Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Real and Inspiring moral stories-Story of appreciation

 **Story of Appreciation**

One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made the last decision.

The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research,
Never had a year when he did not score.

The director asked,
"Did you obtain any scholarships in school?"
The youth answered "none".

The director asked,
" Was it your father who paid for your school fees?"
The youth answered,
"My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.

The director asked,
" Where did your mother work?"
The youth answered,
"My mother worked as clothes cleaner.
The director requested the youth to show his hands.
The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked,
" Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?"
The youth answered,
"Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books.
Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said,
"I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.*

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother's hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked:
" Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered,
" I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'

The Director asked,
" please tell me your feelings."

The youth said,
Number 1,
I know now what appreciation is. Without my mother, there would not the successful me today.
Number 2,
By working together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done.
Number 3,
I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.

The director said,
" This is what I am looking for to be my manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality"and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts.
When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others.
For this kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement.
He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?*

You can let your kid live in a big house, give him a Driver & Car for going around, Eat a Good Meal, learn Piano, Watch a Big Screen TV. But when you are Cutting Grass, please let them experience it. After a Meal, let them Wash their Plates and Bowls together with their Brothers and Sisters. Tell them to Travel in Public Bus, It is not because you do not have Money for Car or to Hire a Maid, but it is because you want to Love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will Grow Grey, same as the Mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done.

Indian Civil Services 2010-11: All India Rank 3rd Dr. Varun Kumar Tips

TIPS for Young Aspirants

Preliminary Exam
1.      What was your preparation strategy for the Preliminaryexamination?
Set some workable targets and complete it on time. Showing positive results and improvement to oneself on a regular basis is essential to keep up the spirit. Going to the preliminary examinationwith full confidence (even some amount of over confidence) will be beneficial. Preliminary examination can be equated to a puzzle or mind game. Fortune favors the brave. 
2.      How much time do you think should be devoted by an aspirant to prepare for these exams?
One full year of preparation before the taking the preliminary exam will be ideal in my opinion. On a daily basis it is essential to read at least two national newspapers (3 hours or more in total). Current affairs plays decisive role these days even in optional subjects. On an average, 6-8 hours of 'religious' preparation a day will make anyone a topper.
3.      General Studies is a very vast section. How did you prepare for it?
I relied on internet, my own current affairs notes and clippings from newspapers and current affairs booklets of Vajiram & Ravi. For the 'conventional' subjects I relied on Tata McGraw Hill GS Manual. Intelligent time management is a very important prerequisite to clear this examination.
4.      The new syllabus of preliminary examination has introduced CSAT in place of optional paper. Do you think that it will help in selecting civil servants with right aptitude?
As I told earlier it is not appropriate to question the examinationwhich is framed after several rounds of discussion by a Constitutionally appointed body of learned men. The one who applies for this examination is recruited, selected and recommended by this body. It is inappropriate to think of such things. If the candidates are not having belief in the system it is better to quit the system rather than brooding over the present circumstances.
5.      Do you think it will be easier to crack the Prelims by focusing on GS as the weightage for both GS and CSAT is the same?
It would be sensible to prepare equally for both papers. The shortest route between two given points is a straight line. Hence it is better to avoid thinking about short cuts.
6.      What is your opinion about self study for prelims?
Since I have taken help from coaching institutes I am not in a position to answer to this question. But I know people who have cleared this exam by self-study. Individual preference matters.
7.      What is your advice for candidates who did not do well in prelims?
Be sincere to this system of examination. Preliminary exam is just an exam to 'eliminate' and not to 'select'. If one fails to clear this stage it must be due to inappropriate planning. This exam is a long process and it could be very punishing (loss of age, inability to find a job, peer pressure, societal pressure, your morale also takes a beating) if you do not show good results to yourself. Work with conviction and you will definitely succeed next time. If you feel there is lack of motivation or your heart is somewhere else, I suggest you to quit thisexamination as it demands high level of sincerity and dedication.


