Ur Guru

Saturday, 22 September 2018

September 22, 2018

Does Universal health care system unfairly exploit the health conscious taxpayes


AGAINST
“Universal health care should be a right, not a luxury”

“Knock knock”.
” Who’s this?”.
“I’m a disease. I have come to embrace you for the rest of your life.”.
                                Diseases come uninvited in our lives and if we are in an economically unstable position to defend them, then we fall in a perpetual cycle of diseases. 63 million Indians are pushed into poverty by health expenses each year and these are the people who are below poverty line. How can we think of them being health conscious when they cannot afford two square meals a day? It’s the people who are well of and rich to an extent who live a healthy lifestyle. So it isn’t wrong when they are paying a part of their lavish wealth for the betterment of the society. In fact, human beings are social animals and they should help each other.


                                Defining the topic is like saying that,” Since a person earns more money and all of that is earned by him, why should he give it to someone else?”.
                                How many would like to die early? None. So the very fact that there are people who neglect their health is a fallacy. It might be a very meagre percentage of people. And we all know that even diamond isn’t purest. So is the case with our society.
                                It’s not that health conscious people don’t get diseases. So if they have some health problems then they can also avail the benefits of universal health care. It aims at inclusive growth and development of the citizens. People should feel proud that they are paying taxes to save someone else’s life. In fact, universal health care system reduces the overall cost of medical treatment for everyone and improves the quality as there is a unified system of health care run by the country. Totally everyone is benefitted from it.
                                It’s always said “Prevention is better than cure”. In the same way we can effectively use the health care system and address people who aren’t health conscious and bring them to the right track. This will reduce the tax burden on everyone will become an active part of the universal health care system.
                               Thus I strongly believe that Universal health care system doesn’t exploit the health conscious taxpayers.

                                                               

Sunday, 9 September 2018

September 09, 2018

NDA 2018 2 EXAM CUTOFF ANALYSIS


NDA is one of the premier defence institutes of the world. And this examination is also considered to be one of the world’s toughest exam to crack. To tell you the sheer percentage of success, let me tell you the math. Every year around 4 lack candidates write the written exam and around 10 thousand candidates get selected in first round. That is almost equal to 2.5% selection ratio. Then around 500 candidates are finally recommended. So the selection ratio churns down to 0.125%. So this exam is no less than other national level exams conducted in India.
I will give my intro in short. I’m from a Sainik school, have written the exam four times, cleared all four. Attempted 2 NDA SSB’s and recommended with in AIR of 4 in one and conferenced out in other. I couldn’t join due to some medical reasons. So my wish was that what if I can’t join NDA.If I am able to help and make others join then at least it would give me satisfaction and happiness. So here I’m trying to do something that I can. And presently I’m pursuing engineering.

Before we get into cutoff…many of the students have this confusion about sectional cutoff. Let me clear it to you guys. If the subject wise cutoff is mentioned as 25% in each subject that means that at least 25% in Maths paper and 25% in GAT paper. And not 25% each in English, science, social science. So keep it in your mind that its paper wise and not the other way.  
Let us first discuss about the maths paper. I feel that the maths paper this time is balanced one. According to me there were around 40 questions which were easy. I mean they could be solved with little effort by remembering the formulas or substituting mere values. There were around 50 medium level questions. By medium level I mean that these questions need some application of formula and are a bit tedious and time consuming ones. The rest 30 were the difficult ones. The questions that are par with JEE Mains. So this is my overview of the maths paper.
When it comes to the second paper I believe that English part wasn’t that difficult or there were questions which you could easily solve if you speak proper English. According to me anyone could be easily able to solve 30+ questions. In Physics there were more numerical problems as compared to the previous papers. The level of the chemistry paper was also slightly higher than before. I think biology was bit easier this time compared to the previous ones. I was very disappointed with the civics and the constitution of India part because there are only 5 questions from that part. Though those five questions are easy but still the number of questions asked is comparatively less compared to previous years. The number of GK questions asked has shot up this year and their level is in par with the civil services prelims questions. Infect I have seen some times that same questions appear in both the papers. Such has become the level of NDA paper. In total there were 12 GK questions asked. Less of world history has been asked and more of the modern Indian freedom struggle questions have been asked.0ne or two questions have been asked from the medieval period. The geography portions are a bit advanced level. They need a vast knowledge and very few question was easy for me when I solved the paper. So overall the level of difficulty of the second paper is slightly more than the previous one according to me.
Now let us look at the trends of the previous years. Here is a graph that I have compiled from the previous question paper’s cutoffs.

I have attempted 4 NDA papers and according to my experience I have rated the papers on a scale of 1 to 10 with respect to their difficulty.


So finally according to me the cutoff will be around 280-300 marks. It will surely be somewhere around these numbers. The results will be coming mostly within 50 days of the exam. So probably it will be by the end of the next month. Last time the number of candidates selected in the first phase was I think more than ten thousand so I think the same thing might be happening even this time too as there is already shortage of officers in the armed forces. My advice to all those who have written the exam now is don’t worry about the results. Even if you can’t make it there are plenty of chances through which you can attend SSB.Be it through 12th marks for the army or through JEE Mains for the Navy. Simply do not waste your time repenting and brooding over the cutoffs and the results. Concentrate and focus on your class 12th now. And whether you clear or no keep in touch with the newspapers. It will surely help you. May be next time if not now. With this I wish you all the best.


