Oct.

3, 2016
How far the recent agreement by the OPEC will help to arrest the slump in global crude oil
prices and what impact the decision will have on major producers like Saudi Arabia and Iran?
Model Answer :
Introduction
Recently the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, decided to cut its collective
output by about 700,000 barrels a day, in an effort to balance supply and demand in the global oil
market. It was necessary that the group needed to take decisive action to arrest the two-year-long
slide in global crude prices.Brent crude prices were down more than half from about $103 a
barrel in end-August 2014 to $45.45 a barrel on September 1 this year.
Main Body
Even though the move is expected to prevent the further fall , there were concerns about the
meaningful consensus on production cuts among disparate member-countries which included
the small-yet-prosperous West African country of Gabon, crisis-hit Venezuela, and fractious West
Asian nations such as Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Even though the agreement has been achieved a decision on country-specific production
reflects just how desperate the situation has become for most oil-producing economies. The
output cut has been announced for the first time in eight years.
Impact on Saudi Economy
By signing the agreement Saudi Arabia has accepted that its pump-at-will approach has hurt its
economy although the current own move was targeted to affect the North American oil
producers, including U.S. shale interests.
While the big U.S. shale producers have resiliently hung on and even begun investing in new
acreage this year, Saudi Arabia found itself with a huge hole in its budget. A fiscal deficit of 16
per cent of GDP in 2015 that is projected to slightly narrow to about 13 per cent this year forced
spending cuts, including on wages and fuel subsidies.
This year the Saudi was driven to make its first overseas borrowing in more than a decade, a
five-year $10 billion loan. With the economys growth set to slow to about 1 per cent in 2016, it
had few options but to fall back upon the main fuel of its economic engine, crude oil.
Given the countrys involvement in conflicts across the region, both openly as in Yemen and
tacitly as in Syria,there was a need to squeeze more revenue out of every barrel of oil for Saudi
Arabia.
Iran Factor

OPEC made a concession to Iran in order to win its involvement in the deal by exempting it
from immediate production caps. With demand growth for petroleum slowing far more rapidly
than previously predicted, the success of the production curbs in reviving oil prices will
significantly depend upon the discipline by OPEC members which they lacked in past.
Conclusion
Hence it can be said that the deal will have major impact not only on the Saudi economy but will
affect the balance of global crude oil prices in near future.

Briefly explain the Indo-Japan Nuclear Deal and its benefit for India.Also bring out
contentious issues involved in it.
Model Answer :
Introduction
The India-Japan nuclear agreement is under discussion since 2008. Now there are chances of
getting it signed during PM's visit to Japan in November.It seems to have achieved a
breakthrough on several contentious issues including a controversial nullification clause.
Main Body of the answer
Key contentious issue in the deal is controversial nullification clause. Under this Japan has
been insisting that the nuclear deal include a clause that would cut off nuclear supplies should
India test a weapon.
India has resisted the move so far, as this would disrupt its nuclear power programme. India has
refused to sign the NPT and CTBT treaties, it issued a unilateral moratorium on testing many
years ago.
Benefits to India
The nuclear cooperation agreement needs to be cleared by the Japanese parliament or Diet.This
would help in the finalization of contracts with Toshiba-owned U.S. Company Westinghouse in
June 2017.
Japan has allowed India to reprocess nuclear fuel from Japan, as long as India submits to
inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA.
Deal will be a big boost for Indias nuclear power industry as the two major U.S. companies
planning plants in India GE and Westinghouse are both Japanese owned. Japanese
manufacturers hold a virtual monopoly on several critical parts and forgings needed by the
Indian reactors.

It will also help India to get a Japanese funding for its clean energy projects,
A deal with Japan, would be a powerful vote of confidence in Indias nuclear programme, This
would also help it push its bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Conclusion
Thus Indo-Japan nuclear deal has an immense potential for India to build up its nuclear energy
programme in a peaceful manner and achieve energy security despite some concerns which will
be hopefully resolved.

