{Writing} Essay-Sample: Does technology create income disparities?

What is technology? Technology is the knowledge of using tools machines and other accessories. It includes methods of problem solving and organization so that we can do a work in a more effective way in less time. At present we can’t live without technology or in better words we have become addicted to technology. With internet computers, mobile phones, luxury cars each and every field is now being depending on the technology for their success. The advantages and benefits that technology provides us are unlimited. In fact we will never be able to imagine a life with all these luxury and technical help we have on our finger tips.

Now let us come to the topic

How does technology create income disparities? Or does technology Creates Income Disparities? One thing that comes to my mind is technology benefits only the person who knows how to use it. Take the case of the mobile phone if you are familiar with the facilities that mobile phone provides you will be well ahead of a normal individual. So in this case technology will create income disparities between an illiterate person and a high technically oriented person.

Let us take the case of two countries USA and Somalia. It is a common fact that USA is highly developed while Somalia is perhaps the worst developed country. Allow me to ask you why USA has reached this position of being the most developed country only because of their technological superiority. Technology saves time and increase the production. And indirectly this creates income disparities.

But is technology to be blamed for this? No, this disparity comes primarily from the fact that education is not reaching the lower class society. Of course technology helps on the person who is used to it but instead of blaming technology it is time to focus on reaching the educational facilities to the lower strata of society.

Every country should have a technical education plan so that technical education can be imbibed to every individual of the country. If they can work out the plan there would not been income disparities and technology would not be blamed for creating income disparities.

Do you think technology create income disparities? Comment your opinion below in the comment box.

{Paper} Essay Topics (1993 to 2012)

Instruction: Candidates will be required to write an essay on a specific topic. The choice of subjects will be given. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay, to arrange their ideas in their ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.

Examiners will pay special attention to the candidate’s grasp of his material, its relevance to the subject chosen, and to his ability to think constructively and to present his ideas concisely, logically and effectively.

Write an Essay on any one of the following topics:

1993
1) My Vision of India in 2001 A.D.
2) The emerging Global Order, Political and Economic.
3) “He who Reigns within himself and Rules his Passions, Desires and Fears, is more than a King”.
4) Compassion is the Basis of All Morality.
5) Men have failed; let Women take over.
6) Economic Growth without Distributive justice is bound to breed Violence.
7) Ecological considerations need not hamper development.
8) Computer : The Harbinger of a Silent Revolution.

1994
1) Youth is a blunder. Manhood a struggle. Old age a regret.
2) Indian Society at the crossroads.
3) The Challenge before a Civil Servant Today.
4) Modernisation and Westernization are not identical concepts.
5) A useless life is an early death.
6) Politics, Business and Bureaucracy-a fatal triangle.
7) Multinational Corporations-saviours or saboteurs.

1995
1) Politics without ethics is a disaster.
2) The new emerging woman-power: the ground realities.
3) When money speaks, the truth is silent.
4) Whither Indian democracy?
5) Restructuring of Indian education system.
6) Disinterested intellectual curiosity is the life-blood of real civilization.
7) Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.

1996
1) Literacy is growing very fast but there is no corresponding growth in education.
2) Restructuring of the UNO to reflect present realities.
3) New cults and Godmen: a threat to traditional religions.
4) The VIP cult is a bane of Indian democracy.
5) Need for transparency in public administration.
6) Truth is lived, not taught.

1997
1) What we have not learnt during fifty years of Independence.
2) Judicial activism.
3) Greater political power alone will not improve women’s plight.
4) True religion cannot be misused.
5) The modern doctor and his patients.
6) Urbanization is a blessing in disguise.

1998
1) The composite culture of India.
2) Woman is God’s best creation.
3) The misinterpretation and misuse of freedom in India.
4) India’s contribution to world wisdom.
5) The language problem in India: its past, present and prospects.
6) The world of the twenty-first century.

1999
1) Women empowerment: Challenges and prospects.
2) Youth culture today.
3) Mass media and cultural invasion.
4) Resource management in the Indian context.
5) Value-based science and education
6) Reservation, politics and empowerment.

2000
1) Why should we be proud of being Indians?
2) The cyberworld: It charms and challenges.
3) The country’s need for a better disaster management system
4) Indian culture today: A myth or a reality?
5) The implications of globalisation for India.
6) Modernism and our traditional socio-ethical values.

2001
1) What have we gained from our democratic set-up?
2) My vision of an ideal world order.
3) The march of science and the erosion of human values.
4) Irrelevance of the classroom.
5) The pursuit of excellence.
6) Empowerment alone cannot help our women.