Monday, 20 August 2018

August 20, 2018

Humanity!!! I know you are still there. :-)



Do good people still exist on this planet? Will someone help me when I am in dire need of it? The consensus on this question may be a 50-50 divide. But I belong to those positive 50% of the people because of one incident that completely changed my perception about the world. It made me believe that there is some humanity left on this earth.
It happened two years ago. I was a computer science student and was studying in class 12th at that time. There was a hackathon that was going to be conducted in Bangalore and a team of 3 students was to be selected. I was the lucky one among the three. Now the thing is that my school was a residential school and we weren’t allowed to use or keep mobile phones with us. But whenever we used to go out of school for some trip or a competition we somehow used to sneak phones with us on the pretext that they would be needed for communication. And that was the time of the year when Jio had announced unlimited free internet for everyone. That was almost similar to finding a waterfall in a desert.
So we packed our luggage and got ready for the competition (Actually it was more of a picnic for us than a competition). We had our train from Hubli to Bangalore at around 10’o clock in the night. We strolled around in the railway station for a while and then went to the platform and boarded the train. The train looked a quite empty but we thought that maybe we were lucky enough to have the whole compartment for us. Without much thought we indulged ourselves back into the smartphones which we had and spent our time. The train started and we were all in jolly mood enjoying ourselves. A little while may be after half an hour the ticket collector came to us and asked our tickets. We casually opened the tickets from our bag and showed it to him. The TT started, “You have to pay the fine”. We enquired, “Why should we pay the fine? We have the tickets with us and our seats are confirmed”. He gave a very subtle reply,” Bacche yeh train Chandigarh jaa rahi hai”. We were shocked. What the hell had happened. We had boarded the wrong train. Instead of boarding the train on platform no 4 we had boarded the train on platform no 5. He started pressing on us to pay the fine. But we didn’t have enough money as all our expenses were already sorted out by our school authorities. Then he made us get down at the next station and handed us to the station master of that station.
Meanwhile many questions were running through my mind. Now it would be very difficult for us to reach Bangalore the next day as we didn’t have enough money and also it was already midnight and finding a bus would be very difficult. And what will we answer to the principal of our school. And above all that the three of us who were going happened to be the school captain, school vice-captain and house captain of our school. Everyone would make fun of us if they would get to know about it. Everything was messed up.
We explained everything to the station master and he seemed to be a very good person. He gave us the money needed to go to Bangalore and told us a place where we would probably get buses. We boarded an auto and the auto guy also turned to ditch us by making us go around a same place again and again. We were relieved enough to find out that the station master was following us and he scolded the auto driver for doing such thing and took us to the bus stop and ensured that we boarded the bus and waited with us till then. We reached Bangalore the next day on time and attended the competiton. My uncle who used to stay in Bangalore came later on and helped us with other things. We didn’t tell a word about this to our school authorities because we knew that if we would have told this thing then we would be surely reprimanded for it. We reached back our school the next day and everything was back to normal.
We might have not won the competition that day. But the incident brought back my faith in this world and yes, it made me believe that there is humanity still left in this world. So don’t lose hope in yourselves and in the humanity because god is always waiting to perform miracles for us and make us believe that he is there. And that night I saw god in a stranger.  


Thursday, 9 August 2018

August 09, 2018

The Assam National Register of Citizens.


                                        Recently, the government released the second updated draft of Assam National Register of Citizens including 2.9 crore citizens out of 3.29 crore applications.Almost 40 lakh people were left out from the list creating a lot of confusion and fear among the rightful citizens who were left out of the list.So what exactly is happening in Assam right now…? 

                                       The national register of citizens is a list of Indian citizens which is meant to decide who is a bona fide Indian citizen and those who fail to enlist in the register will be deemed illegal migrants. First list was made in 1951 across India according to the census of that year. It is for the first time that it is being updated and that too only in Assam. 
So why is this being done…?
                                       
                                      Assam historically has seen an influx of immigrants. Before independence, the Britishers brought in plantation workers from present-day Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. In 1905, Bengal was divided into East Bengal, West Bengal and Assam.
Post the 1971 war, a large number of people migrated from East Pakistan to Assam and West Bengal. The government then made several efforts to send back the illegal immigrants but failed.
In 1979, the leaders of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) started an agitation demanding identification and deportation of illegal immigrants. Finally, in 1985, the Assam Accord was signed between the All Assam Students’ union and the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi after which the agitation culminated.
                                      Following the Accord, an amendment to the Citizenship Act of 1955 under section 6(A) gave Indian citizenship to all migrants who came to Assam before the midnight of March 24, 1971. The date March 24, 1971, was decided because the Bangladesh Liberation war started on March 25, 1971.
Right now, the National Register of Citizens is being compiled for the first time after 1951 to ascertain the Indian citizenships. All the persons who were counted under the initial 1951 census and were included in electoral rolls up to 1971 or those having documental proof of migrating on or before March 24, 1971, will be extended citizenship.



                                So what are the possible challenges to this move…?

