC the duty to present annually to the President a report about the work done by the Commission The President shall cause a copy of it together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non-aceptance to be laid before each house of Parliament Similarly the Slate Public Service Commission has the duty to present annually to the Governor of the State a report as to the work done by the Commission It shall be the duty of a Joint Commission to present annually to the Governor of each of the States the needs of which are served by the Joint Commission a report as to the work done by the Commission in relation to that State and in either case the Governor shall cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non- acceptance to be laid before the Legislature of the State

Ques 3 What are the constitutional provisions for the independence of the public serivce commission

Ans Being an important Constitutional authority with the duty to recruit for the higher echelons of the bureaucracy the Commission needs to be kept independent The Constitutional provisions in this regard are

bull appointment is beyond politics as President appoints bull Removal in certain circumstances is on the basis of the inquiry concluded by the Supreme

Court judge bull Salary etc and conditions of service can not be altered to their disadvantage after

appointment bull Expenses of the Commission including any salaries etc to the members or staff of the

Commission are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may be the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull There are restrictions on post-retirement engagement as mentioned above bull The annual report is presented to the President who causes to be tabled in the Parliament

explaining why certain recommendations are not accepted if they are not accepted

Recruitment Rules In accordance with the provisions contained in Article 320 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations 1953 Recruitment Rules of all Group lsquoArsquo and Group lsquo13rdquo posts in various MinistriesDepartments of Government of India are required to be framed in Consultation with the Commission Consultation with the Commission is also necessary for framingamending Recruitment Rules for certain categories of posts under the Employees State Insurance Corporation The Delhi Municipal Corporation The New Delhi Municipal Council Employees Provident Fund Organisation etc under the relevant Acts made by Parliament in pursuance of the provisions of Article 321

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 The Chairman and other members of a Public Service commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

2 As nearly a one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission Should be Persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of State

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Chairmen or any other member of a Public Service Commission Shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

2 A member of a Union Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of Six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

3 Which of the following expenditure are charged on the consolidated fund of India

1 Salaries of the Supreme Court Judges

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 2: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

Structure of the Course

S No Subject No of

Sessions No of Home Assignments

No of Test

1 Indian Polity amp Governance 16 16 2

2 Economic and Social Development 14 14 2

3 General Science 14 14 1

4 Indian and World Geography 15 15 2

5 History of India and Indian National Movement 10 10 1

6 General Issues on Environmental Ecology Bio-diversity and Climate Change 10 10 1

7 Science amp Technological Development in India 11 11 1

Total Sessions 90 90 10 FIVE COMPREHENSIVE TEST WILL BE CONDUCTED AFTER THE END OF THE SESSION

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

History of India and Indian National Movement ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY

bull Sources of Indian History bull The Harappan Civilization bull The Vedic bull The Mauryan bull Post Mauryan period (200 BC-300 AD) bull Gupta amp Post - Gupta period Society Economy amp Polity

MEDIEVAL INDIAN HISTORY

bull Chronology of Events in Medieval India bull North India between 750-1200 bull The Sultans of Delhi bull The Mughal Kings bull The Marathas bull Vijayanagar Empire bull The Saints of Medieval India

MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

bull Indian in the Eighteenth Century bull Rise of the Regional Powers bull Economic Impact of The British bull Indian Renaissance and Reform Movement bull Early Uprisings Against The British bull The Revolt of 1857 bull Nature and Causes For The Rise of National Movement bull The Rise of Neo-Nationalists or Extremistss bull The Beginning of the Gandhian Era bull The National Movements in 1940s bull Chronology of The National Movement INDIAN GEOGRAPHY PHYSICAL

GIST OF NCERT

bull The Harappan Culture Bronze Age Civilization bull The Later Vedic Phase bull Territorial States And The First Magadhan Empire bull The Delhi Sultanat bull Architecture bull Mughal Empire bull Social and Cultural Awakening in the First Half of the 19th Century bull The Revolt of 1857

Contents

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Growth of New India - Religious and Social Reform After 1858 bull Nationalist Movement

Indian and World Geography WORLD GEOGRAPHY GENERAL

bull North America bull Middle America bull South America bull Africa bull Europe bull Australia bull Asia bull Antartica bull Climatic Region of the World

WORLD GEOGRAPHY PHYSICAL

bull Lithosphere bull Atmosphere bull World Climatic Type

INDIAN GEOGRAPHY PHYSICAL

bull India Physical

INDIAN GEOGRAPHY GENERAL

bull Land and the People bull States and Union Territories bull Non-Conventional Energy bull Nuclear Energy bull Conventional Energy in India bull Electricity Power in India

GIST OF NCERT

bull India Location bull Drainage System bull Climate bull Natural Vegetation bull Soils bull Land Use and Agriculture bull Mineral and Energy Resource bull Sugar Industry bull Transport and Communication bull Our Solar System bull Land Form bull Composition and Structure of Atmosphere

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Indian Polity and Governance bull Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution bull Preamble bull Union and its Territory bull Citizenship in India bull Fundamental Rights bull Fundamental Duties bull Directive Principles of State Policy bull Constitution Amendment bull Emergency Provisions bull President of India bull Vice-President bull Attorney General of India bull Parliament of India bull Office of Profit bull The Judiciary bull Lokpal and LokAyukta bull Federal System bull Governor bull Antimdashdefection law bull Inter State Council bull Electoral System in India bull Panchayatraj Institutions bull Nagarapalikas bull Delegated Legislation bull Public Service Commission bull Comptroller andAuditor General of India bull Delimitation of Constituencies bull River Water Disputes India bull Right to Information bull Good Governance bull Seventh Schedule and Taxation Powers bull Professional Tax bull Order of Procedence bull Delhi Government bull Article 371 bull Fifth and Sixth Schedules bull Current Affairs National Polity updates

GIST OF NCERT

bull Why Do We Need A Constitution bull Philosophy of the Constitution bull Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution bull Executive bull Legislature bull Judiciary bull Local Governments bull Elections and Democracy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Economic and Social Development bull Economics An Introduction bull Economic Planning in India bull Fiscal System bull Monetary and Credit Policy bull Money Market and Capital Market in India bull Stock Markets in India bull Taxation System in India Concepts and Policies bull Inflation Concepts Facts and Policy bull Public Sector bull Banking System in India bull Poverty and Inequality Concepts Data Policy and Analysis bull Unemployment bull Agriculture bull Important Indices bull Bretton Woods Institutions and Others bull GATT and WTO bull Foreign Trade bull External Sector bull Economy Updates

GIST OF NCERT

bull Sectors of the Indian Economy bull Liberalization bull Human Capital and Human Development bull Growth and Changing Structure of Employment bull Indiarsquos economic interaction with the World

ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT CONCEPT

bull Organisms and the Environment bull Environment Habitat and Niche bull Environmental Factors bull Ecological Adaptations bull Population Biotic Community and Succession bull Ecosystem Structure and Function bull Natural Resources and their Conservation bull Biodiversity bull Pollution and Global Environmental Change

BIODIVERSITY

bull Biosequestraton bull Conservation bull Commission on sustainable Development (1992) bull Nagoya Protocol PROTOCOL

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull National Biodiversity Authority Chennai bull Project Tiger (1973) bull The Biological Diversity Act 2002 and Rules 2004 bull Concerns amp Issues bull The Biological Diversity Act 2002 bull Biological Diversity Rules 2004 bull Biodiversity ActRules and Intellectual Property Rights bull Iprs in the context of protection of Plant varieties and Farmerrsquos RightAct bull Recommended Actions bull The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) bull Country Implementation bull The International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) bull Background bull United Nations Decade on Biodiversity bull Top 10 Famous Bird Sanctuaries of India bull Types of Biodiversity bull Genetic Diversity bull Species Diversity bull Ecosystem

POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENT

bull Capacity Building for Industrial Pollution Management (CBIPM) bull Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

ENVIRONMENT MOVEMENT bull United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (1972) bull Brutland Commission (1983) bull The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992) bull Kyoto Protocol (1997) bull 1997 Rio+5 Conference New York bull Johannesburg Summit 2002 bull Copenhagen Climate Council (2007) and Summit (2009) bull Bali Action bull 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference

INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES

bull Alliance of Small Island and States (AOSIS) bull Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate bull The International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) bull Land use Land-Use Change and Forestry bull Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) bull The Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB)

NATIONAL INITIATIVES

bull Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) bull Green Development Initiative (GDI)

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) bull Indian Network on Climate Change Assessment bull The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR)

ENERGY

bull Jawaharlal Nehru National SolarMission144 bull Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission bull Nuclear Power in India bull Solar Power in India bull The Energy Conservation Building Code bull Wind Energy Programme in India

GENERAL SCIENCE bull Tissue bull Muscular and Skeletal System bull The Nervous System bull The Endocrine System bull Lymphatic System and Immunity bull The Respiratory System bull The Circulatory System bull The Integumentary System bull The Reproductive System bull The Digestive System bull The Excretory System

PHYSICS

bull Gist of Physics from NCERT Books

CHEMISTRY

bull Gist of Chemistry from NCERT Books

BOTANY

bull Photosynthesis bull Digestion in Plants bull Plant Reproduction

ANIMAL KINGDOM

bull Diversity in Living Organisms bull The Animal Kingdom

WHAT WHY amp HOW

bull Gist of What Why amp How

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

VARIOUS PROGRAMMES OF INDIA

bull IndiarsquosNuclear Programme bull IndiarsquosDefence Programme bull Indiarsquos Space Programme bull Science and Technological Development in India

UNIVERSE

bull Universe

SCIENCE amp TECHNOLOGY bull Science and Technology in India Policy Planning bull Space Research bull Atomic Research bull Defence Research bull Oceanographic and Antartic Research bull Biotechnology bull Information Technology bull Health Sector bull Laser bull Super Conductivity bull InternetComputer Glossary

CURRENT AFFAIRS 1 National

bull Constitutional Watch bull Governmentrsquos Plan Programme Policiesamp New Initiatives bull Political News

2 International

3 India ampThe World

4Science amp Technology

bull Science amp Technology (Concept) bull Scienceamp Technology (Current)

5 Health

6 Economy 7 (i) Energy (Concept) (ii) Energy (Current)

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

8 Environment

bull Environment bull International Initiatives on Environment bull Environment National InitiativesampPollution ControlMeasures bull Environment Current

9 Awards

10 Sports

11 Railway Budget

12 Union Budget

Multiple Choice Questions

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

FOR HELP CALL 011 45151781

Payment Options

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

POLITY

Public Service Commission

Ques 1 Give an account of the Public Service Commission

Ans

Union Public Service Commission State Public Service Commission Joint Public Service Commission The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a Constitutional body in India authorized to conduct examinations for appointment to the various civil services of the Union The Indian Constitution (Part XIV - Services under the Union and the states- Articles 315-323) provides for a Public Service Commission for the Union and a Public Service Commission for each state There can be a Commission for two or more states

The first Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 by the then British Indian Government

Constitutional Provisions Related to Public Service Commission Art 315 says that there shall be Public Service Commissions for the Union and for the States The Union Public Service Commission if requested by the Government of a State may with the approval of the President agree to serve all or any of the needs of the State

Joint Public Service Commission Two or more States may agree that there shall be one Public Service Commission for that group of States and if a resolution to that effect is passed by the House or where there are two Houses by each House of the Legislature of each of those States Parliament may by law provide for the appointment of a Joint State Public Service Commission (referred to as Joint Commission) to serve the needs of those States

Chairman and Members The Chairman and other members of a Public Service Commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

Sample Materials of Our Online Coaching

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

As nearly as one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission shall be persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Vacancy and Absence If the office of the Chairman of the Commission becomes vacant or if any such Chairman is by reason of absence or for any other reason unable to perform the duties of his office those duties shall until some person appointed to the vacant office has entered on the duties or as the case may be until the Chairman has resumed his duties be performed by such one of the other members of the Commission as the President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission amid the Governor of the State in the case of a State Commission may appoint for the purpose

A member of a Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until lie attains in the case of the Union Commission the age of sixty-five years and in the case of a State Commission or a Joint Commission the age of sixty-two years whichever is earlier

A member of a Public Service Commission may by writing under his hand addressed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission to the President and in the case of a State Commission to the Governor of the State resign his office

A person who holds office as a member of a Public Service Commission shall on the expiration of his term of office be ineligible for reappointment to that office

Removal Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

Misbehiviour is if the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission is interested in any contract related to Government or participates in any way in the profit thereof or in any benefit or emolument arising from it otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company the member is considered to be guilty of misbehaviour

Suspension The President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission and the Governor in the case of a State Commission may suspend from office the Chairman or any other member of the Commission in respect of whom a reference has been made to the Supreme Court until the President has passed orders on receipt of the report of the Supreme Court on such reference

In the following cases the President may by order remove from office the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission

bull is adjudged an insolvent or

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull engages during his term of office in any paid employment outside the duties of his office or bull is in the opinion of the President unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or

body

Strength of the Commission In the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission the President and in the case of a State Commission the Governor of the State fixes

bull the number of members of the Commission and bull their conditions of service

Conditions of service of a member of a Public Service Commission can not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment

After Retirement Resignation or Removal On ceasing to hold office by way of retirement resignation or removal

bull the Chairman ofrsquo the Union Public Service Commission shall be ineligible for further employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of that or any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Ques 2 Write a short notes on the Functions of Public Service Commissions

Ans It is the duty of the Union and the State Public Service Commissions to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union and the services of the State respectively

It shall also be the duty of the Union Public Service Commission if requested by any two or more States so to do to assist those States in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for any services for which candidates possession special qualifications are required

To be consulted The Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission as the Case may be shall be consulted

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull on all matters relating to methods of recruitment to civil services and for civil posts bull on the principles to be followed in making appointments to civil services and posts and in

making promotions and transfers from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointments promotions or transfers

bull on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a state in a civil capacity

bull on any claim by or in respect of a person who is serving or has served under the Government of India or the Government of a Slate or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity that any costs incurred by him in defending legal proceedings

bull instituted against him in respect of acts done or purporting to be done in the execution of his duty should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may he out of the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull on any claim for the award of a pension in respect of injuries sustained by a person while serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity and any question as to the amount of any such award and

bull it shall be the duty of a Public Service Commission to advise on any matter so referred to them and on any other matter which the President or as the case may be the Governor of the State may refer to them

The President for all-India services and Central services and the Governor for State Services can exempt matters on which Public Service Commission need not be consulted Public Service Commission need not be consulted with regard to Article-16 reservation in public employment or Art 335 striking balance between reservation and administrative efficiency

All regulations made by the President or the Governor of State shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before each House of Parliament or the House or each House of the Legislature of the State as the case may be as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modification whether by way of repeal or amendment as both Houses of Parliament or the house or both Houses of the Legislature of the State may make during the session in which they are so laid

An Act made by Parliament or as the case may be the legislature of State may impose additional functions on the Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission towards

bull any local authority or bull other body corporate (public sector unit) or bull any public institution

In short the functions are

Functions of the UPSC are to conduct examinations for appointment to the services of the Union

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Union through conduct of competitive examinations

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Central Government by selection through Interviews

bull Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on-deputation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Advising the Government on all matter relating to methods of Recruitment to various

services and posts bull Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services and bull Miscellaneous matters relating to grant to extra ordinary pensions reimbursement of legal

expenses etc

Annual Report Constitution imposes on the UPSC the duty to present annually to the President a report about the work done by the Commission The President shall cause a copy of it together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non-aceptance to be laid before each house of Parliament Similarly the Slate Public Service Commission has the duty to present annually to the Governor of the State a report as to the work done by the Commission It shall be the duty of a Joint Commission to present annually to the Governor of each of the States the needs of which are served by the Joint Commission a report as to the work done by the Commission in relation to that State and in either case the Governor shall cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non- acceptance to be laid before the Legislature of the State

Ques 3 What are the constitutional provisions for the independence of the public serivce commission

Ans Being an important Constitutional authority with the duty to recruit for the higher echelons of the bureaucracy the Commission needs to be kept independent The Constitutional provisions in this regard are

bull appointment is beyond politics as President appoints bull Removal in certain circumstances is on the basis of the inquiry concluded by the Supreme

Court judge bull Salary etc and conditions of service can not be altered to their disadvantage after

appointment bull Expenses of the Commission including any salaries etc to the members or staff of the

Commission are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may be the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull There are restrictions on post-retirement engagement as mentioned above bull The annual report is presented to the President who causes to be tabled in the Parliament

explaining why certain recommendations are not accepted if they are not accepted

Recruitment Rules In accordance with the provisions contained in Article 320 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations 1953 Recruitment Rules of all Group lsquoArsquo and Group lsquo13rdquo posts in various MinistriesDepartments of Government of India are required to be framed in Consultation with the Commission Consultation with the Commission is also necessary for framingamending Recruitment Rules for certain categories of posts under the Employees State Insurance Corporation The Delhi Municipal Corporation The New Delhi Municipal Council Employees Provident Fund Organisation etc under the relevant Acts made by Parliament in pursuance of the provisions of Article 321

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 The Chairman and other members of a Public Service commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

2 As nearly a one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission Should be Persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of State

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Chairmen or any other member of a Public Service Commission Shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

2 A member of a Union Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of Six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

3 Which of the following expenditure are charged on the consolidated fund of India

1 Salaries of the Supreme Court Judges

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 3: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

History of India and Indian National Movement ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY

bull Sources of Indian History bull The Harappan Civilization bull The Vedic bull The Mauryan bull Post Mauryan period (200 BC-300 AD) bull Gupta amp Post - Gupta period Society Economy amp Polity

MEDIEVAL INDIAN HISTORY

bull Chronology of Events in Medieval India bull North India between 750-1200 bull The Sultans of Delhi bull The Mughal Kings bull The Marathas bull Vijayanagar Empire bull The Saints of Medieval India

MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

bull Indian in the Eighteenth Century bull Rise of the Regional Powers bull Economic Impact of The British bull Indian Renaissance and Reform Movement bull Early Uprisings Against The British bull The Revolt of 1857 bull Nature and Causes For The Rise of National Movement bull The Rise of Neo-Nationalists or Extremistss bull The Beginning of the Gandhian Era bull The National Movements in 1940s bull Chronology of The National Movement INDIAN GEOGRAPHY PHYSICAL

GIST OF NCERT

bull The Harappan Culture Bronze Age Civilization bull The Later Vedic Phase bull Territorial States And The First Magadhan Empire bull The Delhi Sultanat bull Architecture bull Mughal Empire bull Social and Cultural Awakening in the First Half of the 19th Century bull The Revolt of 1857

Contents

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Growth of New India - Religious and Social Reform After 1858 bull Nationalist Movement

Indian and World Geography WORLD GEOGRAPHY GENERAL

bull North America bull Middle America bull South America bull Africa bull Europe bull Australia bull Asia bull Antartica bull Climatic Region of the World

WORLD GEOGRAPHY PHYSICAL

bull Lithosphere bull Atmosphere bull World Climatic Type

INDIAN GEOGRAPHY PHYSICAL

bull India Physical

INDIAN GEOGRAPHY GENERAL

bull Land and the People bull States and Union Territories bull Non-Conventional Energy bull Nuclear Energy bull Conventional Energy in India bull Electricity Power in India

GIST OF NCERT

bull India Location bull Drainage System bull Climate bull Natural Vegetation bull Soils bull Land Use and Agriculture bull Mineral and Energy Resource bull Sugar Industry bull Transport and Communication bull Our Solar System bull Land Form bull Composition and Structure of Atmosphere

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Indian Polity and Governance bull Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution bull Preamble bull Union and its Territory bull Citizenship in India bull Fundamental Rights bull Fundamental Duties bull Directive Principles of State Policy bull Constitution Amendment bull Emergency Provisions bull President of India bull Vice-President bull Attorney General of India bull Parliament of India bull Office of Profit bull The Judiciary bull Lokpal and LokAyukta bull Federal System bull Governor bull Antimdashdefection law bull Inter State Council bull Electoral System in India bull Panchayatraj Institutions bull Nagarapalikas bull Delegated Legislation bull Public Service Commission bull Comptroller andAuditor General of India bull Delimitation of Constituencies bull River Water Disputes India bull Right to Information bull Good Governance bull Seventh Schedule and Taxation Powers bull Professional Tax bull Order of Procedence bull Delhi Government bull Article 371 bull Fifth and Sixth Schedules bull Current Affairs National Polity updates

GIST OF NCERT

bull Why Do We Need A Constitution bull Philosophy of the Constitution bull Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution bull Executive bull Legislature bull Judiciary bull Local Governments bull Elections and Democracy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Economic and Social Development bull Economics An Introduction bull Economic Planning in India bull Fiscal System bull Monetary and Credit Policy bull Money Market and Capital Market in India bull Stock Markets in India bull Taxation System in India Concepts and Policies bull Inflation Concepts Facts and Policy bull Public Sector bull Banking System in India bull Poverty and Inequality Concepts Data Policy and Analysis bull Unemployment bull Agriculture bull Important Indices bull Bretton Woods Institutions and Others bull GATT and WTO bull Foreign Trade bull External Sector bull Economy Updates

GIST OF NCERT

bull Sectors of the Indian Economy bull Liberalization bull Human Capital and Human Development bull Growth and Changing Structure of Employment bull Indiarsquos economic interaction with the World

ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT CONCEPT

bull Organisms and the Environment bull Environment Habitat and Niche bull Environmental Factors bull Ecological Adaptations bull Population Biotic Community and Succession bull Ecosystem Structure and Function bull Natural Resources and their Conservation bull Biodiversity bull Pollution and Global Environmental Change

BIODIVERSITY

bull Biosequestraton bull Conservation bull Commission on sustainable Development (1992) bull Nagoya Protocol PROTOCOL

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull National Biodiversity Authority Chennai bull Project Tiger (1973) bull The Biological Diversity Act 2002 and Rules 2004 bull Concerns amp Issues bull The Biological Diversity Act 2002 bull Biological Diversity Rules 2004 bull Biodiversity ActRules and Intellectual Property Rights bull Iprs in the context of protection of Plant varieties and Farmerrsquos RightAct bull Recommended Actions bull The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) bull Country Implementation bull The International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) bull Background bull United Nations Decade on Biodiversity bull Top 10 Famous Bird Sanctuaries of India bull Types of Biodiversity bull Genetic Diversity bull Species Diversity bull Ecosystem

POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENT

bull Capacity Building for Industrial Pollution Management (CBIPM) bull Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

ENVIRONMENT MOVEMENT bull United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (1972) bull Brutland Commission (1983) bull The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992) bull Kyoto Protocol (1997) bull 1997 Rio+5 Conference New York bull Johannesburg Summit 2002 bull Copenhagen Climate Council (2007) and Summit (2009) bull Bali Action bull 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference

INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES

bull Alliance of Small Island and States (AOSIS) bull Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate bull The International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) bull Land use Land-Use Change and Forestry bull Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) bull The Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB)

NATIONAL INITIATIVES

bull Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) bull Green Development Initiative (GDI)

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) bull Indian Network on Climate Change Assessment bull The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR)

ENERGY

bull Jawaharlal Nehru National SolarMission144 bull Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission bull Nuclear Power in India bull Solar Power in India bull The Energy Conservation Building Code bull Wind Energy Programme in India

GENERAL SCIENCE bull Tissue bull Muscular and Skeletal System bull The Nervous System bull The Endocrine System bull Lymphatic System and Immunity bull The Respiratory System bull The Circulatory System bull The Integumentary System bull The Reproductive System bull The Digestive System bull The Excretory System

PHYSICS

bull Gist of Physics from NCERT Books

CHEMISTRY

bull Gist of Chemistry from NCERT Books

BOTANY

bull Photosynthesis bull Digestion in Plants bull Plant Reproduction

ANIMAL KINGDOM

bull Diversity in Living Organisms bull The Animal Kingdom

WHAT WHY amp HOW

bull Gist of What Why amp How

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

VARIOUS PROGRAMMES OF INDIA

bull IndiarsquosNuclear Programme bull IndiarsquosDefence Programme bull Indiarsquos Space Programme bull Science and Technological Development in India