Oct. 4, 2016
DO you think the recent acceptance by the centre to allow time bound promotions for central
government employees is consistent with the changing needs of the governance or there
should be performance linked merit based promotions?
Model Answer :
Context of the issue
The Union government has accepted the recommendation of the 7th Pay Commission on
Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) for Central employees which would ensure one
minimum promotion for every 10 years till 30 years of service.
Main Body
Over the years there has been debate going on regarding the efficiency and the performance of
the functioning of the government employees.Compared to the corporate sector, their
efficiency and performance is always below par resulting into low outcome as far as service
delivery is concerned.
Public service delivery is on of the most important functions of governance,With the advent of
LPG era, aspirations of people have grown manifold due to changing socio-eco environment.
Reasons
This needs shift in the functioning of the governance.Unfortunately our functioning of
governance has remained sluggish.Job security, assured pay hikes and promotions have led to
lethargic work culture among the employees.
In case of any strong action employees union or associations having strong lobby can hit the
streets threatening the government.Approaching the courts for violation of the rights of public
servants is also common.Above all this huge chunk of staff has become the trusted vote bank for

any party in power provided it is pampered with pay hikes and time bound promotions
irrespective of performance.
Consequence
Result of all this is governance is a casualty affecting the development process and leading to
citizen dissatisfaction.
Solutions
Hence there is a need to re look at the current system of handling the human resource.Going
beyond the vote bank compulsions, government has to take into account the changing needs of
the governance and its growing complexities.
The whole system of recruitment,training,placement, transfers and promotion needs to be given a
fresh look.It should not be confined to civil services alone but include lower bureaucracy which
has the direct interaction with the citizenry.
Conclusion
Performance linked pay and promotions rather than assured time bound promotions is the need
of the hour and even compulsorily retiring the non performing employees should be on the radar.

Do you think justice is being sacrificed for achieving peace in case of Colombia civil
war? What are the options before Colombian government to end this long standing conflict?
Give your views.
Model Answer :
Context of the issue
Colombia has missed, narrowly, an opportunity to end its five-decade-long civil war. Had a
majority of the electorate voted favorably in recent referendum on a peace agreement reached
between the government and the guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC), it would have immediately set in motion the process of disarming the rebels. But the
peace accord has been rejected by a razor-thin majority, ending the future of peace and war
as well, into uncertainty.
Main Body
It is not difficult to understand popular anger against FARC. The rebel group is accused of
massacres, trading in illegal drugs and running extortion rackets. Over 52 years, the conflict has
claimed 220,000 lives and displaced about six million people. A dominant section of Colombias
political class,was actively campaigning for a no vote.

However sentiments of the people apart the truth is that the justice is being sacrificed for
achieving peace. Under the terms of the current agreement, most of FARCs rank and file
would be allowed to lead civilian lives. The leadership will be judged in special tribunals with
reduced sentences.
With all its imperfections, this was the best opportunity in decades to end a war in which both
sides have committed terrible crimes. While the atrocities committed by FARC are welldocumented, government troops and the army-backed right-wing paramilitaries stand accused of
excessive use of force, turning the Colombian countryside into a war zone.
Where President Santos differed from his predecessors was in the realization that there was no
military solution to this conflict, leading to negotiations with the rebels four years ago with
Cubas mediation. Negative vote doesnt necessarily mean that the country will be pushed back
into war.
Both sides have said they would continue efforts to make peace. But it is not clear what options
they have but to renegotiate a fresh deal and put it to another referendum. That means the
government and the rebels may have to go through another round of tortuous talks.
While reaching a new agreement has its own challenges, it is feasible for both sides, having
established goodwill and trust over the past four years of negotiations, to look for creative
diplomatic solutions to end the war for good.The Colombian government should also try to win
over the opposition, which would strengthen its appeal to the public for a deal.
The alternative to peace is to send FARC back to the jungles and risk a potential resumption of
the war which Colombia can not afford any more.

