Civil Services Synopsis

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CS Synopsis Current Affairs Newsletter - Features
- Complete coverage of current affairs from The Hindu and other leading newspapaers
- Information in point-wise format for easier understanding and retention
- Consolidated current affairs with background and explanation of news item wherever needed
- Current Affairs is asked in almost all competitive exams
- Send us email at [email protected] to get a complimentary copy of the current affairs newsletter

Rupee Denominated Bonds or Masala Bonds

Rupee Bonds or Masala Bonds have been in news of late and what is in news is bound to be important for General studies paper of IAS UPSC Civil Services Examination. So here is some point-wise information that would be useful for understanding what are rupee bonds and what is their significance.

What are Rupee Denominated Bonds?
- Bonds are basically instruments of debt through which companies raise funds from investors
- Indian companies have been borrowing money from overseas markets but these are generally denominated in dollars or other foreign currencies such as Euro
- Offshore rupee bonds will allow Indian companies to hedge currency fluctuation risks - for example a company's cost may rise sharply if for instance the rupee's value had weakened sharply during payback time compared to its value at the time of issuing the bonds
- A rupee denominated bond would negate such currency risks for Indian companies plus interest rates are lower by ~2% points which would help companies cut costs

Why Rupee Bonds are also called Masala Bonds?
- International Finance Corporation (IFC) which is investment arm of World Bank issued a Rs.1000 crore bond in November 2014 to fund infrastructure projects in India and named them 'Masala Bonds' to reflect the Indian connection (yuan denominated bonds are called 'dim sum' bonds)
- Indian Railways will issue rupee denominated bonds and list them on London Stock Exchange

Benefits of Masala Bonds
- offers opportunity to foreign investors who are not ...

To read the complete article and many such current affairs articles important from UPSC IAS Examination perspective, please visit our blog www.civilservicessynopsis.in

To Help IAS Aspirants In Clearing UPSC Civil Services Examination This Blog is intended to serve as a guiding light to IAS/IPS/UPSC Civil Services Examination aspirants and share with them the best books, sources of information, coaching institutes, selection of subjects, tips, tricks and techniques for clearing all stages viz. Prelims, Mains and Interview of IAS…

Making Yuan a Global Currency
Yuan or Chinese Renminbi (yes both the names are used for Chinese currency) is now going to be a global currency as IMF (International Monetary Fund) has given its nod for including Yuan in the SDR (Special Drawing Rights) basket which currently has four major currencies - USD, Euro, Yen and Pound. As this appears to be a hot topic for civil services examination, I have listed down the important points which one must know about Yuan, SDR, SDR basket of currencies, and most importantly implications of Yuan becoming a global currency on world and specifically for India. Happy Reading!

Case for inclusion of Yuan in IMF's SDR basket

China is world's biggest exporter
Currencies are included in SDR basket on the basis of two criterions
Currency's use in global transactions denoted by its share in reserves (freely usable)
Country's importance in world trade (exports)
IMF reviews composition of SDR basket every 5 years to reflect changed circumstances in world finances
What are SDR's and how does SDR work?
SDR is an international reserve asset created by IMF in 1969 to support Bretton Woods Exchange Rate System - in which every currency was pegged to USD, which was in turn pegged to gold
This was done as IMF felt that supply of USD and gold was inadequate to support world trade
SDR is not a currency per se, instead it represents a claim to currency held by IMF member countries for which they may be exchanged
SDR are denoted by currency code XDR (important for prelims)
SDRs are allocated to countries by IMF depending on its quota which is calculated by IMF based on a country's -
(1) GDP
(2) Openness
(3) Economic Stability
(4) Reserve Assets

To read the complete article and many such current affairs articles important from UPSC IAS Examination perspective, please visit our blog www.civilservicessynopsis.in

Important Topic For IAS UPSC Civil Services Mains Examination - Death Penalty or Capital Punishment

The issue of Death Penalty and its deterrent effect has been in news lately and it is one topic on which there are strong arguments available both for and against abolition of Death Penalty. I have listed below some of the key points and arguments that can be used while answering a question concerning Death Penalty either in IAS UPSC Civil Services Mains Exam or at the Personality Test/Interview stage.

· The Law Commission in its report has argued strongly for adopting the UK approach, which gradually abolished Death Penalty in 1999 by first reducing the number of crimes that invited this penal provision, and then gradually doing away with it altogether.
· Citing observations from the American Courts and recommendations of Justice JS Verma Committee, the Law Commission has argued against retaining the Death Penalty even for the rarest of rare crimes as it is a “regressive step” and in no ways acts as deterrent on serious crimes like r**e.

