General Studies-II

Historical Underpinning & Evolution

• Regulating Act (1773) to Independence Act (1947)
• Constituent Assembly
• Objective Resolution
• Enactment & Enforcement of Constitution

Features

• Written
• Flexible & Rigid
• Federal & Unitary
• Parliamentary Form of Government (Presidential vs. Parliamentary Type of Government)

Amendments

• List of Significant Amendments & Their Provisions
• Procedure for Amending Constitution

Significant Provisions

• Fundamental Rights
• Directive Principles of State Policy
• Judicial Review
• Universal Adult Franchise
• Single Citizenship
• Separation of Powers

Basic Structure

• The Doctrine
• Judgments & Cases

• 7^thSchedule
• Legislative Functions

• Financial Functions
• Administrative & Quasi-Judicial Functions

Federal Structure in India - Is India truly Federal?

Cooperative & Competitive Federalism

Centre-State Relations

• Legislative Relations
• Administrative Relations
• Financial Relations
• Trends in Centre-State Relations

Inter-State Relations

• Inter-State Councils
• Public Acts, Records and Judicial Proceedings
• Inter-State Trade and Commerce
• Zonal Councils

Emergency Provisions

Role of Governor

Reports of Various Commissions

• Role of State Government
• Role of State Finance Commission
• 11^th & 12^th Schedule

• Reasons for Ineffective Performance
• Panchayat Devolution Index ( NITI Aayog)
• Steps That Can Be Taken to Improve Their Performance

• Doctrine of Separation of Power
• Separation of Power in Indian Constitution
• Doctrine of Checks & Balances

• Provisions for Checks & Balances in Indian Constitution
• Related Judgments - Golaknath case, Kesavananda Bharati, Indira Gandhi Narain, Ram Jawaya vs Punjab

• RTI
• PIL

Structure, Functioning, Conduct of Business, Powers & Privileges

• Written Constitution
• Blend of Rigidity and Flexibility
• Federal System with Unitary Bias
• Parliamentary Form of Government
• Synthesis of Parliamentary Sovereignty and Judicial Supremacy
• Integrated and Independent JudiciaryFundamental Rights, Directive Principles of State Policy, Fundamental Duties

• Secular State
• Universal Adult Franchise
• Single Citizenship
• Emergency Provisions
• Three-tier Government
• Due Process of Law vs. Procedure Established by Law
• Impeachment of President, etc.

Executive

• Union:
  • President
  • Prime Minister
  • • Council of Ministers
    • Cabinet Secretariat
    • State:
      • Governor
      • Chief Minister
      • Council of Ministers
      • Secretariat

Judiciary

• Three-Tier Structure
• Chief Justice of India
• SC & HC Judges
• Jurisdiction

• Cabinet Ministries
• Other Ministries

• Characteristics of Pressure Groups
• Pressure Groups & Political Parties
• Pressure Groups & Interest Groups
• Types of Pressure Groups

• Functions, Role & Importance of Pressure Groups
• Techniques/Methods of Pressure Groups
• Pressure Groups in India
• Shortcomings of Pressure Groups

Appointment, Powers, Functions & Responsibilities of:

• Election Commission
• Union Public Service Commission
• State Public Service Commission
• Finance Commission
• National Commission for SCs

• National Commission for STs
• Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities
• Comptroller and Auditor General of India
• Attorney General of India
• Advocate General of the State

• NITI Aayog
• RBI
• National Human Rights Commission
• State Human Rights Commission
• Central Information Commission
• Central Vigilance Commission
• Central Bureau of Investigation
• Lokpal and Lokayuktas
• National Commission for Women
• National Commission for Backward Classes
• National Commission for Minorities
• Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
• Securities and Exchange Board of India
• Competition Commission of India
• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
• Central Electricity Regulatory Commission
• Atomic Energy Regulatory Board