Oct. 5, 2016

Dire state of rural healthcare in public sphere has led to the growth of proliferation of private
medical practitioners without formal training which is dangerous.In this context discuss the
role of private investment and public expertise in reviving our healthcare.
Model Answer :
Context of the issue
A survey of 23,000 households across 100 villages in rural Madhya Pradesh has found that while
the number of private health care providers has increased, many of them had no formal medical
training. Of seventy-one per cent of th providers in the private sector only 51 per cent of them
had any formal medical training.
Overview

As is well known public health infrastructure in India is in shambles.India's healthcare

expenditure as a percentage of GDP is very low at 2.5 percent compared to some of the
developing nations where it ranges as high as 6 percentage.
Also there is stark inequality and lack of equity as far as rural and urban health infrastructure and
its quality is concerned.Same is the case with availability of human resource not to speak of
specialized care.
In this scenario there has been proliferation of private medical practitioners both qualified and
unqualified with the number being skewed in the favour of latter.These unqualified practitioners
or so called quacks are spreading their tentacles especially in the villages taking the advantage
of illiteracy and overall socio-eco background of the villages.
Impact
This definitely is a cause of concern not only in medical terms with sure shot negative impact on
the health of patients but it also indicates the failure of medical governance and legal system to
crack down upon this illegal and potentially disastrous trend.
What can be done
In this context it becomes imperative that government has to seriously look after the Public
Private Partnership Model to revive our decaying health care.Private investment and Public
expertise and if possible private expertise also along with harnessing the technology and human
resources can do the wonders to transform the face of our healthcare as a whole and rural
healthcare in particular.
Although key challenge will be the cost factor and profit motives of the private players leading to
their unwillingness to bring in the investment with little returns.
Conclusion
However with the right policy interventions and incentives and innovative use of avenues of
CSR can do wonders in the field of healthcare.

Discuss the need for the creation of water grid in India in the light of decision of Maharashtra
government recently to set up such grid for drought prone Marathwada region.
Model Answer :
Recently the cabinet of Maharashtra approved setting up of a water grid in the region;the State
Cabinet sanctioned projects worth Rs. 49,248 crore for the region. Marathwada has been battling
drought for the last three years due to deficient rainfall with situation becoming worse this year

leading to water famine and resultant social unrest.It may now face a wet drought due to
continuous rain over the last few days.
It is well known fact that over 4o percent area of the country comes under rain shadow region
facing the constant threat of droughts while almost the equal proportion of area is constantly
affected by the floods thus India facing the threat of twin disasters at one point or the other.
Also due to lack of efficient rain water harvesting and other conservation measures distribution
of water also face the challenge of equity and equality.There are many high rainfall areas of the
country e.g. konkan region of Maharashtra where despite very high rainfall due to high surface
runoff and lack of conservation water scarcity is a recurring issue.
In this context establishment of national water grid for equitable distribution of water is
definitely a measure worth considering. Gujarat has already done this.In November 2007 Rajya
Sabha suggested for a National water grid for transferring water from water rich regions to
water-deficit areas.Before that the proposal for the National Water Grid was put by Dr. K. L.
Rao in 1970s.
The Ministry of Water Resources (erstwhile Ministry of Irrigation) and Central Water
Commission formulated a National Perspective Plan (NPP) for Water Resources Development in
1980. The NPP comprises of two components viz. i) Peninsular Rivers Development and ii)
Himalayan Rivers Development.
It envisages construction of storages on various river systems along with interlinking canal
systems to transfer water from water surplus areas to water deficit regions. National Water
Development Agency (NWDA) was set up in 1982 to study the feasibility of Inter basin water
transfer proposals and give a concrete shape to NPP. Based on various studies NWDA has
identified 30 links( 16 Peninsular & 14 Himalayan) .
Benifits
1. Will help to overcome the twin challenge of droughts and floods.
2. Will act as a key measure in disaster management.
3. Will help in Water Planning and Budgeting.
4. Both agriculture and industry will benefit.
Challenges
1. Techno-economic feasibility
2. Environmental and ecological concerns.

3. Centre-state and inter-state cooperation

Yet with impending climate change and resultant possibility of increase in water scarcity along
with corresponding increase in pressure on water as a resource the proposal needs to be given a
serious look by addressing the concerns with the involvement of all the stakeholders.