Mains Exam
1.      When did you start preparing for the Mains examination? Was it after the results of Preliminary examination?
I started my Mains exam preparation two days after the preliminary exam. I believed in the adage "Early bird catches the worm". My score in preliminary exam was 'huge' relatively so I was not having even the slightest doubt about writing the mains exam. Candidates should comfortably clear preliminary exam so that they can relieve themselves of any pressure associated with preliminary exam results which is usually expected two months after the prelims.
2.      What was the medium of answering the questions? English, Hindi or any other language?
English.
3.      What were your optional subjects for the Mains exam?
1st optional – Public Administration. 2nd optional – Sociology.
4.      What was the basis for choosing optional subjects for the Mains exam?
Love for the subject. This is the primary criteria for choosing the optional subjects. I had the syllabus in my hand and browsed for the topics mentioned there in the internet and I realized that I had a natural liking for these subjects. After deciding the subjects I looked out for help. I studied PA at Ganesh IAS Academy, Chennai and Sociology at Vajiram & Ravi Institute (Mohapatra Sir).
5.      Which books did you refer to for preparing for the Optional Paper-I, II?
I usually don't like to list out the names of the books I read as it will be completely misleading. I bought too many number of books based on an established criteria (please read below); however I never tried to complete any book. I just extracted the good points from particular authors.
Established criteria: I took a print out of syllabus in a tailor made manner so that there was enough space between each topic. This document is very important as it saves a lot of time for you during revision. The established criteria for buying books is that I will search for a particular topic in 'google books. Some of the pages are available for viewing and I shall buy the book if I like the content, style of writing, font, classification of content. I used to buy them from flipkart or infibeam through "cash on delivery" scheme; whereby I get them at my doorstep without wasting time in searching for the books. Many books which I bought did not exceed Rs.200 each. By doing this there will be variety in the answerswe write. Candidates should also learn to read the books which impress them and reading should be effortless. UPSC has not prescribed any books. So sticking to certain conventions established by coaching institutes is a thoughtless activity.
6.      Any tips how to prepare for optional papers and more importantly how to choose them?
I have already answered to this question in questions 4 & 5.
7.      What was the Indian Language you chose for the Mains exam?
My mother tongue (Tamil).
8.      Even though English and the Indian Language paper are of qualifying nature, they cannot be taken lightly. What is your advice to IAS aspirants? How should one prepare for these papers?
Reading newspapers itself would suffice for both these papers. It is very important to manage time properly in these papers too. Complacency will be punished. It is always better to develop one's personality in an all-round manner. If these two papers were not significant, UPSC would have removed them. One hour per day (in toto) in the last one month of preparation for mains exam is very essential for these papers.
9.      The overall score of top scorers in General Studies has been falling down in the past few years. Do you think that there is a need for creative approach while choosing study material, resources, and making strategies for this exam?
The more creative and innovative a candidate is; the better will be the score. But I do not agree with the opinion that overall score of top scorers in GS is falling down. It may be a valid observation but it has least relevance as a candidate of CSE 2010 is competing with another candidate of the same year and not with a top scorer of CSE 2009. There is no need to go into these logics and waste time. Instead it is better to update ourselves as much as possible in current affairs. For the sake of being different and creative candidates should not be reading irrelevant materials and unwanted issues.
10. How did you plan for the General Studies in the mainexamination?
There was no proper plan for GS. That has clearly reflected in my marks. I had scored only 238 and this has obviously pulled down my chance of securing rank 1. My experience should send a strong lesson to all candidates that complacency and laziness will be penalized without any mercy by UPSC. I have learnt my lesson and I shall not be complacent in anything which is part of my work.
11. What was your strategy for the Essay paper?
I attended essay module with Mr. M.R.Abhilash (Vajiram and Ravi). He has done good research into the field of writing essays. His classes helped me a lot. But all of his strategies do not work. Also he teaches it to so many students and if one wants to score impressively he/she should do his/her best to improve upon what Mr.Abhilash teaches in class. Uniqueness will fetch better marks. 
12. Any tips that will help IAS aspirants write meaningful essays that fetch maximum marks?
Soon I shall post a video in you tube about the tips involving writing an essay. Candidates can take a look at that video.
13. How important is time management while writing an essay?
Initially, it appears as if we have a lot of time to write one essay. But UPSC has not fixed the time limit without any logic. A lot of planning is required and proper execution in addition to the planning will keep us occupied throughout the exam hours. General Essay was the only paper I completed at the last minute. All the other papers I completed with a comfortable margin of 5 minutes at least. This itself should send across the news that time management is important in all the papers.
14. What is your advice for candidates who did not do well in Main Exam?
Analyze your scores and find out your strong and weak areas. It is easy to point the finger on a coaching institute or UPSC or invigilator or evaluator. But it takes courage and perseverance to point the finger to ourselves. UPSC is a trust worthy body in our governance system. It has a scientific system of evaluation in place. If you had not scored well in a particular area then the mistake should be yours. Kindly examine it and correct it. There is always scope for improvement and I quote my inspiration here. Be child-like as Sachin Tendulkar, always hungry to win and hungry to outperform the others.

