Indian missile technology has reached to the apex of success and a state of maturity allowing the country to field systems covering the entire spectrum of land, air and sea-based platforms. It took the masters a period of decades to develop this technological revolution and to bring it the present state of maturity on the basis of active technology denial regimes imposed on India by several countries across the globe. Aim and ObjectivesIt is acknowledged by the countries all across the globe, that India has the most sophisticated and state of the art ballistic and cruise missile programme apart from the internationally recognized status conferred by the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) upon USA, Russia, UK, France and China. The irony is that a country like India which is a peace lover, embark a programme so markedly militaristic in nature. The sudden short war with China in the year 1962 as well as the never-stopping military encounters with Pakistan’s terrorism planning left India without any options but to evolve their own unique nuclear weapons programme. On a second thought, this nuclearization of India’s weapon programme was very much required as we could never forget the timidity that resulted from the nuclearisation of China’s weapon programme at the time of Indo-China war. Additionally, the geographical position of India led to the four-fifths of the area of land and sea borders easily accessible to all nuclear-weapon armed powers. India’s full-fledged missile development programme was brought in existence in the year 1958 which endeavored to develop technologically advanced or reverse-engineer missile technology for India. The projects were headed by Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) that aspired to develop in-depth expertise in the allied arena and develop state-of-the-art technological infrastructure in the country. Some of the best engineers, scientists, technicians as well as masterminds came together to develop indigenously designed missiles that were modern and met all the requirements at the time of war. They planned to produce a series of missile systems and ascertained that these were indigenous as well as high-tech. Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP)The year 1983 brought a crucial turn in the realm of missile development programme of India, as India launched the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). The plan included development of a series of strategic and deliberate guided missiles. In accordance with these programme two ballistic missile systems namely Prithvi and Agni were developed. Prithvi is a short-range ballistic missile and Agni is a medium range technology demonstrator (TD). There are plans to develop medium and short-range surface to air-missiles (SAMs) namely Akash and Trishul. Additionally, plans are to produce the third-generation anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), the Nag. Strategic missilesPrithvi SeriesPrithvi-I/SS-150 (Earth) - single-stage, 150 km-range/1,000kg-payload, army-version Prithvi-II/SS-250- (IAF)-version, 250km-range, payload of 500kgPrithvi-III/SS-350– Dhanush (Bow)K-15/Sagarika (Oceanic)- sub-surface version of the Prithvi III, the K-15 or SagarikaAdvanced Air Defence (AAD)- An anti-ballistic missile and its modified stage used in an “interceptor” mode to demolish enemy missile. Agni (Fire) Series- designed and developed for deliverance of nuclear munitions.Agni-I- 700-800km-Agni IIrange/1,000kg-payload with an intermediate rangeAgni-II- two-stage, 2,000-2,500km-range/1,000kg-payload missileBoth these versions are availed to the Indian Army and have developed two new missile groups. Agni-III- 3,000-4,000 km-rangeAbout to develop another variant with an extended range of missile to be 5,000 kmTactical missilesBrahMos (Brahmaputra-Moskva)This is an India Russia joint venture that displays India’s missile-building technological abilities. This is a multi-platform, 280-300km-range/200-300kg-payload, 2.8 mach supersonic cruise missile. Nirbhay (Fearless)This is an indigenously designed innovative cruise missile system which is developed to be a 1,000 kg/1,000 km-medium range, high sub-sonic (0.7 mach) and multi-platform missile launched from land, sea and air. It is 6 meter high with a diameter of 520 mm. Nag (King Cobra)This is an all-weather, third generation guided anti-tank missile, fire and forget top attack with 4-7 km range. Astra BVRAAM (Weapon)This is an active, radar-homing Beyond Visual Range Air to Air Missile (BVRAAM) with 90-120 km range and 150 kg weight. Akash (Sky)This is a surface-to-air missile with an intercept range of 30 km, launch weight 720 kg, diameter of 35 cm and length of 5.78 meters.
