Here are some tips that can help candidates improve their answer writing skills for the UPSC Civil Services Mains Examination:

1. Understand the Question Properly:
   • Carefully read and analyze the question to identify the key requirements and the specific information that needs to be covered in the answer.
   • Identify the directive words like “discuss”, “explain”, “evaluate”, etc. and structure your answer accordingly.
2. Develop a Structured Approach:
   • Plan your answer by creating an outline with an introduction, body, and conclusion.
   • Organize your points in a logical flow, with appropriate linkages between different sections.
   • Use relevant examples, facts, and data to support your arguments.
3. Focus on Content and Presentation:
   • Ensure your answer covers all the important aspects of the question in a comprehensive manner.
   • Present your arguments clearly and concisely, avoiding verbosity and irrelevant information.
   • Use appropriate language, grammar, and vocabulary to convey your points effectively.
4. Demonstrate Analytical and Critical Thinking:
   • Go beyond mere description and try to analyze the issues from different perspectives.
   • Critically evaluate the pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses, and the underlying principles or concepts.
   • Incorporate your own insights, interpretations, and recommendations where appropriate.
5. Practice and Seek Feedback:
   • Practice writing answers to previous year’s question papers and mock tests.
   • Seek feedback from teachers, mentors, or peers to identify areas for improvement.
   • Analyze the feedback to understand the common mistakes and work on addressing them.
6. Stay Updated on Current Affairs:
   • Regularly read newspapers, magazines, and online resources to stay informed about current issues and developments.
   • Relate the current affairs knowledge to the conceptual understanding of various subjects.
   • Incorporate relevant and updated information in your answers.
7. Manage Time Effectively:
   • Practice writing answers within the stipulated time frame to develop time management skills.
   • Allocate time judiciously to different sections of the answer based on the weightage of the question.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 had several key causes:

1. Social Inequalities and Peasant Unrest:
   • The vast majority of the Russian population were peasants living in poverty and experiencing severe economic hardship.
   • There was a wide gap between the wealthy aristocracy and the impoverished working class and peasants, leading to resentment and a desire for social change.
2. Ineffective Governance and Autocratic Rule:
   • The Russian Empire was an autocratic monarchy ruled by the Tsar, who had absolute power and resisted any moves towards democratic reforms.
   • The Tsar’s government was seen as ineffective, corrupt, and unable to address the growing social and economic challenges.
3. World War I and Military Losses:
   • Russia’s involvement in World War I resulted in massive military losses and casualties, further straining the country’s resources and public morale.
   • The Russian army’s poor performance and the Tsar’s personal leadership of the military contributed to growing public discontent.
4. Economic Hardship and Shortages:
   • The war effort had a devastating impact on the Russian economy, leading to severe shortages of food, fuel, and other essential supplies.
   • The economic hardship and deprivation experienced by the working class and peasants fueled discontent and revolutionary sentiment.
5. Rise of Revolutionary Ideologies:
   • The spread of Marxist and socialist ideas, as well as the growing influence of the Bolshevik party led by Vladimir Lenin, contributed to the revolutionary fervor.
   • The Bolsheviks capitalized on the public’s dissatisfaction with the Tsar’s government and presented a radical alternative that promised “peace, land, and bread.”
6. The February Revolution:
   • In February 1917, widespread protests and demonstrations in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) led to the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, marking the beginning of the Russian Revolution.
   • This paved the way for the subsequent Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917, which brought the Bolsheviks to power and established the Soviet Union.

Globalisation is a process of interaction and integration among the people, communities, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology.