Mrunal's New Articles on UPSC: 2nd ARC : Disaster Management: Kyoto protocol


  1. What is Rio Summit/ Earth Summit ?
  2. What is the UNFCCC?
  3. What is Conference of the Parties (COP)?
  4. What is Kyoto Protocol?
  5. What is "common but differentiated responsibilities"?
  6. Annex
  7. Kyoto protocol: How does it actually work?
    1. #1 Emissions Trading / Carbon Trading
    2. #2 Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
    3. #3 Joint Implementation (JI)


      

This content is taken from 3rd report of 2nd Administrative reform Commission (Crisis  Management). The reports of 2nd ARC are important because they provide truckload of fodder-material in mains GS, Public Administration, Essay and interview.
  1. Crisis vs Disaster
  2. Disasters: why increasing?
  3. Disasters in India
    1. Earthquakes
    2. Cyclones
    3. Tsunamis
    4. Floods
    5. Landslides
    6. Avalanches
    7. Industrial Disasters


LIST OF CMDs OF PSUs AGAINST WHOM COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED


GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL,PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS
RAJYA SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO-261
ANSWERED ON-30.08.2012

Time limit for action against corrupt officials

261 . SHRI JAI PRAKASH NARAYAN SINGH
(a) whether Government has issued a missive to all Ministries/Departments, Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and Public Sector Banks to strictly follow a time limit of three months in taking action against corrupt officials;
(b) if so, the details of the circular issued by Department of Personnel and Training;
(c) whether Government has received complaints against Chairman & Managing Directors (CMDs) of several PSUs; and
(d) if so, the names of CMDs of PSUs against whom complaints of corrupt practices have been received?
ANSWER
Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office. (SHRI V. NARAYANASAMY)
(a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
The Said Statement is detailed below:
(a) & (b): The Supreme Court of India, vide its judgment dated 18th December, 1997 in the case of Vineet Narain Vs. Union of India, directed that "time limit of three months for grant of sanction for prosecution must be strictly adhered to. However, additional time of one month may be allowed where consultation is required with the Attorney General (AG) or any Law Officer in the AG's office".
The delay which occurs in the sanctioning of prosecution is mostly on account of detailed scrutiny and analysis of voluminous case records and evidence, consultation with Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), State Governments and other agencies, and sometimes non-availability of relevant documentary evidence.
However, in order to check delays in grant of sanction for prosecution, the Department of Personnel & Training has already issued guidelines vide its OM No.399/33/2006-AVD-III dated 6th November, 2006 followed by another OM dated 20th December, 2006, providing for a definite time frame at each stage for handling of requests from CBI for prosecution of public servants.
The Group of Ministers (GoM) on tackling corruption, in its first report, had also given certain recommendations for speedy disposal of requests for sanction of prosecution of public servants, which included – taking decision on such cases within 3 months; monitoring of such cases at the level of Secretary of the Ministry/Department and submission of report to the Cabinet Secretary; and in cases of refusal to accord sanction, submission of a report to the next higher authority within 7 days for information (where competent authority is Minister, such report is to be submitted to the Prime Minister). The said recommendation of the GoM has been accepted by Government and instructions have been issued by the Government on 3rd May, 2012.