2002
1) Modern technological education and human values.
2) Search for truth can only be a spiritual problem.
3) If youth knew, if age could.
4) The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
5) Privatisation of higher education in India.
6) Responsibility of media in a democracy.

2003
1) The Masks of New Imperialism.
2) How far has democracy in India delivered the goods?
3) How should a civil servant conduct himself?
4) As civilization advances culture declines.
5) There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.
6) Spirituality and Scientific temper.

2004
1) India’s Role in Promoting ASEAN Co-operation.
2) Judicial Activism and Indian Democracy.
3) Whither Women’s Emancipation?
4) Globalisation and its Impact on Indian Culture.
5) The Lure of Space.
6) Water Resources should be under the Control of the Central Government.

2005
1) Justice must reach the poor.
2) The hand that rocks the cradle.
3) If women ruled the world.
4) What is real education?
5) Terrorism and world peace.
6) Food security for sustainable national development.

2006
1. Women’s Reservation Bill Would Usher in Empowerment for Women in India.
2. Protection of Ecology and Environment is Essential for Sustained Economic Development.
3. Importance of Indo-U.S. Nuclear Agreement.
4. “Education For All” Campaign in India: Myth or Reality.
5. Globalization Would Finish Small-Scale Industries in India.
6. Increasing Computerization Would lead to the Creation of a Dehumanized Society.

2007
1. Independent thinking should be encouraged right from childhood.
2. Evaluation of Panchayati Raj System in India from the point of view of eradication of poverty to empower to people.
3. Attitude makes habit, habit makes character and character makes a man.
4. Is autonomy the best answer to combat balkanization?
5. How has satellite television brought about cultural change in the Indian mindset?
6. BPO boom in India.

2008
1. Role of media in good governance 
2. National Identity and patriotism 
3. Special Economic Zones : Boon or Bane  
4. Discipline means success, anarchy means ruin
5. Urbanisation and its Hazards 
6. Is an egalitarian society possible by educating the masses ?

2009
1. Are our traditional handicrafts doomed to a slow death?
2. Are we a "Soft" state ?
3. “The focus of health care is increasingly getting skewed towards the ‘haves’ of our society”.
4. “Good Fences make good neighbors”
5. "Globlisation" vs. "Nationalism"

2010
1. Geography may remains the same; history need not.
2. Should a moratorium be imposed on all fresh mining in tribal areas of the country?
3. Preparedness of our society for India’s global leadership role.
4. From traditional Indian philantrophy to the Gates-Buffett model-a natural progression or a paradigm shift.

2011
1. Creation of smaller states and the consequent administrative , economic and developmental implication
2. Does Indian Cinema shape our popular culture or merely reflect it
3. Credit – based higher education system – status , opportunities and challenges
4. In the Indian context , Both human intelligence and technical intelligence are crucial in combating terrorism

2012
1. In the context of Gandhiji’s views on the matter, explore, on an evolutionary scale, the terms ‘Swadhinata’, ‘Swaraj’ and ‘Dharmarajya’. Critically comment on their contemporary relevance to Indian democracy.
2. Is the criticism that the ‘Public-Private-Partnership’ (PPP) model for development is more of a bane than a boon in the Indian context, justified ?
3. Science and Mysticism : Are they compatible ?
4. Managing work and home – is the Indian working woman getting a fair deal ?

{Essay} Transformational shift from the Internet of today to the Equinet of tomorrow

Internet has evolved itself into a powerful, ubiquitous, empowering and liberating medium, even though only a fragment of its full potential is known and has been exploited by us so far. In its borderless cyberspace, internet provides limitless opportunities for freedom of speech and expression.  Internet, perhaps is the nearest approximation to the utopian world of freedom, envisioned by one of our greatest poets, Dr Rabindranath Tagore. He said and I quote:

“Where the mind is without fear,

Where the head is held high,

Where knowledge is free,

Where the world has not been broken into fragments by narrow domestic walls,…..”

Internet is greatly significant for India and, we believe, India is greatly significant for the Internet. These twin beliefs stem from two simple propositions. Firstly, Internet with its immense transformational potential, can provide the means for sustainable and inclusive development in a country of 1.25 billion people, in areas such as education, healthcare, financial inclusion and service delivery. Secondly, with an internet user-base of over 125 million, which is likely to grow to about half-a-billion over the next few years, and an established mobile base of 950 million, coupled with a large and talented pool of human resources, India will be a key player in the cyber-world of tomorrow. In view of these complementary and mutually-reinforcing positive externalities, India is deeply committed to the free and unbridled growth and development of the Internet, and is determined on its own and persuade others, to exploit this tremendous opportunity.

