UPSC Allows Candidates To Raise Objections On Exam Questions. The candidates now will be given a time frame of 7 days to raise their objections

UPSC Allows Candidates To Raise Objections On Exam Questions.
The candidates now will be given a time frame of 7 days to raise their objections
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In a latest notification published on the official website of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the public sector recruiter, has come up with a time frame for the candidates to make representations on the questions asked in the papers of a certain examination.

In a latest notification published on the official website of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the public sector recruiter, has come up with a time frame for the candidates to make representations on the questions asked in the papers of a certain examination. The candidates now will be given a time frame of 7 days to raise their objections. A section of civil services aspirants have approached the Supreme Court recently against the conduct of the Civil Services preliminary examination of 2017, accusing the Commission of non-transparency and of framing ambiguous, incoherent questions.

UPSC conducts recruitment exams to various union services like, Civil Services exam, Medical Services exam, Economic an Statistical Services and Engineering Services.

"For each Examination, a time frame of 7 days (a week) i.e. from the next day of the Examination Date to 6.00 p.m. of the seventh day is fixed for the candidates to make representations to the Commission on the questions asked in the Papers of that Examination," said the notification.

"For Examination conducted on two or more days, the dates on which the Paper(s) of that Examination are held, will be the crucial reckoning date for making representation on the questions appeared in those Papers. For example: if Paper(s) of an Examination is/are conducted on 1st March, then a candidate can make representation by 6:00 p.m. of 8th March," added the notification.

The UPSC notification also said that such representation must be submitted online only (by email at email Id examination-upsc@gov.in) and no representation by post/hand will be entertained. It also said that no representation will be entertained under any circumstances after this window of 7 days is over.

Publishing the answer keys to the competitive and entrance examinations is a general practice in the country.

The Supreme Court has in August dismissed a plea which sought grace marks or removal of alleged wrong questions given in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) 2017 preliminary examination.

A bench, headed by Justice Dipak Misra, then said the court does not perceive any merit in the petition and is, hence, dismissed.

The bench, also comprising justices Amitava Roy and A M Khanwilkar, noted that the petitioner who gave the exam had not given any representation to the UPSC claiming there was a question with more than one correct answer.

More than 4.6 lakh aspirants had appeared for the UPSC prelims exams held on June 18, 2017.

US author #GeorgeSaunders wins 2017 Man Booker Prize for novel 'Lincoln in the Bardo'.

US author #GeorgeSaunders wins 2017 Man Booker Prize for novel 'Lincoln in the Bardo'.
George Saunders’s surreal, experimental first novel, “Lincoln in the Bardo,” won the Man Booker Prize on Tuesday, marking the second year in a row that the prize has gone to an American author.

The novel unfolds in a cemetery in 1862, where a grieving Abraham Lincoln visits the crypt that holds the body of his 11-year-old son, Willie, who died of typhoid fever. At the graveyard, Willie’s spirit is joined by a garrulous, motley community of ghosts who exist in the liminal state between life and death. At times, the narrative feels more like a play or an oral history than a novel, with dialogue among the ghosts, interspersed with scraps of historical research and snippets of contemporary news accounts that Mr. Saunders gathered, or in some cases invented.

In an interview on Tuesday, Mr. Saunders said he was encouraged that the judges had recognized such an unconventional novel.

“For me, the nice thing is that the book is hard, and it’s kind of weird and it’s not a traditional novel,” Mr. Saunders said. “I didn’t do it just to be fancy, but because there was this emotional core I could feel, and that form was the only way I could get to it.”

At a news conference in London on Tuesday, Lola Young, the chair of judges, said that the novel was “unique” and “stood out because of its innovation, its very different styling; the way in which it paradoxically brought to life these almost dead souls, not quite dead souls, this other world.

Most awaited test series schedule for civil services prelims exam -2018 (in dehradun)

Most awaited test series schedule for civil services prelims exam -2018 (in dehradun)
if you have prepared a topic very well,then check out what kind of question upsc has asked earlier ,what are critical concept,how to understand twisted question,how difficult is the language of questions.This all can be done only when you have prepared very well.Preparation of topic is very important at first instance.if you have not prepared very well,you does not have conceptual clarity ,test series will not help you and vice versa you have prepared well but didnot practice that may also reduce your chance to qualify pre. so first prepare the subject very well and then practice through test series.

यदि आपने एक विषय बहुत अच्छी तरह से तैयार किया है, तो देखें कि किस तरह के प्रश्न upsc ने पहले पूछा है, महत्वपूर्ण अवधारणा क्या है, twisted सवाल कैसे समझ सकता है, प्रश्नों की भाषा कितनी मुश्किल है। यह सब तब ही किया जा सकता है जब आपने तैयार किया हो बहुत अच्छी तरह से।

विषय की तैयारी बहुत महत्वपूर्ण है। यदि आपने बहुत अच्छी तरह से तैयार नहीं किया है, आपके पास वैचारिक स्पष्टता नहीं है, परीक्षण श्रृंखला आपकी मदद नहीं करेगी और इसके विपरीत आपने अच्छी तरह से तैयार किया है लेकिन अभ्यास नहीं तो यह आपके मौका को भी कम कर सकता है

पहले विषय को बहुत अच्छी तरह से तैयार करें और फिर परीक्षण श्रृंखला के माध्यम से अभ्यास करें।

Everything that you can think for @Rs 4500/,candidate having written upsc/ukpcs mains then fees Rs 3000/ only.