Conflict with citizenship bill

Government is considering to pass Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which seeks to grant citizenship to Hindu Bangladeshis, who have entered Assam illegally post-1971. But once NRC exercise will be completed, a lot of Hindu Bangladeshi might not appear in the list, thus, will be designated as illegal migrants. Thus, it will lead to confusion and moreover harden the resolve of people not to assimilate Hindu Bangladeshi in Assam according to NRC.

Exclusion of people

Draft NRC could lead to exclusion and inclusion errors and consequently large number of legitimate Indian citizens could end up being denied their voting and other rights.

Create communal clashes

There is already lot of tension in Assam between Hindus and Muslims. Exclusion of some people might raise apprehensions of exclusion of a particular community creating new fault lines leading to social unrest and further communal tensions.

No deportation treaty

It is been declared that illegal migrants out of the list of NRC will be sent back to Bangladesh however India does not have any deportation treaty with Bangladesh which will lead to further complexities.


                             So thus to put everything in a nutshell updating the national register of citizens is indeed a positive step but the actual success lies in its peaceful implementation. And the government must ensure that there shouldn’t be any more cross border infiltrations in the future and that the actual inhabitants of the state should be given what they deserve and what rightfully belongs to them.




Tuesday, 7 August 2018

August 07, 2018

The Indo-China war of 1962-Why India lost?

                 The single largest military setback that India has ever had since its independence happens to be the Indo-China war of 1962.Shattering the blind faith that had made our Prime Minister Pt Jawarhalal Nehru believe that Chinese would never attack India, the Chinese encashed this hallucination and attacked India snatching from us a part of the crown of our country, the Aksaichin region. Thus enlightening the Indians that there existed another snake in our backyard other than Pakistan.
           

                 India gained independence in the year 1947 and the people’s republic of china was formed in the year 1949 when the communist party led by Mao Zedong took over china. Back then the boundary between India and China was not exactly demarcated but was based on the McMahon line which was drawn up by the British officer Henry McMahon during the Shimla Convention in the year 1914 which was then accepted by the Tibetan representatives.
                 Soon after People’s republic of China was formed,it took control over Tibet with the help of its army stating that Tibet was an integral part of china since ages in the past so it belonged to them.Since India was still a young democratic nation and wanted a peaceful and cordial relationship with its neighours,it did not interfere in the China’s issue of Tibet. In 1954, China and India negotiated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence famously known as the Panchsheel by which the two nations agreed to abide in settling their disputes. India presented a frontier map which was accepted by China, and the slogan Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai (Indians and Chinese are brothers) was popularized during this time. Infact Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave up the UN permanent membership to china to build cordial relationship with them.
                 But the scenario in china was far from what Indians had perceived.Even when the Indian prime minister had announced in the parliament that the Macmohan line was the official border between India and China,many of the Chinese maps showed territories beyond the Macmohan line as theirs.The Chinese had also built a road in the Aksai region during 1956 connecting  Xinjiang and Tibet which India only came to know in the year 1958 when it was shown on some of the Chinese maps.
             
