Suggested Answers: Mains Marathon – UPSC Mains Current Affairs Questions – August 16

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Below are the suggested answers of UPSC Mains Marathon Current Affairs Questions – August 16.

Note: The suggested answers are indicative only, and not exhaustive.

1. Discuss the advantages and limitations of solar energy as a renewable resource. Which geographical features are conducive for tapping solar energy?(GS 1)

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Introduction:

• For the energy security of India,it is concentrating on energy efficient and energy conservative methods and focus on solar energy and other renewable energies are some of them.

Advantages of solar energy as a renewable sources :-

• It can be harnessed in all areas of the world and is available every day.
• Money invested in solar power creates two to three times more jobs than money invested in coal or natural gas.
• solar power provides the great benefit of energy independence.
• easy to tap solar energy
• No requirement of transmission of power- can be made available at the load centre thus results in lower or nil transmission losses
• Not much maintenance is required.

Limitations :-

• Initial cost of purchasing a solar system is fairly high.
• Although solar energy can still be collected during cloudy and rainy days, the efficiency of the solar system drops.
• Solar panels require a lot of space and some roofs are not big enough to fit the number of solar panels that you would like to have.
• Transportation and installation of solar systems have been associated with the emission of greenhouse gases. There are also some toxic materials and hazardous products used during the manufacturing process of solar photovoltaics, which can indirectly affect the environment.
• Regions outside tropics don’t have much potential to tap
• Seasonal variability in power production due to cloudy,winter seasons

Geographical features conducive for tapping solar energy are:-

• Regions between both the tropics are heat surplus region they get full year sunlight therefore they are more conducive than temperate ot polar regions.
• Plain terrains/ Deserts are more conducive than hilly and roughed areas.
• Dry areas are more preferable than wet area.
• Scarcely forested area are preferable than forested regions
• Energy output from a solar panel depends on several factors, including the type of panel, sun tracking ability, location, time of year, and time of day (output drops to zero overnight).
• southern slopes in northern hemisphere are also conducive for solar enrgy.
• Rooftop solar can be installed in areas where roofs are rarely used like offices etc.

Solar energy use has surged at about 20 percent a year over the past 15 years, with falling prices and gains in efficiency. Japan, Germany, and the United States are major markets for solar cells. With tax incentives, and efficient coordination with energy companies solar electricity can often pay for itself in five to ten years.

2. What are tertiary sector industries? Taking suitable examples, discuss the locational pattern of tourism industry. Also, discuss the significance of tertiary sector on the Indian economy.(GS 1)

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Tertiary sector industries:-

• The tertiary industry is the segment of the economy that provides services to its consumers
  • This includes a wide range of businesses such as financial institutions, schools and restaurants.
• It is also known as the tertiary sector or service industry/sector.

Locational pattern of tourism industry in India:-

• Weather and Climate Resources:-
  • extraordinary asset in the form of varied climates can be encashed to promote tourism in the country
• Landscape Resources:-
  • Water bodies and water-points like riversides, gorges, waterfalls, springs, etc. provide spectacular views to the tourists.
  • Forest landscape is found to be equally attractive, irrespective of topography. It is for this reason that National Parks, Sanctuaries as well as Biosphere Reserves are used as tourist spots.
• Seascape Tourist Resources :-
  • Coastal waters of the mainland of India and that of the groups of islands (Andaman & Nicobar Islands in Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in Arabian Sea) comprise another major source of tourist attraction.
  • Sandy beaches, coves, spits and lagoons, reefs and seaside cliffs are tourist’s hot spots.
• Historical and Cultural Resources:-
  • A rich historical and cultural heritage has developed during long course of history of India. These include statues, shrines, tombs, minarets, forts, palaces, ancient monuments as well as recent buildings and are famous for their architectural designs and structural beauty.
• Socio-economic factors that influence the development of tourism are:
  • Accessibility:
    • All tourist centers must be easily accessible by various modes of transportation like roads, railways, air and water.
  • Accommodation:
    • Places of tourists’ interest must be capable enough to provide good accommodation and catering facilities
  • Religious factors:-
    • People often make pilgrims to places of religious importance to seek inner peace, get blessing of their favorite deities and gurus, attain salvation before death, etc.

Significance of tertiary sector on Indian economy:-

• Due to change of economic policies tertiary sector is growing in India.
• Basic amenities like education,health care services related with IT,ATM booths,call centres etc provide employment to educated Indians.
• It increases the efficiency of the people and they provide the countrymen necessary information and knowledge.
• Education is helpful in creating a human capital resource which will e very good for the coming generation.
• Growth in the services sector will support growth in the agricultural and industrial sectors.
• Demand for services such as transport, trade, storage will increase with the development of primary and secondary sectors.
• Demand for tourism, shopping, private schools, private hospitals, etc. increases with the increase in the level of income.
• Rapid growth of services sector also benefitted from external demand such as software industry and call centre services.
• Liberalisation of financial sector provided an environment for faster growth of financial service

Concerns:-

• It provides less than 25 % of the total employment.
• Indian infrastructure is adequate in urban areas as well.
  • For example power shortage and traffic congestions affect the quality of services provided.
• Foreign tourists often get harassed and cheated.
• Lack of proper etiquettes and good behavious in public dealing, hospitality and manners
• The airports and railways are not well organized.
• Consular division also has problems as it takes many days to issue visas which can hamper tourism sector
• Problems in service trade like lack of proper setup like export promotion councils ,visa restrictions, sector specific restrictions, preferential market access.
• Unfair competition in the telcom sector and lack of proper monitoring of customer demand mar the growth of e commerce.
• There is no strong backing from primary and secondary sectors for the success of tertiary sector.

So it seems that services could lead the economy, but there needs to be greater equality between the different States and a better gender balance. There is also the need for additional fiscal capacity, tax reforms to fund education, reduction in government debt and the revenue account must be kept in balance.

3. Emotional intelligence begins to develop in the earliest years. All the small exchanges children have with their parents, teachers, and with each other carry emotional messages. Do you agree?(GS 4)

• It is often people with high IQ or technical knowledge  alone would not be successful as it matters for only quarter of the success
• It is the EQ which matters for successful maintenance of relationship with superiors, subordinates,peers,family relations etc. Hence it is very important to incorporate EQ in children .
• How it develops in earlier years and how parents and teachers play a role :-
  • Childhood is the step to adulthood..So the qualities developed in childhood reflect a person’s personality when they become adults.
  • Qualities like lack of confidence,low self esteem ,fear to socialise are some of the instances of low EQ developed during childhood .
  • The way parents  interact with their children plays a significant role in the construction of their child’s behaviour.
    • For example,if too much pressure is put in children to become the topper in exam the child faces increasing stress and start to alienate themselves from their parents.
    • Other examples of development of habits like getting up in the morning,learning moral teachings from school.
    • Similarly important qualities like honesty,hardworking etc are taken from seeing parents and teachers closely.
  • Similarly in most societies when there are children from both genders ,the gender based roles become primarily visible like
    • girls need not work but marry and take care of their families and it is the duty of boys to stand on their own feet and take care of the family.
    • Also boys are encouraged to go play outside while girls are not.
  • Similarly even in schools teachers play a significant role too like for instance if a teacher punishes a kid in front of everyone with lack of empathy ,some children might be affected psychologically for life.

However only these do not develop EQ in children.Sometimes children understand the reality and overcome their fears and deal with the society better.So parents and teachers need to help and interact with children to understand their own emotions and make them strong to deal with the adversities of the future effectively.