• Globalisation has proved to be a double edged sword. It has been allegedly responsible for human rights violations as follows: Globalisation has led to relocation of industries to areas where it not only leads to environmental degradation but also directly impacts the rights of forest dwellers, indigenous people dependent on natural resources as was argued in the case of establishment of POSCO plant, a South Korean steel major in Odisha.
• Trans-National Companies (TNCS) are increasingly becoming more powerful and influential and often use their influence to encourage governments to adopt policies of liberalization, deregulation and privatization that ignore human rights as well as rights of workers. For instance, in the 1990s, Nike sportswear was plagued with damning reports that its global supply chain was being supported by child labour in places like Cambodia and Pakistan.
• Increased use of technology raised issues related to the right to privacy. Similarly technologies, such as digitalization, biotechnology and human cloning, etc. have serious implications for the realization of various human rights.
• Globalisation has led to a culture of consumerism where corporations strive hard and compete fiercely to increase their profits and capture more market share. For example, the use of famous personalities or women in sexually explicit advertisements. It dictates life’s priorities not on the basis of rational and free decision making but on corporate interests, which poses a serious challenge to the realization of human rights.
• The Copenhagen Declaration itself recognizes that the rapid processes of change and adjustment due to globalisation have been accompanied by intensified poverty, unemployment and social disintegration.

However, the same globalisation has also promoted human rights movements that counter its own excesses as explained below:

• Globalisation has led to the development of legislations such as the International Covenants on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) under Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which ensure protection of human rights.
• International bodies such as the IMF and World Bank provide loans and policy advice to the developing nations to eradicate poverty and the WTO agreements try to balance the norms and standards of human rights along with the economic aspects of the liberalization of trade.
• Globalisation has contributed to the development of corporate social responsibility and the concern for the accountability of non-state actors, such as transnational corporations for their activities, particularly when impacting negatively on the environment, on communities, and so on.
• Consumer boycotts and campaigns have also led TNCs to be more attentive to social responsibility and to their reputation risk.
• It has also helped in opening up the avenues, and acceptance of rights of women, as well as those belonging to depressed class/caste/race, etc.

There is a need to rethink about the manner in which globalisation spreads. The world should strive towards ethical globalisation.

In India, 43% of the total graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are women, which is one of the highest in the world, but only 14% become scientists, engineers, and technologists, thus creating a huge gender disparity in workspace. India ranks second in the world’s top 20 countries with the highest number of women Tech CEOs. But even with 1501 female CEOs, the rate is just 5.01% of the total 29,748 tech companies.
The under-representation of women in STEM starts from school and results from deep-rooted social discrimination, social norms, biases, and expectations as given below:

• Patriarchal conditioning: Pressures to conform to patriarchal societal norms, household responsibilities and childbirth play a major role in women backing out of advanced careers in science and technology.
• Gender stereotypes: STEM fields are often viewed as masculine. Teachers and parents often underestimate girls’ abilities to do well in subjects like mathematics starting as early as preschool.
• Dual role syndrome: Women in STEM are likely to face ‘dual role’ syndrome, wherein professional decisions are largely affected by their domestic responsibilities. For example, many women prefer to withdraw from the research field post marriage or after childbirth.
• Discrimination at the workplace: Women in STEM face gender bias in performance evaluations due to lack of women representation in leadership positions.
• Lack of supportive infrastructure: Lack of suitable workplace or education benefits like travel allowance, lodging and maternity benefits also dissuades them from pursuing careers in STEM.

Thus, in order to bridge the gap in gender inequality and improve the future of women in STEM, it will take a collective effort from the government, industry leaders, academia, and society:

• Government: The government may consider investing more in colleges specifically for women engineers so that young and bright women can start early on through internships and apprentices. Each state, particularly in rural areas, must encourage girl science students through paid internships or monthly stipends.
• Industry leaders: Companies should recruit more women to create diversity in the workplace. Measures such as the mandatory representation of women in Boards, rollout of women-centric mentoring programs, flexible or remote work setups, and providing childcare and after-school support can be taken by the management.
• Academia: It is necessary to address gender biases in learning materials. For example, biographies of women who have succeeded in male-dominated fields can alter the career aspirations of girls. Also, reinforcing academia and industry linkages will encourage young women in STEM through networking, mentorship, and skill building.
• Society: Positive parenting will help change stereotypical perceptions related to STEM subjects and inspire young girls to choose and work in this area.