   In the year 1959 a Tibetian uprising against the stationed Chinese troops there failed and the Dalai Lama fled to India.The then Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave asylum to him which upset the Chinese leader Mao Zedong.The tensions further stepped up when Mao accused India of the Lhasa rebellion in Tibet.
                 As a consequence of their non-recognition of the McMahon Line, China's maps showed both the North East Frontier Area (NEFA) and Aksai Chin to be Chinese territory.In 1960, Zhou Enlai unofficially suggested that India drop its claims to Aksai Chin in return for a Chinese withdrawal of claims over NEFA. Adhering to his stated position, Nehru believed that China did not have a legitimate claim over either of these territories, and thus was not ready to concede them. This adamant stance was perceived in China as Indian opposition to Chinese rule in Tibet. Nehru declined to conduct any negotiations on the boundary until Chinese troops withdrew from Aksai Chin, a position supported by the international community.It believed that India was simply securing its claim lines in order to continue its "grand plans in Tibet". India's stance that China withdraw from Aksai Chin caused continual deterioration of the diplomatic situation to the point that internal forces were pressuring Nehru to take a military stance against China. At the beginning of 1961, Nehru appointed General B. M. Kaul as army Chief of General Staff, but he refused to increase military spending and prepare for a possible war. By 1959, India started sending Indian troops and border patrols into disputed areas. This program created both border skirmishes and deteriorating relations between India and China. The aim of this policy was to create outposts behind advancing Chinese troops to interdict their supplies, forcing them north of the disputed line. There were eventually 60 such outposts, including 43 north of the McMahon Line, to which India claimed sovereignty. China viewed this as further confirmation of Indian expansionist plans directed towards Tibet. Kaul was confident, through contact with Indian Intelligence and CIA information, that China would not react with force. Indeed, at first the PLA simply withdrew, but eventually Chinese forces began to counter-encircle the Indian positions which clearly encroached into the north of McMahon Line. This led to a tit-for-tat Indian reaction, with each force attempting to outmanoeuver the other. Despite the escalating nature of the dispute, the two forces withheld from engaging each other directly.
                   On 20 October 1962, the Chinese People's Liberation Army launched two attacks, 1000 kilometres apart. In the western theatre, the PLA sought to expel Indian forces from the Chip Chap valley in Aksai Chin while in the eastern theatre, the PLA sought to capture both banks of the Namka Chu river. Some skirmishes also took place at the Nathula Pass, which is in the Indian state of Sikkim . Gurkha rifles travelling north were targeted by Chinese artillery fire. After four days of fierce fighting, the three regiments of Chinese troops succeeded in securing a substantial portion of the disputed territory.
On the Aksai Chin front, China already controlled most of the disputed territory. Chinese forces quickly swept the region of any remaining Indian troops. Late on 19 October, Chinese troops launched a number of attacks throughout the western theatre. By 22 October, all posts north of Chushul had been cleared.
              On 24 October, Indian forces fought hard to hold the Rezang La Ridge, in order to prevent a nearby airstrip from falling to the Chinese.This battle is considered to be one of the most important battles of the Indian army history as around 100 Indian soldiers killed more than 1000 Chinese soldiers.Major Shaitan sing was awarded the Param Vir chakra for his bravery here.
             The four days of fighting were followed by a three-week lull. Zhou ordered the troops to stop advancing as he attempted to negotiate with Nehru. He sent Nehru a letter, proposing
1.   A negotiated settlement of the boundary
2.   That both sides disengage and withdraw twenty kilometres from present lines of actual control
3.   A Chinese withdrawal north in NEFA
4.   That China and India not cross lines of present control in Aksai Chin.
Nehru rejected this proposal as already the Chinese troops were 40km into the indian territory and another 20 km would mean India losing 60km of land.So thus, the Indian parliament announced a national emergency and passed a resolution which stated their intent to "drive out the aggressors from the sacred soil of India. After Zhou received Nehru's letter rejecting his proposal, the fighting resumed on the eastern theatre on 14 November (Nehru's birthday), with an Indian attack on Walong,inflicting heavy casualties on the Chinese. The Chinese resumed military activity on Aksai Chin and NEFA hours after the Walong battle.
                   By 19th November China had reached its claim lines so the PLA did not advance farther, and it declared a unilateral cease-fire.The ceasefire declaration stated,
                   Beginning from 21 November 1962, the Chinese frontier guards will cease fire along the entire Sino-Indian border. Beginning from 1 December 1962, the Chinese frontier guards will withdraw to positions 20 kilometres behind the line of actual control which existed between China and India on 7 November 1959. In the eastern sector, although the Chinese frontier guards have so far been fighting on Chinese territory north of the traditional customary line, they are prepared to withdraw from their present positions to the north of the illegal McMahon Line, and to withdraw twenty kilometres back from that line. In the middle and western sectors, the Chinese frontier guards will withdraw twenty kilometres from the line of actual control.
According to the China's official military history, the war achieved China's policy objectives of securing borders in its western sector, as China retained de facto control of the Aksai Chin. After the war, India abandoned the Forward Policy, and the de facto borders stabilised along the Line of Actual Control. The aftermath of the war saw sweeping changes in the Indian military to prepare it for similar conflicts in the future, and placed pressure on Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who was seen as responsible for failing to anticipate the Chinese attack on India. Indians reacted with a surge in patriotism and memorials were erected for many of the Indian troops who died in the war. Arguably, the main lesson India learned from the war was the need to strengthen its own defences and a shift from Nehru's foreign policy with China based on his stated concept of "brotherhood". Because of India's inability to anticipate Chinese aggression, Prime Minister Nehru faced harsh criticism from government officials, for having promoted pacifist relations with China. Indian President Radhakrishnan said that Nehru's government was naive and negligent about preparations, and Nehru admitted his failings.So thus the war finally came to an  end.It was also during this period that Lata Mangeshkar sang A mere watan ke logo which brought tears to nehru’s eyes.Another striking feature of this war was that neither of the two countries used the airforce.Later it was revealed that it was advantageous for India it it hasd used the airforce as the Chinese did not have enough fuel or the long runways for the airforce.Henderson-Brooks committee was set up to find the reasons for the indian loss in the war.This committee recently submitted its report but it is still classified as it has found many people in the higher order of ranks guilty of India’s defeat in the war.So this was the war of that India lost.


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Thursday, 19 July 2018

July 19, 2018

Degradation of ranks & lower pay scales in Indian armed forces..?Army quashing the rank of Brigadier


The discontent among defense forces regarding their promotions, salary and power when compared to the civil servants has been perennially hovering in the minds of the defense think tanks of the country. So last month, Army Chief Bipin Rawat had called a high-level committee meeting to study various aspects of officer cadre restructuring. He also sought to address the three main issues plaguing the armed forces for more than 30 years: degradation of ranks, lower pay scales, and warrant of precedence.

