IAS score FACT-CHEAT for Prelims and Mains

How much does the IAS score depend on facts and statistics? It depends actually. The IAS exam is designed to test many areas of your intelligence and awareness out of which your knowledge base is just one part.

This means that you cannot afford to ignore facts and statistics. But there is an infinity of data out there, so how much will you memorize?

More so when it comes to the Mains exam, where direct factual questions are rarely asked. Your comprehension and analysis of events around you will be tested. This is true for GS papers but especially true for the Essay paper.

A common piece of bad advice about the Essay paper is that you should add data and facts in your Essay to make it sound objective.

However you must keep in mind that data and statistics must NOT come at the cost of the quality of your arguments or your flow and structure in the essay. Focusing on facts in your essay more than the actual points and arguments is missing the penny for the pound- the pound in this case being your IAS score.

Moreover, remembering facts is hard. And you want your mind free from the tedious task of recalling facts in the exam because you will have only a few precious minutes during the exam to think about your arguments, organize them and present them to the examiner. So, which facts will you memorize? How many will be enough?

Not to worry. In order to solve this problem and to make your life easier, I have compiled a ready reckoner of facts and statistics which will be extremely easy to recall in the exam- called the FACT CHEAT.

It is called so because this compilation consists of the kinds of facts which are perfectly usable and appropriate in the Essay exam. I have tried to filter the ocean of facts and data to the optimal amount of data points which you should know before going into the exam to aid your IAS score.

This compilation will be ready usable in the essay exam, you will not need to memorize anything more and hopefully just WATCHING the images will be enough to register some of the facts in your mind.

In fact, you might even catch some questions being asked in the IAS exam and be able to answer based on this fact-cheat.This will help in increasing your IAS score in not just the Essay paper but in the Mains exam overall.

IAS score Booster Fact-Cheat

After spending hours searching for the perfect source of data and facts from the internet, I finally hit gold when I found the UNITED NATIONS website.

I found that specifically, the 17 SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) information furbished on the official of the United Nations is god-send for UPSC aspirants. The issues involved in the SDG are the biggest issues facing all of humanity. By default, these are also the biggest issues facing India.

The list of issues has been very carefully drafted by the United Nations and covers topics from poverty to education. These SDGs are fundamental to the idea of inclusive growth in the world and apply specially to India which is one of the most populous nations in the world consisting of millions of people affected by these goals.

This Fact-Cheat covers the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic which makes it highly relevant from the point of view of General studies and the upcoming IAS exam in general.

Therefore, do not be surprised if you find some direct questions in the IAS exam from this fact-cheat.

You can read about the pattern of the entire IAS exam in a super-simplified manner here.

I am reproducing the facts and images from the UN website here in one page for ease of perusal but you can also go directly to the source from this link.

You can simply save the infographics on your phone or laptop and look at them every time to time, which will serve as good revision.This should be enough to get an edge in your IAS score for the Essay paper.

United Nations SDG 1- No Poverty

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  • According to the most recent estimates, in 2015, 10 percent of the world’s population or 734 million people lived on less than $1.90 a day.
  • Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are expected to see the largest increases in extreme poverty, with an additional 32 million and 26 million people, respectively, living below the international poverty line as a result of the pandemic.
  • The share of the world’s workers living in extreme poverty fell by half over the last decade: from 14.3 per cent in 2010 to 7.1 per cent in 2019.
  • Even before COVID-19, baseline projections suggested that 6 per cent of the global population would still be living in extreme poverty in 2030, missing the target of ending poverty. The fallout from the pandemic threatens to push over 70 million people into extreme poverty.
  • One out of five children live in extreme poverty, and the negative effects of poverty and deprivation in the early years have ramifications that can last a lifetime. 
  • In 2016, 55 per cent of the world’s population – about 4 billion people – did not benefit from any form of social protection

United Nations SDG 2- Zero Hunger

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  • Current estimates are that nearly 690 million people are hungry, or 8.9 percent of the world population – up by 10 million people in one year and by nearly 60 million in five years.
  • The majority of the world’s undernourished – 381 million – are still found in Asia. More than 250 million live in Africa, where the number of undernourished is growing faster than anywhere in the world.
  • In 2019, close to 750 million – or nearly one in ten people in the world – were exposed to severe levels of food insecurity.
  • An estimated 2 billion people in the world did not have regular access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food in 2019.
  • If recent trends continue, the number of people affected by hunger will surpass 840 million by 2030, or 9.8 percent of the global population.
  • 144 million children under age 5 were affected by stunting in 2019, with three quarters living in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
  • In 2019, 6.9 per cent (or 47 million) children under 5 were affected by wasting, or acute under-nutrition, a condition caused by limited nutrient intake and infection.