Though the government has taken initiatives like Vigyan Jyoti, Knowledge Involvement Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN) etc. various socio-economic hurdles need to be overcome to utilize the potential of women in STEM.

As per the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2021-2022 report, India is among the top five easiest places to start a new business. The report further highlights that India’s total entrepreneurial activity rate (percentage of adults aged 18-64 who are starting or running a new business) increased to 14.4% in 2021 from 5.3% in 2020. Moreover, India has become the 3rd largest start-up ecosystem in the world after the US and China.
However, the entrepreneurship ecosystem in India faces multiple challenges, which include:

• Lack of finances and infrastructure: Availability of stable cash flows is a challenge for enterprises, especially start-ups. For instance, in the initial phase of operations, start-ups do not easily get money from banks, given no credit history of the firm. Further, there is a lack of support mechanisms like incubators, science and technology parks, etc. that play a significant role in the life cycle of entrepreneurship.
• Disparity in spatial location: The rapid growth of a support system is concentrated in certain pockets of urban development centres, mainly in the technology hubs limited to metropolitan areas and some state capitals.
• Lack of an innovative business model: To be successful, a start-up must be innovative. However, Indian startups are considered to be less innovative than startups elsewhere due to lack of original disruptive ideas.
• Foreign influence: The big investors in India’s start-ups are from overseas, like Japan’s SoftBank, China’s Alibaba, and Sequoia from the US. One of the reasons for this is lack of a serious venture capital industry with an appetite for risk in India.
• Regulatory bottlenecks: A number of permissions from the government agencies is mandatorily required for starting and exiting a business, which makes the process of starting a business cumbersome

Despite the challenges, entrepreneurship is important for India since the entrepreneurs are the engines that spearhead the economic growth of India and shape its future in the following ways:

• Creation of new jobs and employment opportunities: A report by McKinsey Global Institute highlights that post COVID-19, annual GDP growth of 8.0 to 8.5 percent will be required with faster employment growth than in the past to create 12 million gainful non-farm jobs annually. Entrepreneurship will be significant in this regard.
  • For instance, Indian start-ups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) created 1,92,427 jobs in 2021.
• Developing the manufacturing and services sectors: In a developing country like India, majority of the people depend on the primary sector for employment (around 50% in agriculture) and in such a scenario, some remain underemployed. Entrepreneurship helps them to move to the manufacturing and services sectors.
• More than 4,500 start-ups have been recognised by the DPITT in sectors relating to emerging technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, artificial intelligence, analytics, etc.
• Economic development: Entrepreneurs frequently target new markets and tap audiences outside the focus of established firms creating new sources of revenue and profits.
  • India is witnessing development by virtue of entrepreneurship in Tier II and III cities due to financial constraints and competition in the metro cities. Further, some state governments like Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu are offering schemes/incentives for setting up of small and medium enterprises in Tier II and III cities.
• Promotes research and innovation: Entrepreneurship thrives in innovative ideas, which promote research, development of new technologies, etc. This helps productive utilization of the human resources of the country.
• For instance, Graviky Labs, an Indian start-up, uses carbon sequestration to store the carbon from the atmosphere and processes the emissions into usable carbon.
• Community development: Entrepreneurs foster a sense of community among people with common goals and interests, whether in a single neighbourhood or across continents. Their products and services contribute to the community’s social and economic well-being.

In this regard, various steps have been taken by the government including hand-held support through schemes such as Mudra loans, NABARD-SHG-Bank linkage etc., concessions to entrepreneurs through schemes like Start-Up India, Stand-Up India etc., promotion of innovation through schemes like Atal Innovation Mission, IPR policy guidelines, National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI), etc. It is critical to foster entrepreneurship in India and the government should ensure that the physical infrastructure in the country and regulatory measures are conducive for that.