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http://www.civilservicessynopsis.in/2015/11/death-penalty-or-capital-punishment.html

Important Topics For IAS UPSC Civil Services Mains Exam 2015 - Need for UN Security Council (UNSC) Reform

UNSC (United Nations Security Council) Reforms
1. UNSC is the body responsible for maintaining global peace and security
2. UNSC maintains international peace, investigates disputes, recommends solution, calls upon members to apply economic sanctions and at times even take military action on the aggressor
3. UNSC is responsible for UN peace-keeping operations
4. UN Charter authorizes UNSC to take action on behalf of the members but these powers are exercised through UNSC Resolutions which are decided by votes of members
5. While other organs of UN make recommendation to governments, UNSC alone has the power to take decisions which are binding on the members

To read the complete article which lists the composition of UNSC, criticism of Veto power enjoyed by permanent members and Reform Proposals, please follow the link http://www.civilservicessynopsis.in/2015/11/united-nations-security-council-unsc.html

To Help IAS Aspirants In Clearing UPSC Civil Services Examination: United Nations Security... This Blog is intended to serve as a guiding light to IAS/IPS/UPSC Civil Services Examination aspirants and share with them the best books, sources of information, coaching institutes, selection of subjects, tips, tricks and techniques for clearing all stages viz. Prelims, Mains and Interview of IAS…

Important Topics For IAS UPSC Civil Services Mains Exam 2015 - Gold Schemes Launched by Government of India

The government has come out with gold monetisation scheme to reduce imports of the yellow metal as well as to bring the gold lying idle with Indian households into the formal banking system for overall growth of the economy. This is an important topic for IAS UPSC Civil Services Examination and also for other competitive examinations where current affairs is part of the syllabus. I have listed the important points concerning the Gold Monetisation Scheme in point-wise format for easier understanding and retention. You can also read more such useful articles on current affairs and IAS UPSC Civil Services Exam preparation on my blog www.civil servicessynopsis.in .

To read complete article please click on the link http://www.civilservicessynopsis.in/2015/11/gold-monetisation-scheme-important.html

To Help IAS Aspirants In Clearing UPSC Civil Services Examination: Gold Monetisation Scheme -... This Blog is intended to serve as a guiding light to IAS/IPS/UPSC Civil Services Examination aspirants and share with them the best books, sources of information, coaching institutes, selection of subjects, tips, tricks and techniques for clearing all stages viz. Prelims, Mains and Interview of IAS…

Important Topics For IAS UPSC Civil Services Mains Exam 2015 - Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)

What is TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership)?
-It is a trade pact that includes US, Canada, Japan, Vietnam, Chile, Peru, Australia, Malaysia, Mexico, Brunei, Singapore, New Zealand.
-Membership of TPP is confined so far to Pacific-rim states.
-TPP covers almost 40% of global trade.
-Prospects of US pursuing a similar deal with EU called TTIP (Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) which will cover another 40% of world trade.
-7 of the members of RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership – an ASEAN led effort to form a free trade group of 16 Asian countries including India) are party to TPP.
-There is domestic opposition to TPP in US as it may lead to job losses
-Critics in non-TPP countries say it will help US enforce trading and IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) standards much beyond WTO norms.

For more such current affair updates and helpful articles related to UPSC Civil Services Examination preparation please visit www.civilservicessynopsis.in

Best Books and Sources For IAS UPSC Civil Services Exam Preparation

This has been one of my most popular and helpful post for IAS Civil Services aspirants and now I am updating it to reflect the new changes in IAS UPSC examination pattern both in Prelims stage as wells as Mains Examination. The importance of General Studies has improved tremendously as in Prelims stage the second paper which used to contain logical reasoning, quantitative aptitude, english comprehension questions has been made qualifying nature from 2015 exam onwards. So General Studies is the King in Prelims stage and without solid preparation of GS one cannot hope to progress.
So here is an updated list of books and sources for starting your General Studies preparation for IAS UPSC Civil Services Examination preliminary stage.

I have been asked this question again and again and bowing to popular demand i am sharing the list of books and sources from where one can prepare general studies from UPSC prelims point of view.The list by no means is comprehensive but a starting point to get you on track to clear UPSC prelims.

GS is a vast ocean ,especially for first timers as they have time constraint plus a very vague idea about what to study and from where to study. First and foremost ,one has to prepare the core areas and later on one can try to cover some of the fringe areas as well. General Studies is not about preparing everything under the sun (though it comes close to it) and there has to be a method to the GS preparation madness.

