MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS
Q1. “Development involves more than just constructing factories, dams, and highways. Development revolves around people. The goal is to achieve material, cultural, and spiritual fulfilment.” Analyze.
Paper & Topic: GS III – Infrastructure related issues
Model Answer:
- People can live lives they respect and cherish by expanding their alternatives, potential, and freedoms. Human development is the term used to describe this process. But building physical infrastructure like factories, roads, and dams is commonly mistaken for progress. Without a doubt, infrastructure is important, but it shouldn’t be the main objective. This Rajiv Gandhi quote highlights it. The improvement of people’s lives is the only thing that matters in the end, and everything else is only a means to that end.
Why should development focus on people rather than on businesses, infrastructure, and roads?
- The concept of development changed in the decades that followed World War II as European colonialism was ending and several independent countries started to emerge. Early on, the development discourse was heavily influenced by modernization theory, which stressed industrialization, technical transfer, and institutions with a Western aesthetic as means of success.
- Notably, disproportionate attention was paid to infrastructure initiatives. Beyond the benefits to individuals, such projects were seen as symbols of modernity and progress. The efforts of Nehru to build dams and other important amenities show how important infrastructure is in India.
- Without a doubt, infrastructure development is important, but it is insufficient. This is the meaning behind Rajiv Gandhi’s quotation. What matters most is not the “factories, dams, and roads” that are erected for development, but rather the people who will benefit from it. That must always be the first consideration while thinking about advancement.
- A lessened care for people is another effect of the unmindful development brought on by the rise of industrialisation. A busy lifestyle, gender discrimination, and deteriorating working conditions for labourers are just a few consequences of underestimating the human element.
The goal of development should be the material, cultural, and spiritual fulfilment of the people:
- Living prosperous lives and fulfilling fundamental needs are two instances of material fulfilment. The modernization concept, in a limited sense, focused on technological development.
- Cultural fulfilment is the maintenance and development of cultural practises, traditions, and identities.
- Spiritual fulfilment encompasses all of the values, beliefs, and purposes that give people a deeper feeling of meaning in life.
- Infrastructure-based growth places a higher priority on material fulfilment than it does on cultural and spiritual fulfilment. It’s possible that progress isn’t actually progress at all when it goes against people’s cultural and spiritual demands. Since “benefiting people” is the ultimate objective, development thought must consider the particular conditions of each scenario and give people the authority to choose what development means.
How the human element is the key element in development:
- The idea of human progress is the flourishing of human life. It is a tactic that places an emphasis on the possibilities and the people themselves.
- Access to top-notch social services, the reduction of gender and financial inequities, and the advancement of an inclusive society are all goals of human development.
- The belief that progress should be accomplished both for and with people is one that is supported by human growth. This calls for attention to and financial support for initiatives in fields including education, healthcare, gender equality, and social inclusion.
- Rajiv Gandhi developed initiatives like the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya System and the New Education Policy of 1986 in line with his emphasis on the pursuit of human development. Because it emphasises how important individuals are to economic development, this statement is more relevant to contemporary India. India needs to prioritise investments in human development and employment creation, particularly for its young people.
Q2. Describe the recent India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) meeting while highlighting the significance of Pacific Island countries for India.
Paper & Topic: GS III – International Relations
Model Answer:
- The Antarctic ice sheet has been rapidly melting since 2016. This year there was the least sea ice ever seen in Antarctica. Rising sea levels due to increased sea ice melting present a severe threat to coastal communities. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet might eventually fully melt if left unchecked, increasing the sea level by 3.3 metres. A planet with so little ice also has altered water flows, which modify both the ocean’s ecosystems and the earth’s climate.
Effects of melting Antarctic icecaps and glaciers on the ecosystem globally:
- Antarctic soils are thawing as a result of greenhouse gas emissions. The carbon that has been stored in the soils is released as carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere as the soils thaw.
- Sea level rise: Under the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica, scientists found a huge gap. One glacier, the Thwaites, is responsible for 4% of the worldwide rise in sea level, and if enough of it melts, it would disintegrate. Global coastal areas will be affected by sea-level rise, which will cause flooding, erosive processes, and saltwater intrusion into freshwater habitats and aquifers.
- Loss of habitat: Although changes in stream flow and sea level brought on by glacier melting are expected to have an effect on many species, animals that live on or near glaciers may be driven to extinction by the removal of their frozen habitats.
- Release of contaminants: Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) travel through the air from their source to colder climates where they condense and are deposited in glacial ice. Previously contained in the ice, these compounds have now begun to escape due to the present rapid melting.
- When an ocean turns, nutrients rise from the seafloor, upsetting the food chain. The Southern Ocean supports over 75% of the world’s phytoplankton production. The slowdown of ocean flow caused by glacier melting also reduces the amount of nutrients that are retrieved from the deep ocean to the surface. As the sea ice disappears, there is less food available to support the Antarctic food chain.
Melting glaciers and icecaps in the Antarctic have an effect on global weather and climate:
- Due to the migration of denser water towards the ocean floor, which is referred to as the oceans’ “overturning circulation” and helps to distribute heat, global ocean flows are slowing down. But as freshwater from Antarctica’s melting ice enters the ocean, it reduces the downward flow of water to the sea floor by making the top water less salty and less dense.
- Due to global warming, more snow and ice melt each summer, revealing the ocean and land underneath to the Earth’s surface. This results in more warmth. Due to their darker hues, the ocean and land absorb more solar energy, which is then released into the atmosphere by the land and ocean. A feedback loop is created as a result, accelerating global warming. Global rainfall patterns and temperature distribution are impacted by this.
- Water is transported in a protracted cycle from the north to the south and back by the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which is slowing down. This circulation provides warmth to many parts of the planet. The weakening of AMOC is already causing the gulf stream to be interrupted, which results in colder winters and hotter summers in the North Atlantic.
- Globally, the slowing of ocean currents caused by Antarctic ice loss is also associated with an increase in extreme weather occurrences.
- Given the dire condition of the Antarctic glaciers, strategies for mitigation and adaptation are necessary. Nations should implement stringent rules on a worldwide scale to combat global warming, increase the use of renewable energy sources, improve the energy efficiency of power plants, and reduce CO2 emissions.