The committee, which was headed by the Military Secretary and a Lieutenant General Rank officer, will submit a report by the end of November this year. The committee has proposed several changes to bring a balance and a 21st century suitable structure for the Indian army. It has proposed to reduce the number of ranks from the preexisting nine to six or seven which is in concordance with the present IAS and IPS rank structure. This is sought to be done by abolishing the rank of brigadier which would mean that colonels who are promoted will directly become Major Generals. And also another point stated by the committee is that gentlemen cadets in IMA (Indian Military academy) would be given the rank of lieutenants and they would be commissioned into the army as Captains.  
If we talk about the facts. It takes an officer in the civil services 18 years of service to reach the rank of Joint Secretary. Meanwhile, in the military, it takes 32-33 years for an officer to reach the equivalent rank of a Major General due to the steeply pyramidical promotion structure of the armed forces. “Almost 80 out of 100 IAS officers become Joint Secretaries. But only five to six military officers out of 100 become Major Generals­­
When two officers of the same age join IAS and Indian army respectively, the IAS officers starts climbing the ranks more quickly and thus say after 10 years with same amount of service the IAS officer would be more senior than the Army officer.
In my opinion the reason why this happens is because the number of officers getting commissioned into the armed forces is way more than the number of civil servants appointed every year. So it is obvious that it would be difficult to climb the ranks in army than in the civil services.
Another reason for the huge imbalance in the middle of the pyramidical structure in the Indian army can be attributed to the One rank one pension scheme. According to this scheme if an officer takes an early retirement than he wouldn’t be eligible for this scheme. This has also made many of the officers who would have retired and chosen for a civil job to stay till the time they retire to avail the benefits of One Rank One Pension.
I also think that a better solution to the disparity of ranks between the civil servants and the army officers would be to form a joint committee for all the three forces and come up with feasible solutions. Because even if the army abolishes the brigadier rank, such equivalent ranks would still be existing in navy and air force and this would create administrative and other difficulties in the smooth functioning of the armed forces.
I am of the belief that Army should not compare itself with the civil services at the first instance because both the organizations are completely different from each other in terms of functioning, structure and historical value. By comparing itself with the services like IAS and IPS it is degrading its value from the viewpoint of the society. So the best option would be to better its standards and improve its cadre and morale of the officers without comparing itself with the IAS or IPS for that matter. Because we all know that the work that Indian army does is supreme and is above all the professions in our country.
As our former prime minister Lalbahadur Shashtri said “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan”. The same stands true even today. So to conclude a joint committee should be formed to restructure and form a new order of ranks if it’s a good move by undertaking proper studies.




Monday, 16 July 2018

July 16, 2018

7 tips to prepare for the NDA/NA written exam in a month.


Fast track your preparation for the NDA/NA written exam.

         The written exams for the UPSC NDA/NA exams are around the corner. They will be conducted soon on 9th September of 2018.It’s almost like 50 days to prepare for the exam. So today in this post I’m going to share few of the tips to prepare and crack the exams easily.
         Every year lakhs of students write the NDA written exam and only around thousands get selected. So the probability of getting selected is less than 1%. For now, let’s dive into few points which I feel can help you in the last few days of your preparation.
         The first point is Select your area of expertise. If you look at the scores of the candidates who got recommended in the NDA merit list, you get to see that even the toppers score only around half of the marks in the written exam.
If we look at this result of 2017 1 NDA, the toppers have scored around 500 marks.
And if we look at the cutoff of the written exams of the past years then they are always hovering around 300 marks. So in my opinion you need not study all the topics to get selected in the written exam.
          Out of the 20+ topics that are needed to be prepared for the maths exam, select 10-15 topics that you feel are easy for you and you need not break your head to prepare for them easily. If you ask me which topics I had prepared elaborately then my answer to this question would be quadratic equations, permutations and combinations, trigonometry,2d and 3d geometry, probability, simple statics, matrices and determinants and differentiation.
The reason I chose these topics was because I felt that some of them required more of mental work than mechanical work. Integral calculus was a nightmare to me as every time I used to prepare for it but still one or the other question used to come in exam which used to consume my time and at the end I would have not solved the problem also and would have wasted most of my time.
        The reason why I’m telling you to do this is because in the final exam nobody will be able to solve all the 120 questions of maths. An average candidate may solve around 60 to 70 questions and if even 50 are correct out of it then it’s enough to qualify for the SSB. So I feel it’s better to drop a few topics that you feel are very difficult and need most of your time. So that you will maximize your chances of scoring more marks in the final exam.
        When it comes to the second paper if you are a science student then the science part would be very easy since its all the basics of the 11th and 12th.So if you are good with the basics of class 11th and 12th then you will be easily able to score 40+ correct answers. The scope of preparation for social science is very vast but one thing that is game saver in this part is the civics. It has got a predefined and limited syllabus. According to me geography is a bit off the limits and few questions in history are always above my head. If you are average in English, then it will easily fetch you 30+ correct answers. So totally with all this you will be able to make a 300+ score.
         
       The second point is solving the previous year’s question papers. Since you still have more than a month with you, you must try to solve at least 10 previous question papers. It will require around 4 hours for solving correcting and understanding the maths paper and around 2 hours for the GAT paper. By solving the previous year’s papers, you will learn to manage time especially for maths paper. Time management isn’t needed for the GAT paper as even I slept in GAT exam for an hour after completing the full paper.
         Every time few questions repeat in the maths paper exactly and some reappear with different values so if you would have solved that before than you will be easily able to solve it and save time. You will also gain confidence that “Yes I can solve these papers”.
       
        The third point is make a formula book. Or be smart and Xerox your friend’s formula book or purchase one. Sometimes the questions in the maths paper are directly based on a formula. Directly substitute values and you will get your answer. You can revise the formulas in your free time or when you are travelling from a place to a place or standing somewhere.