Oct. 6, 2016

Discuss the current status of HIV affected people in India. Briefly write the problems faced by
them and how the new HIV bill tries to address the concerns.
Model Answer :
Why in the news?
The Union Cabinet, recently approved the long-awaited amendments to the HIV Bill, granting
stronger protection to the countrys HIV community.
What is the aim?
The Bill prohibits discrimination against people living with HIV (PLHIV) in accessing
healthcare, acquiring jobs, renting houses or in education institutions in the public and private
sectors.
What is the current status
There are approximately 21 lakh persons estimated to be living with HIV in India and the
percentage of patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment currently stands at a mere
25.82% as against the global percentage of 41%, according to the 2015 Global Burden of
Diseases (GBD).
Problems faced by them
1. Discrimination and social stigma
2. Difficulties in accessing healthcare ,jobs, housing etc
3. Isolation, depression
4. Lack of financial and social security.
How the Bill addresses the concerns

The HIV and AIDS Bill, 2014 will bring legal accountability and establish a formal
mechanism to probe discrimination complaints against those who discriminate against such
people.
The Bill seeks to prevent stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV. These
amendments will allow families that have faced discrimination to go to court against institutions
or persons being unfair.
The Bill lists various grounds on which discrimination against HIV-positive persons and those
living with them is prohibited.
These include the denial, termination, discontinuation or unfair treatment with regard to
employment, educational establishments, health care services, residing or renting property,
standing for public or private office, and provision of insurance.
What more needs to be done?
Need for socio-eco security and integration into the mainstream.
Psychological support and counselling.
Need to change the societal mindset by spreading awareness and doing away with
misconceptions.
Conclusion
HIV affected persons are the vital section of our socio-eco fabric.Their integration and not
isolation is needed to build the just and equitable society.

Even tough concerns of harmful effects of mobile towers has led to the citizen activism in the
form of petitions in the courts, recent scientific evidences are showing contrary
picture.Discuss the issue in the light of recent SC directive.
Model Answer :
Context of the issue
Supreme Court has recently sought the response from the government on a range of questions
pertaining to mobile towers. It asked the department of telecommunications (DOT) if it had set
standards to deal with the radiation from them and wanted to know if there were harmful effects.
Mobile towers have become controversial in the past decade and answers to the apex courts
queries could clear the air.
Why court has become concerned?

The apex courts queries were in response to a recent spurt in the petitions filed, alleging that the
adverse effects of mobile towers range from headaches, sleep disturbances, dizziness, other
neurophysical disturbances to life-threatening brain tumors.
Radiation from cell phones and towers has also been linked to sweeping decline of honey bees,
sparrows, and other birds and animals.
What was government's response?
These health and environment hazards were, in fact, recognized by the ministry of environment
and forests in 2011. That year, a committee of the ministry suggested that electromagnetic
radiation (EMR) by mobile towers be treated as a pollutant.
In 2012, DOT framed guidelines for issuing clearances for these towers. They reduced the
permissible radiation limits for towers to 10 times lower than those recommended by the
International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (more than 50 countries follow
this standard).
The stringent norms were criticized by the telecom industry and the WHO. But both the previous
and the current government have been steadfast on the decision. Both governments have,
however, ignored another recommendation of the MoEF committee that suggested treating
radiation from mobile towers as pollutants:
The guidelines for setting up mobile towers do not bar the installation of towers near hospitals,
old age homes and schools. Such proscription is international practice.
In 2013, a group of scientists from the premier scientific institutions wrote to the government
saying that radiation from cellphone towers is too little to cause harm. In July, the DOT
organised an awareness campaign in Hyderabad to allay peoples misgivings. Such initiatives
have, however, been very few.
One hopes the apex courts queries will goad the government and the scientific community into
allaying peoples fears and strike the balance between the environmental and health concerns on
the one hand and handling the ever increasing growth of mobile market which may be affected in
the absence of sufficient towers.

Oct. 7, 2016

While the new government is actively pursuing its foreign policy agenda Non Aligned
Movement seems to have lost its relevance in India's foreign policy tools. Do you agree?Shall
we do away with the policy for being cold war era relic? Give your views.