• Central Pollution Control Board
• Medical Council of India
• Inland Waterways Authority of India
• Central Ground Water Authority
• Directorate General of Civil Aviation
• Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority
• Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
• Bar Council of India
• University Grants Commission
• Financial Stability and Development Council
• All India Council for Technical Education
• National Green Tribunal
• Competition Appellate Tribunal
• Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal
• Cyber Appellate Tribunal
• Intellectual Property Appellate Board

Government Policies & Interventions in Various Sectors

• Health, Gender, Education, Poverty, Economic etc

Issues Arising Out of Their Design & Implementation

• Concerns/Issues
• Suggestions for Improvement
• Critical Assessment of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS)
• Rationalisation of CSS

• Analysis of Main Schemes:
  • Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
  • Smart City
  • Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
  • MGNERGA
  • Digital India
  • Make in India
  • Skill India
  • PM Jan Dhan Yojana
  • Start-up India etc.

• Role of Social Capital Organisations
• Indian Context
• Classification
• Provisions for the Third Sector in the Indian Constitution
• National Policy on the Voluntary Sector 2007

Non-Governmental Organisations

• Role and Impact of Non-governmental Organizations
• Issue Areas: Accreditation, Legitimacy & Accountability, Foreign Funding etc.

Self Help Groups (SHGs)

• Need for SHGs
• Benefits of SHGs
• Weaknesses of SHGs

• Challenges
• Measures to Make SHGs Effective
• Case Studies: Kudumbashree (Kerala), Mahila Arthik Vikas Mahamandal (Maharashtra)

Societies, Trusts and Cooperatives

• Societies
• Trust
• Religious Endowments
• Cooperatives –
  • Need for Cooperatives
  • Constitutional Provisions
  • National Policy on Co-operatives, 2002
  • Issues and Challenges in the Cooperatives Sector

Governance

• Dimensions of Governance
• Good Governance (GG)
• Aspects of GG
• Barriers to GG
• Necessary Pre-conditions for GG
• How to Ensure GG

E-Governance

• Applications
• Models
• Successes
• Limitations
• Potential
• Recent e-governance Initiatives by Government

Citizens Charters (CC)

• Features of CC
• Six Principles of CC
• Shortcomings of CC
• Measures to Make CC Effective
• Sevottam Model

Aspects of Transparency

Elements & Types of Accountability

Means to ensure Transparency & Accountability

• RTI
• Social Audit
• Whistleblower Protection Bill
• Lokpal & Lokayuktas Act

Relationship Between Civil Service And Democracy

Role Played By Civil Services

• Advisory Role in Policy Making
• Institutionalise Socio-economic change
• Discharge Delegated Functions
• Administer Law of the Land
• Watchdogs
• Continuity in times of Political Instability
• Record-Keeping
• Channel of Communication

Ailments/Issues Afflicting Indian Civil Services

• Lack of Professionalism & Poor Capacity Building
• Inefficient Incentive Systems
• Outdated Rules & Procedures
• Systemic Inconsistencies in Promotion
• Lack of Adequate Transparency & Accountability Procedures

• Arbitrary & Whimsical Transfers
• Political Interference & Administrative Acquiescence
• Gradual Erosion in Values & Ethics
• Redtapism
• Elitist in Nature
• Poor Pay
• Tendency to Capture Power

Reforming Bureaucracy to Strengthen Democracy

• Setting Right the Asymmetry of Power
• Insulating Civil Servants from Undue Political Interference
• Professionalisation with Stability of Tenure & Competition
• Citizen-Centric Administration
• Accountability
• Outcome Orientation
• Promoting Public Service Values & Ethics

Schemes for the Following Vulnerable Sections

• SCs & STs
• Minorities
• Children
• Elderly
• Disabled
• Women
• Transgender

Performance of These Schemes

Mechanisms, Laws, Institutions & Bodies Constituted for Protection & Betterment of These Vulnerable Sections

• SCs:
  • The Protection of Civil Rights Act
  • The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act
  • National Commission for Scheduled Castes
  • Scheduled Castes Sub Plan
• Disabled:
  • The Rehabilitation Council of India Act
  • The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act
  • Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act
  • The National Trust for Welfare of Persons with
    Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act
  • Rights of the Persons with Disabilities Act