UNIVERSE

bull Universe

SCIENCE amp TECHNOLOGY bull Science and Technology in India Policy Planning bull Space Research bull Atomic Research bull Defence Research bull Oceanographic and Antartic Research bull Biotechnology bull Information Technology bull Health Sector bull Laser bull Super Conductivity bull InternetComputer Glossary

CURRENT AFFAIRS 1 National

bull Constitutional Watch bull Governmentrsquos Plan Programme Policiesamp New Initiatives bull Political News

2 International

3 India ampThe World

4Science amp Technology

bull Science amp Technology (Concept) bull Scienceamp Technology (Current)

5 Health

6 Economy 7 (i) Energy (Concept) (ii) Energy (Current)

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

8 Environment

bull Environment bull International Initiatives on Environment bull Environment National InitiativesampPollution ControlMeasures bull Environment Current

9 Awards

10 Sports

11 Railway Budget

12 Union Budget

Multiple Choice Questions

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

FOR HELP CALL 011 45151781

Payment Options

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

POLITY

Public Service Commission

Ques 1 Give an account of the Public Service Commission

Ans

Union Public Service Commission State Public Service Commission Joint Public Service Commission The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a Constitutional body in India authorized to conduct examinations for appointment to the various civil services of the Union The Indian Constitution (Part XIV - Services under the Union and the states- Articles 315-323) provides for a Public Service Commission for the Union and a Public Service Commission for each state There can be a Commission for two or more states

The first Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 by the then British Indian Government

Constitutional Provisions Related to Public Service Commission Art 315 says that there shall be Public Service Commissions for the Union and for the States The Union Public Service Commission if requested by the Government of a State may with the approval of the President agree to serve all or any of the needs of the State

Joint Public Service Commission Two or more States may agree that there shall be one Public Service Commission for that group of States and if a resolution to that effect is passed by the House or where there are two Houses by each House of the Legislature of each of those States Parliament may by law provide for the appointment of a Joint State Public Service Commission (referred to as Joint Commission) to serve the needs of those States

Chairman and Members The Chairman and other members of a Public Service Commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

Sample Materials of Our Online Coaching

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

As nearly as one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission shall be persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Vacancy and Absence If the office of the Chairman of the Commission becomes vacant or if any such Chairman is by reason of absence or for any other reason unable to perform the duties of his office those duties shall until some person appointed to the vacant office has entered on the duties or as the case may be until the Chairman has resumed his duties be performed by such one of the other members of the Commission as the President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission amid the Governor of the State in the case of a State Commission may appoint for the purpose

A member of a Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until lie attains in the case of the Union Commission the age of sixty-five years and in the case of a State Commission or a Joint Commission the age of sixty-two years whichever is earlier

A member of a Public Service Commission may by writing under his hand addressed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission to the President and in the case of a State Commission to the Governor of the State resign his office

A person who holds office as a member of a Public Service Commission shall on the expiration of his term of office be ineligible for reappointment to that office

Removal Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

Misbehiviour is if the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission is interested in any contract related to Government or participates in any way in the profit thereof or in any benefit or emolument arising from it otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company the member is considered to be guilty of misbehaviour

Suspension The President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission and the Governor in the case of a State Commission may suspend from office the Chairman or any other member of the Commission in respect of whom a reference has been made to the Supreme Court until the President has passed orders on receipt of the report of the Supreme Court on such reference

In the following cases the President may by order remove from office the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission

bull is adjudged an insolvent or

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull engages during his term of office in any paid employment outside the duties of his office or bull is in the opinion of the President unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or

body

Strength of the Commission In the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission the President and in the case of a State Commission the Governor of the State fixes

bull the number of members of the Commission and bull their conditions of service

Conditions of service of a member of a Public Service Commission can not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment

After Retirement Resignation or Removal On ceasing to hold office by way of retirement resignation or removal

bull the Chairman ofrsquo the Union Public Service Commission shall be ineligible for further employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of that or any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Ques 2 Write a short notes on the Functions of Public Service Commissions

Ans It is the duty of the Union and the State Public Service Commissions to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union and the services of the State respectively

It shall also be the duty of the Union Public Service Commission if requested by any two or more States so to do to assist those States in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for any services for which candidates possession special qualifications are required

To be consulted The Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission as the Case may be shall be consulted

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull on all matters relating to methods of recruitment to civil services and for civil posts bull on the principles to be followed in making appointments to civil services and posts and in

making promotions and transfers from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointments promotions or transfers

bull on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a state in a civil capacity

bull on any claim by or in respect of a person who is serving or has served under the Government of India or the Government of a Slate or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity that any costs incurred by him in defending legal proceedings

bull instituted against him in respect of acts done or purporting to be done in the execution of his duty should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may he out of the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull on any claim for the award of a pension in respect of injuries sustained by a person while serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity and any question as to the amount of any such award and

bull it shall be the duty of a Public Service Commission to advise on any matter so referred to them and on any other matter which the President or as the case may be the Governor of the State may refer to them

The President for all-India services and Central services and the Governor for State Services can exempt matters on which Public Service Commission need not be consulted Public Service Commission need not be consulted with regard to Article-16 reservation in public employment or Art 335 striking balance between reservation and administrative efficiency

All regulations made by the President or the Governor of State shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before each House of Parliament or the House or each House of the Legislature of the State as the case may be as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modification whether by way of repeal or amendment as both Houses of Parliament or the house or both Houses of the Legislature of the State may make during the session in which they are so laid

An Act made by Parliament or as the case may be the legislature of State may impose additional functions on the Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission towards

bull any local authority or bull other body corporate (public sector unit) or bull any public institution

In short the functions are

Functions of the UPSC are to conduct examinations for appointment to the services of the Union

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Union through conduct of competitive examinations

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Central Government by selection through Interviews

bull Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on-deputation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Advising the Government on all matter relating to methods of Recruitment to various

services and posts bull Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services and bull Miscellaneous matters relating to grant to extra ordinary pensions reimbursement of legal

expenses etc

Annual Report Constitution imposes on the UPSC the duty to present annually to the President a report about the work done by the Commission The President shall cause a copy of it together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non-aceptance to be laid before each house of Parliament Similarly the Slate Public Service Commission has the duty to present annually to the Governor of the State a report as to the work done by the Commission It shall be the duty of a Joint Commission to present annually to the Governor of each of the States the needs of which are served by the Joint Commission a report as to the work done by the Commission in relation to that State and in either case the Governor shall cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non- acceptance to be laid before the Legislature of the State

Ques 3 What are the constitutional provisions for the independence of the public serivce commission

Ans Being an important Constitutional authority with the duty to recruit for the higher echelons of the bureaucracy the Commission needs to be kept independent The Constitutional provisions in this regard are

bull appointment is beyond politics as President appoints bull Removal in certain circumstances is on the basis of the inquiry concluded by the Supreme

Court judge bull Salary etc and conditions of service can not be altered to their disadvantage after

appointment bull Expenses of the Commission including any salaries etc to the members or staff of the

Commission are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may be the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull There are restrictions on post-retirement engagement as mentioned above bull The annual report is presented to the President who causes to be tabled in the Parliament

explaining why certain recommendations are not accepted if they are not accepted

Recruitment Rules In accordance with the provisions contained in Article 320 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations 1953 Recruitment Rules of all Group lsquoArsquo and Group lsquo13rdquo posts in various MinistriesDepartments of Government of India are required to be framed in Consultation with the Commission Consultation with the Commission is also necessary for framingamending Recruitment Rules for certain categories of posts under the Employees State Insurance Corporation The Delhi Municipal Corporation The New Delhi Municipal Council Employees Provident Fund Organisation etc under the relevant Acts made by Parliament in pursuance of the provisions of Article 321

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 The Chairman and other members of a Public Service commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

2 As nearly a one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission Should be Persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of State

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Chairmen or any other member of a Public Service Commission Shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

2 A member of a Union Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of Six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

3 Which of the following expenditure are charged on the consolidated fund of India

1 Salaries of the Supreme Court Judges

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 4: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

bull Growth of New India - Religious and Social Reform After 1858 bull Nationalist Movement

Indian and World Geography WORLD GEOGRAPHY GENERAL

bull North America bull Middle America bull South America bull Africa bull Europe bull Australia bull Asia bull Antartica bull Climatic Region of the World

WORLD GEOGRAPHY PHYSICAL

bull Lithosphere bull Atmosphere bull World Climatic Type

INDIAN GEOGRAPHY PHYSICAL

bull India Physical

INDIAN GEOGRAPHY GENERAL

bull Land and the People bull States and Union Territories bull Non-Conventional Energy bull Nuclear Energy bull Conventional Energy in India bull Electricity Power in India

GIST OF NCERT

bull India Location bull Drainage System bull Climate bull Natural Vegetation bull Soils bull Land Use and Agriculture bull Mineral and Energy Resource bull Sugar Industry bull Transport and Communication bull Our Solar System bull Land Form bull Composition and Structure of Atmosphere

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Indian Polity and Governance bull Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution bull Preamble bull Union and its Territory bull Citizenship in India bull Fundamental Rights bull Fundamental Duties bull Directive Principles of State Policy bull Constitution Amendment bull Emergency Provisions bull President of India bull Vice-President bull Attorney General of India bull Parliament of India bull Office of Profit bull The Judiciary bull Lokpal and LokAyukta bull Federal System bull Governor bull Antimdashdefection law bull Inter State Council bull Electoral System in India bull Panchayatraj Institutions bull Nagarapalikas bull Delegated Legislation bull Public Service Commission bull Comptroller andAuditor General of India bull Delimitation of Constituencies bull River Water Disputes India bull Right to Information bull Good Governance bull Seventh Schedule and Taxation Powers bull Professional Tax bull Order of Procedence bull Delhi Government bull Article 371 bull Fifth and Sixth Schedules bull Current Affairs National Polity updates

GIST OF NCERT

bull Why Do We Need A Constitution bull Philosophy of the Constitution bull Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution bull Executive bull Legislature bull Judiciary bull Local Governments bull Elections and Democracy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Economic and Social Development bull Economics An Introduction bull Economic Planning in India bull Fiscal System bull Monetary and Credit Policy bull Money Market and Capital Market in India bull Stock Markets in India bull Taxation System in India Concepts and Policies bull Inflation Concepts Facts and Policy bull Public Sector bull Banking System in India bull Poverty and Inequality Concepts Data Policy and Analysis bull Unemployment bull Agriculture bull Important Indices bull Bretton Woods Institutions and Others bull GATT and WTO bull Foreign Trade bull External Sector bull Economy Updates

GIST OF NCERT

bull Sectors of the Indian Economy bull Liberalization bull Human Capital and Human Development bull Growth and Changing Structure of Employment bull Indiarsquos economic interaction with the World

ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT CONCEPT

bull Organisms and the Environment bull Environment Habitat and Niche bull Environmental Factors bull Ecological Adaptations bull Population Biotic Community and Succession bull Ecosystem Structure and Function bull Natural Resources and their Conservation bull Biodiversity bull Pollution and Global Environmental Change

BIODIVERSITY

bull Biosequestraton bull Conservation bull Commission on sustainable Development (1992) bull Nagoya Protocol PROTOCOL

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull National Biodiversity Authority Chennai bull Project Tiger (1973) bull The Biological Diversity Act 2002 and Rules 2004 bull Concerns amp Issues bull The Biological Diversity Act 2002 bull Biological Diversity Rules 2004 bull Biodiversity ActRules and Intellectual Property Rights bull Iprs in the context of protection of Plant varieties and Farmerrsquos RightAct bull Recommended Actions bull The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) bull Country Implementation bull The International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) bull Background bull United Nations Decade on Biodiversity bull Top 10 Famous Bird Sanctuaries of India bull Types of Biodiversity bull Genetic Diversity bull Species Diversity bull Ecosystem

POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENT

bull Capacity Building for Industrial Pollution Management (CBIPM) bull Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

ENVIRONMENT MOVEMENT bull United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (1972) bull Brutland Commission (1983) bull The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992) bull Kyoto Protocol (1997) bull 1997 Rio+5 Conference New York bull Johannesburg Summit 2002 bull Copenhagen Climate Council (2007) and Summit (2009) bull Bali Action bull 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference

INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES

bull Alliance of Small Island and States (AOSIS) bull Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate bull The International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) bull Land use Land-Use Change and Forestry bull Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) bull The Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB)

NATIONAL INITIATIVES

bull Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) bull Green Development Initiative (GDI)

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) bull Indian Network on Climate Change Assessment bull The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR)

ENERGY

bull Jawaharlal Nehru National SolarMission144 bull Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission bull Nuclear Power in India bull Solar Power in India bull The Energy Conservation Building Code bull Wind Energy Programme in India

GENERAL SCIENCE bull Tissue bull Muscular and Skeletal System bull The Nervous System bull The Endocrine System bull Lymphatic System and Immunity bull The Respiratory System bull The Circulatory System bull The Integumentary System bull The Reproductive System bull The Digestive System bull The Excretory System

PHYSICS

bull Gist of Physics from NCERT Books

CHEMISTRY

bull Gist of Chemistry from NCERT Books

BOTANY

bull Photosynthesis bull Digestion in Plants bull Plant Reproduction

ANIMAL KINGDOM

bull Diversity in Living Organisms bull The Animal Kingdom

WHAT WHY amp HOW

bull Gist of What Why amp How

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

VARIOUS PROGRAMMES OF INDIA

bull IndiarsquosNuclear Programme bull IndiarsquosDefence Programme bull Indiarsquos Space Programme bull Science and Technological Development in India

UNIVERSE

bull Universe

SCIENCE amp TECHNOLOGY bull Science and Technology in India Policy Planning bull Space Research bull Atomic Research bull Defence Research bull Oceanographic and Antartic Research bull Biotechnology bull Information Technology bull Health Sector bull Laser bull Super Conductivity bull InternetComputer Glossary

CURRENT AFFAIRS 1 National

bull Constitutional Watch bull Governmentrsquos Plan Programme Policiesamp New Initiatives bull Political News

2 International

3 India ampThe World

4Science amp Technology

bull Science amp Technology (Concept) bull Scienceamp Technology (Current)

5 Health

6 Economy 7 (i) Energy (Concept) (ii) Energy (Current)

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

8 Environment

bull Environment bull International Initiatives on Environment bull Environment National InitiativesampPollution ControlMeasures bull Environment Current

9 Awards

10 Sports

11 Railway Budget

12 Union Budget

Multiple Choice Questions

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

FOR HELP CALL 011 45151781

Payment Options

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

POLITY

Public Service Commission

Ques 1 Give an account of the Public Service Commission

Ans

Union Public Service Commission State Public Service Commission Joint Public Service Commission The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a Constitutional body in India authorized to conduct examinations for appointment to the various civil services of the Union The Indian Constitution (Part XIV - Services under the Union and the states- Articles 315-323) provides for a Public Service Commission for the Union and a Public Service Commission for each state There can be a Commission for two or more states

The first Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 by the then British Indian Government

Constitutional Provisions Related to Public Service Commission Art 315 says that there shall be Public Service Commissions for the Union and for the States The Union Public Service Commission if requested by the Government of a State may with the approval of the President agree to serve all or any of the needs of the State

Joint Public Service Commission Two or more States may agree that there shall be one Public Service Commission for that group of States and if a resolution to that effect is passed by the House or where there are two Houses by each House of the Legislature of each of those States Parliament may by law provide for the appointment of a Joint State Public Service Commission (referred to as Joint Commission) to serve the needs of those States

Chairman and Members The Chairman and other members of a Public Service Commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

Sample Materials of Our Online Coaching

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

As nearly as one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission shall be persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Vacancy and Absence If the office of the Chairman of the Commission becomes vacant or if any such Chairman is by reason of absence or for any other reason unable to perform the duties of his office those duties shall until some person appointed to the vacant office has entered on the duties or as the case may be until the Chairman has resumed his duties be performed by such one of the other members of the Commission as the President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission amid the Governor of the State in the case of a State Commission may appoint for the purpose

A member of a Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until lie attains in the case of the Union Commission the age of sixty-five years and in the case of a State Commission or a Joint Commission the age of sixty-two years whichever is earlier

A member of a Public Service Commission may by writing under his hand addressed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission to the President and in the case of a State Commission to the Governor of the State resign his office

A person who holds office as a member of a Public Service Commission shall on the expiration of his term of office be ineligible for reappointment to that office

Removal Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

Misbehiviour is if the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission is interested in any contract related to Government or participates in any way in the profit thereof or in any benefit or emolument arising from it otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company the member is considered to be guilty of misbehaviour

Suspension The President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission and the Governor in the case of a State Commission may suspend from office the Chairman or any other member of the Commission in respect of whom a reference has been made to the Supreme Court until the President has passed orders on receipt of the report of the Supreme Court on such reference

In the following cases the President may by order remove from office the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission

bull is adjudged an insolvent or

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull engages during his term of office in any paid employment outside the duties of his office or bull is in the opinion of the President unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or

body

Strength of the Commission In the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission the President and in the case of a State Commission the Governor of the State fixes

bull the number of members of the Commission and bull their conditions of service

Conditions of service of a member of a Public Service Commission can not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment

After Retirement Resignation or Removal On ceasing to hold office by way of retirement resignation or removal

bull the Chairman ofrsquo the Union Public Service Commission shall be ineligible for further employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of that or any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Ques 2 Write a short notes on the Functions of Public Service Commissions

Ans It is the duty of the Union and the State Public Service Commissions to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union and the services of the State respectively

It shall also be the duty of the Union Public Service Commission if requested by any two or more States so to do to assist those States in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for any services for which candidates possession special qualifications are required

To be consulted The Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission as the Case may be shall be consulted

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull on all matters relating to methods of recruitment to civil services and for civil posts bull on the principles to be followed in making appointments to civil services and posts and in

making promotions and transfers from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointments promotions or transfers

bull on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a state in a civil capacity

bull on any claim by or in respect of a person who is serving or has served under the Government of India or the Government of a Slate or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity that any costs incurred by him in defending legal proceedings

bull instituted against him in respect of acts done or purporting to be done in the execution of his duty should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may he out of the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull on any claim for the award of a pension in respect of injuries sustained by a person while serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity and any question as to the amount of any such award and

bull it shall be the duty of a Public Service Commission to advise on any matter so referred to them and on any other matter which the President or as the case may be the Governor of the State may refer to them

The President for all-India services and Central services and the Governor for State Services can exempt matters on which Public Service Commission need not be consulted Public Service Commission need not be consulted with regard to Article-16 reservation in public employment or Art 335 striking balance between reservation and administrative efficiency

All regulations made by the President or the Governor of State shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before each House of Parliament or the House or each House of the Legislature of the State as the case may be as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modification whether by way of repeal or amendment as both Houses of Parliament or the house or both Houses of the Legislature of the State may make during the session in which they are so laid

An Act made by Parliament or as the case may be the legislature of State may impose additional functions on the Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission towards

bull any local authority or bull other body corporate (public sector unit) or bull any public institution

In short the functions are

Functions of the UPSC are to conduct examinations for appointment to the services of the Union

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Union through conduct of competitive examinations

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Central Government by selection through Interviews

bull Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on-deputation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Advising the Government on all matter relating to methods of Recruitment to various

services and posts bull Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services and bull Miscellaneous matters relating to grant to extra ordinary pensions reimbursement of legal

expenses etc

Annual Report Constitution imposes on the UPSC the duty to present annually to the President a report about the work done by the Commission The President shall cause a copy of it together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non-aceptance to be laid before each house of Parliament Similarly the Slate Public Service Commission has the duty to present annually to the Governor of the State a report as to the work done by the Commission It shall be the duty of a Joint Commission to present annually to the Governor of each of the States the needs of which are served by the Joint Commission a report as to the work done by the Commission in relation to that State and in either case the Governor shall cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non- acceptance to be laid before the Legislature of the State

Ques 3 What are the constitutional provisions for the independence of the public serivce commission

Ans Being an important Constitutional authority with the duty to recruit for the higher echelons of the bureaucracy the Commission needs to be kept independent The Constitutional provisions in this regard are

bull appointment is beyond politics as President appoints bull Removal in certain circumstances is on the basis of the inquiry concluded by the Supreme

Court judge bull Salary etc and conditions of service can not be altered to their disadvantage after

appointment bull Expenses of the Commission including any salaries etc to the members or staff of the

Commission are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may be the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull There are restrictions on post-retirement engagement as mentioned above bull The annual report is presented to the President who causes to be tabled in the Parliament

explaining why certain recommendations are not accepted if they are not accepted

Recruitment Rules In accordance with the provisions contained in Article 320 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations 1953 Recruitment Rules of all Group lsquoArsquo and Group lsquo13rdquo posts in various MinistriesDepartments of Government of India are required to be framed in Consultation with the Commission Consultation with the Commission is also necessary for framingamending Recruitment Rules for certain categories of posts under the Employees State Insurance Corporation The Delhi Municipal Corporation The New Delhi Municipal Council Employees Provident Fund Organisation etc under the relevant Acts made by Parliament in pursuance of the provisions of Article 321

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 The Chairman and other members of a Public Service commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

2 As nearly a one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission Should be Persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of State

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Chairmen or any other member of a Public Service Commission Shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

2 A member of a Union Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of Six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

3 Which of the following expenditure are charged on the consolidated fund of India

1 Salaries of the Supreme Court Judges

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 5: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

Indian Polity and Governance bull Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution bull Preamble bull Union and its Territory bull Citizenship in India bull Fundamental Rights bull Fundamental Duties bull Directive Principles of State Policy bull Constitution Amendment bull Emergency Provisions bull President of India bull Vice-President bull Attorney General of India bull Parliament of India bull Office of Profit bull The Judiciary bull Lokpal and LokAyukta bull Federal System bull Governor bull Antimdashdefection law bull Inter State Council bull Electoral System in India bull Panchayatraj Institutions bull Nagarapalikas bull Delegated Legislation bull Public Service Commission bull Comptroller andAuditor General of India bull Delimitation of Constituencies bull River Water Disputes India bull Right to Information bull Good Governance bull Seventh Schedule and Taxation Powers bull Professional Tax bull Order of Procedence bull Delhi Government bull Article 371 bull Fifth and Sixth Schedules bull Current Affairs National Polity updates

GIST OF NCERT

bull Why Do We Need A Constitution bull Philosophy of the Constitution bull Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution bull Executive bull Legislature bull Judiciary bull Local Governments bull Elections and Democracy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Economic and Social Development bull Economics An Introduction bull Economic Planning in India bull Fiscal System bull Monetary and Credit Policy bull Money Market and Capital Market in India bull Stock Markets in India bull Taxation System in India Concepts and Policies bull Inflation Concepts Facts and Policy bull Public Sector bull Banking System in India bull Poverty and Inequality Concepts Data Policy and Analysis bull Unemployment bull Agriculture bull Important Indices bull Bretton Woods Institutions and Others bull GATT and WTO bull Foreign Trade bull External Sector bull Economy Updates

GIST OF NCERT

bull Sectors of the Indian Economy bull Liberalization bull Human Capital and Human Development bull Growth and Changing Structure of Employment bull Indiarsquos economic interaction with the World

ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT CONCEPT

bull Organisms and the Environment bull Environment Habitat and Niche bull Environmental Factors bull Ecological Adaptations bull Population Biotic Community and Succession bull Ecosystem Structure and Function bull Natural Resources and their Conservation bull Biodiversity bull Pollution and Global Environmental Change

BIODIVERSITY

bull Biosequestraton bull Conservation bull Commission on sustainable Development (1992) bull Nagoya Protocol PROTOCOL

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull National Biodiversity Authority Chennai bull Project Tiger (1973) bull The Biological Diversity Act 2002 and Rules 2004 bull Concerns amp Issues bull The Biological Diversity Act 2002 bull Biological Diversity Rules 2004 bull Biodiversity ActRules and Intellectual Property Rights bull Iprs in the context of protection of Plant varieties and Farmerrsquos RightAct bull Recommended Actions bull The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) bull Country Implementation bull The International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) bull Background bull United Nations Decade on Biodiversity bull Top 10 Famous Bird Sanctuaries of India bull Types of Biodiversity bull Genetic Diversity bull Species Diversity bull Ecosystem

POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENT

bull Capacity Building for Industrial Pollution Management (CBIPM) bull Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

ENVIRONMENT MOVEMENT bull United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (1972) bull Brutland Commission (1983) bull The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992) bull Kyoto Protocol (1997) bull 1997 Rio+5 Conference New York bull Johannesburg Summit 2002 bull Copenhagen Climate Council (2007) and Summit (2009) bull Bali Action bull 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference

INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES

bull Alliance of Small Island and States (AOSIS) bull Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate bull The International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) bull Land use Land-Use Change and Forestry bull Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) bull The Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB)

NATIONAL INITIATIVES

bull Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) bull Green Development Initiative (GDI)

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) bull Indian Network on Climate Change Assessment bull The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR)

ENERGY

bull Jawaharlal Nehru National SolarMission144 bull Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission bull Nuclear Power in India bull Solar Power in India bull The Energy Conservation Building Code bull Wind Energy Programme in India

GENERAL SCIENCE bull Tissue bull Muscular and Skeletal System bull The Nervous System bull The Endocrine System bull Lymphatic System and Immunity bull The Respiratory System bull The Circulatory System bull The Integumentary System bull The Reproductive System bull The Digestive System bull The Excretory System

PHYSICS

bull Gist of Physics from NCERT Books

CHEMISTRY

bull Gist of Chemistry from NCERT Books

BOTANY

bull Photosynthesis bull Digestion in Plants bull Plant Reproduction

ANIMAL KINGDOM

bull Diversity in Living Organisms bull The Animal Kingdom

WHAT WHY amp HOW

bull Gist of What Why amp How

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

VARIOUS PROGRAMMES OF INDIA

bull IndiarsquosNuclear Programme bull IndiarsquosDefence Programme bull Indiarsquos Space Programme bull Science and Technological Development in India

UNIVERSE

bull Universe

SCIENCE amp TECHNOLOGY bull Science and Technology in India Policy Planning bull Space Research bull Atomic Research bull Defence Research bull Oceanographic and Antartic Research bull Biotechnology bull Information Technology bull Health Sector bull Laser bull Super Conductivity bull InternetComputer Glossary

CURRENT AFFAIRS 1 National

bull Constitutional Watch bull Governmentrsquos Plan Programme Policiesamp New Initiatives bull Political News

2 International

3 India ampThe World

4Science amp Technology

bull Science amp Technology (Concept) bull Scienceamp Technology (Current)

5 Health

6 Economy 7 (i) Energy (Concept) (ii) Energy (Current)

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

8 Environment

bull Environment bull International Initiatives on Environment bull Environment National InitiativesampPollution ControlMeasures bull Environment Current

9 Awards

10 Sports

11 Railway Budget

12 Union Budget

Multiple Choice Questions

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

FOR HELP CALL 011 45151781

Payment Options

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

POLITY

Public Service Commission

Ques 1 Give an account of the Public Service Commission

Ans

Union Public Service Commission State Public Service Commission Joint Public Service Commission The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a Constitutional body in India authorized to conduct examinations for appointment to the various civil services of the Union The Indian Constitution (Part XIV - Services under the Union and the states- Articles 315-323) provides for a Public Service Commission for the Union and a Public Service Commission for each state There can be a Commission for two or more states

The first Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 by the then British Indian Government

Constitutional Provisions Related to Public Service Commission Art 315 says that there shall be Public Service Commissions for the Union and for the States The Union Public Service Commission if requested by the Government of a State may with the approval of the President agree to serve all or any of the needs of the State

Joint Public Service Commission Two or more States may agree that there shall be one Public Service Commission for that group of States and if a resolution to that effect is passed by the House or where there are two Houses by each House of the Legislature of each of those States Parliament may by law provide for the appointment of a Joint State Public Service Commission (referred to as Joint Commission) to serve the needs of those States

Chairman and Members The Chairman and other members of a Public Service Commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

Sample Materials of Our Online Coaching

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

As nearly as one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission shall be persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Vacancy and Absence If the office of the Chairman of the Commission becomes vacant or if any such Chairman is by reason of absence or for any other reason unable to perform the duties of his office those duties shall until some person appointed to the vacant office has entered on the duties or as the case may be until the Chairman has resumed his duties be performed by such one of the other members of the Commission as the President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission amid the Governor of the State in the case of a State Commission may appoint for the purpose

A member of a Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until lie attains in the case of the Union Commission the age of sixty-five years and in the case of a State Commission or a Joint Commission the age of sixty-two years whichever is earlier

A member of a Public Service Commission may by writing under his hand addressed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission to the President and in the case of a State Commission to the Governor of the State resign his office

A person who holds office as a member of a Public Service Commission shall on the expiration of his term of office be ineligible for reappointment to that office

Removal Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

Misbehiviour is if the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission is interested in any contract related to Government or participates in any way in the profit thereof or in any benefit or emolument arising from it otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company the member is considered to be guilty of misbehaviour

Suspension The President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission and the Governor in the case of a State Commission may suspend from office the Chairman or any other member of the Commission in respect of whom a reference has been made to the Supreme Court until the President has passed orders on receipt of the report of the Supreme Court on such reference

In the following cases the President may by order remove from office the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission

bull is adjudged an insolvent or

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull engages during his term of office in any paid employment outside the duties of his office or bull is in the opinion of the President unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or

body

Strength of the Commission In the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission the President and in the case of a State Commission the Governor of the State fixes

bull the number of members of the Commission and bull their conditions of service

Conditions of service of a member of a Public Service Commission can not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment

After Retirement Resignation or Removal On ceasing to hold office by way of retirement resignation or removal

bull the Chairman ofrsquo the Union Public Service Commission shall be ineligible for further employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of that or any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Ques 2 Write a short notes on the Functions of Public Service Commissions

Ans It is the duty of the Union and the State Public Service Commissions to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union and the services of the State respectively

It shall also be the duty of the Union Public Service Commission if requested by any two or more States so to do to assist those States in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for any services for which candidates possession special qualifications are required

To be consulted The Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission as the Case may be shall be consulted

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull on all matters relating to methods of recruitment to civil services and for civil posts bull on the principles to be followed in making appointments to civil services and posts and in

making promotions and transfers from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointments promotions or transfers

bull on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a state in a civil capacity

bull on any claim by or in respect of a person who is serving or has served under the Government of India or the Government of a Slate or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity that any costs incurred by him in defending legal proceedings

bull instituted against him in respect of acts done or purporting to be done in the execution of his duty should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may he out of the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull on any claim for the award of a pension in respect of injuries sustained by a person while serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity and any question as to the amount of any such award and

bull it shall be the duty of a Public Service Commission to advise on any matter so referred to them and on any other matter which the President or as the case may be the Governor of the State may refer to them

The President for all-India services and Central services and the Governor for State Services can exempt matters on which Public Service Commission need not be consulted Public Service Commission need not be consulted with regard to Article-16 reservation in public employment or Art 335 striking balance between reservation and administrative efficiency

All regulations made by the President or the Governor of State shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before each House of Parliament or the House or each House of the Legislature of the State as the case may be as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modification whether by way of repeal or amendment as both Houses of Parliament or the house or both Houses of the Legislature of the State may make during the session in which they are so laid

An Act made by Parliament or as the case may be the legislature of State may impose additional functions on the Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission towards

bull any local authority or bull other body corporate (public sector unit) or bull any public institution

In short the functions are

Functions of the UPSC are to conduct examinations for appointment to the services of the Union

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Union through conduct of competitive examinations

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Central Government by selection through Interviews

bull Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on-deputation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Advising the Government on all matter relating to methods of Recruitment to various

services and posts bull Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services and bull Miscellaneous matters relating to grant to extra ordinary pensions reimbursement of legal

expenses etc

Annual Report Constitution imposes on the UPSC the duty to present annually to the President a report about the work done by the Commission The President shall cause a copy of it together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non-aceptance to be laid before each house of Parliament Similarly the Slate Public Service Commission has the duty to present annually to the Governor of the State a report as to the work done by the Commission It shall be the duty of a Joint Commission to present annually to the Governor of each of the States the needs of which are served by the Joint Commission a report as to the work done by the Commission in relation to that State and in either case the Governor shall cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non- acceptance to be laid before the Legislature of the State

Ques 3 What are the constitutional provisions for the independence of the public serivce commission

Ans Being an important Constitutional authority with the duty to recruit for the higher echelons of the bureaucracy the Commission needs to be kept independent The Constitutional provisions in this regard are

bull appointment is beyond politics as President appoints bull Removal in certain circumstances is on the basis of the inquiry concluded by the Supreme

Court judge bull Salary etc and conditions of service can not be altered to their disadvantage after

appointment bull Expenses of the Commission including any salaries etc to the members or staff of the

Commission are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may be the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull There are restrictions on post-retirement engagement as mentioned above bull The annual report is presented to the President who causes to be tabled in the Parliament

explaining why certain recommendations are not accepted if they are not accepted

Recruitment Rules In accordance with the provisions contained in Article 320 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations 1953 Recruitment Rules of all Group lsquoArsquo and Group lsquo13rdquo posts in various MinistriesDepartments of Government of India are required to be framed in Consultation with the Commission Consultation with the Commission is also necessary for framingamending Recruitment Rules for certain categories of posts under the Employees State Insurance Corporation The Delhi Municipal Corporation The New Delhi Municipal Council Employees Provident Fund Organisation etc under the relevant Acts made by Parliament in pursuance of the provisions of Article 321

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 The Chairman and other members of a Public Service commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

2 As nearly a one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission Should be Persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of State

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Chairmen or any other member of a Public Service Commission Shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

2 A member of a Union Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of Six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

3 Which of the following expenditure are charged on the consolidated fund of India

1 Salaries of the Supreme Court Judges

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 6: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

Economic and Social Development bull Economics An Introduction bull Economic Planning in India bull Fiscal System bull Monetary and Credit Policy bull Money Market and Capital Market in India bull Stock Markets in India bull Taxation System in India Concepts and Policies bull Inflation Concepts Facts and Policy bull Public Sector bull Banking System in India bull Poverty and Inequality Concepts Data Policy and Analysis bull Unemployment bull Agriculture bull Important Indices bull Bretton Woods Institutions and Others bull GATT and WTO bull Foreign Trade bull External Sector bull Economy Updates

GIST OF NCERT

bull Sectors of the Indian Economy bull Liberalization bull Human Capital and Human Development bull Growth and Changing Structure of Employment bull Indiarsquos economic interaction with the World

ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT CONCEPT

bull Organisms and the Environment bull Environment Habitat and Niche bull Environmental Factors bull Ecological Adaptations bull Population Biotic Community and Succession bull Ecosystem Structure and Function bull Natural Resources and their Conservation bull Biodiversity bull Pollution and Global Environmental Change

BIODIVERSITY

bull Biosequestraton bull Conservation bull Commission on sustainable Development (1992) bull Nagoya Protocol PROTOCOL

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull National Biodiversity Authority Chennai bull Project Tiger (1973) bull The Biological Diversity Act 2002 and Rules 2004 bull Concerns amp Issues bull The Biological Diversity Act 2002 bull Biological Diversity Rules 2004 bull Biodiversity ActRules and Intellectual Property Rights bull Iprs in the context of protection of Plant varieties and Farmerrsquos RightAct bull Recommended Actions bull The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) bull Country Implementation bull The International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) bull Background bull United Nations Decade on Biodiversity bull Top 10 Famous Bird Sanctuaries of India bull Types of Biodiversity bull Genetic Diversity bull Species Diversity bull Ecosystem

POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENT

bull Capacity Building for Industrial Pollution Management (CBIPM) bull Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

ENVIRONMENT MOVEMENT bull United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (1972) bull Brutland Commission (1983) bull The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992) bull Kyoto Protocol (1997) bull 1997 Rio+5 Conference New York bull Johannesburg Summit 2002 bull Copenhagen Climate Council (2007) and Summit (2009) bull Bali Action bull 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference

INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES

bull Alliance of Small Island and States (AOSIS) bull Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate bull The International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) bull Land use Land-Use Change and Forestry bull Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) bull The Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB)

NATIONAL INITIATIVES

bull Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) bull Green Development Initiative (GDI)

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) bull Indian Network on Climate Change Assessment bull The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR)

ENERGY

bull Jawaharlal Nehru National SolarMission144 bull Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission bull Nuclear Power in India bull Solar Power in India bull The Energy Conservation Building Code bull Wind Energy Programme in India

GENERAL SCIENCE bull Tissue bull Muscular and Skeletal System bull The Nervous System bull The Endocrine System bull Lymphatic System and Immunity bull The Respiratory System bull The Circulatory System bull The Integumentary System bull The Reproductive System bull The Digestive System bull The Excretory System

PHYSICS

bull Gist of Physics from NCERT Books

CHEMISTRY

bull Gist of Chemistry from NCERT Books

BOTANY

bull Photosynthesis bull Digestion in Plants bull Plant Reproduction

ANIMAL KINGDOM

bull Diversity in Living Organisms bull The Animal Kingdom

WHAT WHY amp HOW

bull Gist of What Why amp How

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

VARIOUS PROGRAMMES OF INDIA

bull IndiarsquosNuclear Programme bull IndiarsquosDefence Programme bull Indiarsquos Space Programme bull Science and Technological Development in India

UNIVERSE

bull Universe

SCIENCE amp TECHNOLOGY bull Science and Technology in India Policy Planning bull Space Research bull Atomic Research bull Defence Research bull Oceanographic and Antartic Research bull Biotechnology bull Information Technology bull Health Sector bull Laser bull Super Conductivity bull InternetComputer Glossary

CURRENT AFFAIRS 1 National

bull Constitutional Watch bull Governmentrsquos Plan Programme Policiesamp New Initiatives bull Political News

2 International

3 India ampThe World

4Science amp Technology

bull Science amp Technology (Concept) bull Scienceamp Technology (Current)

5 Health

6 Economy 7 (i) Energy (Concept) (ii) Energy (Current)

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

8 Environment

bull Environment bull International Initiatives on Environment bull Environment National InitiativesampPollution ControlMeasures bull Environment Current

9 Awards

10 Sports

11 Railway Budget

12 Union Budget

Multiple Choice Questions

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

FOR HELP CALL 011 45151781

Payment Options

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

POLITY

Public Service Commission

Ques 1 Give an account of the Public Service Commission

Ans

Union Public Service Commission State Public Service Commission Joint Public Service Commission The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a Constitutional body in India authorized to conduct examinations for appointment to the various civil services of the Union The Indian Constitution (Part XIV - Services under the Union and the states- Articles 315-323) provides for a Public Service Commission for the Union and a Public Service Commission for each state There can be a Commission for two or more states

The first Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 by the then British Indian Government

Constitutional Provisions Related to Public Service Commission Art 315 says that there shall be Public Service Commissions for the Union and for the States The Union Public Service Commission if requested by the Government of a State may with the approval of the President agree to serve all or any of the needs of the State

Joint Public Service Commission Two or more States may agree that there shall be one Public Service Commission for that group of States and if a resolution to that effect is passed by the House or where there are two Houses by each House of the Legislature of each of those States Parliament may by law provide for the appointment of a Joint State Public Service Commission (referred to as Joint Commission) to serve the needs of those States

Chairman and Members The Chairman and other members of a Public Service Commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

Sample Materials of Our Online Coaching

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

As nearly as one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission shall be persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Vacancy and Absence If the office of the Chairman of the Commission becomes vacant or if any such Chairman is by reason of absence or for any other reason unable to perform the duties of his office those duties shall until some person appointed to the vacant office has entered on the duties or as the case may be until the Chairman has resumed his duties be performed by such one of the other members of the Commission as the President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission amid the Governor of the State in the case of a State Commission may appoint for the purpose

A member of a Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until lie attains in the case of the Union Commission the age of sixty-five years and in the case of a State Commission or a Joint Commission the age of sixty-two years whichever is earlier

A member of a Public Service Commission may by writing under his hand addressed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission to the President and in the case of a State Commission to the Governor of the State resign his office

A person who holds office as a member of a Public Service Commission shall on the expiration of his term of office be ineligible for reappointment to that office

Removal Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

Misbehiviour is if the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission is interested in any contract related to Government or participates in any way in the profit thereof or in any benefit or emolument arising from it otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company the member is considered to be guilty of misbehaviour

Suspension The President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission and the Governor in the case of a State Commission may suspend from office the Chairman or any other member of the Commission in respect of whom a reference has been made to the Supreme Court until the President has passed orders on receipt of the report of the Supreme Court on such reference

In the following cases the President may by order remove from office the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission

bull is adjudged an insolvent or

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull engages during his term of office in any paid employment outside the duties of his office or bull is in the opinion of the President unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or

body

Strength of the Commission In the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission the President and in the case of a State Commission the Governor of the State fixes

bull the number of members of the Commission and bull their conditions of service

Conditions of service of a member of a Public Service Commission can not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment

After Retirement Resignation or Removal On ceasing to hold office by way of retirement resignation or removal

bull the Chairman ofrsquo the Union Public Service Commission shall be ineligible for further employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of that or any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Ques 2 Write a short notes on the Functions of Public Service Commissions

Ans It is the duty of the Union and the State Public Service Commissions to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union and the services of the State respectively

It shall also be the duty of the Union Public Service Commission if requested by any two or more States so to do to assist those States in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for any services for which candidates possession special qualifications are required

To be consulted The Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission as the Case may be shall be consulted

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull on all matters relating to methods of recruitment to civil services and for civil posts bull on the principles to be followed in making appointments to civil services and posts and in

making promotions and transfers from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointments promotions or transfers

bull on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a state in a civil capacity

bull on any claim by or in respect of a person who is serving or has served under the Government of India or the Government of a Slate or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity that any costs incurred by him in defending legal proceedings

bull instituted against him in respect of acts done or purporting to be done in the execution of his duty should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may he out of the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull on any claim for the award of a pension in respect of injuries sustained by a person while serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity and any question as to the amount of any such award and

bull it shall be the duty of a Public Service Commission to advise on any matter so referred to them and on any other matter which the President or as the case may be the Governor of the State may refer to them

The President for all-India services and Central services and the Governor for State Services can exempt matters on which Public Service Commission need not be consulted Public Service Commission need not be consulted with regard to Article-16 reservation in public employment or Art 335 striking balance between reservation and administrative efficiency

All regulations made by the President or the Governor of State shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before each House of Parliament or the House or each House of the Legislature of the State as the case may be as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modification whether by way of repeal or amendment as both Houses of Parliament or the house or both Houses of the Legislature of the State may make during the session in which they are so laid

An Act made by Parliament or as the case may be the legislature of State may impose additional functions on the Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission towards

bull any local authority or bull other body corporate (public sector unit) or bull any public institution

In short the functions are

Functions of the UPSC are to conduct examinations for appointment to the services of the Union

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Union through conduct of competitive examinations

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Central Government by selection through Interviews

bull Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on-deputation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Advising the Government on all matter relating to methods of Recruitment to various

services and posts bull Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services and bull Miscellaneous matters relating to grant to extra ordinary pensions reimbursement of legal

expenses etc

Annual Report Constitution imposes on the UPSC the duty to present annually to the President a report about the work done by the Commission The President shall cause a copy of it together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non-aceptance to be laid before each house of Parliament Similarly the Slate Public Service Commission has the duty to present annually to the Governor of the State a report as to the work done by the Commission It shall be the duty of a Joint Commission to present annually to the Governor of each of the States the needs of which are served by the Joint Commission a report as to the work done by the Commission in relation to that State and in either case the Governor shall cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non- acceptance to be laid before the Legislature of the State

Ques 3 What are the constitutional provisions for the independence of the public serivce commission

Ans Being an important Constitutional authority with the duty to recruit for the higher echelons of the bureaucracy the Commission needs to be kept independent The Constitutional provisions in this regard are

bull appointment is beyond politics as President appoints bull Removal in certain circumstances is on the basis of the inquiry concluded by the Supreme

Court judge bull Salary etc and conditions of service can not be altered to their disadvantage after

appointment bull Expenses of the Commission including any salaries etc to the members or staff of the

Commission are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may be the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull There are restrictions on post-retirement engagement as mentioned above bull The annual report is presented to the President who causes to be tabled in the Parliament

explaining why certain recommendations are not accepted if they are not accepted

Recruitment Rules In accordance with the provisions contained in Article 320 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations 1953 Recruitment Rules of all Group lsquoArsquo and Group lsquo13rdquo posts in various MinistriesDepartments of Government of India are required to be framed in Consultation with the Commission Consultation with the Commission is also necessary for framingamending Recruitment Rules for certain categories of posts under the Employees State Insurance Corporation The Delhi Municipal Corporation The New Delhi Municipal Council Employees Provident Fund Organisation etc under the relevant Acts made by Parliament in pursuance of the provisions of Article 321

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 The Chairman and other members of a Public Service commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

2 As nearly a one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission Should be Persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of State

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Chairmen or any other member of a Public Service Commission Shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

2 A member of a Union Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of Six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

3 Which of the following expenditure are charged on the consolidated fund of India

1 Salaries of the Supreme Court Judges

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 7: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

bull National Biodiversity Authority Chennai bull Project Tiger (1973) bull The Biological Diversity Act 2002 and Rules 2004 bull Concerns amp Issues bull The Biological Diversity Act 2002 bull Biological Diversity Rules 2004 bull Biodiversity ActRules and Intellectual Property Rights bull Iprs in the context of protection of Plant varieties and Farmerrsquos RightAct bull Recommended Actions bull The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) bull Country Implementation bull The International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) bull Background bull United Nations Decade on Biodiversity bull Top 10 Famous Bird Sanctuaries of India bull Types of Biodiversity bull Genetic Diversity bull Species Diversity bull Ecosystem

POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENT

bull Capacity Building for Industrial Pollution Management (CBIPM) bull Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

ENVIRONMENT MOVEMENT bull United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (1972) bull Brutland Commission (1983) bull The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992) bull Kyoto Protocol (1997) bull 1997 Rio+5 Conference New York bull Johannesburg Summit 2002 bull Copenhagen Climate Council (2007) and Summit (2009) bull Bali Action bull 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference

INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES

bull Alliance of Small Island and States (AOSIS) bull Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate bull The International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) bull Land use Land-Use Change and Forestry bull Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) bull The Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB)

NATIONAL INITIATIVES

bull Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) bull Green Development Initiative (GDI)

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) bull Indian Network on Climate Change Assessment bull The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR)

ENERGY

bull Jawaharlal Nehru National SolarMission144 bull Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission bull Nuclear Power in India bull Solar Power in India bull The Energy Conservation Building Code bull Wind Energy Programme in India

GENERAL SCIENCE bull Tissue bull Muscular and Skeletal System bull The Nervous System bull The Endocrine System bull Lymphatic System and Immunity bull The Respiratory System bull The Circulatory System bull The Integumentary System bull The Reproductive System bull The Digestive System bull The Excretory System

PHYSICS

bull Gist of Physics from NCERT Books

CHEMISTRY

bull Gist of Chemistry from NCERT Books

BOTANY

bull Photosynthesis bull Digestion in Plants bull Plant Reproduction

ANIMAL KINGDOM

bull Diversity in Living Organisms bull The Animal Kingdom

WHAT WHY amp HOW

bull Gist of What Why amp How

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

VARIOUS PROGRAMMES OF INDIA

bull IndiarsquosNuclear Programme bull IndiarsquosDefence Programme bull Indiarsquos Space Programme bull Science and Technological Development in India

UNIVERSE

bull Universe

SCIENCE amp TECHNOLOGY bull Science and Technology in India Policy Planning bull Space Research bull Atomic Research bull Defence Research bull Oceanographic and Antartic Research bull Biotechnology bull Information Technology bull Health Sector bull Laser bull Super Conductivity bull InternetComputer Glossary

CURRENT AFFAIRS 1 National

bull Constitutional Watch bull Governmentrsquos Plan Programme Policiesamp New Initiatives bull Political News

