Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to various Civil Services of the Government of India.

Union Public Service Commission

Smriti Mishra

Mystery of Unexploded Shells
(By Elmer Bendiner in the book "The Fall of Fortress", picked it up from the internet)

Elmer Bendiner was a navigator in B-17 bomber aircraft during the second world war. He narrates the story of how his plane was hit with a barrage of anti-aircraft fire from Nazi forces but the crew survived- nothing short of a miracle when it happened. 

Later on, when the shells in the fuselage were investigated- they found that they were empty and contained no traces of explosives! 

In one of those shells, they found a note scribbled in czech- written by the person who was forced to manufacture shells that said, "this is all we can do for you, now". 

Imagine somebody working in a country occupied by Nazis, removing explosives from shells in a soul-destroying factory, writing a note that will probably never be read.

That same person may have died wondering if the quiet work he was doing to subvert the enemy war machine would ever make any difference to the outcome of the war. 

It did.
In a gentle way, he shook the world around him.

mystery of unexploded shells mystery of unexploded shells
(by elmer bendiner in the book "the fall of fortress", picked it up from the internet)

elmer bendiner was a navigator in b-17 bomber aircraft during the second world war. he narrates the story of how his plane was hit with a barrage of anti-aircraft fire from nazi forces but the crew survived- nothing short of a miracle when it happened. 

later on, when the shells in the fuselage were investigated- they found that they were empty and contained no traces of explosives! 

in one of those shells, they found a note scribbled in czech- written by the person who was forced to manufacture shells that said, "this is all we can do for you, now". 

imagine somebody working in a country occupied by nazis, removing explosives from shells in a soul-destroying factory, writing a note that will probably never be read.

that same person may have died wondering if the quiet work he was doing to subvert the enemy war machine would ever make any difference to the outcome of the war. 

it did.
in a gentle way, he shook the world around him.  smriti mishra topic-discussion upsc

Mystery of Unexploded Shells

Infrastructure.pdf

infrastructure.pdf infrastructure.pdf - smriti   smriti mishra topic-discussion upsc

Agriculture.pdf

agriculture.pdf agriculture.pdf - by smriti mishra   smriti mishra notes upsc

Environment.pdf

environment notes environment notes by smriti misra   smriti mishra notes upsc

Environment Notes

Internal security.pdf

internal security.pdf internal security.pdf  smriti mishra topic-discussion upsc

Prelims-21 marksheet for comparison. 

Lesson learnt: You don't need to excel in one thing, you need to be good enough in everything for this exam.

(My CSAT score improved from 63 to 101 in subsequent attempt)

prelims-21 marksheet prelims-21 marksheet for comparison. 

lesson learnt: you don't need to excel in one thing, you need to be good enough in everything for this exam.

(my csat score improved from 63 to 101 in subsequent attempt)  smriti mishra topic-discussion upsc

Prelims-21 marksheet

my prelims-22 marksheet :) my prelims-22 marksheet :)  smriti mishra topic-discussion upsc

My Prelims-22 Marksheet :)

REFLECTIONS ON KINDNESS
(Picked from the internet, originally from the book 'the best care possible' by Ira Byock with some additions)

A very popular tweet read something like this- "the older I get, the more I realise that the only barometer of intelligence is kindness". 

It's easy to learn a skill through adequate training, it's even easier to gain education, but it's next to impossible to "teach" kindness. It's always a conscious choice one makes- to not let her emotions get the better of herself. That control, that self awareness, the power to make that difficult choice is a marker of true intelligence. 

In fact, when anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked what was the first sign of civilization, she answered, "a healed femur".

A femur is the longest bone in the body, linking hip to knee. Without modern medicine, it would ordinarily take 6 weeks for a fractured femur to heal. A healed femur shows that someone cared for the injured person, did their hunting and gathering, stayed with them and offered them protection until the injury could mend. 

The law of the jungle works on the principle of survival of the fittest, and where that operates, no healed femurs can ever be found. The first sign of civilization is compassion (or kindness), seen in a healed femur. 