A first step: On Multi Commodity Exchange

A first step: On Multi Commodity Exchange
With the introduction of a new financial instrument, India is a step closer to building a vibrant market for commodities. Success in the long journey, however, will require avoiding some policy mistakes of the past. The Multi Commodity Exchange has introduced gold option contracts for the first time in India. The derivative instrument allows investors to enter into contracts to either buy or sell gold some time in the future at a pre-determined price, thus allowing investors to hedge any volatility in the price of the metal, for a price. The fact that options usually also turn out to be cheaper than binding future agreements will help in the wider participation of investors in the realm of commodity speculation. As Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stated during the launch of the derivative at the MCX, gold options will also help bring into formal channels more of the gold that is traded. Notably, the introduction of gold options is in line with the government’s announcement last year that it would take steps towards introducing new varieties of commodity derivatives in the market. MCX, in fact, has said it might seek permission to write options contracts on other commodities which, based on their current futures trading volumes, satisfy rules set by SEBI. To improve market efficiency, the market regulator is also mulling the entry of mutual funds and portfolio management services into the business of investing in commodity derivatives.

Naturally, some concerns have been expressed over financial speculation. The benefits of well-regulated commodity speculation, however, are likely to outweigh the potential systemic risk from asset bubbles. Options, like other financial derivatives, allow price risks to be transferred between market players in an efficient manner. The business of anticipating prices in the future is left to professional speculators while their clients benefit from the prospect of stable prices. In the process, financial derivatives can facilitate the conduct of real economic activity in higher risk segments — including in agriculture and industrial activity — that would not happen otherwise. Confusion over this has led to an unjustified hostility towards financial speculation, as well as some hasty policy measures. Almost a decade ago, a rapid increase in food prices pushed the government to impose a blanket ban on any speculation on agricultural products. While it may have been relevant for the specific circumstances, the wide-ranging nature of the move slowed the development of a healthy market for commodity speculation. The government should now resist similar temptation and focus instead on real-time monitoring systems. Apart from the standardised derivatives approved by SEBI for trading in exchanges, a framework that promotes over-the-counter products will help improve the scope for risk mitigation. The debut of gold options should be seen as a step towards greater reforms.

Toxic farming: on insecticide regulation

Toxic farming: on insecticide regulation
Reports of farmers dying from pesticide exposure in Maharashtra’s cotton belt in Yavatmal make it evident that the government’s efforts to regulate toxic chemicals used in agriculture have miserably failed. It is natural for cotton growers under pressure to protect their investments to rely on greater volumes of insecticides in the face of severe pest attacks. It appears many of them have suffered high levels of exposure to the poisons, leading to their death. The fact that they had to rely mainly on the advice of unscrupulous agents and commercial outlets for pesticides, rather than on agricultural extension officers, shows gross irresponsibility on the part of the government. But the problem runs deeper. The system of regulation of insecticides in India is obsolete, and even the feeble efforts at reform initiated by the UPA government have fallen by the wayside. A new Pesticides Management Bill introduced in 2008 was studied by the Parliamentary Standing Committee, but it is still pending. At the same time, there is worrying evidence that a large quantum of pesticides sold to farmers today is spurious, and such fakes are enjoying a higher growth rate than the genuine products. Clearly, there is a need for a high-level inquiry into the nature of pesticides used across the country, and the failure of the regulatory system. This should be similar to the 2003 Joint Parliamentary Committee that looked into harmful chemical residues in beverages and recommended the setting of tolerance limits.

It is incongruous that the Centre has failed to grasp the need for reform in the regulation of pesticides, when it is focussed on growth in both agricultural production and exports. Agricultural products from India, including fruits and vegetables, have been subjected to import restrictions internationally for failing to comply with safety norms. It is imperative that a Central Pesticides Board be formed to advise on use and disposal of pesticides on sound lines, as envisaged under the law proposed in 2008. This will strengthen oversight of registration, distribution and sale of toxic chemicals. There can be no delay in updating the outmoded Insecticides Act of 1968. A stronger law will eliminate the weaknesses in the current rules that govern enforcement and introduce penalties where there are none. Aligning the new pesticides regulatory framework with food safety laws and products used in health care will make it broad-based. After the recent deaths, Maharashtra officials have hinted at the loss of efficacy of some hybrids of genetically modified cotton in warding off pests to explain the growth and intensity of pesticide use. The responsible course would be to make a proper assessment of the causes. It is also an irony that the Centre has failed to use its vast communication infrastructure, including DD Kisan, the satellite television channel from Doordarshan dedicated to agriculture, to address distressed farmers. A forward-looking farm policy would minimise the use of toxic chemicals, and encourage organic methods where they are efficacious. This will benefit both farmer and consumer.