Model Answer :
Recently NAM summit was held in Venezuela in the absence of Indian PM.India was represented
by Vice President Hamid Ansari. It is only in the second time in the history of NAM and the first
time that Indian PM hasn't been the part of NAM due to political reasons.
Arguments against NAM being relevant
Non-alignment has not been on the priority list of government .It has been on a quest for
selective alignments to suit Indias development and security. Foreign policy establishment is
advising the government to rationalize Indias distancing from NAM.
One argument is that NAM did not have any binding principles and that it was a marriage of
convenience among disparate countries. This argument arises from the narrow, literary
interpretation of non-alignment.
Another argument being heard is that NAM countries did not come to our help on any of the
critical occasions when India needed solidarity, such as the Chinese aggression in 1962 or the
Bangladesh war in 1971. Even in the latest struggle against terror, NAM has not come to assist
India in any way.
Realistically speaking the golden age in Indias foreign policy was in the first 15 years after
Independence, when NAM provided a constituency for India because of our non-violent victory
over the British and the leadership it provided to the newly independent countries.
India's problems were different from the small and impoverished nations that thronged the
movement, but Jawaharlal Nehrus vision and statesmanship inspired them.
India did not seek to resolve our problems through the machinery of dispute resolution in NAM,
but actively assisted those who sought such assistance. India led the NAM effort to resolve the
Iran-Iraq dispute.
With the end of cold war era and emergence of uni polar world along with the forces of
globalization India had to shed its idealism and re calibrate its foreign policy to suit its needs in
the new global order.
Why NAM is still relevant?
The question we need to ask is whether our continued involvement with NAM would stand in the
way of our 21st century ambitions.
non-alignment was freedom of judgment and action and it remained valid, whether there was one
bloc or two. Seen in that context, non-military alliances can also be within the ambit of nonalignment, which was subsequently characterized as strategic autonomy. In other words, India
does not have to denounce non-alignment to follow its present foreign policy.

The whole philosophy of NAM is that it remains united on larger global issues, even if does not
side with a member on a specific issue. India itself has followed this approach, whenever the
members had problems with others either inside or outside the movement. NAM positions have
always been the reflection of the lowest common denominator in any given situation.
The very informal nature of NAM permits members to operate individually. It also has the
facility of members reserving their positions, as we did on the non-proliferation positions of
NAM. Our new nearness to the U.S. is not a red rag in NAM and our ability to be helpful in
formulating U.S. policies gives us an advantage. No NAM country may agree to isolate Pakistan,
but the NAM forum will be an effective instrument to project our anti-terrorist sentiments.
NAM is particularly important in elections at the UN, including the possible identification of
new permanent members of the Security Council. The NAM position may not be decisive, but in
the normal process of consultations, every grouping will get its own weightage and it is
convenient to have a lobby behind us. NAM today, like the Commonwealth has always been, is a
heritage we need not discard.
Conclusion
Superficially it may seem that NAM may have lost its relevance in the current global arena but it
is still relevant both in its ideology and substance as the same old problems have to be tackled in
new forms and NAM is the key to address them.

From being the land of communicable diseases, India is slowly witnessing a silent but very
significant shift towards becoming a major country having enhanced burden of non
communicable diseases. What are the factors responsible for this? What strategies can be
adopted by the government in this regard?
Model Answer :
What is the news?
According to the findings of Global burden Of Diseases 2015, In 2015, India, like other
developed countries, had more number of deaths caused by non-communicable diseases.
In the case of males, deaths due to non-communicable diseases (3.6 million) were more than
double that were caused by communicable diseases (1.5 million), while it was nearly double in
females (2.7 million due to non-communicable diseases and nearly 1.4 million deaths due to
communicable diseases).
Cardiovascular diseases were the leading cause of death in both sexes in India 1.6 million in
males and 1.1 million in females. The next biggest cause of deaths was chronic respiratory
diseases 0.68 million in males and 0.5 million in females.

India had the highest number of suicide deaths in the world last year, with nearly 132,000 deaths
in men and over 76,000 deaths in women.
Why significant?
This clearly shows that slowly India has been witnessing a major shift from being one of the
leading nation in communicable diseases to non communicable diseases.
What are the reasons?
1. Tremendous improvement in our public health infrastructure and human resources.
2. Targeted interventions by the government at all levels against the communicable diseases
3. Exclusive focus of our health polices on communicable diseases.
4. Efforts at improving hygiene and sanitation.
5. Vaccination programmes on massive scale.
Why we are witnessing the shift towards non communicable diseases?
1. Change in a lifestyle due to improving standards of living
2. Socio-cultural changes due to globalization
3. Increased workload and stress
4. Lack of exercise and changing dietary patterns.
India is projected to emerge as the diabetes capital of the world by 2030 . Same projections are
made in case of cardiovascular diseases by 2050.
Strategies Government should Adopt
This is really a cause of concern not only from the public health point of view but also from the
point of view of cost to the economy and loss of human capital.
In this context there is need for the government to chalk out long term holistic approach for
tackling this silent killer.
The National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular
Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) was launched in 2010 for the above purpose.
In 2012, 194 WHO member countries, including India, agreed to reduce premature deaths from
NCDs by 25% by 2025.