Civil Service Entrance examination is a very comprehensive process of examining the analytical and communication skills of the candidates. The composition of selection process is more or less uniform across various states of the country and is modeled after the procedure adopted by UPSC. It mainly consist of three rounds-1. Preliminary Test- One paper on General Studies and One paper on an Optional Subject.2. Main Examination- Two Papers on General Studies, Compulsory Papers- One Paper each on English and Indian Language, One paper on Essay writing, Two papers each on any two optional chosen for the Main Examination. 3. Personality Test- Viva voce format Preliminary test is of Objective questions type and is mainly an elimination round. With the introduction of negative marking in this round, the emphasis has shifted from rote learning to thorough understanding of the topic. Moreover it is an effective way of getting rid of non serious candidates. While GS is of all encompassing nature, the optional can be much more predictive because the syllabus is already specified by the UPSC. Further the weightage of Optional paper is twice that of GS paper, which makes it even more important from the qualification point of view. But that doesn’t mean that GS is anyway less important. GS still contribute one third to the total maximum marks. Same is true with the Main examination also. Here Optional subjects are two in number and have double the weight as compared to GS. But the pattern of exam as well as desiderata is different in Main as compared to Preliminary. Main exam expects essay type answers to the questions. It is a thorough test of analytical capabilities of the examinee. The selection of the Optional subjects has to be guided by these general considerations regarding the nature of the exam.One major consideration of IAS aspirants is to go for the subject which is most scoring. UPSC does not prescribe any qualifications for selecting an optional which means anybody can take any optional subject. This freedom sometimes translate into people going for optional which they think they can handle and score just because others have scored heavily in it. This may result in getting stuck in an optional which may not appeal to intellectual capabilities of the candidate resulting in below par performance and resulting demoralization. Further it must be kept in mind that the disparities in marks generated by inclusion of technical optionals like Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Life Sciences has largely been tackled by the ‘Scaling Process’ undertaken by UPSC while evaluating Main Examination Answer Script of various optional. This process ensures that candidates with optional subjects in high scoring basic sciences do not get any unfair advantage over Arts’ candidates. This process is applied to all the subjects to bring a uniform and objective assessment of final scores of the examinees. Ideally one should go for the optional subjects which one has studied in graduation. But this is not a hard and fast rule and is more ignored than adhered to. In fact there is nothing wrong in taking an optional which does not match with your graduation subjects as long as this change in preference is based on a genuine interest in the optional subject. Thus it is interest which should guide one’s choice and not some extraneous consideration. But interest alone is not enough, some prior experience or at least a broad understanding of the subject is absolutely mandatory. If you don’t find any such subject then stick to optional subjects matching your graduate curriculum. Further one should also deeply research the availability of quality study material before choosing an optional and also the availability of some reputed coaching class if the candidate finds it necessary. Another very important aspect is to thoroughly research the previous years’ question papers. One must try to solve some of the questions even before taking up the preparation and get them evaluated by some person who has experience in the subject. It will help gauge one’s mental preparedness for the challenge ahead. This will give a realistic picture regarding the difficulty level of the questions and also show the extent of incongruence between expected and actual amount of preparation required. Another very important aspect one should keep in mind is amount of overlap amongst various optional subjects and also between optional and General Studies. As an indicative example, let’s take a look at a combination of GS, Public Administration and Sociology. A large portion of Public Administration viz. Union and State Government, Financial Administration and Development Administration find its use in General Studies’ Indian Polity, Indian Economy and Social Issues sections. Similarly Sociology’s sections viz. Planning and Development, Social Issues, Tribal Development, Family laws and socio- economic legislation find their utility mainly in Indian Economy, Indian Polity and Social Issues sections. As far as convergence between Sociology and Public Administration is concerned the areas are many. Public administration borrows heavily from Organizational theory, Concept of Bureaucracy, Socio-Economic Planning, Financial Administration, Issues in Development Administration, Current social and political issues, Tribal Development, welfare programs etc. What we can infer from here is that both the optional must have some synergy amongst each other as well as with GS. Some other popular combinations are- Political Science & Sociology, Public Administration & Economics, Public Administration and Pyschology, Sociology and Psychology, History and Sociology etc. In fact Psychology is getting popular with persons of scientific and engineering backgrounds also. For examples one successful candidate had opted for Physics and Psychology as his optional.Last but not the least one must take into account of the combinations which are prohibited by UPSC itself. It has been done due to highly significant overlapping between two subjects, for example Public Administration and Political Science are not allowed to be taken together, and similarly Sociology and Anthropology can’t be clubbed together. These are few basic and general points on choosing the optional subjects for the exam. The discussion is indicative and not exhaustive, there are separate dynamics associated with each optional subject and while choosing to commit one’s career for one year on any optional one must go into all the possible scenarios around that optional. Further, it must be remembered that barring a few exceptions changing one’s optional across the different attempts or in the same attempt itself (i.e. different optional subjects for PT and Main exam) does not yield any positive result unless it is very well thought of strategy and there actually are three subjects over which a candidate can claim equal mastery, which is very rare indeed. Once optional subjects are chosen, a candidate must devote himself totally in acquiring the required expertise in the subjects and capability to tackle the examination. In the end it’s the amount of ‘intelligent’ hard work which is the deciding factor in one’s success.