• STs:
  • National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
  • Tribal Sub Plan
  • TRIFED
  • Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act
• Minorities:
  • National Commission for Minorities
  • National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities

Women & Children

• The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act
• The Indecent Representation of Women (Prevention) Act
• The Dowry Prohibition Act
• The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act
• The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act
• Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act
• Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act
• Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA)
• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act
• Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal)
• Pre-Conception and Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC&PNDT) Act
• Gender Budgeting
• National Policy for Women
• Domestic Violence Act
• • Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act

  Elderly

  Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act

Health

• India’s Performance on Various Health Indicators
• Weaknesses of Indian Healthcare System
• Health Infrastructure in India
• Universal Health Coverage
• 12th FYP Strategy
• Universal Health Coverage
• Health Insurance
• National Family Health Survey
• National Health Policy
• National Health Mission
• Maternal & Adolescent Health
• Child Health
• Antimicrobial Resistance
• Disease Burden in India
• Measures to Ensure Good Health Outcomes
• Government Initiatives

Education

• Status of Literacy in India
• Education Structure in India
• Challenges Faced by Education Sector in India
• Reforms Required
• Government Initiatives
• ASER Report
• Financing Education
• Subramanian Panel Report

Human Resource

• Need For Skill Development
• Skill Development Initiatives
• Challenges in Skilling Landscape in India
• Shortcomings of Current Skill Development Initiatives
• Reforms Required
• Steps that can Be Taken

• Relation between Poverty & Hunger
• Distribution of Poverty & Hunger
• Magnitude & Trends of Poverty & Hunger
• Causes of Poverty & Hunger
• Cost/Impact of Poverty & Malnutrition

• MDGs & SDGs
• Food and nutrition insecurity - a consequence of structural inequities
• Constraints in Reducing Poverty & Hunger
• Measure to Reduce Poverty & Hunger – National Food Security Act, Mid-day Meal Scheme, MGNREGA etc.

India’s Relations With

• China
• Pakistan
• Myanmar
• Bhutan

• Bangladesh
• Sri Lanka
• Afghanistan
• Nepal
• Maldives

India’s Major Foreign Policy Doctrines Since 1947

• Non-aligned Movement (NAM)
• Nuclear Doctrine
• Gujral Doctrine
• Look East to Act East
• Think West, etc.

Bilateral Relations With

• Major Powers Like – USA, Russia, Japan
• Central Asian Countries
• West Asian Countries
• African Countries
• Australia & New Zealand
• EU & European Countries
• Latin American Countries
• Pacific Countries

Regional & Global Groupings

• SAARC
• BRICS

• BBIN & BCIM
• BIMSTEC
• IBSA
• ASEAN & RCEP
• India-Africa Forum
• SCO
• Ashgabat Agreement
• FIPIC
• IOR-ARC
• Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC)
• Raisina Dialogue
• Heart of Asia Conference
• East Asia Summit
• G-20
• Asian Development Bank
• National Security Summit
• Multilateral Nuclear Export Regulatory Regimes: Wassenar, MTCR, Australia
• Asian Development Bank
• APEC, etc

• One Belt One Road
• International North–South Transport Corridor
• Global Trade War
• Global Currency War
• Syrian Crisis
• UN Reforms

• WTO Reforms
• South China Sea Conflict
• Brexit
• Deglobalisation & Protectionism – US Sanctions on Iran, US Pullout from Paris Agreement, H-1B Visa Issue etc.
• OPEC Oil Prices Manipulation, etc.

• Spread of Indian Diaspora
• India’s Diaspora Policy & Engagement Initiatives
  • OCI
  • Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
  • Know India Programme, etc.

• LM Singhvi High Level Committee on the Diaspora
• Role played by Indian Diaspora
• Issues Concerning the Diaspora:
  • Dual Nationality
  • Remittances, etc.

• UN & its Agencies
• WTO
• World Bank

• IMF
• World Economic Forum
• Commonwealth of Nations, etc.