[Download] UPSC Mains-2014: Essay Question Paper- Two Topic pattern introduced +get All papers since 1993 topicwise

‘Athithi Devo Bhava’ is the guiding principle that our Indian scriptures have prescribed and we have following them in letter and spirit. India has been an amalgamation of cultures, a land of numerous languages, rich heritage and diverse and unifying traditions. India has welcomed and absorbed people from different faiths, various backgrounds and distant lands. As far as the question arises whether tourism can be the next big thing for India, we can affirmatively answer- Yes, it can be.
Today human beings are leading lives full of stress, both physical and physiological. Every now and then, an individual needs a break from his mundane activities to give time for himself, to spend time with his family, to connect to his inner soul, to relax and to rejuvenate.
India can cash on this opportunity and transform itself into a tourist hub. The western way of life is too competitive and individualistic. Everybody competes in a race in the world of materialistic gratification. In this race, individuals face an abyss, they face a lack of connection with their inner soul and they lack spirituality.
While the whole world exports technology and material goods, India can export its culture, values, ethics, and traditions.
Tourism can act as a soft power to conquer our neighbours and the world with our charisma and tourist potential. This soft power can deepen our diplomatic relations with other nations. Examples where diplomats from other countries exchange scriptures, visit tourist places show the power of this soft power. Diplomatic road blocks can be solved when tourism is given a much needed boost. Cultural exchange can be an ice breaker and countries can improve their sour relations. One fine example in this regard are the Indo- Pak relations. Constant efforts have been made to solve the diplomatic tension by means of tourism and cultural exchange- cricket, food, TV shows, movies, pilgrimages on either sides etc.
The UN has adopted a world Yoga day to enhance spirituality and to reconnect with one’s self to find the inner peace. Yoga has its origins in India. India can boost its tourism potential by giving impetus to Yoga and encouraging this ancient practice.
India has potential for tourism. From lofty snow clad mountains I Himalayas to golden sand dunes of Rajasthan, from pristine beaches of Goa to temples of Tamil Nadu, from wonder of the world Taj Mahal to serene backwaters of Kerala, India has a lot to offer to allure every individual.
Tourism development has its other share of benefits too. This leads to economic revival. Increased tourist inflow increases our foreign currency reserves. It generates huge employment to individuals in hospitality sector. Increased tourism improves India’s image on the global map. This could in turn enhance foreign direct investments to improve the infrastructure and develop other sectors in the country.
Another growing trend is the increasing number of tourists visiting India for medical tourism. With better and cheaper medical facilities, India has become a hub for health tourism and this sector is contributing a lot to India’s Gross Domestic Product.
Kerala is a fine example which has tapped its full tourist potential. Blessed with nature’s beauty, long coastline, rich heritage, temples, art and literature and with the government’s “God’s own country” campaign, they have revitalised tourism in the state.by better policies, security checks, inspection teams, quality managements etc.
Developing tourism also has other advantages. For example, Japanese tourists visiting Buddhist sites get mesmerised by the beauty and develop an abstract connection with India and its people. This indirectly helps to improve the diplomatic ties between countries. One example is the Japanese support to clean and preserve the Hussain Sagar lake in Hyderabad, which houses a giant statue of Lord Buddha.
However, a lot has to be done to preserve tourist spots and promote tourism. First of all, tourist places, ancient to modern must be well maintained with all amenities and good connectivity. Several heritage structures and environmental bio diversity are in bad shape due to lack of governmental concerns. Special institutions have been set up and should be given funds to support the cause.
Other provisions like visa on arrival, early transit, and better policies to boost tourism, well trained guides, and increased awareness on tourist information have to be made. Customised tourist packages have to be offered to suit one’s needs and interests. The government has already come with several packages like Char Dham Yatra, Buddhist circuit, Ashta Vinayak package, Jyothirling tour, north east tour etc. The Prime minister of India has recently urged citizens to visit North Eastern states and experience the beauty, in turn helping the region to boost its economy. However, intensive advertising is needed to promote these policies.
Another important aspect to deal with is providing security to the tourists. In the recent past, there have been notorious cases of attacks on women tourists and tourist belonging to particular region or race. Counter terrorism action should also be taken to make the tourists feel secure and at home especially due to the growing concerns after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and other attacks at Bodh Gaya, Hyderabad Mecca masjid, Pune German bakery etc.
Hence by promoting better policies and intensive marketing, we can fully realise India’s tourist potential. Tourism, in turn is the only mechanism to solve the diplomatic blockades, if any. It will help to revitalise the economy too. India can truly use its soft power to transform into a shining star on the global map. To conclude it can be said with total affirmation that tourism is the next big thing for India to show to the world its culture, traditions and its power.