At the outset, in the true spirit of the vision outlined in the Tunis agenda, the issues of public policy related to the Internet have to be dealt with, by adopting a multi-stakeholder, democratic and transparent approach. It is belief that the term ‘Internet Governance’ is an oxymoron. Internet, by its very nature, can not coexist with the concept of ‘governance’, which relates to a system designed for dealing with the issues of the physical world. The term ‘Governance’, immediately invokes concepts of those who govern and those who are governed, which have no relevance in cyber-space. Semantics apart, what we need today is to put in place a system designed for cyberspace – a system which is collaborative, consultative, inclusive and consensual, for dealing with all public policies involving the Internet.

Such a cyber-paradigm should rest on 4 pillars that are rooted in the fundamental principles of democracy, inclusive growth, transparency and accountability.

Firstly, it should be consultative, including all stakeholders in the decision-making process. The medium of Internet provides voice to the voiceless as never before in the history of mankind. This potential can be realized only by providing universal access and affordable devices. The Digital divide must be relegated to the past – instead, our communities must reap the benefits of the digital dividend. Such a consultative process should also factor regional and national sensitivities besides vast diversities in language and culture.

Secondly, it should be evolutionary, with the processes evolving through a dialogue that is continuous and continuing. This is in keeping with the very nature of the Internet, which is mutli-dimensional, dynamic and evolving. A set of static frameworks is inappropriate for meeting the ever-changing requirements of the Internet space. 

Thirdly, it should put in place a mechanism for accountability, in respect of crimes committed in cyberspace, such that the Internet is a free and secure space for universal benefaction. A new cyber jurisprudence needs to be evolved to deal with cyber crime, without being limited by political boundaries and cyber-justice can be delivered in near real time.

Lastly, it shall be duly reflective of the ground realities as to the manner of representation of stakeholders at all consultative forums.

In order to deliberate on the approaches to the design and establishment of such a cyber-paradigm, India recommends the constitution of a Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation. If we put together our collective wisdom, we shall be able to soon make a transformational shift from the Internet of today to the Equinet of tomorrow.

{Paper} Essay UPSC Mains 2012

Attempt Any one of the following (200 Marks)

1. In the context of Gandhiji’s views on the matter, explore, on an evolutionary scale, the terms ‘Swadhinata’, ‘Swaraj’ and ‘Dharmarajya’. Critically comment on their contemporary relevance to Indian democracy.
2. Is the criticism that the ‘Public-Private-Partnership’ (PPP) model for development is more of a bane than a boon in the Indian context, justified ?
3. Science and Mysticism : Are they compatible ?
4. Managing work and home – is the Indian working woman getting a fair deal ?

Science and Mysticism: Are They Compatible?

Much has been written in recent years to the effect that science, in its upper reaches, merges into mysticism. It is often said, by certain New Age physicists and astronomers, that Atraditional" premises about order in nature, and the goal of objectivity in knowledge, are no longer justified. Proponents of this view argue that twentieth century advances in physics have demonstrated a reality chaotic in its ultimate "essence". They claim this supports the conclusion of an arbitrariness at the very core of existence: a scientifically unpredictable interference by some transcendental "holistic" force or Mind. And they would have us believe that the principle of indeterminacy -- as articulated by Heisenberg -- necessarily implies a human species reflecting just such an irrationality in its substantive being. Moreover, they now add, the new "chaos" theory confirms what the mystics have been saying all along. Nature, at all levels, is without internal order. All -- all is mystery, it seems, and we must seek new, more appropriate ways of tapping into the Creative Oneness above and beyond the chaos of "knowable" experience. We are told that we must learn to believe in the "unknowable", even though we can never know it in any scientifically predictable sense. And we must accept the "fact" that observation and analysis are but crude and limited tools in the search for that mystical Truth of transcendent "chaos" -- of which the uniquely sophisticated physicist, at the outer edge of human knowledge, has only recently become dimly aware.

Population Growth - Stabilization Holds the Key

• Five billion minds in 1987 had decided to establish World Population Day on July 11 and now, for more than 20 years, this day has become an occasion to mark the significance of population trends and related issues.
  

Indian Post Office - future ahead

• In India, Information Communication Technology (ICT) has emerged during the last decade as the most powerful tool of sustainable human development and inclusive growth. This technology is not the end but is mean to ends like good governance and better quality of service. Recognizing the role of ICTs in lessening the development divide and bringing transparency in Governance, India Post is the unique and most appropriate organization of Central Government for leveraging ICT for empowering Aam Aadmi.