2 International

3 India ampThe World

4Science amp Technology

bull Science amp Technology (Concept) bull Scienceamp Technology (Current)

5 Health

6 Economy 7 (i) Energy (Concept) (ii) Energy (Current)

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

8 Environment

bull Environment bull International Initiatives on Environment bull Environment National InitiativesampPollution ControlMeasures bull Environment Current

9 Awards

10 Sports

11 Railway Budget

12 Union Budget

Multiple Choice Questions

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

FOR HELP CALL 011 45151781

Payment Options

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

POLITY

Public Service Commission

Ques 1 Give an account of the Public Service Commission

Ans

Union Public Service Commission State Public Service Commission Joint Public Service Commission The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a Constitutional body in India authorized to conduct examinations for appointment to the various civil services of the Union The Indian Constitution (Part XIV - Services under the Union and the states- Articles 315-323) provides for a Public Service Commission for the Union and a Public Service Commission for each state There can be a Commission for two or more states

The first Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 by the then British Indian Government

Constitutional Provisions Related to Public Service Commission Art 315 says that there shall be Public Service Commissions for the Union and for the States The Union Public Service Commission if requested by the Government of a State may with the approval of the President agree to serve all or any of the needs of the State

Joint Public Service Commission Two or more States may agree that there shall be one Public Service Commission for that group of States and if a resolution to that effect is passed by the House or where there are two Houses by each House of the Legislature of each of those States Parliament may by law provide for the appointment of a Joint State Public Service Commission (referred to as Joint Commission) to serve the needs of those States

Chairman and Members The Chairman and other members of a Public Service Commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

Sample Materials of Our Online Coaching

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

As nearly as one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission shall be persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Vacancy and Absence If the office of the Chairman of the Commission becomes vacant or if any such Chairman is by reason of absence or for any other reason unable to perform the duties of his office those duties shall until some person appointed to the vacant office has entered on the duties or as the case may be until the Chairman has resumed his duties be performed by such one of the other members of the Commission as the President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission amid the Governor of the State in the case of a State Commission may appoint for the purpose

A member of a Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until lie attains in the case of the Union Commission the age of sixty-five years and in the case of a State Commission or a Joint Commission the age of sixty-two years whichever is earlier

A member of a Public Service Commission may by writing under his hand addressed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission to the President and in the case of a State Commission to the Governor of the State resign his office

A person who holds office as a member of a Public Service Commission shall on the expiration of his term of office be ineligible for reappointment to that office

Removal Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

Misbehiviour is if the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission is interested in any contract related to Government or participates in any way in the profit thereof or in any benefit or emolument arising from it otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company the member is considered to be guilty of misbehaviour

Suspension The President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission and the Governor in the case of a State Commission may suspend from office the Chairman or any other member of the Commission in respect of whom a reference has been made to the Supreme Court until the President has passed orders on receipt of the report of the Supreme Court on such reference

In the following cases the President may by order remove from office the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission

bull is adjudged an insolvent or

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull engages during his term of office in any paid employment outside the duties of his office or bull is in the opinion of the President unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or

body

Strength of the Commission In the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission the President and in the case of a State Commission the Governor of the State fixes

bull the number of members of the Commission and bull their conditions of service

Conditions of service of a member of a Public Service Commission can not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment

After Retirement Resignation or Removal On ceasing to hold office by way of retirement resignation or removal

bull the Chairman ofrsquo the Union Public Service Commission shall be ineligible for further employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of that or any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Ques 2 Write a short notes on the Functions of Public Service Commissions

Ans It is the duty of the Union and the State Public Service Commissions to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union and the services of the State respectively

It shall also be the duty of the Union Public Service Commission if requested by any two or more States so to do to assist those States in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for any services for which candidates possession special qualifications are required

To be consulted The Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission as the Case may be shall be consulted

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull on all matters relating to methods of recruitment to civil services and for civil posts bull on the principles to be followed in making appointments to civil services and posts and in

making promotions and transfers from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointments promotions or transfers

bull on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a state in a civil capacity

bull on any claim by or in respect of a person who is serving or has served under the Government of India or the Government of a Slate or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity that any costs incurred by him in defending legal proceedings

bull instituted against him in respect of acts done or purporting to be done in the execution of his duty should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may he out of the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull on any claim for the award of a pension in respect of injuries sustained by a person while serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity and any question as to the amount of any such award and

bull it shall be the duty of a Public Service Commission to advise on any matter so referred to them and on any other matter which the President or as the case may be the Governor of the State may refer to them

The President for all-India services and Central services and the Governor for State Services can exempt matters on which Public Service Commission need not be consulted Public Service Commission need not be consulted with regard to Article-16 reservation in public employment or Art 335 striking balance between reservation and administrative efficiency

All regulations made by the President or the Governor of State shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before each House of Parliament or the House or each House of the Legislature of the State as the case may be as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modification whether by way of repeal or amendment as both Houses of Parliament or the house or both Houses of the Legislature of the State may make during the session in which they are so laid

An Act made by Parliament or as the case may be the legislature of State may impose additional functions on the Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission towards

bull any local authority or bull other body corporate (public sector unit) or bull any public institution

In short the functions are

Functions of the UPSC are to conduct examinations for appointment to the services of the Union

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Union through conduct of competitive examinations

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Central Government by selection through Interviews

bull Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on-deputation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Advising the Government on all matter relating to methods of Recruitment to various

services and posts bull Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services and bull Miscellaneous matters relating to grant to extra ordinary pensions reimbursement of legal

expenses etc

Annual Report Constitution imposes on the UPSC the duty to present annually to the President a report about the work done by the Commission The President shall cause a copy of it together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non-aceptance to be laid before each house of Parliament Similarly the Slate Public Service Commission has the duty to present annually to the Governor of the State a report as to the work done by the Commission It shall be the duty of a Joint Commission to present annually to the Governor of each of the States the needs of which are served by the Joint Commission a report as to the work done by the Commission in relation to that State and in either case the Governor shall cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non- acceptance to be laid before the Legislature of the State

Ques 3 What are the constitutional provisions for the independence of the public serivce commission

Ans Being an important Constitutional authority with the duty to recruit for the higher echelons of the bureaucracy the Commission needs to be kept independent The Constitutional provisions in this regard are

bull appointment is beyond politics as President appoints bull Removal in certain circumstances is on the basis of the inquiry concluded by the Supreme

Court judge bull Salary etc and conditions of service can not be altered to their disadvantage after

appointment bull Expenses of the Commission including any salaries etc to the members or staff of the

Commission are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may be the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull There are restrictions on post-retirement engagement as mentioned above bull The annual report is presented to the President who causes to be tabled in the Parliament

explaining why certain recommendations are not accepted if they are not accepted

Recruitment Rules In accordance with the provisions contained in Article 320 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations 1953 Recruitment Rules of all Group lsquoArsquo and Group lsquo13rdquo posts in various MinistriesDepartments of Government of India are required to be framed in Consultation with the Commission Consultation with the Commission is also necessary for framingamending Recruitment Rules for certain categories of posts under the Employees State Insurance Corporation The Delhi Municipal Corporation The New Delhi Municipal Council Employees Provident Fund Organisation etc under the relevant Acts made by Parliament in pursuance of the provisions of Article 321

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 The Chairman and other members of a Public Service commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

2 As nearly a one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission Should be Persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of State

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Chairmen or any other member of a Public Service Commission Shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

2 A member of a Union Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of Six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

3 Which of the following expenditure are charged on the consolidated fund of India

1 Salaries of the Supreme Court Judges

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 8: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

bull National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) bull Indian Network on Climate Change Assessment bull The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR)

ENERGY

bull Jawaharlal Nehru National SolarMission144 bull Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission bull Nuclear Power in India bull Solar Power in India bull The Energy Conservation Building Code bull Wind Energy Programme in India

GENERAL SCIENCE bull Tissue bull Muscular and Skeletal System bull The Nervous System bull The Endocrine System bull Lymphatic System and Immunity bull The Respiratory System bull The Circulatory System bull The Integumentary System bull The Reproductive System bull The Digestive System bull The Excretory System

PHYSICS

bull Gist of Physics from NCERT Books

CHEMISTRY

bull Gist of Chemistry from NCERT Books

BOTANY

bull Photosynthesis bull Digestion in Plants bull Plant Reproduction

ANIMAL KINGDOM

bull Diversity in Living Organisms bull The Animal Kingdom

WHAT WHY amp HOW

bull Gist of What Why amp How

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

VARIOUS PROGRAMMES OF INDIA

bull IndiarsquosNuclear Programme bull IndiarsquosDefence Programme bull Indiarsquos Space Programme bull Science and Technological Development in India

UNIVERSE

bull Universe

SCIENCE amp TECHNOLOGY bull Science and Technology in India Policy Planning bull Space Research bull Atomic Research bull Defence Research bull Oceanographic and Antartic Research bull Biotechnology bull Information Technology bull Health Sector bull Laser bull Super Conductivity bull InternetComputer Glossary

CURRENT AFFAIRS 1 National

bull Constitutional Watch bull Governmentrsquos Plan Programme Policiesamp New Initiatives bull Political News

2 International

3 India ampThe World

4Science amp Technology

bull Science amp Technology (Concept) bull Scienceamp Technology (Current)

5 Health

6 Economy 7 (i) Energy (Concept) (ii) Energy (Current)

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

8 Environment

bull Environment bull International Initiatives on Environment bull Environment National InitiativesampPollution ControlMeasures bull Environment Current

9 Awards

10 Sports

11 Railway Budget

12 Union Budget

Multiple Choice Questions

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

FOR HELP CALL 011 45151781

Payment Options

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

POLITY

Public Service Commission

Ques 1 Give an account of the Public Service Commission

Ans

Union Public Service Commission State Public Service Commission Joint Public Service Commission The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a Constitutional body in India authorized to conduct examinations for appointment to the various civil services of the Union The Indian Constitution (Part XIV - Services under the Union and the states- Articles 315-323) provides for a Public Service Commission for the Union and a Public Service Commission for each state There can be a Commission for two or more states

The first Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 by the then British Indian Government

Constitutional Provisions Related to Public Service Commission Art 315 says that there shall be Public Service Commissions for the Union and for the States The Union Public Service Commission if requested by the Government of a State may with the approval of the President agree to serve all or any of the needs of the State

Joint Public Service Commission Two or more States may agree that there shall be one Public Service Commission for that group of States and if a resolution to that effect is passed by the House or where there are two Houses by each House of the Legislature of each of those States Parliament may by law provide for the appointment of a Joint State Public Service Commission (referred to as Joint Commission) to serve the needs of those States

Chairman and Members The Chairman and other members of a Public Service Commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

Sample Materials of Our Online Coaching

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

As nearly as one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission shall be persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Vacancy and Absence If the office of the Chairman of the Commission becomes vacant or if any such Chairman is by reason of absence or for any other reason unable to perform the duties of his office those duties shall until some person appointed to the vacant office has entered on the duties or as the case may be until the Chairman has resumed his duties be performed by such one of the other members of the Commission as the President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission amid the Governor of the State in the case of a State Commission may appoint for the purpose

A member of a Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until lie attains in the case of the Union Commission the age of sixty-five years and in the case of a State Commission or a Joint Commission the age of sixty-two years whichever is earlier

A member of a Public Service Commission may by writing under his hand addressed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission to the President and in the case of a State Commission to the Governor of the State resign his office

A person who holds office as a member of a Public Service Commission shall on the expiration of his term of office be ineligible for reappointment to that office

Removal Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

Misbehiviour is if the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission is interested in any contract related to Government or participates in any way in the profit thereof or in any benefit or emolument arising from it otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company the member is considered to be guilty of misbehaviour

Suspension The President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission and the Governor in the case of a State Commission may suspend from office the Chairman or any other member of the Commission in respect of whom a reference has been made to the Supreme Court until the President has passed orders on receipt of the report of the Supreme Court on such reference

In the following cases the President may by order remove from office the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission

bull is adjudged an insolvent or

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull engages during his term of office in any paid employment outside the duties of his office or bull is in the opinion of the President unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or

body

Strength of the Commission In the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission the President and in the case of a State Commission the Governor of the State fixes

bull the number of members of the Commission and bull their conditions of service

Conditions of service of a member of a Public Service Commission can not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment

After Retirement Resignation or Removal On ceasing to hold office by way of retirement resignation or removal

bull the Chairman ofrsquo the Union Public Service Commission shall be ineligible for further employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of that or any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Ques 2 Write a short notes on the Functions of Public Service Commissions

Ans It is the duty of the Union and the State Public Service Commissions to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union and the services of the State respectively

It shall also be the duty of the Union Public Service Commission if requested by any two or more States so to do to assist those States in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for any services for which candidates possession special qualifications are required

To be consulted The Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission as the Case may be shall be consulted

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull on all matters relating to methods of recruitment to civil services and for civil posts bull on the principles to be followed in making appointments to civil services and posts and in

making promotions and transfers from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointments promotions or transfers

bull on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a state in a civil capacity

bull on any claim by or in respect of a person who is serving or has served under the Government of India or the Government of a Slate or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity that any costs incurred by him in defending legal proceedings

bull instituted against him in respect of acts done or purporting to be done in the execution of his duty should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may he out of the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull on any claim for the award of a pension in respect of injuries sustained by a person while serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity and any question as to the amount of any such award and

bull it shall be the duty of a Public Service Commission to advise on any matter so referred to them and on any other matter which the President or as the case may be the Governor of the State may refer to them

The President for all-India services and Central services and the Governor for State Services can exempt matters on which Public Service Commission need not be consulted Public Service Commission need not be consulted with regard to Article-16 reservation in public employment or Art 335 striking balance between reservation and administrative efficiency

All regulations made by the President or the Governor of State shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before each House of Parliament or the House or each House of the Legislature of the State as the case may be as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modification whether by way of repeal or amendment as both Houses of Parliament or the house or both Houses of the Legislature of the State may make during the session in which they are so laid

An Act made by Parliament or as the case may be the legislature of State may impose additional functions on the Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission towards

bull any local authority or bull other body corporate (public sector unit) or bull any public institution

In short the functions are

Functions of the UPSC are to conduct examinations for appointment to the services of the Union

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Union through conduct of competitive examinations

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Central Government by selection through Interviews

bull Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on-deputation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Advising the Government on all matter relating to methods of Recruitment to various

services and posts bull Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services and bull Miscellaneous matters relating to grant to extra ordinary pensions reimbursement of legal

expenses etc

Annual Report Constitution imposes on the UPSC the duty to present annually to the President a report about the work done by the Commission The President shall cause a copy of it together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non-aceptance to be laid before each house of Parliament Similarly the Slate Public Service Commission has the duty to present annually to the Governor of the State a report as to the work done by the Commission It shall be the duty of a Joint Commission to present annually to the Governor of each of the States the needs of which are served by the Joint Commission a report as to the work done by the Commission in relation to that State and in either case the Governor shall cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non- acceptance to be laid before the Legislature of the State

Ques 3 What are the constitutional provisions for the independence of the public serivce commission

Ans Being an important Constitutional authority with the duty to recruit for the higher echelons of the bureaucracy the Commission needs to be kept independent The Constitutional provisions in this regard are

bull appointment is beyond politics as President appoints bull Removal in certain circumstances is on the basis of the inquiry concluded by the Supreme

Court judge bull Salary etc and conditions of service can not be altered to their disadvantage after

appointment bull Expenses of the Commission including any salaries etc to the members or staff of the

Commission are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may be the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull There are restrictions on post-retirement engagement as mentioned above bull The annual report is presented to the President who causes to be tabled in the Parliament

explaining why certain recommendations are not accepted if they are not accepted

Recruitment Rules In accordance with the provisions contained in Article 320 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations 1953 Recruitment Rules of all Group lsquoArsquo and Group lsquo13rdquo posts in various MinistriesDepartments of Government of India are required to be framed in Consultation with the Commission Consultation with the Commission is also necessary for framingamending Recruitment Rules for certain categories of posts under the Employees State Insurance Corporation The Delhi Municipal Corporation The New Delhi Municipal Council Employees Provident Fund Organisation etc under the relevant Acts made by Parliament in pursuance of the provisions of Article 321

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 The Chairman and other members of a Public Service commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

2 As nearly a one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission Should be Persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of State

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Chairmen or any other member of a Public Service Commission Shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

2 A member of a Union Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of Six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

3 Which of the following expenditure are charged on the consolidated fund of India

1 Salaries of the Supreme Court Judges

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 9: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

VARIOUS PROGRAMMES OF INDIA

bull IndiarsquosNuclear Programme bull IndiarsquosDefence Programme bull Indiarsquos Space Programme bull Science and Technological Development in India

UNIVERSE

bull Universe

SCIENCE amp TECHNOLOGY bull Science and Technology in India Policy Planning bull Space Research bull Atomic Research bull Defence Research bull Oceanographic and Antartic Research bull Biotechnology bull Information Technology bull Health Sector bull Laser bull Super Conductivity bull InternetComputer Glossary

CURRENT AFFAIRS 1 National

bull Constitutional Watch bull Governmentrsquos Plan Programme Policiesamp New Initiatives bull Political News

2 International

3 India ampThe World

4Science amp Technology

bull Science amp Technology (Concept) bull Scienceamp Technology (Current)

5 Health

6 Economy 7 (i) Energy (Concept) (ii) Energy (Current)

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

8 Environment

bull Environment bull International Initiatives on Environment bull Environment National InitiativesampPollution ControlMeasures bull Environment Current

9 Awards

10 Sports

11 Railway Budget

12 Union Budget

Multiple Choice Questions

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

FOR HELP CALL 011 45151781

Payment Options

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

POLITY

Public Service Commission

Ques 1 Give an account of the Public Service Commission

Ans

Union Public Service Commission State Public Service Commission Joint Public Service Commission The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a Constitutional body in India authorized to conduct examinations for appointment to the various civil services of the Union The Indian Constitution (Part XIV - Services under the Union and the states- Articles 315-323) provides for a Public Service Commission for the Union and a Public Service Commission for each state There can be a Commission for two or more states

The first Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 by the then British Indian Government

Constitutional Provisions Related to Public Service Commission Art 315 says that there shall be Public Service Commissions for the Union and for the States The Union Public Service Commission if requested by the Government of a State may with the approval of the President agree to serve all or any of the needs of the State

Joint Public Service Commission Two or more States may agree that there shall be one Public Service Commission for that group of States and if a resolution to that effect is passed by the House or where there are two Houses by each House of the Legislature of each of those States Parliament may by law provide for the appointment of a Joint State Public Service Commission (referred to as Joint Commission) to serve the needs of those States

Chairman and Members The Chairman and other members of a Public Service Commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

Sample Materials of Our Online Coaching

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

As nearly as one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission shall be persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Vacancy and Absence If the office of the Chairman of the Commission becomes vacant or if any such Chairman is by reason of absence or for any other reason unable to perform the duties of his office those duties shall until some person appointed to the vacant office has entered on the duties or as the case may be until the Chairman has resumed his duties be performed by such one of the other members of the Commission as the President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission amid the Governor of the State in the case of a State Commission may appoint for the purpose

A member of a Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until lie attains in the case of the Union Commission the age of sixty-five years and in the case of a State Commission or a Joint Commission the age of sixty-two years whichever is earlier

A member of a Public Service Commission may by writing under his hand addressed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission to the President and in the case of a State Commission to the Governor of the State resign his office

A person who holds office as a member of a Public Service Commission shall on the expiration of his term of office be ineligible for reappointment to that office

Removal Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

Misbehiviour is if the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission is interested in any contract related to Government or participates in any way in the profit thereof or in any benefit or emolument arising from it otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company the member is considered to be guilty of misbehaviour

Suspension The President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission and the Governor in the case of a State Commission may suspend from office the Chairman or any other member of the Commission in respect of whom a reference has been made to the Supreme Court until the President has passed orders on receipt of the report of the Supreme Court on such reference

In the following cases the President may by order remove from office the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission

bull is adjudged an insolvent or

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull engages during his term of office in any paid employment outside the duties of his office or bull is in the opinion of the President unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or

body

Strength of the Commission In the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission the President and in the case of a State Commission the Governor of the State fixes

bull the number of members of the Commission and bull their conditions of service

Conditions of service of a member of a Public Service Commission can not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment

After Retirement Resignation or Removal On ceasing to hold office by way of retirement resignation or removal

bull the Chairman ofrsquo the Union Public Service Commission shall be ineligible for further employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of that or any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Ques 2 Write a short notes on the Functions of Public Service Commissions

Ans It is the duty of the Union and the State Public Service Commissions to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union and the services of the State respectively

It shall also be the duty of the Union Public Service Commission if requested by any two or more States so to do to assist those States in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for any services for which candidates possession special qualifications are required

To be consulted The Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission as the Case may be shall be consulted

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull on all matters relating to methods of recruitment to civil services and for civil posts bull on the principles to be followed in making appointments to civil services and posts and in

making promotions and transfers from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointments promotions or transfers

bull on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a state in a civil capacity

bull on any claim by or in respect of a person who is serving or has served under the Government of India or the Government of a Slate or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity that any costs incurred by him in defending legal proceedings

bull instituted against him in respect of acts done or purporting to be done in the execution of his duty should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may he out of the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull on any claim for the award of a pension in respect of injuries sustained by a person while serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity and any question as to the amount of any such award and

bull it shall be the duty of a Public Service Commission to advise on any matter so referred to them and on any other matter which the President or as the case may be the Governor of the State may refer to them

The President for all-India services and Central services and the Governor for State Services can exempt matters on which Public Service Commission need not be consulted Public Service Commission need not be consulted with regard to Article-16 reservation in public employment or Art 335 striking balance between reservation and administrative efficiency

All regulations made by the President or the Governor of State shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before each House of Parliament or the House or each House of the Legislature of the State as the case may be as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modification whether by way of repeal or amendment as both Houses of Parliament or the house or both Houses of the Legislature of the State may make during the session in which they are so laid

An Act made by Parliament or as the case may be the legislature of State may impose additional functions on the Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission towards

bull any local authority or bull other body corporate (public sector unit) or bull any public institution

In short the functions are

Functions of the UPSC are to conduct examinations for appointment to the services of the Union

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Union through conduct of competitive examinations

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Central Government by selection through Interviews

bull Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on-deputation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Advising the Government on all matter relating to methods of Recruitment to various

services and posts bull Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services and bull Miscellaneous matters relating to grant to extra ordinary pensions reimbursement of legal

expenses etc

Annual Report Constitution imposes on the UPSC the duty to present annually to the President a report about the work done by the Commission The President shall cause a copy of it together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non-aceptance to be laid before each house of Parliament Similarly the Slate Public Service Commission has the duty to present annually to the Governor of the State a report as to the work done by the Commission It shall be the duty of a Joint Commission to present annually to the Governor of each of the States the needs of which are served by the Joint Commission a report as to the work done by the Commission in relation to that State and in either case the Governor shall cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non- acceptance to be laid before the Legislature of the State

Ques 3 What are the constitutional provisions for the independence of the public serivce commission

Ans Being an important Constitutional authority with the duty to recruit for the higher echelons of the bureaucracy the Commission needs to be kept independent The Constitutional provisions in this regard are

bull appointment is beyond politics as President appoints bull Removal in certain circumstances is on the basis of the inquiry concluded by the Supreme

Court judge bull Salary etc and conditions of service can not be altered to their disadvantage after

appointment bull Expenses of the Commission including any salaries etc to the members or staff of the

Commission are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may be the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull There are restrictions on post-retirement engagement as mentioned above bull The annual report is presented to the President who causes to be tabled in the Parliament

explaining why certain recommendations are not accepted if they are not accepted

Recruitment Rules In accordance with the provisions contained in Article 320 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations 1953 Recruitment Rules of all Group lsquoArsquo and Group lsquo13rdquo posts in various MinistriesDepartments of Government of India are required to be framed in Consultation with the Commission Consultation with the Commission is also necessary for framingamending Recruitment Rules for certain categories of posts under the Employees State Insurance Corporation The Delhi Municipal Corporation The New Delhi Municipal Council Employees Provident Fund Organisation etc under the relevant Acts made by Parliament in pursuance of the provisions of Article 321

