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One Hundred Most Probable General Studies Questions For CSE Mains 2015

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  • Itne lambe model answers rahe to 3 ghante mei 5 questions hi ho paenge. :-w
    The point of the posts by India Bhai is not that you are expected to write the whole thing, it is that considering the efficiency of memory recall of the average human, if we give 100 bytes of stuff to read, we will be able to output atleast 30 percent minimum. Unless you have a eidetic memory, this thread is not for you. :D
  • Two Questions for today: One is History and other is Science and Tech:
    8. Was the New Economic Policy, passed by Lenin and his government in 1921, a “strategic retreat” ?
    Bhai similar question came last year na (nep and Nehru). Repeat hona mushkil hai same topic.

  • Two Questions for today: One is History and other is Science and Tech:
    8. Was the New Economic Policy, passed by Lenin and his government in 1921, a “strategic retreat” ?

    Bhai similar question came last year na (nep and Nehru). Repeat hona mushkil hai same topic.

    Sorry, after i wrote this question, I recalled it as similar questions. Anyways, since i had written it, answers will be provided ;)
  • Bioprospecting deals with enhancement of prospects of biodiversity to extract its economic and commercial value. Biodiversity, if touched scientifically can provide valuable genetic and biotic resources from nature.

    Example - Xylan, the second most abundant natural polysaccharide, has important industrial applications, particularly the enzymatic hydrolysis. Diversity in the chemical structures of xylan derived from wood, cereal or other plant materials causes a large variety of xylanase with various hydrolytic activities, physicochemical properties and chemical structures.

    How it can be done and initiated?

    1) Firstly the indigenous techniques and methods that have been prevalent and hidden in the vast geography of India should be augmented with advanced research. It will provide the origin for the evolution of science of bioprospecting

    2) The government should provide the policy framework that will institutionalize the efforts and progress in this approach. The capacity and financial stress should also be mitigated.

    3) The expertise from the developed countries should be utilized in order to streamline the processsprocesss and confirmation of efficacy.

    4) Involvent and partnership of interested groups should be incorporated.

    5) Bioprospecting should be regulated, both at national and international level, based on the principles of the Convention on Biological Diversity conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

    What should not be done?

    1) Exploitation and unauthorized access of the biodiversity

    2) Commercialization should not encroach upon conservation of biodiversity

    3) lack of reaserach and technological hazard.

    Bioprospecting if well managed, can be advantageous, since it can generate income for developing countries, and at the same time it can provide incentives for the conservation of biological resources and biodiversity. In addition, it can lead to the development of new products, including for example new medicines. On the other hand, if not well managed, bioprospecting may create a number of problems, including environmental problems related to unauthorized (over-) exploitation, and social and economic problems related to unfair sharing of benefits -or the total absence of benefit sharing- and to disrespect for the rights, knowledge and dignity of local communities.


    BIOPIRACY - It is an exploitative phenomena in which there is displacement of origin of the bio products to ripe the benefit. Biopiracy is a situation where indigenous knowledge of nature, originating with indigenous peoples, is used by others for profit, without permission from and with little or no compensation or recognition to the indigenous people themselves.


    For example, when bioprospectors draw on indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants which is later patented by medical companies without recognizing the fact that the knowledge is not new, or invented by the patenter, and depriving the indigenous community to the rights to commercial exploitation of the technology that they themselves had developed