I would be written-words are sharper than…
And frm section B -fifty golds in olympics…

• Some People usually thinks that if they achieve power and Authority,then will became superior and can use their Power in anyway or in any means.Some Autocratic Personality laud the power over the Junta.No. of people across the world became autocratic ,Inefficient and even Corrupt by misusing his Power.Abuse of Power is Corruption.So Power needs to be use for Common Good and for Harmony.It brings the great responsibilities.
• Great Power Comes with greater responsibility has simple meaning that if u got the power , authority in any form or has potential to do something use it wisely for common welfare otherwise it will dangerous to society and might fire back to Individual having this. For example Mussolini in Italy faced Revolt and Very recent Example of Saddam Husain where USA with the help of Native Iraqis punished him for his autocratic corrupt Rule.
• Contrary to this, there are several examples in same history too where how an Individual used his ability for Brotherhood, Peace and Humanity. Nelson Mandela, national father of India Mk Gandhi is popular example where they have done the things following the spirit of the message.
• It’s not that any individual requires Power or authority to do something, and then only he can do for good. One can easily led the spirit of message by doing small-small good things and make a joyful environment.
• In general, as you become more skilful,Intellegent,Knowledagble then that Knowledge brings some kind of Influence over the Other and Might impact the Mass no of People depending on the influence and same time brings the M
Since Quote carrying message has wide scope and meaning,so has been said and used by Several People in History whether its US president Truman or .As the Message became Popular from the Hollywood Movie Spireman in 2002,where Spiderman recalled the message of his Uncle Ben :Great power Comes with great Responsiblity.It is easily possible to do something which can impact thousand of Lives in Positive way.
Lord acton also said :Power Corrupts absolutely and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely,which carries the same spirit of message and Socrates also expressed similar idea that Rule of Mighty is Worth”
It is also often quoted from the Philoshphies of Voltaire.
so it is important if u want your power to remain effective and Legimitimate ,use it with equivalent responsilbilty.Any disturbance in the equation of Authority=Responsiblity will fetch the criticism leading to loss of Authority.This was similar happened in the case of Indira Gandhi after the Emergency.Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency on only basis of Power or authority given by Constituition of India but when emergency revoked,she lost election and ultimately lost the Authority but the same Authority has been used by similar Indivisual Indira Gandhi in several other areas of Common welfare whether it is uplifment of marginalised section or advancing the Science and tech in Agriculture with Green Revolution.

along with my essay topics please accept my congratulations for being such a dedicated and nice guys.

1. youth and competition
Structure –
Growing competition in Educational,social,and political sphere
B. dimensions of growing competition. as a source of selection of the best , its demerits as a possible cause of conflicts
c. India specific competition,it being skewed towards well off people.no level playing field
D. reasons for growing competition
E. good effects of Competition
F. bad effects of competition
G. conclusion with the line “lets make it fair or it would bring chaos.”

2. policy paralysis and implementation paralysis – structure

A.what is policy paralysis.
B. why policy paralysis- weak government,pressure groups ,other party govt. in states,NGO,appeasement.
C. what is implementation paralysis – bureaucracy, lack of funds, lack of an Indian character in citizens, chalta hai attitudes
D. conclusion with the line that the new govt. has shown that if the center is strong and decisive policy paralysis and implementation paralysis are events happening in 5th dimensions. jan dhan yojna proves it.

too much aalas at this point hence aage nahin likha.

and guys pardon the spelling mistakes if any ,big fingers and hindi medium.

Nice topic..murnul is the best, UPSC CSE ka apna ek alag leval hai aur iss baar 2 essay thora surprise kar rahe hai but fir bhi achha hai, Hum aspirents ko kosish jaari rkhni hogi ki kaise behtar aur satik shabdo k sath prabhavshali dhang se hum apni baat rakh saken aur UPSC ki ummeedon par khada utar saken..

Faster delivery then flipkart….awesome!!!

there used to b a good orkut community named – interview preperation for ias . orkut has closed down. can anyone tell me where tht community has migrated to ?

Thanx a lot Mrunal Sir. You are truly awesome.

