GS2 and GS3 index

It is necessary to understand the way syllabus is structured, not only for easy recall, but also for getting the context right. I have moved topics around to collect related parts together.

GS2 can be divided into following 7 parts. 1 day per topic means 1 week for GS2 on the whole. The division is not balanced because some topics are heavier than others, but still some time division is better than none. One can always finish up smaller parts and put more time on bigger ones.
Constitution of India and of other countries
- Indian constitution - historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure
- Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries.

Structure and function of government organs(exec, judic, legis)
- Parliament and State Legislatures - structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.
- Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity.
- Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions.

Federalism and decentralization
- Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein

Elections and govt bodies
- Salient features of the Representation of People's Act.
- Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.
- Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies

Development and social sectors

- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation

- Development processes and the development industry- the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders.

- Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

- Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector or Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

- Issues relating to poverty and hunger.

Transparency and accountability

- Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.

- Role of civil services in a democracy.

International relations

- India and its neighborhood- relations.

- Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests.

- Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests, Indian diaspora.

- Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate

GS3 can be divided into following 8 parts. The main logic behind making this index, is to see that GS3 has many parts and those topics should be studied independently, instead of mixing it up. Once, we gain specialized knowledge about each topic like say agriculture, food etc, then we can use those points and frameworks instantly, instead of writing some spontaneous and vague answer.

Macroeconomics

- Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.

- Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.

- Government Budgeting.

Agriculture

- Major crops cropping patterns in various parts of the country, different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers.

- Land reforms in India(Land in itself is a huge topic, but it is better studied in context of agriculture than as a stand alone topic)

Food

- Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing.

- Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.

Industries

- Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.

Infrastructure

- Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways, etc.

- Investment models.

Science and Technology - developments and their applications and effects in everyday life 

- Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

- Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

Environment

- Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Disaster and disaster management.

Security

- Linkages between development and spread of extremism.

- Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.

- Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention.

- Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized crime with terrorism.

- Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.

On yearbook

[Originally posted in Feb 2016, on other blog which was too large and had to be deleted. Pasting it here, as it is.]

On yearbook

The YearBook Plan

Again IYB has come out and it is time to look at how the govt is structured and how it is handling governance. IYB is one stop source for general info on a variety of topics. Much of it is generic and does not change over the years but comparative study shows how policies change(if they change), besides you get to know the details of all schemes being run all in one place and one is better placed to then take in all gyaan from Yojana which focuses on specific issues like health/ edu/ livelihood/ vulnerable sections.

A structure approach is helpful here to filter out faltu ka gyan and only take that which will help us in prelims and in mains.

We have to group related chapters together and swiftly go thru them.

First, one should take up the very first chapter as many straight questions come from here, and it is like a kick between the legs to make a mistake in such Qs. Also, immediately one should take a round tour of India by taking on Ch30. Diverse questions are possible from this chapter and also it covers the fine details of state economy, culture and nature(places of importance). Go wild with internet, search as much as possible on facts/figures/names in these and you will see your GS rise to a whole new level.

1.Land and people + 30.States and UTs

Now, we have gone thru much of economic data of states, so one can go back to national level

6.Basic Economic Data + 13.Finance

then quickly transition to sectoral study

4.Agriculture  19.Industry 14.Corporate affairs

Now we go after the infrastructure which is the driver of progress

8.CIT + 22.Mass communication + 11.Energy +26.Transport

Then comes basic social services and welfare

15.Food and Civil supplies + 16.Health and family welfare 10.Education 17.Housing

Remains of a command structure

23.planning 24.rural and urban development

Then the essentials

12.Environment 27.water resources

Then the efforts towards justice

20.law and justice 21.labour, skill development and employment 28.welfare

Things that make us great

25.scientific and tech developments 5.culture and tourism 29.youth affairs and sports

Looking beyond our borders

7.commerce 18.India and world 9.defence

Last but not the least a recap of Laxmikanth and more, esp the structure of executive(ministries, depts.)

3.polity

Now, I know I speak here as if I have topped the exam or am slam dunking 150+ in every prelims, neither of which I have done yet. But same goes for the babajis in the market. So, I thought let my idea/plan also float on the neutral internet and let people benefit(if they find any worth in it)

Besides, the economic survey is structured in similar manner, and as a matter of fact, so is the syllabus. So it makes sense to read the year book in above mentioned manner(instead of the alphabetically ordered chapters)

I suppose I could open up another tab on the blog for yearbook crisp structured chapter wise notes, but right now, I dont have the incentive or inclination. Maybe later, after survey comes out, I could extract all of it and place into GS2, GS3 post entries directly. Till then, Cheers!

GS1 History

History for mains has not only Indian history but also world history. Basic timeline, facts etc are good for prelims, but mains needs thematic study of history. It requires zooming in on turning points and zooming out to look at progression of movements/events etc. This is what makes it challenging.

Largely, we study art and culture part only for ancient and medieval part. Modern India is studied in detail. World history is also to be studied in fast forward(so many centuries to cover, with so many names, details, concepts). It is very difficult, but if one looks at it like a story, it is indeed interesting. I am not preaching, but I do feel that history can get boring only if perspective is lost. If one tries to live those times, live those obstacles people faced in those times, then it makes sense as to why certain things happened. This helps us come to terms with our own deeds, take lessons from past, and to understand that it is easier to judge in retrospect.

For art and culture of ancient and medieval times, there is of course ncert, old and new, with pictures, tables, point wise description. To revise and to fill in details, there is ccrtindia website.
For modern India, struggle for independence by Bipin Chandra is good, but for mains it has to be studied thematically. Besides, if one goes thru NCERT by Bipin Chandra, it is better(mains point of view). So, I had made notes for mains based on this book and I want to share it to save people the pain of going thru the whole book. Also, Ive made it in point format, leaving out excess detail, so that one can go thru it quickly and get ready to put down at least some basic points on paper.

Link: modern India ncert hand written notes for mains
[its a heavy file, so those with slow connections, careful... 57 pages 24MB]
There are many other books one can read to get more analysis and details for modern India. There is spectrum, Grover Mehta, Plassey to partition, Sumit Sarkar etc. But I found that I used to bite too much, and could not chew, let alone digest these texts. So, I decided to stick to the old ncert by Bipin Chandra and added some notes from above books, so as to cover some missing portions and I was done with subject. I have left some portions blank in above file, due to lack of time to cover those portions. This won;t affect the overall coverage of notes, and one can read up on those(2) sections separately from any source.

For world history there are many books again.. BV Rao, Jain, Norman Lowe, Arjun Dev, Baliyan notes etc. All of the above are alright. But many of these take up too many words to explain same thing, which caused lot of pain to remember. Some dont cover from Renaissance, some do but then go too deep. So, I found that there is an NCERT Contemporary world history class XII 2003 edition that is spot on for the mains world history syllabus. It covers all relevant timeframes, is written in simple language, with less of extra ramblings.