Class Notes 4 You

Erik Erickson was a psychologist known for his views on psychological developments of the human being. In the given quote he is emphasizing on the importance of the interdependencies of human beings.  Inevitable Interdependencies: • Individuals: From infancy till old-age, at all stages of life we are dependent on each other for our various needs. For food, belongingness, security and support. Health services, education, employment all these are possible only through interdependencies. • Families and communities: a single family alone cannot survive. Same as an individual it is dependent on other families for their needs. Socially, economically, and even biologically a single family cannot survive on its own.  • Countries: Globalization and the Internet has proved that when we trade our resources, information and services with each other we can bring out larger benefits to humanity.  What happens if interdependencies are not realized? • Individuals often feel insecure, lon...

The Dalai Lama’s teachings are about peace, love and holiness. In the above quote he is teaching us the relationship between peace in the world and peace within ourselves.  Peace within will lead to peace in the world: 1. World society is made up of individuals like us. If each one strives to attain peace and tranquillity, cumulatively it will make the world a peaceful place to live.  2. Similar to the above given quote, it is also said that ‘peace is not mere absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence and justice.  3. Benevolence and compassion make us peaceful from within and helps the communities and societies to reduce conflicts and inequalities.  4. All the wrong doing first arises in mind, when the mind itself will be at peace there will be no conflict outside as well.  5. Terrorism, extremism, radicalisation and communal disharmony all are threats to peace. These evils cannot breed if our mind is at peace. T...

Swami Vivekananda is an Indian philosopher who has inspired people across the globe. In the given quote he is giving us the mantra of perseverance to achieve success. Meaning of the quote: ● Individual: Be it career or a piece of art, for an individual to realize their dreams needs consistent efforts and patience. Be it Azim Premji or Sundar Pichai, they worked hard and consistently to reach the place where they are today.  ● Society: Historical cities and architecture, literature and mythology all hints towards the rise of societies through consistent efforts and sailing through the difficulties. Be it Chola temples or the Ellora caves, works of years came to the light and continue to shine even after hundreds of years. ● Country: In independent India, our leaders established foundations of technology and research in the form of IITs and ISRO, etc. Today we see the results of those consistent efforts that ISRO has become one of the leading space organizations in the world. ● Human...

Ethical dilemmas are situations in which a person stands on the cross roads of two (or more) conflicting ethical requirements. Civil servants often find themselves under such situations. Examples of some of the dilemmas in public life: 1. Reformative vs retributive justice: breaking of law should be punished by inflicting pain or should be given another chance to reform? 2. Communal harmony or development of public infrastructure: Temples, mosques or statues often come in the way of developmental projects. 3. Public vs private is also the dilemma of accessibility vs efficiency in various developmental projects such as railways, education, highways, etc.  Above given dilemmas do need domain knowledge to address the issues, but mere domain knowledge is not sufficient.  1. Prison reforms: Open Prison, Jail Radio, etc are some of the ways through which justice is being served along with skill development and productive engagement of prisoners. 2. To resolve the dilemma of National...

Inputs through digital technology play an important role in the decision making. Despite being the most trusted source, there are several apprehensions regarding such decision making which cannot be ignored.  Digital Technology: Reliable Source of Input? Advantages: 1. Objective collection of inputs: E.g.: While filing a tax return, applications will be fed into the database and thus can be assessed objectively. 2. Transparency: E.g.: COVID19 Vaccination; from appointment to final delivery are digitally enabled. 3. Minimum Government, Maximum Governance: Monitoring and evaluation through PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) is also an example of rational decision making through technology. Disadvantages: 1. Lack of Human Touch: Digital resources often lack Empathy, compassion and fairness thus decisions taken are based on mechanical rationality. 2. Technical glitches, errors and unverified information can lead to cascading effects and thus affect the whole chai...

Red tapism and corruption has engulfed the public services in India rendering it ineffective and inefficient. Considering the problems of public services, the Second ARC report, and the Nolan Committee has suggested some essential values. Ten essential values for an effective public servant. 1. Integrity 2. Selflessness 3. Objectivity 4. Accountability 5. Openness 6. Honesty 7. Leadership 8. Beneficence 9. Justice 10. Compassion Ways and means to prevent non-ethical behaviour in the public servants. 1. Laws and rules: It include implementation of Code of conduct, Code of Ethics, Citizen Charter are also recommended by the Second ARC Report. 2. Training: Regular training and evaluation after certain frequent intervals will instil ethical conduct deeply. 3. Information, Communication and Education (ICE): Using ICE tools to spread awareness among public servants as well as the public. Unless the masses are not educated, non-ethical behaviour of public servants cannot be eliminated. 4. Us...