      The fourth point is don’t solve a question for more than 5 minutes. It so happens that sometimes we get struck in a question and we are very determined and we want to solve that question in any condition. We end up wasting hours together on that question and still don’t get an answer. I have done this many times too. The best solution here would be to accept that you don’t know the answer for that question and approach someone who knows how to solve that question and understand how to solve that question. This will save you a plenty of time and a lot of frustration. You can become a scientist after the exam and use all the time in the world to solve a single question. But not now.
   
      The fifth point is practice the reverse approach. In few question you can easily find an answer to the question if you substitute the options and check in the question. This will also save you a lot of time.
       Here if you think that you will be able to do this directly in the final exam then you are wrong. You will be too confused in the final exam that you will use both the traditional and reverse approach and end up without getting an answer and waste a lot of time. So by practicing you will be easily able to identify in which questions you can use the substitution method and solve the question.

       The sixth point is get off social media. Most of the young generation including me have lost the track of what they are doing and what they are supposed to do because of the incessant use of social media and mobile phones. Phones were invented to be our tools but now we have become their tools. You might give an excuse that you are using phones to prepare for the exams but believe me nothing is a better substitution for books. On internet what we learn is superficial and our attention is fragmented, so we won’t be able to learn better. Thus it’s my sincere request to you guys that if you are actually interested and determined to crack this exam then forgo these gadgets for a month. Believe me you will see wonderful results and thank me for this advice.

     The last and the final point is that I urge you to add any more points that you feel are important and I have left them out.

    Hope these points are worth reading and worth sharing with all the aspirants and your friends who want to clear the exam and Donne the stars on their shoulders….



Wednesday, 20 June 2018

June 20, 2018

Group discussion-An easy approach

GD(Group Discussion)

SSB Simplified

The procedure


  • It’s a part of the GTO
  • Conducted on day 3 
  • There are two group discussions totally
  • In the first group discussion the GTO gives the candidates a choice to discuss and select a topic on which they want to discuss out of the two topics which he gives.
  • In the second group discussion the topic is given by the GTO and the candidates have no other option than discussing on that topic only
  • Unlike in the screening process where everyone is shouting, it isn’t the case in group discussion. Everyone gets a chance here to speak
  • Each GD lasts about 10 minutes
  • Example of topic-
  • India is still a developing country.Is it because
  1. Lack of education in our country
  2. Rampant corruption
  3. Inactive participation from the youth of the country in politics 
  • Demonetisation was a great move made by our primeminister.But it wasn’t a completely successfully mission because
  1. Lack of proper implementation
  2. Wrong timing
  3. Less support from citizens

Tips for group discussion


  • It’s a group discussion and not a debate
  • So the best option will be to tell your views about all the points mentioned instead of completely sticking to one point
  • Use phrases and sentences like
  • I strongly feel that this…..
  • What chest no ….says is exactly right but I would like to add another point to what he’s saying
  • If we look at this topic from a different perspective then in my opinion I feel that…..
  • My dear friends I think chest no …wants to say something.Lets give him a chance to speak….
  • Don’t be too aggressive. Be polite
  • Present analogies and examples(Relate topics to your real life and day to day events if possible)
  • It’s a group discussion and not a lecurette.So you are supposed to allow everyone to speak and listen when others are speaking.
  • Do not repeat the same point again and again.You will become a tape recorder.
  • Initiate the discussion.(Here you can define and give an outline about the topic)
  • Don’t look away when others are speaking. Look at them and acknowledge them about what they are speaking. But don’t make it too artificial.
  • Don’t beat around the bush. Speak what is relevant to the topic
  • Be natural, confident and cheerful
  • Use relevant facts and quotes if possible.
  • Read newspapers,editorials,magazines to keep yourself abreast with the happenings around the world and to supplement your knowledge so that you can contribute more points in a group discussion


Sunday, 10 June 2018

June 10, 2018

Myths about SSB-Debunked

Myths about SSB-Debunked
SSB Simplified

Myths are very common and prevalent among the candidates appearing for SSB. So if theses aren't cleared and understood properly then they will affect the preparation of the candidate and give a completely wrong notion about the process of selection.

  • You need to know a lot of GK and current affairs to get selected
  • You need to be a candidate of exemplary physical fitness.
  • If you clear SSB then you are an officer.
  • Repeaters have lesser chances of selection
  • If you are already a recommended candidate then you will easily get selected
  • You must have participated in a lot of co-curricular activities
  • If you get called a lot of times during the command task then you will surely get selected
  • If you finish a lot of obstacles then you get selected
  • You are under continuous observation for 24*7 by the other staff
  • If you don’t take SSB seriously then you don’t get selected
  • If you are from a military school then you are given preference
  • You should not tell that you have taken coaching to the IO
  • If you do very well in all the GTO tasks then you will surely get selected.



