General Comprehension (UPSC) (Part-VI)

1. Sustainable production of India's cereal food grains is impossible without the diversity of pollinating animals.

2. Monoculture of horticultural crops hampers the survival of insects.

3. Pollinators become scarce in cultivated areas devoid of natural vegetation.

4. Diversity in insects induces diversity of plants.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Approximately 80 percent of all flowering plant species are pollinated by animals, including birds and mammals, but the main pollinators are insects. Pollination is responsible for providing us with a wide variety of food, as well as many plant-derived medicines.

At least one-third of the world's agricultural crops depend upon pollination. Bees are the most dominant taxa when it comes to pollination and they are crucial to more than four hundred crops. Pollination is an essential service that is the result of intricate relationships between plants and animals, and the reduction or loss of either affects the survival of both. Effective pollination requires resources, such as refuges of pristine natural vegetation.

A study conducted on the impacts of climate change over the Cauvery basin of Tamil Nadu using regional climate models showed an increasing trend for maximum and minimum temperatures, and a decrease in the number of rainy days.

These climatic shifts will have an impact on the hydrological cycles in the region, lead to more run-off and less recharge, and affect the groundwater tables. Further, there has been an increase in the frequency of droughts in the State, This has driven farmers to increase dependency on groundwater resources to secure their crops.

Researchers were able to use stem cells to gauge the neurotoxic effects of the environmental pollutant Bisphenol A (BPA). They used a combination of biochemical and cell-based assays to examine the gene expression profile during the differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells upon treatment with BPA, a compound known to cause heart diseases, diabetes, and developmental abnormalities in humans.

They were able to detect and measure BPA toxicity towards the proper specification of primary germ layers, such as endoderm and ectoderm, and the establishment of neural progenitor cells.

Medieval merchants risked the hazards of the silk Road to reach the markets of China; Portuguese caravels in the 15th century sailed beyond the bounds of the known world, searching less for knowledge than for gold and Spices.

Historically, the driver for opening frontiers has always been the search for resources. Science and curiosity are weaker drivers. The only way to open up space, whether the space of solar system or 'interstellar space is to create an economic engine and that engine is resource extraction.

''Most people would agree that telling deliberate lies is wrong, except perhaps in certain special situations where more harm will be done by telling the truth. Even the most truthful people probably tell a good many more lies that might be regarded as semantic lies; their use of words contains some measure of falsehood, more or less deliberate."

''Most people would agree that telling deliberate lies is wrong, except perhaps in certain special situations where more harm will be done by telling the truth. Even the most truthful people probably tell a good many more lies that might be regarded as semantic lies; their use of words contains some measure of falsehood, more or less deliberate."

1. Modern democracies rely on the market forces to enable them to be welfare states.

2. Markets ensure sufficient economic growth necessary for democracies to be effective.

3. Government programmes are needed for those left behind in economic growth.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Can a democracy avoid being a welfare state for long? Why cannot mass welfare be left entirely to the markets ? There is a built-in tension between markets and democracy, Markets do not work on a one-person-one-vote principle as democracies do. What one gets out of the market place depends on one's endowments, skills, purchasing power and the forces of demand and supply.

Markets reward individual initiative and skill, and may also lift many from the bottom rungs of society, but some people never get the opportunity to develop skills that markets demand; they are simply too poor and too handicapped; or skill formation takes too long. By creating jobs, markets may be able to help even unskilled people, but capitalism has always witnessed bursts of unemployment.

In our schools, we teach our children all that is there to know about physics, Maths and History and what-have-you. But do we teach them about the bitter caste divide that plagues the country, about the specter of famine that stalks large parts of our land, about gender sensitivity, about the possibility of atheism as a choice, etc.?

Equally important, do we teach them to ask questions, or do we teach them only to passively receive our wisdom? From the cocooned world of school, suddenly, the adolescent finds himself/herself in the unfettered world of university. Here he/she is swept up in a turmoil of ideas, influences and ideologies. For someone who has been discouraged from asking questions and forming an opinion, this transition can be painful.

The best Universities like Harvard and MIT, despite having the luxury of having some truly excellent teachers on their payroll, are increasingly embracing the "flipped classroom" format, where students listen to video lectures at home, and spend class time applying their knowledge, solving Problems, discussing examples, etc.

Professors guide that discussion and fill in wherever necessary, explaining those bits that seem to be eluding the students and throwing in advanced ideas that happen to be topical. These universities have made their video lectures available free for anyone in the world.

They are also encouraging colleges and universities all over the world to integrate these online courses into their own pedagogy, picking the pieces that are appropriate for their needs and building a package around them.

Our cities are extremely vulnerable to climate change because of large concentrations of populations and poor infrastructure. Moreover, population densities are increasing in them but we have not yet developed the systems to address climate change impacts.

Our cities contribute 65 per cent of the GDP, but there are not enough facilities to cater to the needs of the people- It is important to address the issues of air quality, transport, etc., that are vital to identifying sustainable solutions. We need to involve citizens in city planning and create an ecosystem that meets the needs of the people.