United Nations SDG 3: Good health and well-being

Child health

Maternal health

HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

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United Nations SDG 4 : Quality education

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United Nations SDG 5 : Gender Equality

  • Globally, 750 million women and girls were married before the age of 18 and at least 200 million women and girls in 30 countries have undergone FGM.
  • The rates of girls between 15-19 who are subjected to FGM (female genital mutilation) in the 30 countries where the practice is concentrated have dropped from 1 in 2 girls in 2000 to 1 in 3 girls by 2017.
  • In 18 countries, husbands can legally prevent their wives from working; in 39 countries, daughters and sons do not have equal inheritance rights; and 49 countries lack laws protecting women from domestic violence.
  • One in five women and girls, including 19 per cent of women and girls aged 15 to 49, have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner within the last 12 months. Yet, 49 countries have no laws that specifically protect women from such violence.
  • While women have made important inroads into political office across the world, their representation in national parliaments at 23.7 per cent is still far from parity.
  • In 46 countries, women now hold more than 30 per cent of seats in national parliament in at least one chamber.
  • Only 52 per cent of women married or in a union freely make their own decisions about sexual relations, contraceptive use and health care.
  • Globally, women are just 13 per cent of agricultural land holders.
  • Women in Northern Africa hold less than one in five paid jobs in the non-agricultural sector. The proportion of women in paid employment outside the agriculture sector has increased from 35 per cent in 1990 to 41 per cent in 2015.
  • More than 100 countries have taken action to track budget allocations for gender equality.
  • In Southern Asia, a girl’s risk of marrying in childhood has dropped by over 40per cent since 2000.

United Nations SDG 6 : Clean water and sanitation

United Nations SDG 7 : Affordable and Clean Energy

  • 13per cent of the global population still lacks access to modern electricity.
  • 3 billion people rely on wood, coal, charcoal or animal waste for cooking and heating
  • Energy is the dominant contributor to climate change, accounting for around 60 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Indoor air pollution from using combustible fuels for household energy caused 4.3 million deaths in 2012, with women and girls accounting for 6 out of every 10 of these.
  • In 2016, the share of renewables increased at the fastest rate since 2012, up 0.24 percentage points, and reached almost 17.5per cent owing to rapid growth in hydropower, wind, and solar.

United Nations SDG 8 : Decent work and Economic Growth

  • The global unemployment rate in 2017 was 5.6per cent, down from 6.4per cent in 2000.
  • Globally, 61per cent of all workers were engaged in informal employment in 2016. Excluding the agricultural sector, 51per cent of all workers fell into this employment category.
  • Men earn 12.5per cent more than women in 40 out of 45 countries with data.
  • The global gender pay gap stands at 23 per cent globally and without decisive action, it will take another 68 years to achieve equal pay. Women’s labour force participation rate is 63 per cent while that of men is 94 per cent.
  • Despite their increasing presence in public life, women continue to do 2.6 times the unpaid care and domestic work that men do.

United Nations SDG 9 : Industries, Innovation and Infrastructure

United Nations SDG 10 : Reduced Inequalities

  • Evidence from developing countries shows that children in the poorest 20 per cent of the populations are still up to three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than children in the richest quintiles.
  • Social protection has been significantly extended globally, yet persons with disabilities are up to five times more likely than average to incur catastrophic health expenditures.
  • Despite overall declines in maternal mortality in most developing countries, women in rural areas are still up to three times more likely to die while giving birth than women living in urban centers.
  • Up to 30 per cent of income inequality is due to inequality within households, including between women and men. Women are also more likely than men to live below 50 per cent of the median income
  • Of the one billion population of persons with disabilities, 80per cent live in developing countries.
  • One in ten children is a child with a disability.
  • Only 28 per cent of persons with significant disabilities have access to disability benefits globally, and only 1per cent in low-income countries.

United Nations SDG 11 : Sustainable cities and Communities

  • Half of humanity – 3.5 billion people – lives in cities today and 5 billion people are projected to live in cities by 2030.
  • 95 per cent of urban expansion in the next decades will take place in developing world
  • 828 million people live in slums today and most them are found in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia.
  • The world’s cities occupy just 3 per cent of the Earth’s land, but account for 60-80 per cent of energy consumption and 75 per cent of carbon emissions.
  • Rapid urbanization is exerting pressure on fresh water supplies, sewage, the living environment, and public health. 
  • Cities account for between 60 and 80 per cent of energy consumption and generate as much as 70per cent of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions
  • 90 per cent of urban growth is forecasted to happen in Asia and Africa in the next 30 years.
  • By 2050 70 per cent of the world population is predicted to live in urban settlements.