Modern humans are called Homo sapiens, the wise man. The reason we survived and thrived, despite possessing the worst possible anatomy in the animal kingdom, is only because we could extend kindness to our fellow beings :)

reflections on kindness reflections on kindness
(picked from the internet, originally from the book 'the best care possible' by ira byock with some additions)

a very popular tweet read something like this- "the older i get, the more i realise that the only barometer of intelligence is kindness". 

it's easy to learn a skill through adequate training, it's even easier to gain education, but it's next to impossible to "teach" kindness. it's always a conscious choice one makes- to not let her emotions get the better of herself. that control, that self awareness, the power to make that difficult choice is a marker of true intelligence. 

in fact, when anthropologist margaret mead was asked what was the first sign of civilization, she answered, "a healed femur".

a femur is the longest bone in the body, linking hip to knee. without modern medicine, it would ordinarily take 6 weeks for a fractured femur to heal. a healed femur shows that someone cared for the injured person, did their hunting and gathering, stayed with them and offered them protection until the injury could mend. 

the law of the jungle works on the principle of survival of the fittest, and where that operates, no healed femurs can ever be found. the first sign of civilization is compassion (or kindness), seen in a healed femur. 

modern humans are called homo sapiens, the wise man. the reason we survived and thrived, despite possessing the worst possible anatomy in the animal kingdom, is only because we could extend kindness to our fellow beings :)  smriti mishra topic-discussion upsc

REFLECTIONS ON KINDNESS

Reflections on the Discovery of Insulin
(Picked from a post by Amanda Young, some additions by me)

100 years ago, a diabetes diagnosis meant a mandatory death sentence. A person could delay his death by only upto 2 years- the maximum a person could live without insulin made by his pancreas. 

To control blood sugar, the only option was to undergo starvation diet- limit eating food altogether! Children diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes would become comatose, unconscious, absolutely malnourished. 

In January 1922, animal derived insulin was administered to a human for the first time. Imagine a room full of parents sitting at the bedside, waiting for the inevitable death of their child. 

The scientists went from bed to bed and injected children with the purified extract of insulin. As they began to inject the last comatose child, the first child began to wake up! A room of death and gloom became a place of joy and hope. 

This was one of medicine's most incredible moments! 

Dr. Banting, Dr. Collip and Dr. Best gave the patent to University of Toronto for $1 each. Today, thanks to them, diabetes is largely a manageable disease.

All this goes on to illustrate the magic that humans have worked, the contribution of sciences that often go overlooked. We have now managed to engineer bacteria to make insulin for us!

If we really pause and think deeply, we find our existence to be truly made possible because of others. The food we eat, the clothes we wear, even our very bodies- derive their existence from others.

USAGE:
To highlight Gratitude/gratefulness,  innovation and sciences, meditations/mindfulness etc

reflections on the discovery of insulin reflections on the discovery of insulin
(picked from a post by amanda young, some additions by me)

100 years ago, a diabetes diagnosis meant a mandatory death sentence. a person could delay his death by only upto 2 years- the maximum a person could live without insulin made by his pancreas. 

to control blood sugar, the only option was to undergo starvation diet- limit eating food altogether! children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes would become comatose, unconscious, absolutely malnourished. 

in january 1922, animal derived insulin was administered to a human for the first time. imagine a room full of parents sitting at the bedside, waiting for the inevitable death of their child. 

the scientists went from bed to bed and injected children with the purified extract of insulin. as they began to inject the last comatose child, the first child began to wake up! a room of death and gloom became a place of joy and hope. 

this was one of medicine's most incredible moments! 

dr. banting, dr. collip and dr. best gave the patent to university of toronto for $1 each. today, thanks to them, diabetes is largely a manageable disease.

all this goes on to illustrate the magic that humans have worked, the contribution of sciences that often go overlooked. we have now managed to engineer bacteria to make insulin for us!

if we really pause and think deeply, we find our existence to be truly made possible because of others. the food we eat, the clothes we wear, even our very bodies- derive their existence from others.

usage:
to highlight gratitude/gratefulness,  innovation and sciences, meditations/mindfulness etc  smriti mishra topic-discussion upsc

Reflections on the Discovery of Insulin

GS2 Governance..pdf

Value addition for governance portion in GS2.Candidates writing mains can make use of these. 

I don't think they'll be useful enough for absolute beginners. 

PS: These were more or less my final revision notes, thus the bad handwriting.

gs2 governance..pdf value addition for governance portion in gs2.candidates writing mains can make use of these. 

i don't think they'll be useful enough for absolute beginners. 

ps: these were more or less my final revision notes, thus the bad handwriting.  smriti mishra notes upsc

Smriti Mishra

Unclaimed Profile

Posts