CORE AREAS
1.Current Affairs : Make daily notes from The Hindu or read current affairs updates from any monthly magazine (I was a subscriber of Competition Wizard but hardly read anything other than toppers interviews) ; Read the diary of events (supplied with The Hindu in first week of January that covers all happenings of previous year) and mark all important happenings both national & international. Also one can follow Vision IAS monthly news magazines which are available in most bookshops in Delhi. But no substitute to making your own notes from newspapers.
Current affairs, needless to say, is worth at least 40-45 marks in GS, so ignore it at your own peril.(kindly refer my article on current affairs for more details at www.civilservicessynopsis.in)

2.History : Modern Indian History is important from both prelims and mains point of view.The best source for me was NCERT social studies books of classes 8 and 9(Contemporary India is the name of the book). Just go through the history portions and make notes, it will hardly take much time and will give you a clear idea of the chronology of events. One can expect 10-12 questions from modern indian history (freedom struggle) but be ready for surprises.
I know many people would not be satisfied with only the NCERT books ,so for those hard to please souls Spectrum's Modern Indian History booklet will be a good book to read. Even after this if one is not content then read Bipin Chandra as well ;)
For ancient and medieval India (fringe areas of GS) try to get hold of Vajiram classnotes or special supplements of Competition Wizard or any such magazine. From that also focus only on books and authors (eg.Mrichkatikam was written by Shudraka and Amuktamalyada was written by Krishnadeva Raya,who was the most famous King of Vijaynagar empire,which was founded by Harihara and Bukka and so on), Indus Valley sites and where particular things were found,important kingdoms and their rulers etc. I will be discussing it in more detail in a later post on Ancient & Medieval India which you can find at www.civilservicessynopsis.in .

3.Geography : Mostly atlas/location based questions are asked. One should not .... Read my entire article at http://www.civilservicessynopsis.in/2009/01/books-for-upsc-prelims-general-studies.html

Natural Disasters and their cause as well as management of a disaster once it has struck are important areas from where questions are invariably asked in IAS UPSC Civil Services Examination. While in prelims stage it may require recall of the name of a cyclone for example and where it made landfall where as in Mains stage UPSC may ask the reasons both man-made and natural for a disaster and the steps that can be taken for mitigating the disaster. I have compiled information which can be used for writing an answer on a disaster that strikes India regularly - Floods.

Floods in India
1.India is highly vulnerable to floods. Out of the total geographical area of 329 million hectares (mha), more than 40 mha is flood prone.
2.Floods are a recurrent phenomenon, which cause huge loss of lives and damage to livelihood systems, property, infrastructure and public utilities.
3.It is a cause for concern that flood related damages show an increasing trend. This can be attributed to many reasons including a steep increase in population, rapid urbanization growing developmental and economic activities in flood plains coupled with global warming.
4.The frequency of major floods is more than once in five years.
5.Floods have also occurred in areas, which were earlier not considered flood prone.
6.Eighty per cent of the precipitation takes place in the monsoon months from June to September. The rivers bring heavy sediment load from catchments. These, coupled with inadequate carrying capacity of rivers are responsible for causing floods, drainage congestion and erosion of river-banks.
7.Cyclones, cyclonic circulations and cloud bursts cause flash floods and lead to huge losses. It is a fact that some of the rivers causing damage in India originate in neighboring countries; adding another complex dimension to the problem.
8.Continuing and large-scale loss of lives and damage to public and private property due to floods indicate that we are still to develop an effective response to floods.

To read the complete article please click on the link http://www.civilservicessynopsis.in/2015/11/disaster-mnangement-floods-in-india.html

To Help IAS Aspirants In Clearing UPSC Prelims Examination: Disaster Management - Floods in India This Blog is intended to serve as a guiding light to IAS/UPSC Civil Services Examination aspirants and share with them the best books, sources of information, coaching institutes, selection of subjects, tips, tricks and techniques for clearing all stages viz. Prelims, Mains and Interview of UPSC Civ…

Civil Services Synopsis - Current Affairs Digest 4

The recently concluded India-Africa Summit held in New Delhi promises to give a renewed thrust to India-Africa relations. The attached image contains the important take-aways from the summit in points format for better understanding and retention.

For more such current affair updates and helpful articles related to UPSC Civil Services Examination preparation please visit www.civilservicessynopsis.in

Civil Services Synopsis - Current Affairs Digest 3

National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) has been in news as SC has decided to continue with the Collegium System of appointment of Judges. In the image attached pros and cons of NJAC vis-a-vis Collegium system has been listed for easier understanding and retention.
For more such useful information and current affairs updates for competitive examinations, please visit www.civilservicessynopsis.in