Thursday, 7 June 2018

June 07, 2018

Best tips for GPE (Group Planning Exercise)


GPE(Group Planning Exercise)
SSB Simplified

The procedure

  • A 3-D structure consisting of a cluster of villages,roads,natural structures, man made structures is shown to you and you are explained about all the structures by the GTO
  • Then the GTO reads the problem
  • Then the problem written on a paper is handed over to each one of the members in the group and then you are given around 10 minutes to read and understand the situation
  • Later on the paper is taken and you will have to write your solution on a sheet of paper given to you
  • Then all of the group members have to discuss the problem and come to a conclusion
  • Then someone from the group has to tell the final solution to the problem

Tips to make your plan better

  • Observe and listen carefully
  • First understand what all are the problems and then prioritize the problems according to their importance and urgency
  • Take into account all the resources that you have with you and which can be available in your surroundings or near by area like
  1. Vehicles on which you might have gone to that place
  2. If there is a small village nearby then there will be a primary health care centre,some people,some methods of transport
  3. If it’s a town then you can use all the facilities that are available in a town
  4. If there is a military camp nearby then you can take the help of soldiers
  • Always keep the time constraints in mind(You should not cross the time limits)
  • Use all your friends who are with you(Distribute them equally)
  • Sometimes in the story some trivial and silly problems are mentioned.Dont run after them and waste your time solving them
  • Make use of the 3-D structure that is kept there(Its not kept there for show. Its kept there for you to judge and estimate the distances between different places. So use it for that)
  • Ensure that your groups actual task also gets completed.(If you had come for a picnic and were going back home,ensure that thet reach back homes safely after finish off others problems)


Tips to stand out in discussion

  • Start the discussion(Initiation always gives brownie points)
  • First tell what all are the problems and give a ranking to them
  • Next discuss how you will divide your whole group into smaller sub groups and distribute the tasks
  • Then discuss how you will gather and use the resources
  • Finally solve all the problems
  • Keep the distances between the places in mind,then keep in mind whether the road is tarred,or kaccha road and keep in mind the speed of the vehicle in mind(Most of the candidates just prioritise the problems but they forget to keep the above mentioned things in mind so you must mention the time taken to travel from a place A to a place B and the reasons for that.This will give your statement a more rational look.)
  • If your friend is having an idea which isn’t that better than don’t just tell that it isn’t good ,mention the reason why that wont work and mention a better solution to that
  • And if you get to present the group plan to the GTO then make use of the 3D structure and explain it.
  • Give credits for your friends if they strongly believed in some idea and if that was included in the plan(Like :As chest no 15 said that so and so would be a good move and since it is so,we will do that thing)
  • Once again don’t just say he went there did that and came back instead you must say he went there at 11’o clock.It took him this much time to complete the work and he travelled back the 45km in a jeep in an hour on a pakka road.(Keep the minute details in mind
  • I’m sure this will make a good plan.


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Tuesday, 5 June 2018

June 05, 2018

What to carry in your Bagpack for SSB…?

What to carry in your Bagpack for SSB…?
SSB Simplified

SSB Bagpack


  • First and foremost…
  • All the certificates required(Its better if you take 2-3 Xerox copies)
  • Pass port size photos(More than 10 will be needed only if you get recommended or else 10 is enough)
  • Adhar Card
  • Your travel ticket(If it’s for the first time…You will get double the money back which you can enjoy and party with…)
  • Enough money(I cannot define how much is enough for every person…)
  • A luggage bag
  • A small lock and key(If you are very careful about your belongings   PS:I never did that)
  • A pair of white shoes and black shoes
  • 2 pairs of white and black socks(1 is fine though)(If you play a lot in the evenings and go for outings on all the days then you might need 2 pairs but you can still wash the 1’s if you aren’t that lazy)
  • A pair of slippers, sandals or any casual shoes
  • 3 light colored full sleeves shirts
  • 2-3 dark colored trousers(If you have some other combinations then go ahead with it)
  • But try to keep the dress as formal as you can
  • A tie(Not a necessity I feel)
  • A blazer(Again not a necessity according to me)
  • White shorts(1 is enough as carrying 2 will just increase the weight of your luggage and you can preferably wash it if it becomes dirty on GTO day 1)
  • 2 T-shirts and track lowers or any casual pants so that you can comfortably play games in the evening like basketball,TT,Snooker,Volleyball etc.  
  • Shaving your beard is necessary so carry your shaving kit if you have a beard in first case and if that grows too long to be noticed in a day or two(It’s only for men)
  • Other basic items that you need and are necessary
  • No need to carry any beddings as they are all taken care by SSB
  • That’s it….
  • Don’t make your luggage very heavy as you will have a tough time carrying it back home when you get screened out or conferenced out and will have to travel in general all the way back to your home.




Guruprasad Veerannavaru

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June 05, 2018

Lecurette-A simplified approach


Lecurette-A simplified approach
SSB Simplified

The procedure


  1. You will have to pick up a chit
  2. There will be 4 topics written on the chit
  3. The first topic will be a bit high level topic
  4. The second and the third topic will be a medium level topic
  5. The fourth and the last topic will be a simple and easy topic
  6. You will have to choose one topic and prepare for it in 2 and half minutes 
  7. Then you will have to give a talk on that topic for 3 minutes.