Question : Identify five ethical traits on which one can plot the performance of a civil servant. Justify their inclusion in the matrix.  Answer:    Civil Servants face various challenging situations in their daily public life. Their performance in such situations can be evaluated based on various ethical traits which are visible in their behaviour in various situations. 5 ethical traits to plot the performance of a civil servants and why: 1. Probity: Probity is the evidence of ethical behaviour adhering to standards of integrity, transparency and honesty. For example: In cases of corruption, probity in actions of a civil servant can break the chain of bribery. 2. Accountability: A good civil servant always takes accountability of his decisions. When the Satellite launch failed in 1979, ISRO Chairman, Satish Dhawan took complete responsibility of the failure in front of the Press. 3. Neutrality: In a diverse country like India and in a divisive environment of today’s Indi...

India and Russia celebrated 50th anniversary of Indo Soviet Treaty on peace, friendship and cooperation 1971. Significance of the treaty Upholds principle of strategic autonomy International Pact Convergence of interests in face of regional and international challenges Contemporary significance in India- Russia relations Strategic Importance of India-Russia relations Defence partnership: rest on 3 features of technology transfer, joint development, marketing & selling and export of equipment (an agreement non-existent with any other country). BrahMos Cruise Missile program, Sukhoi Su30 and Tactical Transport Aircraft. Economic Relations : bilateral trade of $7.5 Bn in 2019 and set investment targets of achieving $30 billion by 2025. Energy Security: Russia has built nuclear reactors in India (Kudankulam reactors) , adopted strategic vision in nuclear energy, offered oil, gas and investment opportunities in the fuel sector of Russia e.g., Sakhalin- I etc. Both are extending civil nu...

Rudraksh Convention Centre of Varanasi, Indian PM acknowledged Japan as India’s most trusted friend with shared fundamental values. 2014, India and Japan signed a Partner City/Sister City Affiliation Agreement between the cities of Varanasi and Kyoto for cooperation in areas of culture, art, academics, heritage conservation, city modernization etc. The Rudraksh International Cooperation and Convention Centre (Varanasi) is one of the projects under it, designed to give a fillip to the cultural activities in the city and funded by Japanese International Cooperation Agency.

3rd India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue signed the landmark BECA Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement Importance of 2+2 mechanism highest-level institutional mechanism for a review of the security, defence and strategic partnership between India and the United States. strategic matters of vital importance under the domain of both the external affairs as well as defence ministries, are comprehensively covered and any issue of jurisdiction and follow up is taken care of challenges in relations between – on trade and on Kashmir – the delineation of strategic ties is set to be the biggest takeaway from this high-level engagement moves away from the erstwhile approach of depending on the personal chemistry between political leaders India-USA Relations Strategic Convergence Indo-Pacific :India-U.S.-Japan trilateral summits (JAI), the India-U.S.-Australia-Japan Quadrilateral consultations India’s role as a net provider of security in Indian Ocean Region and new partnership between USAID...

Africa- second largest continent, in terms of land and population with 55 countries & about 15 percent of world’s population. India and Africa have history of interaction laid by Mahatma Gandhi.India and Africa have a lot of common interests and both have vital stakes in each other’s progress, peace and prosperity. Importance of Africa: Geostrategic India’s security, especially the Horn of Africa region, because of its proximity with India. The threat of radicalism, piracy, organized crime emerge from this region Economic   diversifying our energy sources objective of our Integrated Energy Policy Africa rich reservoir of valuable minerals, metals including gold and diamond space for Indian investment ample agricultural land address India’s food security. India is looking at leasing land in Africa to overcome the land deficit in terms of arable land India is involved in capacity building of African countries. Africa is also largest beneficiary of India’s IT...