The GoM has also recommended that (a) requests for prior approval under section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 shall be decided by the competent authority within three months of receipt of request; (b) the competent authority will give a Speaking Order, giving reasons for its decisions; and (c) in the event a decision is taken to refuse permission, the reasons thereof shall also be put up to the next higher authority (Prime Minister) for information within one week of taking the decision. The recommendation of the GOM has been accepted and orders have been issued by DoP&T on 26th September, 2011.
(c) & (d): A Group of Officers (GoO) was constituted to take a view on complaints against Chief Executives and Functional Directors of Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) and Chairman and Managing Directors (CMDs) and Functional Directors of Public Sector banks and Financial Institutions vide Department of Public Enterprises O.M. No. 15(1)/2010-DPE(GM) dated 11.3.2010 and 11.05.2011 under the chairmanship of Secretary (Coordination and Public Grievance), Cabinet Secretariat, which has received complaints against CMDs of several PSU. The list containing the names of CMDs of PSUs against whom complaints have been received is at Annexure.
ANNEXURE
LIST OF CMDs OF PSUs AGAINST WHOM COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED
Sl.No.
Complaint against
1
Sh. R.S.P. Sinha, CMD, MTNL
2
Shri R.S. Sharma, former Chairman, NTPC and former CMD, ONGC
3
Sh. K Ramachandran Pillai, CMD, NTC
4
Sh. Arup Roy Choudhury, former CMD, NBCC and presently CMD, NTPC
5
Sh. A.R. Ansari, CMD, NLC
6
Sh. S. Biswas, Chairman, DVC
7
Sh. Kuldeep Goyal, CMD, BSNL
8
Sh. Arbind Kumar, CMD, NPCC
9
Sh. S.K. Roongta, Chairman, SAIL
10
Sh. Dinesh Chandra Garg, CMD, Western Coalfields Ltd
11
Sh. V.R.S. Natarajan, CMD, BEML
12
Dr. A.K. Lomas, CMD, MECL
13
CMD & FD's incl. Dir (HR), MTNL Board & other Officers in HR Deptt of MTNL
14
Shri S.K. Garg, CMD, NHPC
15
Dr. Jayashree Gupta, CMD (IDPL)
16
Capt. S.S. Tripathi, CMD, DCIL                                          
17
Brig. S.P. Mehla, CMD, SFCI
18
Sh. Kallol Datta, CMD, Andrew Yule & Co.
19
Sh. R.S.T. Sai, CMD, THDC
20
Sh. S.K. Chaturvedi, CMD (PGCIL)
21
Smt. Anju Banerjee, CMD, EdCiL
22
Sh. N.M. Borah, CMD, OIL and another
23
Sh. H.A. Daruwala, Former CMD, CBI
24
Sh. Praful Tayal, CMD, CIWTC
25
Shri I.P. Barooah, D (Pers), i/c CMD, NEEPCO
26
Sh. S. Hazra, Chairman, Shipping Corp of India
27
Sh. H.K. Sharma, CMD, SJVNL
28
Sh. Satnam Singh, CMD, PFCL
29
Shri G.S. Mangat, ex-CMD, NFL                                                                   
30
Shri S. Sreedhar, CMD, Central Bank of India
31
Shri A.K. Srivastava, CMD, NALCO
32
CMD & Director (Offshore) of ONGC
33
Sh. R.P. Tak, CMD, CCI
34
Sh. D. Dutta, Ex-CMD, WAPCOS
35
CMD (CCI)
36
Sh. K.L. Dhingra, CMD (ITI)
37
Shri O.P. Bhatt, Chairman (SBI) 
38
Sh. Shakeel Ahmed, CMD (HCL) and others
39
Sh. A.K. Jain, CMD (Bharat Pumps and Compressors)
40
(i) Dr. K.C. Chakraborty, Ex-CMD (PNB) & Dy. Governor (RBI) (ii) Sh. K.R. Kamath, CMD (PNB) (iii) S.S. Kohli, Ex-CMD (PNB) (iv) S.C. Gupta, Ex-CMD (PNB) and others
41
Mr. M.V. Nair, CMD (UBI)
42
Shri Arvind Jadhav, CMD (Air India)
43
Shri M.V. Tankasle, CMD (Central Bank of India)
44
Sh. V.P. Agrawal, CMD (AAI)
45
Shri C.R. Pradhan, Ex-CMD, NALCO
46
Shri M.S. Rana, CMD (SPMCIL)
47
Shri Nirmal Sinha, CMD (HHEC)
48
Shri A.B. Pandya, CMD (NPCC)
49
Shri R.P. Singh, Ex-CMD, Punjab & Sind Bank
50
Shri Sudhir Vasudeva, CMD, ONGC
51
Shri R P. Singh, former CMD, PGCIL
52
Shri V.K. Gaur, CMD (SFCI)
53
Shri S.P.S. Bakshi, CMD, EPIL
54
Shri K. Kannan, former CMD (Bank of Baroda)
55
Shri A.B.L. Srivastava, CMD & Director (Finance) in NHPC
56
Shri A.K. Jhamb, CMD, NPCC
57
Shri A.K. Mishra, CMD, Bank of India
58
Shri R.P. Singh, CMD, SJVNL
59
Shri Ashok Sinha, former CMD, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
60
Shri B.K. Sahu, IAS retired, Chairman, CWC
61
Shri S. Raman, CMD, Canara Bank
62
Shri Rajeev Sharma, CMD, Rural Electrification Corporation
63
CMD, PGCIL