IAS Main Exam 2013: Tips and Strategies for Essay Paper

The Essay paper in IAS Main exam carries 200 marks and it is of 3 hours duration. The candidates can write the paper either in English or in any one of the Indian languages included in the eighth schedule of the constitution. The essay paper tests the following traits in the candidates:-

1) Comprehension
2) Originality of thought
3) Clarity of expression and
4) Integrated thinking with assimilation of ideas

Dos and Don’ts for Writing Essay Paper for IAS Main

• Stay focused on the topic which you have chosen for writing essay.
• Be analytical as well as logical while writing.
• There should be clarity and precision in your writing.
• Use sub heads in your writing wherever necessary.
• Divide your essay in small paragraphs.
• Provide facts whenever necessary.
• Avoid spelling and grammatical mistakes.
• Don’t use figurative language and words.
• Avoid writing long sentences. Be precise and direct.
• Express only a single thought in a single paragraph.

European Union (EU) wins 2012 Nobel Peace Prize

The 2012 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the European Union (EU) “for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe”.

The EU has been a key in transforming Europe “from a continent of wars to a continent of peace,” committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said in announcing the award in Oslo (Norway). “This is a message to Europe to do everything they can to secure what they’ve achieved and move forward,”Jagland said, saying it was a reminder of what would be lost “if the union is allowed to collapse”.

The 2012 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was divided equally between Alvin E. Roth and Lloyd S. Shapley

The 2012 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was divided equally between Alvin E. Roth and Lloyd S. Shapley “for the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design”.

In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) established the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize. The first Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen in 1969.

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Altamas Kabir – Appointed as The Chief Justice of India in the forenoon of 29.09.2012.

Altamas Kabir (born 19 July 1948 in Kolkata, West Bengal) is the 39th and the current Chief Justice of India.

PROFILE:

• Altamas Kabir, M.A.,LL.B. – was born on July 19, 1948.

• He was enrolled as an Advocate in 1973 and practised in the District Court and the Calcutta High Court in Civil and Criminal sides.

• He was appointed as a permanent Judge in the Calcutta High Court on August 6, 1990.

• He was thereafter appointed as a Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court on 1.3.2005.

Russian Soyuz spacecraft (Soyuz TMA-06M) successfully launches 1 American, 2 Russians towards the International Space Station (ISS)

A rocket carrying two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut has blasted off successfully to the International Space Station.

Russia’s Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin and NASA’s Kevin Ford departed in the Russian Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft on schedule at 10.51 GMT on Tuesday (23-10-2012) from Russia’s Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The crew will join NASA’s Sunita Williams, Russia’s Yuri Malenchenko and Japan’s Akihiko Hoshide, who arrived in July and are due to leave in mid-November.

Dengue and Severe Dengue – Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention and Control

Dengue and Severe Dengue: Dengue is transmitted by the bite of an Aedesmosquito infected with any one of the four dengue viruses (DEN 1, DEN 2, DEN 3 and DEN 4). It occurs in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world. Symptoms appear 3-14 days after the infective bite. Dengue fever is a febrile illness that affects infants, young children and adults. Dengue fever virus (DENV) is an RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae; genus Flavivirus.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne infection found in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world. In recent years, transmission has increased predominantly in urban and semi-urban areas and has become a major international public health concern.

Severe dengue (previously known as Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever) was first recognized in the 1950s during dengue epidemics in the Philippines and Thailand. Today, severe dengue affects most Asian and Latin American countries and has become a leading cause of hospitalization and death among children in these regions.