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 The Chairman and other members of a Public Service commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

2 As nearly a one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission Should be Persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of State

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Chairmen or any other member of a Public Service Commission Shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

2 A member of a Union Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of Six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

3 Which of the following expenditure are charged on the consolidated fund of India

1 Salaries of the Supreme Court Judges

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 10: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

8 Environment

bull Environment bull International Initiatives on Environment bull Environment National InitiativesampPollution ControlMeasures bull Environment Current

9 Awards

10 Sports

11 Railway Budget

12 Union Budget

Multiple Choice Questions

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

FOR HELP CALL 011 45151781

Payment Options

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

POLITY

Public Service Commission

Ques 1 Give an account of the Public Service Commission

Ans

Union Public Service Commission State Public Service Commission Joint Public Service Commission The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a Constitutional body in India authorized to conduct examinations for appointment to the various civil services of the Union The Indian Constitution (Part XIV - Services under the Union and the states- Articles 315-323) provides for a Public Service Commission for the Union and a Public Service Commission for each state There can be a Commission for two or more states

The first Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 by the then British Indian Government

Constitutional Provisions Related to Public Service Commission Art 315 says that there shall be Public Service Commissions for the Union and for the States The Union Public Service Commission if requested by the Government of a State may with the approval of the President agree to serve all or any of the needs of the State

Joint Public Service Commission Two or more States may agree that there shall be one Public Service Commission for that group of States and if a resolution to that effect is passed by the House or where there are two Houses by each House of the Legislature of each of those States Parliament may by law provide for the appointment of a Joint State Public Service Commission (referred to as Joint Commission) to serve the needs of those States

Chairman and Members The Chairman and other members of a Public Service Commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

Sample Materials of Our Online Coaching

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

As nearly as one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission shall be persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Vacancy and Absence If the office of the Chairman of the Commission becomes vacant or if any such Chairman is by reason of absence or for any other reason unable to perform the duties of his office those duties shall until some person appointed to the vacant office has entered on the duties or as the case may be until the Chairman has resumed his duties be performed by such one of the other members of the Commission as the President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission amid the Governor of the State in the case of a State Commission may appoint for the purpose

A member of a Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until lie attains in the case of the Union Commission the age of sixty-five years and in the case of a State Commission or a Joint Commission the age of sixty-two years whichever is earlier

A member of a Public Service Commission may by writing under his hand addressed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission to the President and in the case of a State Commission to the Governor of the State resign his office

A person who holds office as a member of a Public Service Commission shall on the expiration of his term of office be ineligible for reappointment to that office

Removal Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

Misbehiviour is if the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission is interested in any contract related to Government or participates in any way in the profit thereof or in any benefit or emolument arising from it otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company the member is considered to be guilty of misbehaviour

Suspension The President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission and the Governor in the case of a State Commission may suspend from office the Chairman or any other member of the Commission in respect of whom a reference has been made to the Supreme Court until the President has passed orders on receipt of the report of the Supreme Court on such reference

In the following cases the President may by order remove from office the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission

bull is adjudged an insolvent or

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull engages during his term of office in any paid employment outside the duties of his office or bull is in the opinion of the President unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or

body

Strength of the Commission In the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission the President and in the case of a State Commission the Governor of the State fixes

bull the number of members of the Commission and bull their conditions of service

Conditions of service of a member of a Public Service Commission can not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment

After Retirement Resignation or Removal On ceasing to hold office by way of retirement resignation or removal

bull the Chairman ofrsquo the Union Public Service Commission shall be ineligible for further employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of that or any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Ques 2 Write a short notes on the Functions of Public Service Commissions

Ans It is the duty of the Union and the State Public Service Commissions to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union and the services of the State respectively

It shall also be the duty of the Union Public Service Commission if requested by any two or more States so to do to assist those States in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for any services for which candidates possession special qualifications are required

To be consulted The Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission as the Case may be shall be consulted

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull on all matters relating to methods of recruitment to civil services and for civil posts bull on the principles to be followed in making appointments to civil services and posts and in

making promotions and transfers from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointments promotions or transfers

bull on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a state in a civil capacity

bull on any claim by or in respect of a person who is serving or has served under the Government of India or the Government of a Slate or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity that any costs incurred by him in defending legal proceedings

bull instituted against him in respect of acts done or purporting to be done in the execution of his duty should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may he out of the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull on any claim for the award of a pension in respect of injuries sustained by a person while serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity and any question as to the amount of any such award and

bull it shall be the duty of a Public Service Commission to advise on any matter so referred to them and on any other matter which the President or as the case may be the Governor of the State may refer to them

The President for all-India services and Central services and the Governor for State Services can exempt matters on which Public Service Commission need not be consulted Public Service Commission need not be consulted with regard to Article-16 reservation in public employment or Art 335 striking balance between reservation and administrative efficiency

All regulations made by the President or the Governor of State shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before each House of Parliament or the House or each House of the Legislature of the State as the case may be as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modification whether by way of repeal or amendment as both Houses of Parliament or the house or both Houses of the Legislature of the State may make during the session in which they are so laid

An Act made by Parliament or as the case may be the legislature of State may impose additional functions on the Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission towards

bull any local authority or bull other body corporate (public sector unit) or bull any public institution

In short the functions are

Functions of the UPSC are to conduct examinations for appointment to the services of the Union

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Union through conduct of competitive examinations

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Central Government by selection through Interviews

bull Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on-deputation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Advising the Government on all matter relating to methods of Recruitment to various

services and posts bull Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services and bull Miscellaneous matters relating to grant to extra ordinary pensions reimbursement of legal

expenses etc

Annual Report Constitution imposes on the UPSC the duty to present annually to the President a report about the work done by the Commission The President shall cause a copy of it together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non-aceptance to be laid before each house of Parliament Similarly the Slate Public Service Commission has the duty to present annually to the Governor of the State a report as to the work done by the Commission It shall be the duty of a Joint Commission to present annually to the Governor of each of the States the needs of which are served by the Joint Commission a report as to the work done by the Commission in relation to that State and in either case the Governor shall cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non- acceptance to be laid before the Legislature of the State

Ques 3 What are the constitutional provisions for the independence of the public serivce commission

Ans Being an important Constitutional authority with the duty to recruit for the higher echelons of the bureaucracy the Commission needs to be kept independent The Constitutional provisions in this regard are

bull appointment is beyond politics as President appoints bull Removal in certain circumstances is on the basis of the inquiry concluded by the Supreme

Court judge bull Salary etc and conditions of service can not be altered to their disadvantage after

appointment bull Expenses of the Commission including any salaries etc to the members or staff of the

Commission are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may be the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull There are restrictions on post-retirement engagement as mentioned above bull The annual report is presented to the President who causes to be tabled in the Parliament

explaining why certain recommendations are not accepted if they are not accepted

Recruitment Rules In accordance with the provisions contained in Article 320 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations 1953 Recruitment Rules of all Group lsquoArsquo and Group lsquo13rdquo posts in various MinistriesDepartments of Government of India are required to be framed in Consultation with the Commission Consultation with the Commission is also necessary for framingamending Recruitment Rules for certain categories of posts under the Employees State Insurance Corporation The Delhi Municipal Corporation The New Delhi Municipal Council Employees Provident Fund Organisation etc under the relevant Acts made by Parliament in pursuance of the provisions of Article 321

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 The Chairman and other members of a Public Service commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

2 As nearly a one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission Should be Persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of State

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Chairmen or any other member of a Public Service Commission Shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

2 A member of a Union Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of Six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

3 Which of the following expenditure are charged on the consolidated fund of India

1 Salaries of the Supreme Court Judges

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 11: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

FOR HELP CALL 011 45151781

Payment Options

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

POLITY

Public Service Commission

Ques 1 Give an account of the Public Service Commission

Ans

Union Public Service Commission State Public Service Commission Joint Public Service Commission The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a Constitutional body in India authorized to conduct examinations for appointment to the various civil services of the Union The Indian Constitution (Part XIV - Services under the Union and the states- Articles 315-323) provides for a Public Service Commission for the Union and a Public Service Commission for each state There can be a Commission for two or more states

The first Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 by the then British Indian Government

Constitutional Provisions Related to Public Service Commission Art 315 says that there shall be Public Service Commissions for the Union and for the States The Union Public Service Commission if requested by the Government of a State may with the approval of the President agree to serve all or any of the needs of the State

Joint Public Service Commission Two or more States may agree that there shall be one Public Service Commission for that group of States and if a resolution to that effect is passed by the House or where there are two Houses by each House of the Legislature of each of those States Parliament may by law provide for the appointment of a Joint State Public Service Commission (referred to as Joint Commission) to serve the needs of those States

Chairman and Members The Chairman and other members of a Public Service Commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

Sample Materials of Our Online Coaching

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

As nearly as one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission shall be persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Vacancy and Absence If the office of the Chairman of the Commission becomes vacant or if any such Chairman is by reason of absence or for any other reason unable to perform the duties of his office those duties shall until some person appointed to the vacant office has entered on the duties or as the case may be until the Chairman has resumed his duties be performed by such one of the other members of the Commission as the President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission amid the Governor of the State in the case of a State Commission may appoint for the purpose

A member of a Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until lie attains in the case of the Union Commission the age of sixty-five years and in the case of a State Commission or a Joint Commission the age of sixty-two years whichever is earlier

A member of a Public Service Commission may by writing under his hand addressed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission to the President and in the case of a State Commission to the Governor of the State resign his office

A person who holds office as a member of a Public Service Commission shall on the expiration of his term of office be ineligible for reappointment to that office

Removal Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

Misbehiviour is if the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission is interested in any contract related to Government or participates in any way in the profit thereof or in any benefit or emolument arising from it otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company the member is considered to be guilty of misbehaviour

Suspension The President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission and the Governor in the case of a State Commission may suspend from office the Chairman or any other member of the Commission in respect of whom a reference has been made to the Supreme Court until the President has passed orders on receipt of the report of the Supreme Court on such reference

In the following cases the President may by order remove from office the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission

bull is adjudged an insolvent or

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull engages during his term of office in any paid employment outside the duties of his office or bull is in the opinion of the President unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or

body

Strength of the Commission In the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission the President and in the case of a State Commission the Governor of the State fixes

bull the number of members of the Commission and bull their conditions of service

Conditions of service of a member of a Public Service Commission can not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment

After Retirement Resignation or Removal On ceasing to hold office by way of retirement resignation or removal

bull the Chairman ofrsquo the Union Public Service Commission shall be ineligible for further employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of that or any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Ques 2 Write a short notes on the Functions of Public Service Commissions

Ans It is the duty of the Union and the State Public Service Commissions to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union and the services of the State respectively

It shall also be the duty of the Union Public Service Commission if requested by any two or more States so to do to assist those States in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for any services for which candidates possession special qualifications are required

To be consulted The Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission as the Case may be shall be consulted

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull on all matters relating to methods of recruitment to civil services and for civil posts bull on the principles to be followed in making appointments to civil services and posts and in

making promotions and transfers from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointments promotions or transfers

bull on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a state in a civil capacity

bull on any claim by or in respect of a person who is serving or has served under the Government of India or the Government of a Slate or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity that any costs incurred by him in defending legal proceedings

bull instituted against him in respect of acts done or purporting to be done in the execution of his duty should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may he out of the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull on any claim for the award of a pension in respect of injuries sustained by a person while serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity and any question as to the amount of any such award and

bull it shall be the duty of a Public Service Commission to advise on any matter so referred to them and on any other matter which the President or as the case may be the Governor of the State may refer to them

The President for all-India services and Central services and the Governor for State Services can exempt matters on which Public Service Commission need not be consulted Public Service Commission need not be consulted with regard to Article-16 reservation in public employment or Art 335 striking balance between reservation and administrative efficiency

All regulations made by the President or the Governor of State shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before each House of Parliament or the House or each House of the Legislature of the State as the case may be as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modification whether by way of repeal or amendment as both Houses of Parliament or the house or both Houses of the Legislature of the State may make during the session in which they are so laid

An Act made by Parliament or as the case may be the legislature of State may impose additional functions on the Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission towards

bull any local authority or bull other body corporate (public sector unit) or bull any public institution

In short the functions are

Functions of the UPSC are to conduct examinations for appointment to the services of the Union

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Union through conduct of competitive examinations

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Central Government by selection through Interviews

bull Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on-deputation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Advising the Government on all matter relating to methods of Recruitment to various

services and posts bull Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services and bull Miscellaneous matters relating to grant to extra ordinary pensions reimbursement of legal

expenses etc

Annual Report Constitution imposes on the UPSC the duty to present annually to the President a report about the work done by the Commission The President shall cause a copy of it together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non-aceptance to be laid before each house of Parliament Similarly the Slate Public Service Commission has the duty to present annually to the Governor of the State a report as to the work done by the Commission It shall be the duty of a Joint Commission to present annually to the Governor of each of the States the needs of which are served by the Joint Commission a report as to the work done by the Commission in relation to that State and in either case the Governor shall cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non- acceptance to be laid before the Legislature of the State

Ques 3 What are the constitutional provisions for the independence of the public serivce commission

Ans Being an important Constitutional authority with the duty to recruit for the higher echelons of the bureaucracy the Commission needs to be kept independent The Constitutional provisions in this regard are

bull appointment is beyond politics as President appoints bull Removal in certain circumstances is on the basis of the inquiry concluded by the Supreme

Court judge bull Salary etc and conditions of service can not be altered to their disadvantage after

appointment bull Expenses of the Commission including any salaries etc to the members or staff of the

Commission are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may be the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull There are restrictions on post-retirement engagement as mentioned above bull The annual report is presented to the President who causes to be tabled in the Parliament

explaining why certain recommendations are not accepted if they are not accepted

Recruitment Rules In accordance with the provisions contained in Article 320 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations 1953 Recruitment Rules of all Group lsquoArsquo and Group lsquo13rdquo posts in various MinistriesDepartments of Government of India are required to be framed in Consultation with the Commission Consultation with the Commission is also necessary for framingamending Recruitment Rules for certain categories of posts under the Employees State Insurance Corporation The Delhi Municipal Corporation The New Delhi Municipal Council Employees Provident Fund Organisation etc under the relevant Acts made by Parliament in pursuance of the provisions of Article 321

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 The Chairman and other members of a Public Service commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

2 As nearly a one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission Should be Persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of State

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Chairmen or any other member of a Public Service Commission Shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

2 A member of a Union Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of Six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

3 Which of the following expenditure are charged on the consolidated fund of India

1 Salaries of the Supreme Court Judges

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 12: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

POLITY

Public Service Commission

Ques 1 Give an account of the Public Service Commission

Ans

Union Public Service Commission State Public Service Commission Joint Public Service Commission The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a Constitutional body in India authorized to conduct examinations for appointment to the various civil services of the Union The Indian Constitution (Part XIV - Services under the Union and the states- Articles 315-323) provides for a Public Service Commission for the Union and a Public Service Commission for each state There can be a Commission for two or more states

The first Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 by the then British Indian Government

Constitutional Provisions Related to Public Service Commission Art 315 says that there shall be Public Service Commissions for the Union and for the States The Union Public Service Commission if requested by the Government of a State may with the approval of the President agree to serve all or any of the needs of the State

Joint Public Service Commission Two or more States may agree that there shall be one Public Service Commission for that group of States and if a resolution to that effect is passed by the House or where there are two Houses by each House of the Legislature of each of those States Parliament may by law provide for the appointment of a Joint State Public Service Commission (referred to as Joint Commission) to serve the needs of those States

Chairman and Members The Chairman and other members of a Public Service Commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

Sample Materials of Our Online Coaching

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

As nearly as one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission shall be persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Vacancy and Absence If the office of the Chairman of the Commission becomes vacant or if any such Chairman is by reason of absence or for any other reason unable to perform the duties of his office those duties shall until some person appointed to the vacant office has entered on the duties or as the case may be until the Chairman has resumed his duties be performed by such one of the other members of the Commission as the President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission amid the Governor of the State in the case of a State Commission may appoint for the purpose

A member of a Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until lie attains in the case of the Union Commission the age of sixty-five years and in the case of a State Commission or a Joint Commission the age of sixty-two years whichever is earlier

A member of a Public Service Commission may by writing under his hand addressed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission to the President and in the case of a State Commission to the Governor of the State resign his office

A person who holds office as a member of a Public Service Commission shall on the expiration of his term of office be ineligible for reappointment to that office

Removal Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

Misbehiviour is if the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission is interested in any contract related to Government or participates in any way in the profit thereof or in any benefit or emolument arising from it otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company the member is considered to be guilty of misbehaviour

Suspension The President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission and the Governor in the case of a State Commission may suspend from office the Chairman or any other member of the Commission in respect of whom a reference has been made to the Supreme Court until the President has passed orders on receipt of the report of the Supreme Court on such reference

In the following cases the President may by order remove from office the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission

bull is adjudged an insolvent or

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull engages during his term of office in any paid employment outside the duties of his office or bull is in the opinion of the President unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or

body

Strength of the Commission In the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission the President and in the case of a State Commission the Governor of the State fixes

bull the number of members of the Commission and bull their conditions of service

Conditions of service of a member of a Public Service Commission can not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment

After Retirement Resignation or Removal On ceasing to hold office by way of retirement resignation or removal

bull the Chairman ofrsquo the Union Public Service Commission shall be ineligible for further employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of that or any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Ques 2 Write a short notes on the Functions of Public Service Commissions

Ans It is the duty of the Union and the State Public Service Commissions to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union and the services of the State respectively

It shall also be the duty of the Union Public Service Commission if requested by any two or more States so to do to assist those States in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for any services for which candidates possession special qualifications are required

To be consulted The Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission as the Case may be shall be consulted

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull on all matters relating to methods of recruitment to civil services and for civil posts bull on the principles to be followed in making appointments to civil services and posts and in

making promotions and transfers from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointments promotions or transfers

bull on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a state in a civil capacity

bull on any claim by or in respect of a person who is serving or has served under the Government of India or the Government of a Slate or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity that any costs incurred by him in defending legal proceedings

bull instituted against him in respect of acts done or purporting to be done in the execution of his duty should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may he out of the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull on any claim for the award of a pension in respect of injuries sustained by a person while serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity and any question as to the amount of any such award and

bull it shall be the duty of a Public Service Commission to advise on any matter so referred to them and on any other matter which the President or as the case may be the Governor of the State may refer to them

The President for all-India services and Central services and the Governor for State Services can exempt matters on which Public Service Commission need not be consulted Public Service Commission need not be consulted with regard to Article-16 reservation in public employment or Art 335 striking balance between reservation and administrative efficiency

All regulations made by the President or the Governor of State shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before each House of Parliament or the House or each House of the Legislature of the State as the case may be as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modification whether by way of repeal or amendment as both Houses of Parliament or the house or both Houses of the Legislature of the State may make during the session in which they are so laid

An Act made by Parliament or as the case may be the legislature of State may impose additional functions on the Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission towards

bull any local authority or bull other body corporate (public sector unit) or bull any public institution

In short the functions are

Functions of the UPSC are to conduct examinations for appointment to the services of the Union

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Union through conduct of competitive examinations

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Central Government by selection through Interviews

bull Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on-deputation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Advising the Government on all matter relating to methods of Recruitment to various

services and posts bull Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services and bull Miscellaneous matters relating to grant to extra ordinary pensions reimbursement of legal

expenses etc

Annual Report Constitution imposes on the UPSC the duty to present annually to the President a report about the work done by the Commission The President shall cause a copy of it together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non-aceptance to be laid before each house of Parliament Similarly the Slate Public Service Commission has the duty to present annually to the Governor of the State a report as to the work done by the Commission It shall be the duty of a Joint Commission to present annually to the Governor of each of the States the needs of which are served by the Joint Commission a report as to the work done by the Commission in relation to that State and in either case the Governor shall cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non- acceptance to be laid before the Legislature of the State

Ques 3 What are the constitutional provisions for the independence of the public serivce commission

Ans Being an important Constitutional authority with the duty to recruit for the higher echelons of the bureaucracy the Commission needs to be kept independent The Constitutional provisions in this regard are

bull appointment is beyond politics as President appoints bull Removal in certain circumstances is on the basis of the inquiry concluded by the Supreme

Court judge bull Salary etc and conditions of service can not be altered to their disadvantage after

appointment bull Expenses of the Commission including any salaries etc to the members or staff of the

Commission are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may be the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull There are restrictions on post-retirement engagement as mentioned above bull The annual report is presented to the President who causes to be tabled in the Parliament

explaining why certain recommendations are not accepted if they are not accepted

Recruitment Rules In accordance with the provisions contained in Article 320 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations 1953 Recruitment Rules of all Group lsquoArsquo and Group lsquo13rdquo posts in various MinistriesDepartments of Government of India are required to be framed in Consultation with the Commission Consultation with the Commission is also necessary for framingamending Recruitment Rules for certain categories of posts under the Employees State Insurance Corporation The Delhi Municipal Corporation The New Delhi Municipal Council Employees Provident Fund Organisation etc under the relevant Acts made by Parliament in pursuance of the provisions of Article 321

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 The Chairman and other members of a Public Service commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

2 As nearly a one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission Should be Persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of State

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Chairmen or any other member of a Public Service Commission Shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

2 A member of a Union Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of Six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

3 Which of the following expenditure are charged on the consolidated fund of India

1 Salaries of the Supreme Court Judges

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 13: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

As nearly as one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission shall be persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Vacancy and Absence If the office of the Chairman of the Commission becomes vacant or if any such Chairman is by reason of absence or for any other reason unable to perform the duties of his office those duties shall until some person appointed to the vacant office has entered on the duties or as the case may be until the Chairman has resumed his duties be performed by such one of the other members of the Commission as the President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission amid the Governor of the State in the case of a State Commission may appoint for the purpose

A member of a Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until lie attains in the case of the Union Commission the age of sixty-five years and in the case of a State Commission or a Joint Commission the age of sixty-two years whichever is earlier

A member of a Public Service Commission may by writing under his hand addressed in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission to the President and in the case of a State Commission to the Governor of the State resign his office

A person who holds office as a member of a Public Service Commission shall on the expiration of his term of office be ineligible for reappointment to that office

Removal Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

Misbehiviour is if the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission is interested in any contract related to Government or participates in any way in the profit thereof or in any benefit or emolument arising from it otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company the member is considered to be guilty of misbehaviour

Suspension The President in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission and the Governor in the case of a State Commission may suspend from office the Chairman or any other member of the Commission in respect of whom a reference has been made to the Supreme Court until the President has passed orders on receipt of the report of the Supreme Court on such reference

In the following cases the President may by order remove from office the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission

bull is adjudged an insolvent or

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull engages during his term of office in any paid employment outside the duties of his office or bull is in the opinion of the President unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or

body

Strength of the Commission In the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission the President and in the case of a State Commission the Governor of the State fixes

bull the number of members of the Commission and bull their conditions of service

Conditions of service of a member of a Public Service Commission can not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment

After Retirement Resignation or Removal On ceasing to hold office by way of retirement resignation or removal

bull the Chairman ofrsquo the Union Public Service Commission shall be ineligible for further employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of that or any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Ques 2 Write a short notes on the Functions of Public Service Commissions

Ans It is the duty of the Union and the State Public Service Commissions to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union and the services of the State respectively

It shall also be the duty of the Union Public Service Commission if requested by any two or more States so to do to assist those States in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for any services for which candidates possession special qualifications are required

To be consulted The Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission as the Case may be shall be consulted