Apart from this focus should be on promoting healthy lifestyle with emphasis on exercise, yoga
and meditation along with avoiding junk food and adopting healthy food habits.
Conclusion
Non communicable diseases can create a havoc in future if not addressed now.Involvement of all
stakeholders is a key.

Oct. 8, 2016
Should the polygamy and triple talaq be banned in India?Does such a decision will lead to the
violation of Art 25 of the constitution and infringe upon the cultural rights of minority i.e
Muslims in India? Debate.
Model Answer :
Why in the news?
The Ministry of Law and Justice has recently submitted in the Supreme Court that the practice of
triple talaq and polygamy are needed to be adjudicated upon afresh by the apex court.According
to Polygamy may have been progressive and path-breaking centuries ago, but not now when
women and notions of gender justice have evolved.
The move is definitely a progressive one considering the changing socio-eco-cultural context and
the deplorable condition of muslim women due to such regressive and inhuman practice .But at
the same time it is likely to be a politically hot topic due to religious sensitivities of the muslim
community.
Arguments supporting the move
If Muslim countries, where Islam is the State religion, have disregarded polygamy and triple
talaq, why should India, a secular country, continue to deny Muslim women their rights under the
Constitution.
It may be true that only some women are directly affected by a polygamous marriage, but the
fact remains that every woman to whom the law applies lives under the fear, threat or prospect of
being subject to these practices, which impacts her confidence and dignity.
There is no legal bar against abolishing polygamy and triple talaq and given the exigencies of
time there is a need for social reform.Even the theocratic States like Pakistan,Bangladesh,
Afghanistan and Iran,have regulated their divorce law and polygamy in order to show that
these are not essential religious practices that are beyond reform.

Any practice that leaves women socially, financially or emotionally vulnerable or subject to the
whims and caprices of men is incompatible with the letter and spirit of Articles 14 and 15 of the
Constitution.Muslim women, merely by virtue of their religious identity and the religion they
profess, cannot be relegated to a status more vulnerable than women of other religious faiths.
In a secular democracy, religion cannot be the reason to deny the equal status and dignity
available to women under the Constitution of India.The preservation of diverse identities and
plurality cannot be a pretext for denying to women the status and gender equality they are
entitled to as citizens.
Arguments against the move
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) strongly supports the unilateral right of
Muslim men to pronounce oral divorce through triple talaq, saying that as men, they were better
at controlling their emotions, unlike women. The Board has also said that polygamy prevents
illicit sex and protects women.
Also the step is seen as a move to subjugate the Muslim identity by the Hindu majority.The
opponents of such a move consider it as a violation of their socio-religious-cultural rights under
Art.25 of the constitution.
It is also argued that the move goes against the concept of secularism,plurality and diversity of
India.
On legal front also it is countered as violation of personal laws and rights of community.
Conclusion
Even though the arguments have some substance these can not be a pretext for denying to
women the status and gender equality they are entitled to as citizens.India is a vibrant
progressive and democracy.Its progress lies in the progress of women of all communities which
is essential for retaining its pluralistic and secular image.

What do you understand by the term euthanasia?Is it ethical to allow euthanasia for the
person going trough irreversible sufferings?What is the legal position around the world and
especially in India?
Model Answer :
What it is?
Euthanasia is the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or
in an irreversible coma.It is the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and
suffering.

Why in the News?