Can India win more than 50 gold medals in the Olympics

Swami Vivekanand once remarked that if one wants to fing God, he should do so in a football field and not among the Holy Scriptures. Nothing else signifies the importance of games and sports in our lives more than this particular statement. It is a well known fact that physical activities keep us fit and away from many diseases like obesity, high blood pressure, cardio- vascular ailments etc. However, games and sports touch our lives in many other ways. They inculcate a sense of team- spirit, discipline, co- operation and mutual trust among many other virtues. No wonders, even the corporate houses and multinational companies are taking their employees on similar team building exercises. It is high time that we understand that “only work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”.
When it comes to sporting events, nothing can beat the significance of representing one’s country in the Olympics. The trials and tribulations an athlete goes through in order to get the honors of being a part of your country’s contingent to the Olympics is un- paralleled. Extreme care and caution is taken to ensure that only the best gets selected as it is a matter of country’s pride. At the same time there can’t be a greater moment of glory for an athlete to win an Olympic medal for their country. An Olympic medal winner surely gets immortalized in the annals of their country’s sporting history.
Being the second most populous country in the world, it is plain logic that people expect India to stand right at the top of the medal tallies in the Olympic events. However, the reality is in stark contrast to this presumption. As the medal tallies of the different Olympic events suggest, India has failed to make a significant mark in the Olympic events. The situation is so grim that many small countries with a population less than some of the bigger states of India bring home more number of gold medals than the combined Indian tally. In the Dhyanchand era, the men Hockey team used to bring a medal every time, however, those golden days are history. Leander Paes won a bronze medal in 1996 Atlanta Olympics and since then there have been a handful of athletes like Mary Com, Saina Nehwal, Rajyavardhan Rathore, Batukeshwar Dutt, Sushil Kumar and a few others who could win individual medals for the country. This forces us to think if India could ever win 50 or more medals in an Olympic event leave alone 50 gold medals.
In my humble opinion, India can deliver such a performance if proper steps are taken and root cause of this failure is addressed. It will take a collective effort from all the stakeholders involved and though the task seems difficult, it is not impossible at all. What we need is just proper planning and timely implementation in a bottom- up approach.
The change should start from our families. Our society has a habit of looking upon games and sports in a condescending manner and think that there is no career involved in these activities. The moment a child is born, the parents start hoping that he/ she will grow up to become a doctor/ engineer/ CA etc. When the child grows up they are under immense pressure to excel academically and even though they are extremely talented and interested in any sporting activity, they are not given the sufficient amount of support. The only exception to this rule is cricket and though cricket is often blamed to have destroyed other sports, the fact remains that cricket is a classic example of the fact that if sufficiently promoted; other sports can also make our country proud. So, the first thing is that our society needs to change its mindset.
The next change should come in the educational institutions at all the levels. If schools and colleges have proper infrastructure in the form of playgrounds, sporting equipments, trainers etc. and if it provides ample opportunities to its students right from a small age, we can pick up the talented ones at the nascent stage and groom them in the right direction. Such talented children should be provided all the possible help be it relaxation in attendance; grace marks in the examinations and reservation in higher institutions on the basis of sports quota. This is necessary to assure them that they are not loosing upon their career in this world of cut- throat competition. Though, such provisions are available in many of our institutions, the need is to make such provisions more robust.
The next and probably the biggest stakeholder is the government. When it comes to promoting sports in the country, the successive governments have adopted a very myopic and one- dimensional approach. While the cricketers have been made the blue- eyed boys of the country, the support extended to other athletes leaves much to be desired. So while it is perfectly fine to modify the rules and confer Bharat Ratna to Sachin Tendulkar, it is not right to ignore the contributions of someone like Vishwanathan Anand or say a Dhanraj Pilley. The sportspersons are entitled to government jobs based on their achievements, but as it stands out, the best of the jobs go the the cricketers. As a result, we often hear of past athletes selling their medals to arrange food and other goods of basic necessities. There is a urgent need to provide proper training facilities and other material support to hockey, football, kabaddi, basketball etc if we seriously intend to make a mark in the Olympic events.
The private sector can also play a big part in this endeavor. Different organizations can come up and adopt a common sport together and then try to promote it as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility. Even the private sector has been involved only in the money- spinning cricketing world so far. So, while we have Sahara, Airtel, Nike, Reebok etc making a beeline to attract the top cricketers and making them endorse their products, their interest in other sports has been minimal. The board of Control for Cricket in india which is one of the richest sporting bodies in the world can also help in this direction by supporting sporting activities other than cricket as well.
All said and done, the recent few years have shown that the situation is changing in a positive direction. The emergence of sporting greats like M S Dhoni, Ravindra jadeja, Suresh Raina etc who are not from big cities is a testimony to the fact that if an individual is determined enough, no barrier is strong enough to stop them from reaching the stars. On the lines of Indian Premier League, similar events are being organized in the form of Indian badminton League, Indian Kabaddi League, Indian Soccer League etc. The attendance of spectators in these events has sent a very positive signal that Indian audience is not averse to sports other than cricket. The media and film industry has also started playing their part by making movies like Mary Com and Chak De, India which deals with trials, tribulations and ultimately triumph of sportspersons other than cricketers.
In the light of the above discussion, I firmly believe that if our sportspersons are determined enough and if they receive support from their families, government and other quarters there is no doubt that they can conquer the world and turn the dream of bringing 50 olympic gold medals into a reality. Success, after all is the marriage of talent and opportunity.