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull on all matters relating to methods of recruitment to civil services and for civil posts bull on the principles to be followed in making appointments to civil services and posts and in

making promotions and transfers from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointments promotions or transfers

bull on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a state in a civil capacity

bull on any claim by or in respect of a person who is serving or has served under the Government of India or the Government of a Slate or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity that any costs incurred by him in defending legal proceedings

bull instituted against him in respect of acts done or purporting to be done in the execution of his duty should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may he out of the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull on any claim for the award of a pension in respect of injuries sustained by a person while serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity and any question as to the amount of any such award and

bull it shall be the duty of a Public Service Commission to advise on any matter so referred to them and on any other matter which the President or as the case may be the Governor of the State may refer to them

The President for all-India services and Central services and the Governor for State Services can exempt matters on which Public Service Commission need not be consulted Public Service Commission need not be consulted with regard to Article-16 reservation in public employment or Art 335 striking balance between reservation and administrative efficiency

All regulations made by the President or the Governor of State shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before each House of Parliament or the House or each House of the Legislature of the State as the case may be as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modification whether by way of repeal or amendment as both Houses of Parliament or the house or both Houses of the Legislature of the State may make during the session in which they are so laid

An Act made by Parliament or as the case may be the legislature of State may impose additional functions on the Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission towards

bull any local authority or bull other body corporate (public sector unit) or bull any public institution

In short the functions are

Functions of the UPSC are to conduct examinations for appointment to the services of the Union

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Union through conduct of competitive examinations

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Central Government by selection through Interviews

bull Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on-deputation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Advising the Government on all matter relating to methods of Recruitment to various

services and posts bull Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services and bull Miscellaneous matters relating to grant to extra ordinary pensions reimbursement of legal

expenses etc

Annual Report Constitution imposes on the UPSC the duty to present annually to the President a report about the work done by the Commission The President shall cause a copy of it together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non-aceptance to be laid before each house of Parliament Similarly the Slate Public Service Commission has the duty to present annually to the Governor of the State a report as to the work done by the Commission It shall be the duty of a Joint Commission to present annually to the Governor of each of the States the needs of which are served by the Joint Commission a report as to the work done by the Commission in relation to that State and in either case the Governor shall cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non- acceptance to be laid before the Legislature of the State

Ques 3 What are the constitutional provisions for the independence of the public serivce commission

Ans Being an important Constitutional authority with the duty to recruit for the higher echelons of the bureaucracy the Commission needs to be kept independent The Constitutional provisions in this regard are

bull appointment is beyond politics as President appoints bull Removal in certain circumstances is on the basis of the inquiry concluded by the Supreme

Court judge bull Salary etc and conditions of service can not be altered to their disadvantage after

appointment bull Expenses of the Commission including any salaries etc to the members or staff of the

Commission are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may be the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull There are restrictions on post-retirement engagement as mentioned above bull The annual report is presented to the President who causes to be tabled in the Parliament

explaining why certain recommendations are not accepted if they are not accepted

Recruitment Rules In accordance with the provisions contained in Article 320 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations 1953 Recruitment Rules of all Group lsquoArsquo and Group lsquo13rdquo posts in various MinistriesDepartments of Government of India are required to be framed in Consultation with the Commission Consultation with the Commission is also necessary for framingamending Recruitment Rules for certain categories of posts under the Employees State Insurance Corporation The Delhi Municipal Corporation The New Delhi Municipal Council Employees Provident Fund Organisation etc under the relevant Acts made by Parliament in pursuance of the provisions of Article 321

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 The Chairman and other members of a Public Service commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

2 As nearly a one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission Should be Persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of State

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Chairmen or any other member of a Public Service Commission Shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

2 A member of a Union Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of Six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

3 Which of the following expenditure are charged on the consolidated fund of India

1 Salaries of the Supreme Court Judges

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 14: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

bull engages during his term of office in any paid employment outside the duties of his office or bull is in the opinion of the President unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or

body

Strength of the Commission In the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission the President and in the case of a State Commission the Governor of the State fixes

bull the number of members of the Commission and bull their conditions of service

Conditions of service of a member of a Public Service Commission can not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment

After Retirement Resignation or Removal On ceasing to hold office by way of retirement resignation or removal

bull the Chairman ofrsquo the Union Public Service Commission shall be ineligible for further employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

bull a member other than the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the Chairman of that or any other State Public Service Commission but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State

Ques 2 Write a short notes on the Functions of Public Service Commissions

Ans It is the duty of the Union and the State Public Service Commissions to conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the Union and the services of the State respectively

It shall also be the duty of the Union Public Service Commission if requested by any two or more States so to do to assist those States in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for any services for which candidates possession special qualifications are required

To be consulted The Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission as the Case may be shall be consulted

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull on all matters relating to methods of recruitment to civil services and for civil posts bull on the principles to be followed in making appointments to civil services and posts and in

making promotions and transfers from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointments promotions or transfers

bull on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a state in a civil capacity

bull on any claim by or in respect of a person who is serving or has served under the Government of India or the Government of a Slate or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity that any costs incurred by him in defending legal proceedings

bull instituted against him in respect of acts done or purporting to be done in the execution of his duty should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may he out of the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull on any claim for the award of a pension in respect of injuries sustained by a person while serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity and any question as to the amount of any such award and

bull it shall be the duty of a Public Service Commission to advise on any matter so referred to them and on any other matter which the President or as the case may be the Governor of the State may refer to them

The President for all-India services and Central services and the Governor for State Services can exempt matters on which Public Service Commission need not be consulted Public Service Commission need not be consulted with regard to Article-16 reservation in public employment or Art 335 striking balance between reservation and administrative efficiency

All regulations made by the President or the Governor of State shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before each House of Parliament or the House or each House of the Legislature of the State as the case may be as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modification whether by way of repeal or amendment as both Houses of Parliament or the house or both Houses of the Legislature of the State may make during the session in which they are so laid

An Act made by Parliament or as the case may be the legislature of State may impose additional functions on the Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission towards

bull any local authority or bull other body corporate (public sector unit) or bull any public institution

In short the functions are

Functions of the UPSC are to conduct examinations for appointment to the services of the Union

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Union through conduct of competitive examinations

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Central Government by selection through Interviews

bull Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on-deputation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Advising the Government on all matter relating to methods of Recruitment to various

services and posts bull Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services and bull Miscellaneous matters relating to grant to extra ordinary pensions reimbursement of legal

expenses etc

Annual Report Constitution imposes on the UPSC the duty to present annually to the President a report about the work done by the Commission The President shall cause a copy of it together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non-aceptance to be laid before each house of Parliament Similarly the Slate Public Service Commission has the duty to present annually to the Governor of the State a report as to the work done by the Commission It shall be the duty of a Joint Commission to present annually to the Governor of each of the States the needs of which are served by the Joint Commission a report as to the work done by the Commission in relation to that State and in either case the Governor shall cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non- acceptance to be laid before the Legislature of the State

Ques 3 What are the constitutional provisions for the independence of the public serivce commission

Ans Being an important Constitutional authority with the duty to recruit for the higher echelons of the bureaucracy the Commission needs to be kept independent The Constitutional provisions in this regard are

bull appointment is beyond politics as President appoints bull Removal in certain circumstances is on the basis of the inquiry concluded by the Supreme

Court judge bull Salary etc and conditions of service can not be altered to their disadvantage after

appointment bull Expenses of the Commission including any salaries etc to the members or staff of the

Commission are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may be the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull There are restrictions on post-retirement engagement as mentioned above bull The annual report is presented to the President who causes to be tabled in the Parliament

explaining why certain recommendations are not accepted if they are not accepted

Recruitment Rules In accordance with the provisions contained in Article 320 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations 1953 Recruitment Rules of all Group lsquoArsquo and Group lsquo13rdquo posts in various MinistriesDepartments of Government of India are required to be framed in Consultation with the Commission Consultation with the Commission is also necessary for framingamending Recruitment Rules for certain categories of posts under the Employees State Insurance Corporation The Delhi Municipal Corporation The New Delhi Municipal Council Employees Provident Fund Organisation etc under the relevant Acts made by Parliament in pursuance of the provisions of Article 321

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 The Chairman and other members of a Public Service commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

2 As nearly a one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission Should be Persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of State

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Chairmen or any other member of a Public Service Commission Shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

2 A member of a Union Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of Six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

3 Which of the following expenditure are charged on the consolidated fund of India

1 Salaries of the Supreme Court Judges

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 15: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

bull on all matters relating to methods of recruitment to civil services and for civil posts bull on the principles to be followed in making appointments to civil services and posts and in

making promotions and transfers from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointments promotions or transfers

bull on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a state in a civil capacity

bull on any claim by or in respect of a person who is serving or has served under the Government of India or the Government of a Slate or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity that any costs incurred by him in defending legal proceedings

bull instituted against him in respect of acts done or purporting to be done in the execution of his duty should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may he out of the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull on any claim for the award of a pension in respect of injuries sustained by a person while serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State or under the Crown in India or under the Government of an Indian State in a civil capacity and any question as to the amount of any such award and

bull it shall be the duty of a Public Service Commission to advise on any matter so referred to them and on any other matter which the President or as the case may be the Governor of the State may refer to them

The President for all-India services and Central services and the Governor for State Services can exempt matters on which Public Service Commission need not be consulted Public Service Commission need not be consulted with regard to Article-16 reservation in public employment or Art 335 striking balance between reservation and administrative efficiency

All regulations made by the President or the Governor of State shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before each House of Parliament or the House or each House of the Legislature of the State as the case may be as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modification whether by way of repeal or amendment as both Houses of Parliament or the house or both Houses of the Legislature of the State may make during the session in which they are so laid

An Act made by Parliament or as the case may be the legislature of State may impose additional functions on the Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission towards

bull any local authority or bull other body corporate (public sector unit) or bull any public institution

In short the functions are

Functions of the UPSC are to conduct examinations for appointment to the services of the Union

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Union through conduct of competitive examinations

bull Recruitment to services amp posts under the Central Government by selection through Interviews

bull Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on-deputation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Advising the Government on all matter relating to methods of Recruitment to various

services and posts bull Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services and bull Miscellaneous matters relating to grant to extra ordinary pensions reimbursement of legal

expenses etc

Annual Report Constitution imposes on the UPSC the duty to present annually to the President a report about the work done by the Commission The President shall cause a copy of it together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non-aceptance to be laid before each house of Parliament Similarly the Slate Public Service Commission has the duty to present annually to the Governor of the State a report as to the work done by the Commission It shall be the duty of a Joint Commission to present annually to the Governor of each of the States the needs of which are served by the Joint Commission a report as to the work done by the Commission in relation to that State and in either case the Governor shall cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non- acceptance to be laid before the Legislature of the State

Ques 3 What are the constitutional provisions for the independence of the public serivce commission

Ans Being an important Constitutional authority with the duty to recruit for the higher echelons of the bureaucracy the Commission needs to be kept independent The Constitutional provisions in this regard are

bull appointment is beyond politics as President appoints bull Removal in certain circumstances is on the basis of the inquiry concluded by the Supreme

Court judge bull Salary etc and conditions of service can not be altered to their disadvantage after

appointment bull Expenses of the Commission including any salaries etc to the members or staff of the

Commission are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may be the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull There are restrictions on post-retirement engagement as mentioned above bull The annual report is presented to the President who causes to be tabled in the Parliament

explaining why certain recommendations are not accepted if they are not accepted

Recruitment Rules In accordance with the provisions contained in Article 320 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations 1953 Recruitment Rules of all Group lsquoArsquo and Group lsquo13rdquo posts in various MinistriesDepartments of Government of India are required to be framed in Consultation with the Commission Consultation with the Commission is also necessary for framingamending Recruitment Rules for certain categories of posts under the Employees State Insurance Corporation The Delhi Municipal Corporation The New Delhi Municipal Council Employees Provident Fund Organisation etc under the relevant Acts made by Parliament in pursuance of the provisions of Article 321

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 The Chairman and other members of a Public Service commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

2 As nearly a one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission Should be Persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of State

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Chairmen or any other member of a Public Service Commission Shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

2 A member of a Union Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of Six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

3 Which of the following expenditure are charged on the consolidated fund of India

1 Salaries of the Supreme Court Judges

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 16: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

bull Advising the Government on all matter relating to methods of Recruitment to various

services and posts bull Disciplinary cases relating to different civil services and bull Miscellaneous matters relating to grant to extra ordinary pensions reimbursement of legal

expenses etc

Annual Report Constitution imposes on the UPSC the duty to present annually to the President a report about the work done by the Commission The President shall cause a copy of it together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non-aceptance to be laid before each house of Parliament Similarly the Slate Public Service Commission has the duty to present annually to the Governor of the State a report as to the work done by the Commission It shall be the duty of a Joint Commission to present annually to the Governor of each of the States the needs of which are served by the Joint Commission a report as to the work done by the Commission in relation to that State and in either case the Governor shall cause a copy thereof together with a memorandum explaining as respects the cases if any where the advice of the Commission was not accepted the reasons for such non- acceptance to be laid before the Legislature of the State

Ques 3 What are the constitutional provisions for the independence of the public serivce commission

Ans Being an important Constitutional authority with the duty to recruit for the higher echelons of the bureaucracy the Commission needs to be kept independent The Constitutional provisions in this regard are

bull appointment is beyond politics as President appoints bull Removal in certain circumstances is on the basis of the inquiry concluded by the Supreme

Court judge bull Salary etc and conditions of service can not be altered to their disadvantage after

appointment bull Expenses of the Commission including any salaries etc to the members or staff of the

Commission are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or as the case may be the Consolidated Fund of the State

bull There are restrictions on post-retirement engagement as mentioned above bull The annual report is presented to the President who causes to be tabled in the Parliament

explaining why certain recommendations are not accepted if they are not accepted

Recruitment Rules In accordance with the provisions contained in Article 320 of the Constitution read with the provisions of Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations 1953 Recruitment Rules of all Group lsquoArsquo and Group lsquo13rdquo posts in various MinistriesDepartments of Government of India are required to be framed in Consultation with the Commission Consultation with the Commission is also necessary for framingamending Recruitment Rules for certain categories of posts under the Employees State Insurance Corporation The Delhi Municipal Corporation The New Delhi Municipal Council Employees Provident Fund Organisation etc under the relevant Acts made by Parliament in pursuance of the provisions of Article 321

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 The Chairman and other members of a Public Service commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

2 As nearly a one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission Should be Persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of State

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Chairmen or any other member of a Public Service Commission Shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

2 A member of a Union Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of Six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

3 Which of the following expenditure are charged on the consolidated fund of India

1 Salaries of the Supreme Court Judges

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 17: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 The Chairman and other members of a Public Service commission are appointed in the case of the Union Commission or a joint Commission by the President and in the case of a State Commission by the Governor of the State

2 As nearly a one-half of the members of every Public Service Commission Should be Persons who have held office for at least ten year either under the Government of India or under the Government of State

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Chairmen or any other member of a Public Service Commission Shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court on reference being made to it by the President had held an inquiry and recommended removal

2 A member of a Union Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of Six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years

Which of the above statements isare correct

a Only 1 b Only 2 c Both 1 amp 2 d Neither 1 amp 2

Ans C

3 Which of the following expenditure are charged on the consolidated fund of India

1 Salaries of the Supreme Court Judges

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 18: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

2 Pensions of the Chairman of UPSC

3 Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 1 amp 2 Only b 1 amp 3 Only c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

4 Consider the following statements related to UPSC

1 It derives its functions only from the Constitution

2 It is not consulted on matters related to the reservation of posts for the BCs SCs and STs

3 The President can place the personnel system of any local authority corporate body or public institution within the jurisdiction of UPSC

Which of the statement given above is are correct

a 2 Only b 1 Only c 3 Only d All of the above

Ans A

5 Consider the following statements about the functions of the UPSC

1 To conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union

2 To assist states if requested in framing and operating schemes of point recruitment for any services for which candidates possessing special qualifications are required

3 To present annually to the President a report as to the work done by it

Which of the statements given above is are correct

a 1 amp 3 Only b 1 amp 2 Only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 19: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

Study Kit for Preliminary Examinations

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 1 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

v IAS (Pre) GS Paper 2 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2

v आई ए एस (सामा य अ ययन) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -1 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1-hindi

v आई ए एस (सी-सट) ार भक पर ा 2014 पपर -2 httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-2-hindi

v GS Foundation Course (PT+ MAINS) for 2014 httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregeneral-studies-foundation-course

v सामा य अ ययन (GS) फ़ाउनडशन कोस (पी ट + म य) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-pregs-foundation-course-hindi

Study Kit for Mains Examinations

v Contemporary Issues httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcontemporary-issues-ias-mains

v Public Administration httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-public-adminstration

v Essay Writing httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitessay-mains

v English Grammar amp Comprehension httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-english-compulsory

v History httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-history

v Philosophy httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-philosophy

v Sociology httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-mains-sociology

v General Studies httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitgs-mains

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 20: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

Study Kit for UPSC Other Examinations

v Armed Police Forces (CAPF) httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitcapf

Study Kit for Other One Day Examinations

v SSC Combined Graduate Level (Tier - I) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl

v सीजीएल ( टयर-1) अ ययन साम ी httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgltier-1-hindi

v SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier - II) httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitcgl-tier-2

v SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (10+2) Examination httpsscportalincommunitystudy-kitchsle

v IBPS Specialist Officer Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-specialist-officer

v IBPS Probationary Officer (PO) Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-po

v IBPS Clerk Study Kit httpbankpoclerkcomcommunitystudy-kitibps-clerk

For Full Information about Study Kits Click below Link httpupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kit

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 21: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

c 2 amp 3 Only d All of the above

Ans D

Indian Economy

Fiscal System

Fiscal Policy

Definitions bull That part of government policy which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation

and with deciding on the amounts and purposes of government spending bull The governmentrsquos policy in regard to taxation and spending programs The balance

between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy which can counter economic peaks and slumps

bull Government spending policies that influence macroeconomic conditions These policies affect tax rates and government spending in an effort to control the economy

bull government policy for dealing with the budget-especially with taxation and borrowing bull The policy of a government in controlling its own expenditures and taxation which together

make up the budget bull Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of revenue and

spending in order to monitor and influence a nationrsquos economy

Ques 1 What is Fiscal Policy

Ans Fiscal policy involves use of taxation and government spending to influence economy In other words fiscal policy relates to raising and spending money in quantitative and qualitative terms

As far as fiscal receipts are concerned taxes user charges (power water transport charges etc) disinvestment proceeds borrowings from internal and external sources are the main channels All receipts are not earned and some are borrowed Receipts and expenditure are divided into revenue and capital accounts Expenditure is also shown as Plan and Non-plan items

Fiscal system deals not only with the quantity but the quality of public finance as well In other words not merely how much is raised and spent but how has it been raised- is it raised by way of taxes or borrowings are they excessive or irrational etc Also the way the finances so raised are used wastefully or productively How much is spent on plan heads and how much populistically targeted etc also is studied

Fiscal policy can achieve important public policy goals like growth equity promotion of small scale industries encouragement to agriculture location of industries in rural areas labour-intensive growth export promotion development of sound social and physical infrastructure etc

Ques 2 What do you mean by Revenue account expenditure

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 22: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

Ans Revenue account expenditure is essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets that is - interest payments subsidies and public administration It is synonymous with maintenance and consumption expenditure as also welfare expenditure

Ques 3 What do you understand by capital account receipts

Ans Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans and advances made by the Union Government to States UTs and PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country and from abroad disinvest-ment proceeds etc As is clear from above some of them are debt and some are non-debt

Ques 4 What is Revenue Deficits

Ans Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue receipts on tax and non-tax sides and the revenue expenditure

Ques 5 What do you mean by Revenue Expenditure

Ans Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non- development in general But in the case of India the social sector expenditure mdash flag ship schemes like NREGA is in the revenue expenditure though as a part of the Plan expenditure

Ques 6 What do you understand by Fiscal deficit

Ans Fiscal deficit is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure That is the difference between what is received by the government on revenue account and all the non-debt creating capital receipts like recovered loans and disinvestment proceeds and the total expenditure It amounts to all borrowings of the government in a given period

FD = Total expenditure of the Government in a budget minus (Revenue receipts + non-debt creating capital receipts)

Net Central Fiscal Deficit is calculated by deducting from the GFD the financial assistance (loans and grants) that the States are given

Ques 7 What is Budget deficit

Ans Budget deficit considers only the difference between the total budgeted receipts and the expenditure It was abolished in 1997

Fiscal Deficit mirrors the health of government finances most accurately unlike the budget deficit concept BD does not cover all borrowings but only that portion of the borrowings for which government relies on printing money by the RBI

Ques 8 What do you mean by monetised deficit

Ans Monetised deficit is the borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency It is resorted to when the government can not borrow from the market (banks and financial institutions like LIC etc) any longer due to pressure on interest rates It means infusion of fresh currency into the market It corresponds to the budget deficit that is discarded as a concept since 1997

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 23: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

Ques 9 What is Primary deficit

Ans Primary deficit is the difference between the fiscal deficit and the interest payments The concept helps in assessing the progress of the government in its fiscal control efforts

Ques 10 Write a short notes on Deficit Financing (In Indian context)

Ans When the Government has to spend more than what it can raise through tax non-tax and other sources it borrows from the market It can not borrow above a certain amount from the market as it may be inflationary drives up wasteful government expenditure-push-up interest rates increase governmentrsquos debt burden and thus divert resources from plan to non- plan burden future generations with unduly high taxation and thus disrupt inter generational parity and crowd out private investment Then Reserve Bank of India prints money In other words when the resources from taxes user charges public sector enterprises public borrowings small scale borrowings and others are not enough RB prints and gives to the Government It is called deficit financing

The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

The concept of budget deficit was dropped from 1997 budget and as a result deficit financing also was stopped

WMAs Prior to 1997 the RBI lent to central government against ad hoc Treasury bills (since mid-50rsquos) This provision for extending short-term financing was created to bridge temporary mismatches in receipts and payments However the central government slipped into the practice of rolling over this facility resulting in automatic monetisation of the governmentrsquos 4eficit Automaticity refers to RBI having to print money if the Governmentrsquos cash balances with the RBI went below a threshold lsquofixed It had no choice but to create currency and lend to the Government of India The process of creating 91-day bills and subsequently funding them into non-marketable special securities at a very low interest rate (46) emerged as a principal source of borrowing It was thought to be irrational for the reasons that the interest rate is not market driven and was very concessional Nor did the RBI have any voice in deterring the same

Adhocs meant money creation-monetary expansion

In the case of state governments the RBI provides two types of WMAs Normal WMAs are clean or unsecured advances extended at the bank rate while special WMAs are extended against the government securities The latter is exhausted first and then the former may be sought to a limited extent If the state government borrows over and above the WMA allowed for it by the RBI it is called overdraft and there is a limit to that too set by the RBI

Adhoc treasury bills and WMA Union Government entered into an agreement with RBI in 1994 regarding discontinuing the practice of issuing ad hoc treasury bills to replenish the cash balance with effect from 1997 RBI is to make ways and means advances to Union Government if so required WMAs do not require any collateral Its amount is limited and arrived at the beginning of the fiscal year through

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 24: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

consultation between Government and the RBI There are penal interest rates if the pre-agreed amount is violated

Replacement of the adhoc bills with WMA represents an advance in fiscal discipline and harmonization of the fiscal and monetary policies as the RBI is consulted in Governmental short term borrowing and the lsquoautomaticityrsquo is dropped in the creation of currency by the RBI to fund governmental expenditure

Ques 11 According to you how much of Fiscal Deficit is right (Give answer in the contextof current economic scenario)

Ans Fiscal deficit is bridged by market borrowings and central bank printing fresh currency (monetization) if necessary To a limited extent FD is important as the Governmentrsquos ability to help growth and welfare increases Government can always return the loans when its revenues improve due to tax buoyancy However FD becomesmdash problematic and even destabilizing when it overshoots a rational threshold

Therefore moderation of fiscal deficit is important Large and persistent fiscal deficits are a cause of concern as they pose several risks

Fiscal deficits may cause macroeconomic instability by inflating the economy as money supply rises

Corporate sector is crowded out mdash they are left with inadequate funds in the markets as the government borrowing requirements increase Added to that interest rates will be higher as there is pressure on the available money in the market