In Andhra Pradesh , parents unable to cough up the money needed for treatment of their
children suffering from the incurable diseases are moving petitions seeking euthanasia for their
ailing children.
Ethical debate
There are proponents of both the sides supporting it and those against it.
Those who support it put the obvious cause of incurable nature of the disease and the resultant
sufferings of the person.By providing him a painless death however painful it may be for the
relatives or near and dear ones of the person, they are at least able to see their beloved ones not
to suffer unnecessarily especially when it is medically clear that the disease or an aliment from
which the person suffers is incurable.
Opponents of such a move argue that no individual has a right to take a life of another person
whatever may be the cause.Focus should be to continue the treatment and giving him the care as
long as one can despite the person's suffering as life is precious and gift of god.Hence only the
god has the right to take it away.
Another ethical angle is that of medical ethics according which saving a life of a patient is the
duty of the doctors.At no cost they can take away his /her life due to the so called Hippocratic
oath which forms the basis of this profession.
Nowadays concerns are also being raised about chances of euthanasia being misused by the
patient's relatives with the ulterior motives.
Legal Position
The world over legal position differs in case of euthanasia.Many western countries have allowed
active euthanasia where the patient is intentionally killed to permanently relieve him of his
suffering .Normally administering the lethal injection is a preferred method.
Netherland,Switzerland,Germany etc allow active euthanasia.
The term "passive euthanasia" used by the Supreme Court in its verdict on Aruna Shanbaug's
case is defined as the withdrawal of medical treatment with the deliberate intention to hasten a
terminally ill-patient's death.In India only passive euthanasia is allowed.
Way forward
In India there is a need to mobilize the public opinion by raising the issue in media and public
platforms. By involving all the stakeholders and considering the socio-cultural-moral-legal
dimensions in India a suitable policy should be arrived at by the government.

Oct. 10, 2016

Ease of Doing Business and land reforms with focus on faster land acquisition were the twin
pillars on which the new government is trying to attract the investors to set up their bases and
help create the jobs. However India is flaunting on both fronts.Discuss in the context of recent
visit of Singapore PM.
Model Answer :
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during his India visit last week talked about the s a
different approach India need to grow its economy and must remove bottlenecks so that foreign
investors can operate in the country just as its own corporates expand their global footprint.
His remarks may appear out of sync with the official discourse on Indias recent economic
performance, especially the liberalization of foreign direct investment and record inflows
clocked since the new government was sworn in.
Mr. Lees concerns, however, dont stem from FDI policy per se, but two intertwined reform
showpieces of the NDA one abandoned after hot pursuit in its first year and another that
remains a work in progress.
These are amendments to the land acquisition law and improvements in the ease of doing
business, respectively. India has assured the business leaders of Singapore that they are free to
invest in India if they can, on their own, acquire the land to set up industry and business.
As Mr. Lee pointed out, that makes investing in India virtually impossible industrial parks
that Singapore had proposed in the past remain non-starters. The Centre may not be used to such
public plain-speaking, even from Western leaders with longer reform wish lists, but it must take
the Prime Ministers cue for introspection and course correction.
Modernizing Indias land laws was high on the governments agenda in 2014-15; an ordinance
was promulgated thrice to effect necessary changes till Parliament could pass a law. Global
investors were assured that land acquired under the ordinance would be safe from any
subsequent changes to the law.
But the Centre wilted in the face of Opposition resistance. A model land-leasing law formulated
by the Niti Aayog was mooted for States to adopt instead, but a billion-dollar plant is unlikely to
come up on leased foundations.
Since then, a proposed nuclear plant has moved out from Gujarat owing to land acquisition
problems, Indias largest FDI proposal from South Koreas Posco is all but off, and job creation
has hit a five-year low.

India moved up 12 places in the World Banks Ease of Doing Business index last year and may
rise further. But the index is only based on speed of paperwork in Mumbai and Delhi, where
there is little space for big new industries; such rankings dont directly translate into more FDI.
The Prime Minister has set a target for India to reach the top 50 ranks in the index, but getting a
construction permit online is no good if large tracts of land cannot be provided job-creating
investment.
If the idea to bury the land reform was to secure farmers votes and, in the process, alternative
jobs are not created for the young and those who want to move out of agriculture, in the long
term it may harm the Indian economy dearly not to speak of a social crisis it may create due to
demographic disaster .
Hence it is high time that India moves on the reforms front as fast as possible so that objectives
of Make in India and Skill India can be acheived translating into a much required non farm job
creation.