If there is anything which can mean as many things as there are people, Civil Services would certainly qualify for it. Candidates all over the country pursue this dream for variety of reason. Some want the enormous power these services offer, some are deeply motivated to serve their people, a significant number are doing it just to realize the dreams of their parents, some are just too eager to have the Red Beacon and a white Ambassador car to place it. Whatever the motivation the fact it should be there and loads of it is required, for Civil Service exam preparation is a long drawn affair and one has to keep going on till one hits the Bull’s eye.For everyone who is going through or has gone through the drill of Civil Services it offers a world of experience. The very preparation for the Civil Services can be a really enriching experience. For starters the sheer scale and scope of the topics to be covered may look daunting. Take for example General Studies; it literally touches every aspect of knowledge ever created by human civilization. From interesting General Knowledge snippets to really deep analysis of Current happenings across the Globe; from tricky analytical ability questions to complex physical sciences questions the breadth and depth of the syllabus literally looks infinite. In fact every piece of information can potentially be a question in Civil Services question paper, both Preliminary and Mains.But the fact remains that howsoever daunting it may seem, still the preparation is very well within the capacities of a sincere student. The ‘focus’ matters a lot in any examination and more so in case of Civil Services Entrance examination. Second comes the motivation, which shares a chicken and egg type causation with focus. First and foremost one must open up one’s mind. The receptivity of one’s mind will decide the final assimilation of the knowledge that comes one’s way. Always be on alert for new information and keep yourself updated. Reading Newspapers and Competitive exam magazines are good options but the power of observation must be extended to all the realms of life. For example questions like , How many colors in the Olympic symbol? Meaning of various traffic symbols? The color codes of vehicular number plates for personal as well as commercial vehicles? Etc is things we come across everyday and may not bother to remember, but these small bits can actually form questions in the exam!Here we are going to discuss the strategy to prepare for the Civil Services entrance examination in general and about UPSC’s Civil Services Entrance in particular. To start with let’s have a look at the examination pattern. There are generally three steps before the final selection and recommendation for the appointment-1. Preliminary Examination- It is of generally objective type in nature and consists of multiple choice questions. In many cases it can also carry negative marking for wrong answers, like in UPSC’s Civil Services Entrance (Preliminary) Exam. We will deal with strategy to deal with negative marking later. Let us first see what the pattern of preliminary exam is generally. It consists of two papers- 1. General Studies 2. Optional Subject. Here ‘optional’ papers carries more weight but its normally the General Studies paper which makes or breaks ones chances of success. This examination is basically the elimination round which allows only most sincere of the candidates to move on to second stage. The marks obtained in this stage are not counted towards final selection2. Main Examination- It is next stage after clearing the Preliminary examination. It is of descriptive type in nature and the questions expect ‘essay type’ answers. Here again there are various papers like General Studies, mandatory languages’ papers, Essay paper, and two optional subjects having two papers each. This exam is more focused on testing the analytical capabilities of the aspirants. It tests the combinational skills of the candidates. Most of the questions generally call for analyzing one topic in the light of another. 3. Personality Test- If one is fortunate enough and has crossed the hurdle of Main examination the final test awaits one, and the decisive one too. Personality test, popularly known as the Interview, is of substantial weightage. Performing well in this test can actually compensate for average performance in Mains. On the other hand a below par performance in this test can spoil the rank or even diminish the chances of getting a final appointment call altogether. On top of it, candidates getting Interview call are not told their Main examination scores, so it is absolutely imperative that one must save one’s best for this last challenge.