If the funding route is through RBI monetization it means inflation and instability

Inflation may mean less savings less investment and eventually it hurts the sustainability of high growth

Large deficits even if they do not spill over into macroeconomic instability in the short run will require higher taxes in the long term to cover the heavy burden of internal debt High tax rates will place India at a significant disadvantage to other fast-growing countries It means as the FRBM Act says inter generational parity is hurt if debt mounts as future generations will have to pay higher taxes to help the government repay the debt

Government liabilities- interest payments- increase and there is far less for development

BOP pressures may mount if inflows drop due to the country being downgraded by rating agencies like Standard and Poor Moody etc

Therefore FDs must be moderated- they are desirable within limits but hurtful beyond the limits

The above analysis applies to FD in normal times But in abnormal times like since 2008-09 when the world slipped into recession impacting Indian economy negatively FD must be allowed to be increased for the fiscal stimuli which are necessary to arrest downturn in the economy and kick start growth FRBM allows such counter-cyclical expenditure Even then deficit should be incurred not for populist expenditure but to stimulate the economy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 25: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

The sovereign debt crisis in Eurozone (2010 onwards) and particularly the Greece economy is due to excessive FD It borrowed and spent excessively in response to the global financial crisis The stimulus package did not work The need for massive borrowing and spending continued But the government was not able to raise the money at normal rates of interest It had to pay high rates of interest That means it will be debt-trapped The banks and other financial institutions that invested in Greek government bonds panicked Their share prices fell Financial system was in danger of instability Similar crisis was seen in Ireland later and Spain and Portugal too These countries are acronymally called PIGS The lesson from Greek crisis is that FD may be incurred only for productive reasons and ensure good returns

Ques 12 Write a short notes on FRBM Act 2003

Ans Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act 2003 was notified in 2004 with the following salient features

bull annual targets of reduction in deficits government borrowing and debt bull Government to annually reduce the revenue deficit by 05 per cent and the fiscal deficit by

03 per cent beginning fiscal 2004-05 bull elimination of revenue deficit and reduction of fiscal deficit to 3 of GDP by March 31

2009 bull a cap on the level of guarantees and total liabilities of the Government bull prohibits Government to borrow from the RBI (primary borrowing) after April 1 2006 RBI

can not print money to lend to the government bull on a quarterly basis that Government shall place before both the Houses of Parliament an

assessment of trends in receipts and expenditure bull annually present the macro-economic framework statement medium term fiscal bull policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement The three statements would provide

the macro-economic background and assessment relating to the achievement of FRBM goals

bull Under exceptional circumstances Government may be compelled to breach targets In case of deviations the Government would not only be required to take corrective measures but the Finance Minister shall also make a statement in both the Houses of Parliament

Borrowing from the RBI is permitted in exceptional situations like natural calamities

FRBM was brought in for fiscal discipline increase plan expenditure reduce the amount of borrowings meet consumption from governmentrsquos own fiscal resources leave the RBI with autonomy as far as money creation goes etc Fiscal consolidation is necessary particularly in the era of globalization when the penalty for irresponsibility is high

New Zealand was the first country to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act in 1994 thereby setting legal standards for transparency of fiscal policy and reporting and holding the Government formally responsible to the public for its fiscal performance A similar legislation the Charter of Budget Honesty has been enacted in Australia The UK too has enacted a Code for Fiscal Stability

Kelkar Task Force in its report on implementing FRBMA (2004) said that plan expenditure should be enhanced and the way to cut deficit is by enhancing revenues (taxes) and rationalize non-asset creating expenditure like subsidies which should be targeted better

Ques 13 What is Fiscal Consolidation

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 26: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

Ans Fiscal consolidation means strengthening government finances Fiscal consolidation is critical as it provides macro economic stability cuts wasteful expenditure can enable government to spend more on infrastructure and social sectors Tax reforms disinvestment better targeting of subsidies and so on are the hallmarks of fiscal consolidation

Enactment of FRBM Act provides an institutional framework and binds the government to adopt prudent fiscal policies There is a need to involve states to effect overall fiscal consolidation and strengthen the growth momentum

GST and revised DTC are an important federal effort toward fiscal reforms and consolidation

Ques 14 Clearly distinguish between Plan and Non Plan Expenditure

Ans In the Budget expenditure is shown both as revenue and capital and also as plan and non- plan lsquoPlanrsquo expenditures as the name implies relate to expenditures on annual plan projects contributing to five-year plan these include projects like dams roads power plants etc Non-Plan expenditure relates to maintenance consumption and welfare Non-plan expenditure does not create assets When a project is being built it is a plan item of expenditure When completed and being maintained it is a non-plan item of expenditure

lsquoNon-planrsquo expenditure is a generic term which is used to coyer all expenditures of government not included in its annual plan programmes But essentially covers consumption and maintenance expenditure Non plan expenditures has the following items

bull Interest payments bull Subsidies bull Defence bull Public admn

It is important to mention that not only that maintenance expenditures subsequent to the completion of plan programmes are non-plan but even ldquoexpenditures on research projects and operating expenses of power stations are classified as non-plan

The distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure items has become simplistic arid is artificial and untenable The building of a new school or a primary health centre is considered a Plan investment but its running and maintenance is considered non-Plan spending Thus very often it had led to Government allocation being reduced for maintenance as it is classified as non-plan item and will be criticized Thus assets are neglected New projects are allotted money while the completed projects are neglected

It is important to take a consolidated view of finances keeping in perspective the interdependence of Plan and non-Plan expenditures

Kelkar Task Force to implement FRBMA 2003 recommend reexamination of the distinction between Plan and Non-plan expenditure

Ques 15 What was Rangarajan Panel on Public Expenditure

Ans 18-member high-level expert committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajan to suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure This committee will see whether the classification of expenditure into Plan and Non-Plan is rational

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 27: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

and can be continued The committee would also look at new mechanisms that have evolved such as special purpose vehicles for NREGA NRHM etc

The committee which has been set up by the Planning Commission would examine the classification of expenditure into revenue and capital in the context of the constitutional provisions

Table 1 Trends in Deficits of Central Government

Year Revenue Deficit Fiscal Deficit Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit as percent of Fiscal Deficit

(As per cent of GDP) 2003-04 36 45 00 797 2004-05 24 39 00 623 2005-06 25 40 04 630 2006-07 19 33 -02 563 2007-08 11 25 -09 414 2008-09 45 60 26 752 2009-10 52 65 32 810 2010-1(P) 32 48 18 663 2011-12(BE) 34 46 16 744

Ques 16 What do you mean by Public Debt

Ans Public debt includes internal debt comprising borrowings inside the country like market loans borrowing from the RBI on the basis of treasury bills and external debt comprising loans from foreign countries international financial institutions NRI deposits etc In the expression lsquopublic debt and ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo ldquoother liabilitiesrdquo include outstanding against the various small saving schemes provident funds etc It includes private sector borrowings too

Public debt is justified as the government does not have adequate resources and taxation can not be done beyond a point It should be for productive reasons and also welfare reasons The spiral of deficit and debt run the risk of undermining the countryrsquos creditworthiness devaluing the currency and destabilising the entire economy with grave social consequences Therefore it should be incurred judiciously

Ques 17 What is External Debt amp its main component

Ans External debt includes both the government and private debt External debt consists of

bull long-term external debt which is the bulk part bull NRJ deposits and multilateral loans bull commercial borrowings bull bilateral loans and bull Trade credit

Ques 18 What is Internal debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 28: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

Ans Internal debt includes loansrsquo raised by the government in the open market through treasury bills and government securities special securities issued to the RBI and most importantly various bonds like the oil bonds fertilizer bonds etc

Ques 19 What do you mean by Zero based budget

Ans ZBB a close and critical examination is made of the existing government programmes projects and other activities to ensure that funds are made available to high priority items by eliminating outdated programmes and reducing funds to the low priority items Governmental programmes and projects are appraised every year as if they are new and funding for the existing items is not continued merely because a part of the project cost has already been incurred Programmes are discarded if the cost-benefit ratio is below the prescribed norms

The objective of the ZBB is to overhaul the functioning of the government departments and PSUs so that productivity can be increased and wastage can be minimised Scarce government resources can be deployed efficiently

ZBB as a resource planning and control technique and process yielded substantial benefits in the advanced countries like New Zealand UK Australia and Sweden in terms of efficiency gains better resource use lower costs and finally surplus budgets particularly in New Zealand

However the use of ZBB to human development programmes and poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is limited and the results are cumulative and can not be assessed annually

Ques 20 Write a short notes on Fringe benefit tax

Ans The benefits that are usually enjoyed collectively by the employees and cannot be attributed to individual employees They are the fringe benefits They are taxed in the hands of the employer Examples are transport services for workers and staff gym club etc

The rationale for levying a FBT on the employer lies in the inherent difficulty in isolating the lsquopersonal elementrsquo where there is collective enjoyment of such benefits and attributing the same directly to the employee This is so especially where the expenditure incurred by the employer is ostensibly for purposes of the business but includes in partial measure a benefit of a personal nature It is abolished in the Union Budget 2009-10

Ques 21 What is Fiscal Drag

Ans A situation where inflation pushes income into higher tax brackets- bracket creep The result is increase in income taxes but no increase in real purchasing power This is a problem during periods of high inflation Government gains due to higher tax collections and the economy suffers as growth is dragged down due to less demand In high-growth and high inflation economies (lsquooverheatedrsquo) fiscal drag acts as an automatic stabiliser as it acts naturally to keep demand stable

Ques 22 What do you mean by Fiscal Neutrality

Ans When the net effect of taxation and public spending is neutral neither stimulating nor dampening demand- a balanced budget It is neutral as total tax revenue equals total public spending

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 29: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

Crowding Out Excessive government borrowing can lead to shrinkage of the liquidity in the market forces the interest rates to go up private investment is crowed out for two reasons liquidity availability is less and the rates are high Investment suffers and growth decelerates The Government also may not spend the borrowed resources well to generate returns If the government deploys the funds well it may have a lsquocrowding in effectrsquo the infrastructure built can have a multiplier effect on investment tax collections and growth

Pump-Priming Deficit financing and spending by a government on public works in an attempt to revive economy during recession - countercyclical measures It can raise the purchasing power of the people and thus stimulate and revive economic activity to the point that deficit spending will no longer be considered necessary to maintain the desired economic activity

Ques 23 What do you understand by small saving

Ans Small savings are a sizeable portion of the financial savings of the country They contribute to the finances of the Government- federal and State- that is they are an important source of borrowing for the government These schemes have a built in tax concession that enhances their attraction for the small savers They also earn a rate of interest that is higher in comparison to what the banks offer- approximately 8 They are called small savings as savings are made in small amounts by low income and other groups Small savings instruments in India are retailed through 153 lakh post offices of which about 129 lakh are in rural areas The National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India has all the small savings They are completely onlent to the state in which they are collected

Ques 24 What is merit amp Demerit goods

Ans Merit goods are goods like education health care etc that are important for the society as a whole- that is they have positive externalities Market may not supply them in adequate quantities Government supplements the market Demerit Goods are those whose consumption should be discouraged They have negative externalities Examples of Demerit Goods include tobacco alcohol etc Thirteenth Finance Commission calls them sin goods and wants them to be harshly taxed

Ques 25 What do you mean by Giffen Goods

Ans They include goods whose demand goes up when the price increases They are the status markers and exclusivist in nature

Ques 26 What is Twin Deficits

Ans Budget deficit (fiscal deficit) and current account deficit-the two fuelling each other - are known as twin deficits

Union Budget Independence Agency to Manage Debt

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 30: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

An independent debt management agency will be set up to help enforce fiscal responsibilities among states and the central government

ldquoThe government is in the process of setting up an independent debt management office in the finance ministry A middle office is already operational and in a next step government proposes to introduce the Public Debt Management Agency of India Bill in the next financial yearrdquo said Mukherjee while presenting the budget for 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha

He said statutory targets set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003 had a positive impact in reducing fiscal and revenue deficits

ldquoIn the course of a year the central government will introduce an amendment to the FRBM Act laying down the fiscal roadmap for the next five yearsrdquo Mukherjee said

He said the 13th Finance Commission has worked out a fiscal consolidation roadmap for states requiring them to eliminate revenue deficit and achieve a fiscal deficit of three percent of their respective gross domestic products (GDPs) latest by 2014-15

ldquoIt has also recommended a combined state debt target of 243 percent of GDP to be reached during this periodrdquo he added

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

1 A depression is an economic down turn that is less severe

2 A recession is any economic down turn where real GDP declines by more than 10 percent

Which of the above statements is are true

a Both 1 amp 2 b 1 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d 2 only

Ans C

2 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between fiscal deficit amp the interest payments are called primary deficit

2 Revenue deficit is the difference between the Revenue receipts on tax amp non tax sides amp the revenue expenditure

Which of the above statements is are true

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 31: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

a Both 1 amp 2 b 2 only c 1 only d Neither 1 nor 2

Ans A

3 Consider the following statements

1 Difference between what the government earns amp its total expenditure is called Budget deficit

2 Peter O Pier is known as the father of Zero Based Budget

3 Borrowings made from the RBI through printing fresh currency is called monetised deficit

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 2 amp 3 b 2 amp 3 only c 1 amp 2 only d 3 only

Ans B

4 Consider the following statements

1 Revenue account expenditure essentially the non-plan expenditure that does not create assets

2 Capital account receipts are recoveries of loans made by the union government to states UTs amp PSUs fresh borrowings from inside the country amp from abroad

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 only b 2 only c Neither 1 nor 2 d Both 1 amp 2

Ans D

5 Consider the following statements

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 32: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

1 The money printed by the RBI is called high powered money or reserve money

2 Australia was the first country to enact a fiscal responsibility Act in 1994

3 FRBM Act (India) was notified in 2004

4 Fiscal deficits may causes macro economic instability

Which of the above statements is are true

a 1 amp 2 only b 2 3 4 only c 1 3 amp 4 only d 1 2 3 amp 4

Ans C

General Science (Botany)

Photosynthesis

INTRODUCTION Photosynthesis is the process by which plants some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar which cellular respiration converts into ATP the ldquofuelrdquo used by all living things The conversion of unusable sunlight energy (solar energy) into usable chemical energy is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll Most of the time the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen We can write the overall reaction of this process as

The above chemical equation translates as Six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

STRUCTURE OF LEAF bull Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves (and not all plants have

leaves) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector crammed full of photosynthetic cells bull The raw materials of photosynthesis water and carbon dioxide enter the cells of the leaf

and the products of photosynthesis sugar and oxygen leave the leaf bull Water enters the root and is transported up to the leaves through specialized plant cells

known as xylem bull Land plants must guard against drying out (desiccation) and so have evolved specialized

structures known as stomata to allow gas to enter and leave the leaf Carbon dioxide cannot pass through the protective waxy layer covering the leaf (cuticle) but it can enter the

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 33: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

leaf through an opening (the stoma plural = stomata Greek for hole) flanked by two guard cells

bull Likewise oxygen produced during photosynthesis can only pass out of the leaf through the opened stomata

bull Unfortunately for the plant while these gases are moving between the inside and outside of the leaf a great deal water is also lost

bull Cottonwood trees for example will lose 100 gallons of water per hour during hot desert days Carbon dioxide enters single-celled and aquatic autotrophs through no specialized structures

CHLOROPHYLL AND ACCESSORY PIGMENTS bull A pigment is any substance that absorbs light The color of the pigment comes from the

wavelengths of light reflected (in other words those not absorbed) bull Chlorophyll the green pigment common to all photosynthetic cells absorbs all wavelengths

of visible light except green which it reflects to be detected by our eyes bull Black pigments absorb all of the wavelengths that strike them bull White pigmentslighter colors reflect all or almost all of the energy striking them Pigments

have their own characteristic absorption spectra the absorption pattern of a given pigment bull Chlorophyll is a complex molecule Several modifications of chlorophyll occur among plants

and other photosynthetic organisms All photosynthetic organisms (plants certain protistans prochlorobacteria and cyanobacteria) have chlorophyll a Accessory pigments absorb energy that chlorophyll a does not absorb Accessory pigments include chlorophyll b (also c d and e in algae and protistans) xanthophylls and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) Chlorophyll absorbs its energy from the Violet- Blue and Reddish orange-Red wavelengths and little from the intermediate (Green-Yellow-Orange) wavelengths

STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS bull Photosynthesis is a two stage process bull The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light Reactions) requires the direct

energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the second process The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates The Dark Reactions can usually occur in the dark if the energy carriers from the light process are present Recent evidence suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 34: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

light thus the term Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts

THE CARBON CYCLE bull Plants may be viewed as carbon sinks removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and

oceans by fixing it into organic chemicals Plants also produce some carbon dioxide by their respiration but this is quickly used by photosynthesis Plants also convert energy from light into chemical energy of C-C covalent bonds Animals are carbon dioxide producers that derive their energy from carbohydrates and other chemicals produced by plants by the process of photosynthesis

bull The balance between the plant carbon dioxide removal and animal carbon dioxide generation is equalized also by the formation of carbonates in the oceans This removes excess carbon dioxide from the air and water (both of which are in equilibrium with regard to carbon dioxide) Fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal as well as more recent fuels such as peat and wood generate carbon dioxide when burned Fossil fuels are formed ultimately by organic processes and represent also a tremendous carbon sink Human activity has greatly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in air

MCQ

1 Consider the following statements

(i) Plants are the only photosynthetic organisms to have leaves

(ii) Not all plants have leaves

(iii) A leaf may be viewed as a solar collector

Which of the above are true

a) I amp ii b) Ii amp iii c) Iii only d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Consider the following statements

(i) A pigment is any substance that absorbs light

(ii) The color of pigment comes from the wavelength of light reflected

(iii) Black pigments absorb all wavelengths that strike them

Which of the above are false

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 35: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) None of the above d) iii only

Ans C

3 Consider the following statements

(i) Accessory pigments absorbs energy that chlorophyll A does not absorb

(ii) All photosynthetic organisms have chlorophyll

(iii) Chlorophyll absorbs energy from violet blue amp reddish orange radiation

Which of the above are correct

a) i amp ii b) ii amp iii c) iii amp i d) All of the above

Ans D

Indian amp World Geography (World Geography General)

Nuclear Energy

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Overview bull Nuclear energy contributes about 41 of power generation in India The share of nuclear

energy is expected to reach 9 by 2035 bull Currently there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW Power Station

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 660

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakka Tamil Nadu PHWR 440

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 440

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 36: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

bull The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur Maharastra The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

bull Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

bull The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power Station State Type Capacity (MW)

Kaiga Karnataka PHWR 220

Kakrapar Gujarat PHWR 440

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu PHWR 2000

Narora Uttar Prdesh PHWR 500

Rawatbhata Rajasthan PHWR 740

Tarapur Maharashtra BWR PHWR 1400

Availability of nuclear materials bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the

second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium bull India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1 of world

availability) bull The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand

Uranium is extracted in the form of ldquoYellow Cakerdquo bull However Thorium is widely available in the world Worldwide Thorium is about three

times as abundant Uanium bull India has about 25 of the worldrsquos reserves of Thorium bull In India Throium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach

sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu bull The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep

2008 has increased Indiarsquos opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp Uranium) bull India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008) the US (Sep 2008)

the EU Nov 2009) Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 37: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

bull The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister

The Department was established in 1958 bull The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India including nuclear power

and nuclear research bull Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world Canada which has the second

largest bull The Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy

Commission Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

Indiarsquos three-stage nuclear power programme bull Due to limited availability of Ranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export India has

had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals bull Subsequently India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as

well as Thoriom bull Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-

239 as a by-product bull Stage II Fast breader Reactor uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-239 as fuel and

produces Uranium- 233 bull Stage III advanced Heavy Water Reactor would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as

fuels Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY bull All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise

noted

Heavy Water Board bull Established 1969 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O) bull Operates six heavy water plants in the country

o Kota (Rajasthan) o Baroda (Gujarat) o Hazira (Gujarat) o Thal (Maharashtra) o Talcher (Orissa) o Munuguru (Andhra Pradesh) o Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

bull India is the worldrsquos largest manufacturer of heavy water bull India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex bull Established 1971 location Hyderabad bull Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the

country bull Also responsible for manufacturer of reactor core components

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 38: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

bull The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor

components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd bull Established 1967 headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand) bull Responsbile for extraction and processing of uranium bull Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants bull All five uranium mines are located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand

o Jaduguda mine - oldest mine commissioned 1967 o Bhatin mine o Narwapahar mine -0 latest mine commissioned 1995 o Turamdih mine o Banduhurang mine - only open pit uranium min

bull India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd bull Established 1950 headquarters Mumbai bull Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands bull It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use

in nuclear industry bull Operates four mineral extraction units

o Aluva (Kerala) o Chavara (Kerala) o Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu) o Chatrapur Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) bull Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957 Located in Mumbai bull It is Indiarsquos first and primary nuclear research facility bull Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research) bull Developed Dhruva reactor (1958) - largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) bull Established 1971 located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai) bull Site of Fast Brreeder Test Reactor (FBTR) the first raactor in the world to use Plutonium

(70) Uranium (30) Carbide fuel The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

bull Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996 tghe only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

bull Currently construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) bull Established 1977 located Kolkata

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 39: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

bull Operates the first cyclotron in India bull Provides protons deuterons alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in

the country

Institute for Plasma Research bull Established 1986 located in Gandhinagar Gujarat bull Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy bull The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science bull It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India bull The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989 A tokamak is a

magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power bull The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental

Reactor (TER) in Cadarache France Expected to be operational by 2016 the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor Fuel Moderator Coolant Notes

Pressurised water reactor (PWR)

Enriched uranium

Light water (demineralised water)

Light water

PWR BWRand Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers submarines etc PWR is the oldestmost widely used reactor for power generation In PWR the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Natural uranium

Heavy water (D2O)

Heavy water

Uses natural uneriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel

Boiling water reactor (BWR)

Enriched uranium Light water Light

water

Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple uncomplicated design Lower risk longer lifetime than PWR

Fast Breader Reactor (FBR)

Enriched UraniumPlutonium Also nonfissile Uranium 238

Nomoderator

Liquid metal (usually kuqyud Sodium)

Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonim and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 40: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

captruring fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238 no moderator is required

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)

Thorium Heavy water Amorphous carbon

Bioling water

Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

MCQ

1 Consider the following which of these are correct

i) The largest power station in India is in Tarapur Maharashtra

ii) The largest research reactor is Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Resarch Center

iii) Currently India is using two types of Power reactors Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor and the Boiling Water Reactor

a) i and ii b) ii and iii

c) i and iii d) All of the above

Ans D

2 Which of the following are correct

i) Canada has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world

ii) Australia which has the second largest reserves is the largest exporter of Uranium

iii) The primary source of Uranium in India is Jaduguda Uranium is extracted in the form of yellow cake

a) ii and iii b) i and ii

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 41: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

c) iii only d) i only

Ans C

3 Match the following

Power Station State

i) Kaiga a) Karnataka

ii) Kakrapara b) Tamil Nadu

iii) Kalpakkam c) Gujarat

iv) Rawatbhatta d) Maharashtra

v) Tarapur e) Rajasthan

a) i-d ii-b iii-c iv-a v-e

b) i-a ii-c iii-b iv-e v-d

c) i-a ii-b iii-d iv-e v-c

d) i-b ii-d iii-c iv-a v-e

Ans B

4 Which of these are correct

i) India has about 25 of the worlds reserve of Thorium

ii) Thorium is found in the form of mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

a) i only

b) ii only

c) i and ii

d) none

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 42: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

Ans C

5 Which of these are correct

i) The Department of Atomic Energy functions directly under the Prime Minister

ii) The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India

a) Both i and ii

b) i only

c) ii only

d) none

Ans A

Indian History (Modern India)

The Revolt of 1857

Introduction The Revolt of 1857 has been hailed as the watershed or the lsquogreat dividersquo in the colonial history of British India Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of the political influence of the English East India Company an influence which ended in 1858 when the Crown rule was established in British India A decade short of a century later in 1947 India gained independence It is also regarded as an historic landmark for its suppression was followed by some fundamental changes in the administration of India