India’s West Asia Policy In post cold-war, India has largely balanced its approach to the three poles of influence in the region – Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Iran Look West’ policy adopted in 2005. Main features of the policy are A Secular and Non- Aligned Policy Diplomacy at various levels: closer government-to-government (G2G) relations vibrant business-to-business (B2B) and people-to-people (P2P) relationships. Move towards India’s Non-Ideological Policy Major emphasis on Maritime Diplomacy Establishment of a Strategic Partnership Council (SPC) with Saudi Arabia on Political, security, culture and society , headed by Foreign Ministers Economy and investment , headed by India’s Commerce Minister and Saudi’s Energy Minister rejected all forms of interference in the internal affairs of countries. This is seen as Saudi Arabia’s tacit support for India’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Importance of Saudi Arabia Energy Security Saudi Arabia is India’s second ...

Myanmar is the only ASEAN country bordering India which provides a gateway to South East Asia . In line with its  Act East and Neighbourhood First policies , India has laid emphasis on boosting its cooperation with Myanmar. Economic Relations: Bilateral trade between the two countries at around $107 million. Chinese, Singaporean, Korean, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese businesses have actively seized business opportunities in Myanmar. Pulses form the single largest item in Myanmar’s limited export basket. Indian businesses could invest in the power, steel, automobiles and even textile sectors in Myanmar. Defence Relations: Over 200 Myanmar military officers have been trained in the medical, airforce and navy fields in India. Myanmar has acquired rocket launchers, night vision systems, radar and engineering equipment, including $37.9 million worth of torpedoes, from India. Cultural Relations: The 11th-century Ananda Temple in Myanmar was damaged during an earthquake and is being ren...

Foreign and Defence Ministers of India and Australia first ever virtual bilateral summit. India- Australia Relations The end of the Cold War India’s nuclear status outside the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) resulted in Australia taking a particularly strong stance against India’s 1998 nuclear tests. In 21st century, with the changing global scenario, Australia looked at India as an important partner in promoting regional security and stability. up gradation of bilateral relationship to a ‘Strategic Partnership’, including a Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation in 2009. Economic and commercial relations Bilateral goods and services trade at $24.4 billion & FDI at $1.4 Billion 2018, Australia announced “ An India Economic Strategy to 2035”, to shape India- Australia bilateral ties . India Australia Grains Partnership Supply Chain a resilience Initiative with Japan, India and Australia Defence and security cooperation Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, 2014 enabling In...

India signed 50 million defence agreement with Maldives to boost maritime capability. Overview of India-Maldives relations Economic relations India is Maldives’ 4th largest trade partner Greater Make Connectivity Project in Make by India Defence Cooperation Operation Cactus (1988) Indian Troops prevented a coup in Maldives India provides training opportunities for Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF), meeting around 70% of their defence training requirements Indian Army and MDNF Exercise Ekuverin (‘Friends’ ) since 2009. Development Assistance India Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Maldives Institute of Technical Education, Construction of National Police Academy etc Grants for projects under High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) : such as ambulances, Convention Centre, drug rehabilitation centre, police station upgradation etc large-scale assistance in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and during the 2014 Male water crisis under Operation Neer. People to...

Recently violent clashes between Israeli and Palestinian factions in Gaza Strip ending by Egypt mediated ceasefire. Arab-Israel conflict Hussein-McMahon (1915) correspondence British support of an independent Arab state for Arab assistance in opposing the Ottoman Empire. In 1917, during World War I, the British captured Palestine from the Ottoman Empire after the Sykes-Picot Agreement with France (1916). Balfour Declaration (1917 ), Britain pledged establishment of Palestine as national home for Jews. The British Mandate period saw rise in immigration of Jews to the Mandate of Palestine. During World War II, the persecution of Jews by Nazi Germany gave momentum to the demands for a state for Jews in Palestine. This led to a conflict between Arabs and Jews i.e. Israel-Palestine conflict and Arab-Israel wars In 1947 the United Nations voted to split the Palestine between Arabs and Jews. Jewish leadership accepted while Arabs rejected the agreement. Consequently, Arab states of Egypt, J...

Indo- Pacific geopolitical construct which represents an integrated theatre that combines the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and the land masses that surround them. gained relevance in the recent times Several regional and extra regional countries like India, Japan, USA, Australia, France etc have released policies focused on the Indo-Pacific acknowledging the strategic shift towards the region Germany adopts an Indo-Pacific policy centred around greater security and economic cooperation . “The world is witnessing a race for strategic bases in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and it is only going to gain momentum in the times to come”. Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's oceanic divisions (after Pacific and Atlantic), covering 19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. IOR is home to 1/3rd of the world’s population densely populated & highly vulnerable to natural disasters Economies of many IOR countries are expanding rapidly. Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and Ta...