India and Russia are the world’s consummate examples of pluralistic societies with a strong sense of national and cultural unity, operating in a federal political framework. Another common element of fundamental importance is that both countries are democracies - with a commitment to freedom of speech, assembly and a strong Parliament and judiciary. One of main aspect of relevance is that both the countries have developing economies with substantial human resources and of course strong science and technological capabilities. This creates large and significant possibilities for mutually beneficial economic and technological cooperation. History, geography, and political culture all played crucial roles in the development of India’s conventional forces and nuclear capabilities during the Cold War.India’s sudden emancipation in 1947 after centuries of subservience created a fierce determination to preserve Indian independence no matter what the cost - an attitude often bordering on paranoia. During the Cold War years, there existed a historical pattern in the Indo-Soviet relationship that supported India’s quest for regional security and independent global stature. As a result, far from being an enduring and close “special relationship,” the historical foundations of the Indo-Soviet relationship reveal an opportunistic relationship in which India’s needs are a match for Soviet capabilities, and Soviet needs are a match for India’s strengths. Moreover, the strength of the Indo-Soviet relationship depended upon the short-term impact of Indo-US interactions. Additionally, major South Asian policy decisions made by the United States during the Cold War clearly depict that the cementing of the “special” Indo-Soviet relationship.Marked with stability and continuity the Indo-Russian cooperation relation between India and Russia is includes diverse areas as trade and economic, science and technology, defence and military-technical cooperation and so on. The Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) was established in 2000 with a view to strengthen the bilateral defence cooperation. Sharing a friendly relation for a long time and having a strategic partnership since 2000, the two governments have steadily developed and strengthened bilateral cooperation covering a range of areas of which defence forms a significant component.The Eighth Meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military- Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) held in New Delhi covered a broad spectrum of issues including supply of defence systems, equipment upgrade, product and life cycle support for defence equipment of Russian origin. Emphazing on the major issues relating to regional and global peace and security, the meeting also discussed licensed and joint production, joint development and production of systems and platforms, interaction between the two armed forces and military technical cooperation. Taking a significant step, India and Russia has taken a decision to cement their strategic ties and has agreed to extend the tenure of the Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) by another ten years on the expiry of its present term in 2010. To avoid delay in decision-making and to speed up the implementation of various projects, both sides agreed to establish a joint working group at the Defence Secretary level to coordinate the work of the intergovernmental commission.Defence Minister Shri AK Antony, at a joint press conference announced formation of the apex committee to solve problems faster on different issues related to ongoing and proposed projects for acquisition, joint development and production, joint defence R&D and interaction between the defence forces of both countries. This committee, jointly headed by Defence Secretaries of both countries would meet atleast once in six months with its first meeting held in Moscow. Further proposals have been discussed relating to about 200 joint projects, including the modernization of the Vikramaditya aircraft carrier (formerly the Admiral Gorshkov) for the Navy, the transfer of technology (ToT) for the licensed assembly of T-90 tanks in India, the production of BrahMos missiles and the purchase of Smerch MLRS by India.Defence Minister Mr. A.K. Antony said that the 10-year extension of Indo-Russian joint panel on military and technical cooperation is an important event between the defence establishments of the two countries. Also, it is a landmark event in close and strategic bilateral relations. He further described the extension of the tenure of Indo-Russian joint panel on military and technical cooperation by another 10 years as ’a landmark event’. Regarded as the one of the most import ant event, the Indo- Russian Defense Cooperation has enabled to build close and strategic bilateral relations and a crucial step towards maintaining regional and global peace and security.