    This malaise should be circumvented through battened policy structure and regulation framework. The biological patents should be given after thorough analysis and filtration. If it is not laced then the commercialiazation of biodiversity will leads to its exploitation furthering the cause of biodiversity conservation.
  • good one @Dipak Kumar
  • 8. Was the New Economic Policy, passed by Lenin and his government in 1921, a “strategic retreat” ?
    Approach: The answer aimed at why NEP was needed and why it was a strategic retreat from earlier policies by the government.
    Model Answer: Yes, the New Economic Policy was a strategic retreat w.r.t. Lenin’s previous policies.
    After the success in the Civil War, the next major task before the Bolsheviks was the reconstruction of Russia. The First World War and the Civil War has devastated the economy to a great extent. Thus economic reconstruction of Russia was a herculean task. The War communism imposed by Lenin had resulted into great dissatisfaction among the peasants.
    Initially the peasants were in the favor of the Revolution as the Bolsheviks abolished the private property and peasants got rid of the oppressive feudal landlords. However, when their surplus production was forcefully taken away from them with compensation under the system of War Communism, the great wave of dissatisfaction cropped up among them. There was no incentive for the peasants to work hard and produce surplus grains beyond their subsistence. This caused acute food shortage that was aggravated by drought in 1920-21. In this 5 million peasants lost their lives.
    The conduction of production in the factories was no better. The factory owners had to forcefully surrender their factories to the state which were nationalized. The management of these factories passed into the hands of the union of the workers. The union lacked professionalism and capacity to successfully run the factories and the workshops. Hence the production in the factories went of diminishing which resulted into inflation.
    At this critical juncture Lenin realized that the fact that it would be impossible to implement the exact theory of Marxism in the context of Russia. Thus he made various amendments in the original theory of Marx’s so that it gets adapted to the ground realities prevailing in Russia. He came up with New Economic Policy (NEP) which compromised with various original theory of Marxism but practically solved various issues in Russia.
    The following were the steps taken by Lenin under New Economic Policy(NEP) for the reconstruction of Russia and to curtail agrarian distress:
    (i) Peasants were allowed to keep surplus after payment of tax. This tax was initially taken in the form of kind and later in cash. This a compromise with the original theory of Marxism which envisaged nationalization of all means of production and production as per the need and not for profit.
    (ii) A similar compromise was made in the case of small scale industries and trade where the private ownership was recognized. Though heavy and strategic industries remained state controlled.
    NEP was the departure from the Marxian ideal. It was a middle path between socialism and capitalism. Lenin was of the view that the temporary mechanism was essential in Russia to save the gains of revolution.NEP was moderately successful; the economy began to recover gradually. NEP simulated the production and brought it to pre-war levels.
    The most significant aspect of NEP was the fact that it successfully solved the issue of discontented peasants and brought production levels at par with the pre-war levels. This gave ample time to Bolsheviks to consolidate the ideals of revolution and do away with their enemies.
    Thus NEP passed by Lenin and his government was strategic retreat from its earlier policy.
  • 9. What is the difference between Bioprospecting and Biopiracy? Give examples.
    Model Answer:

    Bioprospecting is the process of discovery and commercialization of new products based on biological resources. Despite indigenous knowledge being intuitively helpful, bioprospecting has only recently begun to incorporate such knowledge in focusing screening efforts for bioactive compounds.Bioprospecting may involve biopiracy, the exploitative appropriation of indigenous forms of knowledge by commercial actors, and also includes the search for previously unknown compounds in organisms that have never been used in traditional medicine before
    Biopiracy is a situation where indigenous knowledge of nature, originating with indigenous peoples. is used by others for profit, without permission from and with little or no compensation or recognition to the indigenous people themselves. For example, when bioprospectors draw on indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants which is later patented by medical companies without recognizing the fact that the knowledge is not new, or invented by the patenter, and depriving the indigenous community to the rights to commercial exploitation of the technology that they themselves had developed. Critics of this practice, such as Greenpeace, claim these practices contribute to inequality between developing countries rich in biodiversity, and developed countries hosting companies that engage in 'biopiracy'.
    In 1994, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and WR Grace received a European patent on methods of controlling fungal infections in plants using a composition that included extracts from the neem tree (Azadirachta indica), which grows throughout India and Nepal. In 2000 the patent was successfully opposed by several groups from EU and India including the EU Green Party, Vandana Shiva, and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) on the basis that the fungicidal activity of neem extract had long been known in Indian traditional medicine .WR Grace appealed, and lost that appeal in 2005.
    Basmati rice
    In 2000, the US corporation RiceTec (a subsidiary of RiceTec AG of Liechtenstein) attempted to patent certain hybrids of basmati rice and semidwarf long-grain rice. The Indian government intervened and several claims of the patent were invalidated. Meanwhile, the European Commission has agreed to protect basmati rice under its regulations pertaining to geographical indications.

    #PS: One can add from what @Dipak kumar has written above to this answer.
  • Now two questions based on Geography for GS1:
    10. “It is probably the end product of decomposition found in regions of heavy rainfall, more than 200 cm”. Identify the soil type, composition, explain its geographical stretch and economic significance in India.
    11. Give an account for the petroleum refineries with factors responsible for their particular location. How they help in the localization of fertilizer industry in India?
  • @india
    For the NEP one, shouldn't we add the reason for the strategic retreat? I mean, the country was in the midst of a civil war and Lenin realized he wouldn't be able to feed his army unless the system was changed. Hence, the retreat.
  • edited October 2015
    Thanks @india for this efforts, highly appreciate what you are doing.
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