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Monday, August 08, 2016

UPSC prelims 2016: Last minute tips for cracking the exam

The Civil services preliminary exam (CSP) will be held on August 7, 2016. The marathon efforts that you have put in for the exam will bear fruit very soon. Here are 5 things that you must remember.
Focus on what you have already prepared
The last minute itch of picking up things that you have not been able to master is a normal reaction. It is best to keep that itch away. It is what you have done till now that will get you through the exam.
Don’t bother about pattern of question paper
Stop wondering about the pattern of the paper. The paper would only change marginally in real terms (if at all). Last year’s was a major change because of the “eligibility” criteria of the paper II. This year it would be more or less the same. A few changes here and there could be expected. But the core is unlikely to change. The qualifying marks is unlikely to shift significantly. Keep the 105 - 110 target range to qualify for the UPSC main exam.
No wild guessing
Don’t do wild guessing, but intelligent guessing is a must. That is what MCQs are for. Some smart work will prop up your “diligent” work.
Efficient time management
Do not get caught in the “traps”. Since you have to attempt a questions per minute, it is important to quickly move away from time consuming questions. It is impossible to maximize your scores unless you have read all the questions. Put your “mental time TRACKER” ON, while you take the exam. Every 15 minutes needs to be accounted for. Mark your OMR as and when you solve the question. Do not postpone this activity!
Don’t change your strategy in exam hall
Stick to what has worked for you. Stick to what you have been doing till now. Do not experiment in the exam. It could backfire and break your deal. I have seen many students going through this agony.
The war is not won till you win the last battle. Do not underestimate the Paper-II (CSAT), make sure it is done and dusted, thoroughly. Just remind yourself how England lost the T-20 World Cup in the last over. Stay focused till the end of Paper II.
(Kumar is the chief academic officer at Career Launcher. The views expressed here are personal.)

 Source: Hindustan Times, 5-08-2016
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Students take online route to earn & learn
HIRAL THANAWALA


From blogging to tutoring to digital marketing, opportunities online are many.
Studying, making money and gaining experience, all at once.With a world of jobs and business opportunities opening up online, a number of students are earning and learning simultaneously.
Three years ago, while pursuing a bachelor's degree, Pune resident Gaurav Jaju, 26, taught science to students at home to earn some money. The experience helped. Now doing a master's degree in pharmacy, Jaju conducts online lectures for students in his free time. He is registered on a site, through which students and their parents contact him for lessons. Not only is he gaining valuable teaching experience, he earns up to `15,000 a month in this manner.
Mumbai-based management student Tito Idicula, 26, also realised the earning potential of online opportunities early. In 2015, while pursuing his postgraduation, he skipped the chance to do an internship and instead co-founded an edu-tech firm, Programming Hub, with like-minded friends.The startup provides a one-stop solution for learning programming languages.
Idicula divided his time between the startup and studies. In May 2016, the efforts paid off when the startup earned a six-month mentorship under the Google Launchpad Accelerator Program. For Idicula, it has been a dream run. He feels it was a wise decision to start an online venture where the earning potential from advertisements is immense. Online jobs or business ideas are available to suit the interest, expertise and field of study of students. Says Santanu Paul, CEO and MD of online technology-enabled experiential learning platform TalentSprint: “Online work is critical for Indian students. It is an important way for them to enhance their employability and attractiveness in the job market. It is also a wonderful way to financial independence.“
The earning opportunities include blogging, tutoring, research, surveys, digital marketing, website development, designing, photo editing and selling. Neeti Sharma, Senior VP at human resource outsourcing and staffing firm TeamLease Services says, “You need to pick a suitable job based on your skills, knowledge and aptitude. Keep in mind whatever you do now will shape your career and life after completion of education.“
Take the case of 26 year-old Bibhas Hazari.A student at IIM-Raipur, Hazari's hobby is photography and photo editing. Now, despite being a full-time student, Hazari makes anything between `2,000 and `6,000 selling his photographs on popular websites.“These websites are one of the best platforms to showcase our talent, create a brand and earn,“ he says.
Students looking for assignments and project-based tasks in the information technology, finance or marketing space need to first register on sites like freelancer.in, upwork.com and fiverr.com. “These sites allow students to broadcast their capabilities and skills to a global customer audience and bid for specific assignments and projects where they can make a contribution, while earning valuable pocket money and improving their professional resumes in the process,“ says Paul. Students can create their profiles according to their expertise on the site to gain attention. The advantage of gaining any kind of online job experience is obvious. If an employer has to choose between a fresh graduate with a non-descript resume and a fresh graduate with a resume that shows a track record of freelance work, the latter would have the upper hand.
However, students do need to be careful of frauds. Complaints about fake job sites, nonpayment after completion of project and bank account details compromised abound.Websites seeking a deposit even before offering a job opening need to be avoided. “Before you take up an online job, understand the company that you will be working for. Do your due diligence and talk to people from similar fields to get genuine feedback,“ cautions Sharma.