Tips for Lecurette


  1. Stand straight, fold your hands at the back if you are uncomfortable with hand actions(Vishram being the best position)
  2. Do not do too much hand actions. You are there for a speech and not a silent mime
  3. Speak confidently and do not repeat sentences
  4. Start with a quotation or a mind blowing fact.It will add some masala and spice to your speech and give an impression that you are a person of vast knowledge.
  5. Support your statement with facts and real life examples if possible
  6. Adress to your friends and not to the GTO
  7. Maintain eye contact with your friends.Do not look on the sides.
  8. If you find it difficult to look into your friend’s eyes then I have a solution
  9. Look at your friends forehead instead of looking into their eyes .Isn't it a cool replacement. The others will complement you for your confidence(But you actually you know the truth )
  10. End within the time limit and do not extend too much
  11. Use voice modulation(Don’t be monotonous)Raise your voice at important points and normal at trivial issues
  12. Start with a smile(Believe me this will reduce half your nervousness)
  13. Take deep breathes before you start your speech
  14. In the 3 minutes you have for preparation, make an outline of what you want to speak
  15. If you forget your next sentence then say words like
  16. Friends as you all know
  17. According to my opinion
  18. As a coin has two faces this topic has both pros and cons
  19. According to a survey conducted….
  20. I totally agree with the point that…
  21. So by the time you tell this sentence remember some  part of your speech and add it to your above sentences…..(Isnt it good….?I use it very often……..) 

Structure of the speech

  • Introduction
  • Body
  • Conclusion

Introduction-Structure of the speech


  • You can start your speech with a quote..
  • Take them into a different world by giving some juicy thoughts to them
  • Question. ...
  • Silence. ...
  • Statistic. ...
  • Powerful Statement/Phrase.
  • Then greet everyone(Hello friends,Dear friends,My dear fellowmates,Good morning gentlemen etc…)
  • Then define the topic 

Body-Structure of the speech


  • If the topic you are speaking has a history to it then briefly tell its history, present and future.
  • If it’s a debatable topic then tell the pros and cons of the topic
  • If its an international issue, then first explain how the matter will affect our country and then its effect worldwide.


Conclusion-Structure of the speech


  • End your speech on a good note…
  • Provide a unique solution or the best views you have about the topic..
  • Give a very promising fact if possible…
  • Summarize what you have said throughout your speech
  • End with a quotation if possible
  • Or Ask a question and let the audience do the thinking
  • Thank everyone


How to prepare for the topics


  • Read newspaper editorials,articles
  • Essay books
  • Make a list of all the topics that can be given in the SSB(For this refer http://ssbcrackexams.com/ssb-lecturette-topics-2016/  It’s a good link)
  • Make your own notes
  • Participate in speech competitions in your schools,colleges.
  • Take up a random topic and explain it to your friends or speak in front of mirror.



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Monday, 4 June 2018

June 04, 2018

SRT(Situation Reaction Test) Explained !!!


SRT(Situation Reaction Test) Explained !!!

The procedure

  • 60 questions
  • 30 minutes
  • That’s it. 

Tips to write the solution

  • Be crisp and to the point
  • Write 2-3 lines of answers at max for a question
  • Do not leave any situations in between. This shows your unwillingness to tackle such situations and that you are running away from them
  • Try to solve at least 40+ situations. But quality shouldn’t be compromised.
  • Ensure that the situation is resolved and you mention the outcome.
  • Do not give incomplete solution. Finish the answer.
  • Remember that there is no right or wrong answer. It all depends on how you think about the situation and write your answer.
  • Take into account the factors like
  1. Time
  2. Place
  3. Resources
  4. Priorities
  5. Pros/Cons
  • Ensure that you don’t give different solutions for a same kind of situation
  • Finally don’t over think, just write  your natural responses  and the best way to develop good natural responses is when you inculcate it into your sub conscious thinking and that can be done when you practice the questions and do the same thing in real life

Some examples……………

  1. You are getting late in reaching meeting. You would... Inform that you will reach the meeting a bit late and mention the reason and catch up later and know what happend 
  2. His captain was injured before a crucial match, he was asked to lead the team? He. . . . . . .  Agreed to lead, motivated all his teammates, led from the front and won the match(Observe here that the captain won the match….That's important that you complete the task successfully)
  3.  He was on his way to home and suddenly it started raining heavily? He. . .waited under a shelter till it stopped raining and went back home after it stopped 
  4. Some more examples
  5. You are an officer posted at the border & suddenly shelling happens from the other side, you. . Ensure that everyone takes cover and then retaliate fire from the direction where it was coming till it stops
  6. You are at unknown city and lost your purse. You need money. As a stranger how will u manage? …I will use my money from  my e-wallet and report the incident to nearest police office
  7. Your brother wants to get admission in a medical college but his marks falls short by 1% for admission. You …will convince my brother to write the examination once more and then get required marks and join the college
  8. Some more examples
  9. He was to marry a rich girl chosen by his father but he did not like her. He...........told his father and the girl that he did not like her and they wouldn’t be happy together if they married
  10.  During a trekking trip, he was left alone in the jungle. He..................walked in the direction of their halting place following the sun and then came out of the jungle safely
  11. He had exams the next day & the road to his school was flooded with continuous rain for last two days….He informed the muncipalty and asked them to drain the water and then he took precautions on the day of exam ,went to school,wrote the exam and passed with distinction(….Any better answers for this situation….?)

Let me know if its helping you…And share your ideas too(And be original and develop your own ideas and thinking skills)


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