The Revolt of 1857 was fundamentally different from earlier rebellions by the soldiers peasants and tribals of the nineteenth century Prior to this the mutinies and rebellions had remained sporadic or local affairs However unlike these the scale and spread of the Revolt of 1857 was larger sepoys at many centres mutinied and this was accompanied by civil disturbances Unexpected as it was it managed to shake the British Though by the end of 1857 itself the British had started to regain control the Revolt of 1857 remains a significant event

What differentiated the Revolt of 1857 from the earlier uprisings was that unlike the preceding mutinies and revolts which were limited to a relatively smaller area within a town or at the most a few districts the 1857 Revolt escalated to an unprecedented degree and the participation was wider

Areas affected by the Revolt of 1857- In Bengal it was primarily the Bengal army which was recruited from North Western Provinces and especially Awadh that rose up in mutiny The sepoys wore joined by the civilians from the North Central and Western India

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 43: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

Areas that did not participate in the Revolt- The Punjab Bengal most of Central Provinces the Coasts and the South remained largely unaffected by it While the Bombay and the Madras regiments did not participate in the revolt the Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought on behalf of the English to put down the rebels

Ques 1 Briefly discuss the causes of the revolt of 1857

Ans The revolt did not happen overnight From the beginning of the political influence of the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 the British faced resistance from various sections of the society The miscellaneous populace had been harbouring resentment against the British Due to the nature of the early historiography of the revolt which was written by officials turned historians it was believed to be a lsquomere mutinyrsquo of the sepoys in Bengal and Meerut which was later joined by the civil populace However an analysis shows that such a simplistic view is limited in its scope It is difficult to highlight a single cause for the outbreak of the revolt There were multiple grievances which were acutely felt by the different sections of the society While noting the anti-British sentiments in the revolt it is equally essential to take into account the fact that the revolt in later stages was directed against the landlords banias and money-lenders The landlords in the British period were principally the creation of the new revenue policies introduced under them and had become vehicles of peasant exploitation

Social and Religious Causes From the early decades of the nineteenth century the British had abandoned its policy of non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians Abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord Bentinck the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and western education all led to disruption in the social world of the people After the Charter of 1813 the Christian missionaries were allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing This combined with the Religious Disabilities Act of 1856 which sought to do away with the previous ban on Christian converts from Hinduism in inheriting property created a feeling amongst the people of threat to their religion and way of life

Economic Causes British rule led to breakdown of the village self-sufficiency and also disturbed order of land settlements in India The British ordered an enquiry into the title deeds of the landed estates in Bengal and its adjoining areas Bombay Provinces and North-Western Provinces Many people who had held lands before the coming of the British lost their lands under the lsquoreorganisationrsquo of the land titles Added to this was the commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the peasantry adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800 de-industrilization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of the economy

Military Grievances The sepoys of the Bengal army were recruited mainly from the North-West Provinces and Awadh It had a high proportion of high caste men Bhumihar Brahmins and Rajputs of the Ganges Valley Given the social status of the sepoys in the early years of the Company rule the British tolerated and even encouraged the caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army But by 1820s these customs -and privileges were threatened by the modernizing forces that sought to introduce a stricter universalised military culture In accordance with the changes the sepoys were prohibited to observe some customary practices like wearing a saffron mark on their forehead growing beard and wearing turbans The sepoys who had become accustomed to very high ritual status were extremely sensitive to suggestions that threatened their caste rules

Serving abroad was also against the caste-rules of the sepoys and this clashed with the need to defend the growing British Empire outside India The mutiny in Afghanistan during 1839-42 was met with reprisals and led the Company to widen the recruitment base of the Bengal army to

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 44: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

include other castes and regional groups The sepoys had refused to serve in Burma and it led to the passing of the General Services Enlistment Act by Lord Cannings Government in 1856 It compelled the sepoys to serve abroad if the need arose

In 1856 in accordance with the new rules the soldiers no longer received extra allowance bhatta for service outside their own regions because they were no longer considered to be foreign missions This affected the extra pay of the sepoys But the English soldiers in the Indian army continued to receive this allowance Thus the denial of this allowance amounted to gross discrimination against the sepoys

Also the Indian sepoys were discriminated against in terms of promotion and salary While the sepoys outnumbered the European soldiers the former were not promoted to higher posts in the army

Political Causes -Annexation of Awadh in 1856 was a blow to the prestige of the ruling classes the local population and the sepoys Apart from Delhi Awadh was the second most important centre of the revolt Multiple causes were present here in their true form About three-fourth of the Companyrsquos sepoys were recruited from Awadh and most of them were simply peasants in uniform Thus any change in the agrarian set-up and in the cultural fabric would also be acutely felt by them Annexation of Awadh in 1856 on the pretext maladministration became an important cause for many of those who participated The annexation led to disbanding of the Nawabrsquos army and also affected the entire aristocracy which in turn severely affected the economy of the region In Awadh many taulkdars who lost their property as a result of the Summary Settlement in 1856 supported the rebels The revolt was perhaps of the highest intensity in Awadh

Initially when the British were expanding their hold over India and consolidating their rule they were careful in showing due deference to Indian Princes and their privileges But as their confidence grew there was an attempt by the British to take away the nominal authority of the native Princes and their pensions were greatly reduced This created unease among the various regional kingdoms The earlier treaties made with the Indian Princes came to be increasingly disregarded Policies of lsquoAggressive Annexationrsquo and the lsquoDoctrine of Lapsersquo were aggressively followed under Lord Dalhousie and came to be widely resented By following the Doctrine of Lapse the adopted sons of the deceased kings were derecognisied as heirs to the throne which subsequently led to the annexation a large number of kingdoms Satara (1848) Nagpur Sambalpur and Baghat (1850) Udaipur (1852) and Jhansi (1853) to name a few were annexed by the British

However each of these states was brought under the British rule for their strategic value administrative and military Annexation of Jhansi was important in order to further improve the Companyrsquos internal adminis-tration in Bundelkhand Satara was geographically placed between two principal military stations in the Bombay Presidency and lay along the main lines of communication between Bombay and Madras Nagpur was ldquoplaced right across the main lines of communication between Bombay and Calcuttardquo Aside from administrative expediency Lord Dalhousie had a firm belief that if placed under the direct administration of the Companyrsquos Government people would enjoy greater ldquoprosperity and happinessrdquo In retrospect due to this policy the disgruntled and deposed Princes or guardians of some of these annexed states became leaders of the revolt in their regions

Annexation of the Princely or Native States which were previously left largely undisturbed added to the growing apprehension amongst the Princes regarding the future of their sovereignty The forfeiture or reduction of the princely pensions also affected them and their dependants

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 45: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

Agrarian Causes The Summary Settlement of 1856 which was first introduced in the North Western Provinces was extended to Awadh Since its main aim was to bypass the middlemen in the collection of revenues and to win the confidence of the agricultural populace the settlement was made-with the actual occupiers of the land and it disregarded all other proprietary rights Due to this the talukdars who functioned almost independently under the Nawab and extracted exorbitant revenues lost about half of their estates and the connected regalia In most of the regions there was an increase in the power and hold of the money-lenders and in the number of absentee landlords

The condition of the peasants however only got worse Heavy over assessment of land revenue impoverished them While talukdars used to appropriate the surplus produced by the peasant the extractive powers were limited and constrained by the relations of mutual interdependence between the Nawab talukdars the peasants and the traditional worldview of social norms at ob1igations The British conquest assaulted this traditional world view and removal of the king had an emotional impact on the people of Awadh after its annexation in 1856

One of the most important changes that took place in the early years of the British rule was the introduction of the institution of private property rights in land With this change land became a commodity which could be bought sold rented or leased If the landholder defaulted on his due he faced a real possibility of forfeiting his land In point of fact many of the new landed elites emerged after buying the lands of the older landed classes who had either defaulted on their dues or could not produce the title deeds

Administrative Causes The annexation of the Indian states did not only lead to dislocation of the ruling elites and the local populace but the British also actively followed the policy of discrimination against the Indians All high posts in the Companyrsquos government were reserved for the Europeans

The administrative machinery of the East India Company was inefficient and inadequate Their revenue policies were widely resented Many districts in the newly annexed states were in the state of perpetual revolt Significant numbers of talukdars hereditary landlords were deprived of their position and resources There was a large scale confiscation and auctioning of the estates The new revenue policies created a vicious circle of problems for all concerned The old aristocracy and landlords lost their power and lands the new landlords thus created extracted mercilessly from the peasants but the demand being unreasonably high often led to the landlords losing their land and the peasants had to face perpetual hardship at the hands of the Companyrsquos policies along with the demands of the landlords and ultimately fell under the debt-trap of the money-lenders in an effort to meet the various fiscal demands

Main Events of the Revolt of 1857 On March 29 1857 at Barrackpore (now Barrackpur) near Calcutta Mangal Pandey a Bhumihar Brahman sepoy of Ballia district of modern UP attacked and injured his British sergeant on the parade ground and wounded an Adjutant with a sword after failing to shoot at him The officer in charge General Hearsay ordered a Jamadaar of the troops Ishwaria Pandey to arrest Mangal Pandey which he refused to do as did the whole regiment Pandey was executed As a collective punishment for his act and in an attempt to circumvent a possible revolt the entire regiment was subsequently disbanded

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 46: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

On May 11 1857 a band of discontented sepoys from Meerut marched to Red Fort Delhi and appealed to an aging Mughal Emperor Bhahdur Shah II who had been reduced to the status of a pensioner of the British to become the leader of their Revolt and hailed him as the Emperor of Hindustan This marked the beginning of the widespread uprising by the sepoys On June 4 the sepoys of 2nd Calvary and the 1st Native Infantry rose up in mutiny in Kanpur killing many British men women and children

The Cawnpore (now Kanpur in UP) Massacre is the most infamous event in the revoltrsquos history The rebels under Nana Sahib attacked the British in Kanpur on June 6 1857 The British suffered heavy losses The British who were besieged in Kanpur were promised a safe passage by Nana Sahib to Allahbad on June 27 1857 However under some circumstances the details of which are still debated the captives were attacked in their boats while on the river The remaining were held at Bibigarh The rebels on hearing the news of the British rescue troops approaching from Allahabad hacked all the captives which included 120 women and some children to death and threw them in a well in the compound As the details of the massacre spread the counter-atrocities by the British increased and the rebels lost many pro-Indian rebel supporters amongst the non-Indian populace

Prominent Leaders of the Revolt Bahadur Shah II Nana Sahib Begum Hazrat Mahal Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Khan Bahadur Khan of Rohilkhand Kunwar Singh of Arrah Maulvi Ahmad-ullah of Faizabad Tantia Tope and Prince Firoz Shah of the Mughal royal family and raised the banner of the revolt in Mandasor (MP)

Ques 2 Give a brief description of the suppresion of the revolt of 1857

Ans Towards the middle of 1857 the English started regaining the lost control Under the Governor-General Lord Canning who gained the sobriquet of ldquoClemency Canningrdquo on account of his voice of reason against the demands for brutal retributions by the pro-British public on the rebels troops from Calcutta the Punjab and Madras were galvanised By July of 1858 the Revolt was declared to be officially over On July 16 1857 Bithur and Kanpur were wrestled away from Nana Sahib who it is claimed escaped to Nepal Tantia Tope his Prime Minister threw his forces behind Rani Lakshmibai

Sir Archdale Wilson Nicholson and Sir John Lawrence were the military officers who freed Delhi from the rebels The Kashmiri Gate in Delhi was blown up in September the city and the Red Fort were captured after desperate fighting The city was sacked by the British soldiers and the people were massacred mercilessly

Delhi was captured on September 20 1857 with Bahadur Shah II surrendering He was found guilty by trial and exiled with his favourite Queen Begum Zinnat Mahal and her sons in Rangoon He died on November 7 1862 Three of his younger sons were shot dead publicly on September 2 1857 at Khooni Darwaza Delhi In retribution the British forces almost depopulated Delhi The siege of Delhi lasted from July 1 1857 to September 21 1857

In Awadh Lucknow was captured in March 1858 with Begum Hazrat Mahal escaping to Nepal and Maulvi Ahmadullah killed in an encounter in June 1858 The struggle was carried forward by the distressed talukdars till late 1858

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 47: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi is perhaps the most famous personality of the Revolt of 1857 Apart from her bravery in combating the British forces she is famous for her capture of the Gwalior Fort in May-June 1858 By capturing Gwalior she had hoped to break the lines of communication between the British in North India and the Bombay Presidency Province while simultaneously garnering the support of the Marathas against the British Alarmed British army was dispatched under Commander Sir Hugh Rose to capture Gwaacutelior Rani met her death on June 17 1858 during the battle for Gwalior

The renowned Maratha leader and a close accomplice of Nana Sahib Tantia Tope managed to escape to the jungles of Central India where he continued to fight the British forces in guerrilla warfare only to be betrayed by a zamindar friend He was captured while sleeping and sentenced to death on April 15 1859 By the end of 1859 all leaders of the revolt were dead with two of them Begum Hazrat Mahal and Nana Sahib escaping to Nepal

The revolt was ruthlessly crushed by the British The British adopted the policy of lsquono prisonersrsquo which meant that the rebels were executed in massi Large number of rebels were simply tied to the mouth of the canons and blown to bits Sometimes the entire pro-rebel villages were wiped out This British retaliation is called lsquothe Devilrsquos Windrsquo and reflects the hostile mood of the time

Ques 3 Briefly discuss the reasons of the failure of the revolt of 1857

Ans

(i) The revolt of 1857 failed because it suffered from weak leadership and was hardly organized This proved a major handicap when dealing with the well trained and equipped British troops

(ii) The revolt failed to extend to all parts of the country and large sections of the population did not support it And some sections infact threw their support behind the British Some of the loyalists were the Nizam of Hyderabad Sikander Begum of Bhopal Sir Jang Bahadur (Minister of Nepal) and Maharaja Sindhia of Gwalior There was absence of support from the intelligentsia

(iii) The different groups of rebels fought for different reasons and served their respective leaders Each sought restoration of the order of their leaders By hailing Bahadur Shah as the Emperor of Hindustan the rebels sought to revert back to the medieval political order rather than replace it with an alternate political authority Nana Sahib and Tantia Tope sought to revive the Maratha power while Rani Lakshmibai her own control over the lost territories

Ques 4 Briefly discuss the changes introduced by the British after the revolt

Ans British control was re-established but some major changes in the administrative policies and set-up were introduced

(1) After the revolt the English East India Companyrsquos rule came to an end by the Act of 1858 and the Proclamation of Queen Victoria The administration of India was taken over directly by the British Crown

(2) The Governor-General of India was given an additional title the Viceroy and was a representative of the Crown By a special Act both the Board of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished In their place the office of the Secretary of State for India was created He was assisted by an Indian Council of 15 members

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 48: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

(3) The Indian Army was thoroughly reorganized It had a higher proportion of Europeans in it and they were to be responsible for manning the artillery and the field

(4) The importance of having Native States as allies was realised during the revolt Had more Native States allied with the rebels then the British suzerainty would have faced a real threat Henceforth concrete efforts were made to woo the Native Princes as allies The policy of ruthless conquest in India was given up The British realised the mistake of antagonising the rulers of the Indian states Under the Proclamation also known as the Magna Carta of the Indian people which was read out bye Lord Canning at a Durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 1858 the earlier treaties of the English East India Company with the Princes were affirmed The Queenrsquos Proclamation thus sought to pay due regard to the ancient traditions and customs of India Indian Princes were given the right to adopt It marked an end to the policy of annexation and establish-ment of almost feudal like relations between the Crown and the native princes

(5) The Proclamation declared that all Indians would be eligible to enter the administrative services on the basis of their education and ability irrespective of race and creed Administrative changes were made in the executive legislative and judicial arenas with greater participation of Indians This change was visible in the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the Indian High Court Act of 1861 and the Indian Civil Services Act of 1861 The beginnings of elective representation of Indians in politics which created competition amongst the various communities can be traced back to the post-revolt period

(6) Unconditional pardon was granted to the rebels except those who had been responsible for the murder of the British during the revolt

(7) The post-revolt period saw the British actively pursuing the policy of ldquodivide and rulerdquo towards the general populace Two opposite policies were at work While on one hand India was being brought under unified system of administrationrsquo and governance on the other hand for political necessity Indiarsquos diversity was being highlighted in order to depict the claims and needs of different sections as divergent As late as 1942 Sir Stafford Cripps claimed lsquoin the great subcontinent of India there is more than one people ldquo This claim of diversity- was later countered by the efforts of the nationalists to affirm the uniformity of Indians which in turn often led to papering over of the divergent demands of the different communities regions and sections

(8) The British believed that the Revolt of 1857 was instigated primarily by the Muslims when the sepoys hailed the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan Moreover the English were the direct successors of the Mughal rule which lent credence to the belief of the Muslim instigated revolt Consequently the British adopted conservative attitude towards the Muslims for almost a decade after the revolt It was only under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Mayo and with the publication of Sir William Hunterrsquos book lsquoThe Indian Musalmansrsquo in 1871 which addressed the grievance of the Muslims of Bengal and their backward status in comparison to the Hindus that the British Government undertook some measures to alleviate the conditions of the Muslims The book presented the loss of Muslims as the gain of the Hindus Later this work and belief led to the growth of Muslim separatism and widened the fault lines between the two communities

(9) In the aftermath of the Revolt India was made to bear the entire financial burden of the outbreak and suppression of the revolt The public debt of India increased approximately by 98 million sterling which inturn added to the annual interest charges by 2 million sterlings

Ques 5 Briefly discuss the nature of the revolt of 1857

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 49: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

Ans The main strands of debates on the nature of the Revolt of 1857 can be understood by four main questions

bull Was it merely a lsquomutiny of sepoysrsquo or a lsquocivil rebellionrsquo bull A revolt or the lsquofirst war of Indian Independencersquo bull Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character bull An important feature observed in this was the Hindu-Muslim unity which adds another

dimension to the debate- if it was a lsquosecularrsquo revolt that cut across religious affiliations or a religiously inspired lsquojihadrsquo

(1) Mutiny or Civil Rebellion The earliest people to write about the Revolt of 1857 were members of the ruling colonial elite officials turned historians and they believed that it was a sepoy mutiny In their opinion once law and order broke down the civil unrest gained in strength

Sir John Lawrence G B Malleson and RC Majumdar Disraeli and Sir John Kaye - they believed that the revolt was due to the increasing defence of the British Government and missionaries alike in the socio-cultural fabric of the Indian which led Indians to feel threatened

Talzim Khaldun- the Revolt of 1857 was a civil rebellion He cites the support given by the villagers to the rebels and how they provided rations and hourly intelligence He also points to prolonged continuation of resistance to the British well after the latterrsquos re-occupation in regions like Chakradharpur and Sambalpur bordering Bengal

(2) First war for Indiarsquos Independence V D Savarkar and S B Chaudhuri Savarkar was the first one to claim that the revolt was lsquoWar of Independencersquo It is important to remember that in 1907 when Savarkar made such a claim it was aimed at mobilizing people in the emerging freedom movement

But Was IT Realty the War of independence Each leader had hisher own reasons to fight the British- Nana Sahib Rani Lakshmibai and Hazrat Mahal were deposed rulers Kunwar Singh was a disgruntled zamindar

Leaders and rebels owned loyalty to their respective regions and leaders The idea of pan-India was as of then absent They were patriotic rather than nationalistic Moreover not all the people in British India participated in the revolt

(3) Was it lsquopopularrsquo or lsquoelitistrsquo in character Marx believed it to be popular and identified the peasantry as the revolutionary force Talmiz Khaldunrsquos opines that the 1857 Revolt was developing into ldquoa peasant [and therefore anti-feudal] war against indigenous landlordism and foreign-imperialismrdquo

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 50: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

PC Joshi Identifies the elitist nature of the leadership The peasants fought against the new type of landlords who were created by the policies of the British and not against the traditional landlords

(4) Was it secular or religious British officials serving in the North West Provinces were convinced of the Islamic character of the revolt Alfred Lyall who served in the Bulandshahr district wrote ldquothe whole insurrection is a great Mohomedan Conspiracy and the sepoys are merely the tools of the Mussulmansrdquo It was felt that the old Muslim elite had Conspired to arouse political rebellion among the masses However it must be remembered Muslims alone had not arisen in rebellion The causes of the revolt clearly show that Hindu-Muslims alike had grievances against the British Both hailed Bhahdur Shah II as the Emperor of Hindustan because he symbolized the Mughal authority and a political order that the British had recently displaced

One of the recent developments in the records of the Revolt of 1857 has been the debunking of the infamous theory of the greased cartridges It was previously held that the newly introduced Enfield cartridges which had to be bitten off before loading them were greased with the fats of pig and cow This was against the religious sentiments of the Muslims and the Hindus Introduction of such cartridges added to the trepidations of the people that the colonial government had as its secret agenda conversion of Indians to Christianity However careful study has uncovered that the greased cartridges were given as an excuse to cover the real reasons which were political economic and social in nature The withdrawal of the bhatta was no less an important cause of the revolt Moreover by forwarding a cause like greased cartridges in a manner of speaking re-iterated the long held notions about the inferior intellect and senseless religiosity of the Indians and it served as a convenient explanation for the outbreak of the revolt

Ques 6 Briefly discuss the significance of the revolt of 1857

Ans The significance of the Revolt of 1857 lies in the fact that it voiced though violently the grievances of various classes of people The British were made to realise that all was not under control in British India The Revolt was written about and discussed not only within the confines of India but also in England France and Germany It is also interesting to note that amongst the Indian intelligentsia which was then focused in Bengal and did not support the rebels the revolt brought out the dilemma regarding their place and allegiance towards their lsquonativersquo land

One cannot identify just a singular cause for the outbreak of the revolt To quote CA Bayly ldquothe Indian Rebellion of 1857 was not one movement be it a peasant revolt or a war a national liberation it was many The lineaments of revolt differed vastly from district to district even village to village and were determined by a complex counterpoint reflecting ecology tenurial forms and the variable impact of the colonial staterdquo

MCQ

1 1) Annexation of Awadh

2) Role of Christian Missionaries

3) Military Grievances

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 51: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

4) Administrative Cause

Which of the above causes are the reason for revolt of 1857

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2

c) 2 amp 3

d) 2 3 amp 4

Ans A

2 Consider the following statements

1) Lord Canning was the Governor - General during Revolt of 1857

2) The British adopted the policy of no prisioners in revolt of 1857

3) Maulvi Ahmad-ullah was the leader of Lucknow during 1857 revolt

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 2 only

c) 2 amp 3 only

d) 1 amp 3 only

Ans B

3 Consider the following statements about changes of post 1857 revolt

1) English East India Company rule came to end by the Act of 1858

2) The Board of Directors amp the Board of Control were abolished

3) Lord Canning held a Darbar at New Delhi

Which of the above statements is are true

a) All of the above

b) 1 amp 3 only

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1

Page 52: Online Coaching Brochurestatic.upscportal.com/files/study-kit/Brochure-of-Online... ·  · 2014-07-08Indian Polity and Governance • Outstanding features of the Indian Constitution

c) 1 amp 2 only

d) 2 amp 3 only

Ans C

4 Consider the following statements

1) Book The Indian Musalmans written by Sir Benjamin Dissaeli

2) Indian Councils Act passed in 1861

Which of the above statements is are true

a) Both 1 amp 2

b) 1 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) 2 only

Ans D

5 ldquoThe whole insurrection is a great Mohanedan conspiracy amp the sepoys are merely the tools of the Musalmansrdquo

Who had given this statement (in the context of 1857)

a) Alfred Lyall

b) GB Malleson

c) Disraeli

d) All of the above

Ans A

WWWUPSCPORTALCOM

Click Here to Buy IAS (Pre) General Studies (Paper-1) Study Kit in Hard Copy httpwwwupscportalcomcivilservicesstudy-kitias-precsat-paper-1

Online Coaching for IAS Exam (at just 100 Rsmonth) httpupscportalcomcivilservicescoursesias-precsat-paper-1