Source: Indian Express, 8-08-2016
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Humility and Charity
OSHO


The Quran says three basic qualities have to be in the heart of the seeker. The first is khushu, or humility . The second is karamat, or charity , and the third is sijd, or truthfulness, authenticity , recognising that which you are. These are the three pillars of Sufism. The humble person is not egoless.First, the ego was very gross.That's when you go on brag That's when you go on bragging about your money . One day you renounce all your money and then you start bragging that you have renounced all. This is subtle, but the bragging continues. Humility , khushu, means a man who has understood all the ways of the ego. And by understanding all the ways of the ego, the ego has disappeared.
The second is charity , kara mat. Charity does not mean that you give and you feel very good that you have given, that you give and you oblige the person to whom you have given. Charity is when you give and you feel obliged that the other has taken it; when you give with no idea that you are obliging anybody in any way; when you give because you have too much.
The third is sijd, truthfulness. It means being the truth.Saying is only halfway; being is the true thing. You can say truth a few times when it doesn't harm you -that's what people go on doing. When truth is not going to harm them, they become truthful. If sometimes truth is going to harm others, they persist in being very truthful. But when the truth is not going to help you, then you drop it and it is no more meaningful.

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Friday, August 05, 2016

Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy

Table of Contents

December 2015; 4 (3)

Editorial

  • Editorial

    Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy December 2015 4: vii-ix, first published on May 19, 2016 doi:10.1177/2277976016643663

Articles

    • Vitor Eduardo Schincariol

    Ten Years of Economic Recovery in Argentina (2003–2013): An assessment of ‘Neo-developmentalism’

    Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy December 2015 4: 259-288,doi:10.1177/2277976016657920
    • Vikas Bajpai

    India’s Second Green Revolution: Portends for Future and Possible Alternatives

    Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy December 2015 4: 289-326, first published on May 19, 2016 doi:10.1177/2277976016633343
    • C. R. Yadu

    The Land Question and the Mobility of the Marginalized: A Study of Land Inequality in Kerala

    Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy December 2015 4: 327-370, first published on May 19, 2016 doi:10.1177/2277976016637990
    • Letícia Cesarino

    Brazil as an Emerging Donor in Africa’s Agricultural Sector: Comparing Two Projects

    Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy December 2015 4: 371-393, first published on May 19, 2016 doi:10.1177/2277976016637785
    • Ruchira Bhattacharya

    Estimating Poverty Including Social Expenditure: Adequacy and Implications of New Official Methods in the Context of Urban India

    Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy December 2015 4: 394-432, first published on May 30, 2016 doi:10.1177/2277976016633345

Review Essay

    • Marcelo C. Rosa

    Expropriating the Land and its Moral Grounds: A Review Essay

    Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy December 2015 4: 433-442, first published on May 19, 2016 doi:10.1177/2277976016639815

Book Review

    • Thiago Lima

    Book Review: Leão Walquíria Rego and Alessandro Pinzani (2014), Vozes do Bolsa Família: Autonomia, dinheiro e cidadania

    Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy December 2015 4: 443-445, first published on May 19, 2016 doi:10.1177/2277976016639813
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Heavy rainfall not associated with warming: IIT Bombay study

The results are contrary to the general notion that global warming or increased summer temperature is responsible for extreme summer monsoon rainfall events.

