Current Affairs – August 15-16, 2024

{GS2 – Governance – Civil Services} The seductive trap of the civil services

Context (TH): Recent headlines from Maharashtra and Delhi highlight critical issues with the civil services aspirants.

In Maharashtra, a trainee officer was found to have falsified documents, questioning the credibility of the selection process.
In Delhi, three aspirants tragically drowned, underscoring the extreme pressures and risks involved in the pursuit of civil services.

Historical Perspectives of Civil Service in India

In the initial times, civil servants for the East India Company were initially based on patronage and nominated by the Company’s Directors and trained at Haileybury College in London.
Lord Macaulay’s Report introduced a merit-based system in 1854, replacing the patronage system with competitive examinations.
The Civil Service Commission was established in London, and exams started in 1855, initially held only in London. Satyendranath Tagore, in 1864, was the first Indian to pass the exam.
The Indian Police Service began admitting Indians in 1920, with open competitions held in England and India from 1921.
The Imperial Forest Service started in 1864 & direct recruitment from England & India began in 1920.
The Aitchinson Commission (1887) reorganized services into Imperial, Provincial, and Subordinate categories.
The Indian Act of 1919 split Imperial Services into All India Services and Central Services, with Central Services focusing on direct central government control.
The Public Service Commission in India was established in 1926, following the Government of India Act of 1919 and recommendations from the Lee Commission.
It became the Union Public Service Commission after adopting the Indian Constitution in 1950.

Issues Associated with Civil Service Pursuit

High Pressure and Stress: Aspirants face extreme competition and mental strain throughout the rigorous civil services selection process.
- A 2023 study found over 30% of candidates report severe stress; recent Delhi tragedies highlighted the risks (Indian Psychiatry Society Report).
Exploitation by Coaching Centers: The coaching industry profits from aspirants’ desperation, often delivering poor success rates despite high costs.
- The coaching industry is worth ₹20,000 crore with a success rate under 1% (NSSO, 2022).
Cycle of Repeated Failures: Many candidates make multiple attempts with little success, leading to financial and emotional strain.
- In 2023, 60% of those passing the prelims had attempted the exam atleast thrice (UPSC).
Bureaucratic Inefficiencies: Ineffective regulation and systemic bureaucracy failures exacerbate aspirants’ challenges.
- CAG audits reveal lapses in regulatory adherence for coaching institutes (2023).
Unrealistic Career Expectations: The myth that civil services are the only prestigious career option drives many to pursue it despite misaligning their true interests.
- A 2023 survey showed 50% of young professionals view civil services as the top career choice.
Burnout Among Successful Candidates: Prolonged efforts to succeed can lead to burnout and reduced motivation once the aspirants enter the civil services.
- A 2023 study found that 40% of new IAS officers experienced burnout within their first year(Indian Journal of Public Administration).

Recommendations

Limit Attempt Numbers: Prevent prolonged failure cycles. UPSC allows up to six attempts, contributing to endless retries without significant success increases.
Promote Other Careers: Highlighting technology, education, or healthcare careers can diversify options. Countries like Germany with diverse career paths show balanced career development.
Support for Failed Candidates: Offering career counseling and job placements can redirect efforts. The UK’s Career Transition Partnership helps individuals find new career paths.
Regulate Coaching Industry: Enforcing transparency and quality standards in coaching centers can reduce exploitation. South Korea’s regulation improves quality and prevents exploitation.
Simplify Exam Structure: Making exams more straightforward and more accessible, such as through online formats, can ease the process. Online testing, like the SAT in the US, improves accessibility.
Lower Age Limits: Helps candidates start careers sooner.

{GS3 – Envi – CC Impacts} Great Barrier Reef Warming and Coral Bleaching

Context (TH): Water temperatures in and around the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, is the warmest in the past 400 years (Nature Journal).

Researchers found stable temperatures before 1900 and warming post-1900 was human-induced.
Record-high temperatures had created mass coral bleaching in 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022 and 2024.
It projects a loss of 70%-90% coral reefs even with the signing of Paris Agreement and future coral reefs might be different with less diversity in coral species.

Great Barrier Reef

It is the world’s largest collection of coral reefs & comprises of some 2,500 individual reefs and 900 islands. It is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981.
Located in the Coral Sea, off the northeastern coast of Australia, it extends in a north-south direction, roughly parallel to the mainland and south of the Torres Strait.

Read More > Causes of coral bleaching

{GS3 – Envi – Wetlands} New Ramsar sites of India

Context (TH): Nanjarayan and Kazhuveli bird sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu and the Tawa reservoir in Madhya Pradesh had been designated as new ramsar sites bringing the tally to 85.

Nanjarayan Tank Bird Sanctuary

It hosts nearly 191 bird species apart from several species of reptiles, fishes, amphibians and plant species.
It is an important place for wintering grounds and breeding grounds for migratory birds.
The lake derived its name from King Nanjarayan who repaired and restored the lake during his reign.
Native species: Spot-billed Pelican, Painted Stork, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Little Cormorant, Indian Cormorant, Great Cormorant, Little Egret, Great Egret, Spot-billed Duck, Common Coot and Little Grebe.

Kazhuveli Bird Sanctuary

It is a brackish shallow lake located on the Coromandel Coast, which is connected to the Bay of Bengal by the brackish Uppukalli creek and the Edayanthittu Estuary.
It lies in the Central Asian Flyway and is an important stopover site for about 40000 migratory bird species.
The Grey-tailed Tattler, a rare migratory wader had only been recorded here and in Pulicat across the country. Other migrants include Black-tailed Godwits, Eurasian Curlew, White Stork, Ruff and Dunlin.
It is one of the largest waterfowl congregation sites in Tamil Nadu and harbours Tropical Dry Evergreen Forests and has highly degraded mangrove patches containing Avicennia species.

Tawa reservoir

It is a reservoir at the confluence of the Tawa and Denwa rivers in central India and forms the western boundary of Satpura National Park and Bori Wildlife Sanctuary.

Tawa river

The river originates from Mahadeo hills and is the longest tributary of river Narmada.

{Prelims – Awards} Gallantry Awards

Context (TH): President Droupadi Murmu approved four Kirti Chakras and 18 Shaurya Chakras to the armed forces and Central Armed Police Forces personnel among the 103 gallantry awards.

Kirti Chakra Awardees: Major Malla Rama Gopal Naidu (Maratha Light Infantry,56 Rashtriya Rifles (RR)), Colonel Manpreet Singh (posthumous) (Sikh Light Infantry , 19 RR), Ravi Kumar (J&K Light Infantry, 63 RR), Humayun Muzammil Bhat, DySP, J&K Police, 19 RR).

Kirti Chakra (“Wheel of Glory”)

Credit: Indian Air Force

It is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle and may be awarded to civilians as well.
It is the peacetime equivalent of the Maha Vir Chakra and is second in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards, after Ashoka Chakra and before Shaurya Chakra.

Shaurya Chakra (“Wheel of Gallantry”)

Credit: Indian Air Force

It is awarded for generally awarded for Counter-Insurgency operations and actions against the enemy during peace-time, sometimes posthumously and may be awarded to civilians also.
It is the peacetime equivalent of the Vir Chakra and is third in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards and comes after the Ashoka Chakra and the Kirti Chakra. It precedes the Yudh Seva Medal.

Read More> Gallantry Awards