Saving child brides — on SC ruling on sex with minor wife

Saving child brides — on SC ruling on sex with minor wife
Not the reasoning but the implications of the ruling on child marriage are a cause for worry

By ruling that marriage cannot be a licence to have sex with a minor girl, the Supreme Court has corrected an anomaly in the country’s criminal law. Under the Indian Penal Code, it is an offence to have sex with a girl below 18 years of age, regardless of consent. However, it made an exception if the girl was the man’s wife, provided she was not below 15. In other words, what was statutory rape is treated as permissible within a marriage. By reading down the exception to limit it to girls aged 18 and older, the court has sought to harmonise the various laws in which any person under 18 is a minor. Overall, the judgment is in keeping with the reformist, and indisputably correct, view that early marriage is a serious infringement of child rights. The judges draw extensively on studies that demonstrate child marriage is a social evil that adversely affects the physical and mental health of children, denies them opportunities for education and self-advancement, infringes on their bodily autonomy and deprives them of any role in deciding on many aspects of their lives.

As a move to strengthen the fight against child marriage and help stricter enforcement of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, the judgment cannot be faulted. But the practical implications of the judgment are worrying. Are all men married to girls between the ages of 15 and 18 to be condemned to face criminal cases as rapists? Given the prevalence of child marriage in this country, it is doubtful whether it is possible — or even desirable — to implement the statutory rape law uniformly in the context of marriages. What, for instance, does this mean for those married under Muslim personal law, which permits girls below 18 to be married? The age of consent under the IPC was raised in 2013 from 16 to 18 to bring it in line with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. However, the age above which marriage is an exception to rape was retained at 15, as fixed in 1940. POCSO criminalises even consensual teenage sexual activity and the latest ruling has brought this into the domain of marriage. A teenager could be prosecuted for a sexual offence under POCSO even if he was just a little above 18. In the same way, a teenage husband may now be threatened with prosecution for rape. Significantly, if boys under 18 but over 16 are charged with penetrative sexual assault under POCSO or rape under the IPC, which can be termed ‘heinous offences’, they could face the prospect of being tried as adults, according to the juvenile law as it stands now. Treating all below 18 as children may be good for their care and protection, but whether 18 is the right age for consent in this day and age remains a moot question. The state’s argument that given the widespread prevalence of child marriage it is not possible to remove the exception may be flawed from a formal standpoint, but its concerns about the implications of the verdict must not be underestimated.

Towards transparency — on judicial appointments

Towards transparency — on judicial appointments
Supreme Court collegium’s decision to disclose the reasons for its recommendations marks a historic and welcome departure from the entrenched culture of secrecy surrounding judicial appointments. The collegium, comprising the Chief Justice of India and four senior judges, has said it would indicate the reasons behind decisions on the initial appointment of candidates to High Court benches, their confirmation as permanent judges and elevation as High Court Chief Justices and to the Supreme Court, and transfer of judges and Chief Justices from one High Court to another. This means there will now be some material available in the public domain to indicate why additional judges are confirmed and why judges are transferred or elevated. A certain degree of discreetness is necessary and inevitable as in many cases the reasons will pertain to sitting judges. At the same time, it would become meaningless if these disclosures fail to provide a window of understanding into the mind of the collegium. It is important to strike the right balance between full disclosure and opaqueness. The collegium has suggested as much, albeit obliquely, when it says the resolution was intended “to ensure transparency, yet maintain confidentiality in the Collegium system”. It is to be hoped that this balancing of transparency and confidentiality will augur well for the judiciary. The introduction of transparency acquires salience in the light of the resignation of Justice Jayant M. Patel of the Karnataka High Court after he was transferred to the Allahabad High Court as a puisne judge, despite his being senior enough to be a High Court Chief Justice.

Going by the decisions disclosed so far with regard to the elevation of district judges, it is clear that quality of judgments, the opinion of Supreme Court judges conversant with the affairs of the high court concerned, and reports of the Intelligence Bureau together form the basis of an initial appointment being recommended. While district judges of sufficient seniority and in the relevant age group are readily available for consideration, there may be some unease about how certain advocates and not others come to be considered. Given the perception that family members and former colleagues of judges are more likely to be appointed high court judges, it is essential that a system to widen the zone of consideration is put in place. There are 387 vacancies in the various High Courts as on October 1. The mammoth task of filling these vacancies would be better served if a revised Memorandum of Procedure for appointments is agreed upon soon. A screening system, along with a permanent secretariat for the collegium, would be ideal for the task. The introduction of transparency should be backed by a continuous process of addressing perceived shortcomings. The present disclosure norm is a commendable beginning