A study carried out by researchers at IIT Bombay has found that extreme rainfall events over India do not have significant association with land surface air temperature over India and sea surface temperature over central Indian Ocean.
The results are contrary to the general notion that global warming or increased summer temperature is responsible for extreme summer monsoon rainfall events witnessed in some parts of the country in the last few years. The results are applicable at both large and small scales — Indian subcontinent and at a grid level of 100x100 sq. km. Data for 50 years pre- and post-1975s were used for the study. The results are published on August 3 in the journal Scientific Reports.
In the recent past, there has been considerable change in heavy summer monsoon rainfall pattern in India and there is considerable debate on whether such extreme events are caused by global warming or by urbanisation.
At a local level, some of the grids of 100×100 sq. km. experienced a change in extreme rainfall with increasing temperature, while other grids witnessed a decrease or no significant change in rainfall with increased temperature. However, the model simulation of Indian rainfall extremes tends to “overestimate the changes in both mean and extreme precipitation”.
The study also found that dynamic moisture transport caused by thermal gradient between land and water had a significant role on mean and extreme rainfall compared with direct thermodynamic effect (where the atmosphere has a greater capacity to carry moisture when temperature rises).
A study carried out in Brazil revealed that there was a decrease in extreme rainfall with increasing temperature. In the latest study too, the researchers did not find evidence to support “intensification in either the mean or extreme rainfall over India in a warming world”.
“The claim is not really that climate change is not important. But the novel results indicate that the local warming is not the controlling factor. The clues are in the rapid warming of the Indian Ocean and the changing roles of the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean in monsoon variability and extremes. It is the nonlocal controls that are of great importance,” says Prof. Raghu Murtugudde a co-author from the University of Maryland, Maryland, U.S. in an email.
“The new generation climate model and historical simulations tend to over-estimate the association between extreme rainfall events and temperature. We must be careful while using climate change for estimating future changes in extreme rainfall with increasing temperature over India and Central Indian Ocean,” says Prof. Subhankar Karmakar a co-author of the paper from the Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay.
“The changing patterns of extremes over the Indian subcontinent need a scientific re-evaluation. Our results highlight the need for further research to resolve the temperature dependence of rainfall,” says Prof. Subimal Ghosh, a co-author of the paper from the Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay.
Source: The Hindu, 5-08-2016
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Bihar’s draconian prohibition law

Nothing succeeds like excess. This may well be the belief of the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar, which has passed a stringent law to enforce its total prohibition policy. Prohibition on country-made liquor was imposed on April 1, and within days it was expanded to cover Indian-Made Foreign Liquor. However, the State has now come up with fresh legislation to supersede earlier Acts in a bid to ward off criticism that penal laws and administrative measures do not prevent alcohol consumption. Brushing aside criticism in the Assembly, the government has pushed through a Bill so stringent that the Opposition parties call it draconian. This cannot be dismissed as the usual criticism of political adversaries, as some of the provisions indeed are scarily excessive. The most egregious one allows action against all adult members of a family if liquor is found on their premises or one of them is suspected to have consumed it. The law presumes that all of them must be aware of the offence until proven otherwise, but essentially this amounts to collective punishment. Similarly, the owner of any premises in which liquor is stored or consumed is liable for prosecution. With the offences related to consumption, storage and possession of alcohol or any other intoxicant being cognisable, the sweeping provision could land anyone in jail because of the involvement of one family member, tenant or visitor. The authorities could seal or confiscate the property, and fine a group of people or a village, for repeated transgressions.
Of late there has been a populist competition between political parties in moving towards liquor bans in various parts of the country. The growing tendency among State governments to ban liquor in the apparent interest of protecting the public health may appear politically attractive, but it is fraught with practical consequences: fall in revenue, a rise in contraband movement, the formation of mafias and a spike in corruption. Mr. Kumar argues that the law is effective in its present form as it seeks to plug all loopholes. It also contains safeguards in the form of provisions to punish officials who misuse it. It may appear pointless trying to convince those who are politically committed to prohibition that the step is impractical, unfeasible or illiberal; it is up to them to draw their own lessons from experience. And from Mr. Kumar’s recent statements it is clear that the promise of prohibition may be his calling card as he tries to extend the political presence of the Janata Dal (United) beyond Bihar. However, the controversial new provisions are unlikely to survive judicial scrutiny. Bihar would do well to reconsider them.
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