United Nations SDG 12 : Responsible consumption and Production

Water

Energy

  • If people worldwide switched to energy efficient lightbulbs, the world would save US$120 billion annually.
  • Despite technological advances that have promoted energy efficiency gains, energy use in OECD countries will continue to grow another 35 per cent by 2020. Commercial and residential energy use is the second most rapidly growing area of global energy use after transport.
  • In 2002 the motor vehicle stock in OECD countries was 550 million vehicles (75 per cent of which were personal cars). A 32 per cent increase in vehicle ownership is expected by 2020. At the same time, motor vehicle kilometers are projected to increase by 40 per cent and global air travel is projected to triple in the same period.
  • Households consume 29 per cent of global energy and consequently contribute to 21 per cent of resultant CO2 emissions.
  • The share of renewable energy in final energy consumption has reached 17.5per cent in 2015.
  • The global electrification rate reached 89per cent in 2017 (from 83per cent in 2010), still leaving about 840 million people without access
  • Between 2010 and 2017, the percentage of the population relying on clean cooking solutions grew by an annual average of 0.5 percentage points.
  • The global population without access to electricity fell from 1.2 billion in 2010 to 840 million in 2017.

Food

  • Each year, an estimated 1/3 of all food produced – equivalent to 1.3 billion tons worth around $1 trillion – ends up rotting in the bins of consumers and retailers, or spoiling due to poor transportation and harvesting practices
  • 38 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2019.
  • Land degradation, declining soil fertility, unsustainable water use, overfishing and marine environment degradation are all lessening the ability of the natural resource base to supply food.
  • The food sector accounts for around 30 per cent of the world’s total energy consumption and accounts for around 22 per cent of total Greenhouse Gas emissions.

United Nations SDG 13 : Climate Action

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  • As of April 2018, 175 parties had ratified the Paris Agreement and 168 parties had communicated their first nationally determined contributions to the UN framework convention on Climate Change Secretariat.
  • As of April 2018, 10 developing countries had successfully completed and submitted their first iteration of their national adaptation plans for responding to climate change.
  • Developed country parties continue to make progress towards the goal of jointly mobilizing $100 billion annually by 2020 for mitigation actions.

Thanks to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change we know:

  • From 1880 to 2012, average global temperature increased by 0.85°C. To put this into perspective, for each 1 degree of temperature increase, grain yields decline by about 5 per cent. Maize, wheat and other major crops have experienced significant yield reductions at the global level of 40 megatons per year between 1981 and 2002 due to a warmer climate.
  • Oceans have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished and sea level has risen.From 1901 to 2010, the global average sea level rose by 19 cm as oceans expanded due to warming and ice melted. The Arctic’s sea ice extent has shrunk in every successive decade since 1979, with 1.07 million km² of ice loss every decade
  • Given current concentrations and on-going emissions of greenhouse gases, it is likely that by the end of this century, the increase in global temperature will exceed 1.5°C compared to 1850 to 1900 for all but one scenario. The world’s oceans will warm and ice melt will continue. Average sea level rise is predicted as 24 – 30cm by 2065 and 40-63cm by 2100. Most aspects of climate change will persist for many centuries even if emissions are stopped
  • Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) have increased by almost 50 per cent since 1990
  • Emissions grew more quickly between 2000 and 2010 than in each of the three previous decades
  • It is still possible, using a wide array of technological measures and changes in behavior, to limit the increase in global mean temperature to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels
  • Major institutional and technological change will give a better than even chance that global warming will not exceed this threshold

United Nations SDG 14 : Life below Water

  • Oceans cover three quarters of the Earth’s surface, contain 97 per cent of the Earth’s water, and represent 99 per cent of the living space on the planet by volume.

Climate change

Ocean and people

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United Nations SDG 15 : Life on Land

Forests

  • Around 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihood, including 70 million indigenous people.
  • Forests are home to more than 80 per cent of all terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects.
  • Between 2010 and 2015, the world lost 3.3 million hectares of forest areas. Poor rural women depend on common pool resources and are especially affected by their depletion.
  • Currently, land degradation has reduced productivity in 23 per cent of the global terrestrial area, and between $235 billion and $577 billion in annual global crop output is at risk as a result of pollinator loss.

Desertification

  • Arable land loss is estimated at 30 to 35 times the historical rate
  • Due to drought and desertification, 12 million hectares are lost each year (23 hectares per minute). Within one year, 20 million tons of grain could have been grown.
  • 74 per cent of the poor are directly affected by land degradation globally.
  • Habitat loss and deterioration, largely caused by human actions, have reduced global terrestrial habitat integrity by 30 per cent relative to an unimpacted baseline.

Biodiversity

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United Nations SDG 16 : Peace, Justice and Strong institutions

Violence against children

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United Nations SDG 17 : Partnerships for the goals

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USE THIS FACT CHEAT TO BOOST YOUR IAS SCORE

  • Whenever you use any of these facts, start your sentence with – “According to the United Nations…”
  • Remember to use them in the appropriate places
  • Instead of memorizing these all at once, look at all 17 inforgraphics repeatedly and use the imagery in them to form a picture of that particular global problem.
  • Try to correlate the same with India and think of how well India is doing on all these fronts.
  • Remember that the perspective given by these facts is more important the number and digits.
  • Try to find nifty and useful Infographics for General Studies and learn by visualization instead of only reading text.

I hope this was helpful!

I wish you all the Best for the upcoming exams.

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