UN under its new Secretary General has to focus not only on the crisis faced by the the globe
as a whole but has to address the much needed reforms from within.Comment.
Model Answer :
Context of the issue
The United Nations Security Councils broad consensus in nominating Antonio Guterres for the
post of Secretary-General is an auspicious start to what could be a more assertive UN in
wrestling with the many crises of the world.
Last week, 13 of the 15 members of the Council, including the five veto-wielding permanent
members, sent the name of the former Portugal Prime Minister to the General Assembly for final
approval.
International Crises
If the Assembly passes his nomination, then as the UNs ninth Secretary-General Mr. Guterres
will have to expediently attend to a number of pressing issues, including the worsening
international refugee crisis and the scourge of terrorism, both in part linked to the debilitating
Syrian war.
His experience as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees will come in handy as he goes about
negotiating to find shelter for and rehabilitate refugees from Syria, who at last count numbered
well above four million worldwide.

At the UNHCR, Mr. Guterres is said to have focused on organisational reform and innovation by
taking funding out of the headquarters and pushing more money out to the field. It is clear that he
is passionate about the cause of refugees; he has frequently appealed to the international
community over the migrant crisis and has vowed to continue being their spokesman.
An equally challenging agenda point facing Mr. Guterres is to find creative ways to bridge the
chasm between Western powers on the one hand and Russia and China on the other. Ironically,
owing to his very commitment to address the refugee crises, he may be considered an activist.
This could be a recipe for stasis, if not disaster, in any campaign to broker a peace deal in Syria.
Mr. Guterres can ill afford such obstructionism.
Problems within
As an institution, the UN is frequently accused of being bloated and bureaucratic, and has
come under fire over allegations of sexual abuse by its peacekeepers in the Central African
Republic.
Although he has a reputation for being an instinctive strategist, Mr. Guterres will have to handpick a capable team of advisers.
As is well known security council reforms are high on agenda for the last decade or so.But due to
the clout wielded by permanent five not only in the UN but outside of it has ensured the status
quo.
P5 doesn't want to let go of their own disproportionate share of power in decision making and
controlling world affairs.Then there are the challenges of addressing the challenges of opaque
governance structure.
But there will be some nagging questions like whether has he already struck bargains with China
or Russia over who will get some key political posts? Will he stay true to his promise, made
earlier, to ensure that the higher echelons of the UN have 50 per cent women employees?
That goal, set 20 years ago by the UN, is far from being met. In fact, Mr. Guterres own
candidacy came as a disappointment for some, given that there were no fewer than seven women
in the race and not one of them even came close to winning.
Conclusion
Thus the new UN secretary General has a challenging task ahead especially bringing together the
dividing nations.How he handles it will determine the course of global events in years to come.

Oct. 11, 2016

Discuss the economic and strategic importance of Chabhar Port to India in the context of
recent trilateral meet between India ,Iran and Afghanistan.
Model Answer :
Context of the issue
A Trilateral meeting was recently held between India, Afghanistan and Iran to make a further
progress on the Chabahar agreement.
About the agreement
Chabahar agreement is a Trilateral Agreement focusing on establishment of International
Transport and Transit Corridor. India and Iran had in 2003 agreed to develop Chabahar on the
Gulf of Oman outside the Strait of Hormuz, near Iran's border with Pakistan. But it was signed
recently only in May, 2016 in Tehran by India, Iran and Afghanistan.
Objective of the Project
Basic objective of developing the project on the part of India is to gain the access to Central
Asian Markets along with negating the impact of China-Pakistan ties in the development of the
Gwadar port.
Strategic Importance
Chabahar port is of great strategic utility for India. It lies outside the Persian Gulf and is easily
accessed from India's western coast, bypassing Pakistan. It has the potential of becoming Indias
gateway to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Europe.
It is located close to the Pakistani port of Gwadar, being developed by China. This makes it
ideal for keeping track of Chinese or Pakistani military activity based out of Gwadar.
It would also help in building the Indo-Iranian strategic alliance in the region for combating
menace of terrorism and organised crime apart from anti-piracy operations in Persian Gulf
region.
By using its infrastructure and bases in Afghanistan, India can potentially choke Pakistan
economically and strategically in extreme cases.
Economic importance
It is the nearest port to India on Iranian coast, which provides access to the resources and
markets of Afghanistan and Central Asia easily bypassing the Pakistan. The port will cut
transport costs/time for Indian goods by a third. It will help to bring the oil and gas of both the
Iran and Central Asia at a reduced cost to Indian markets.

It will further increase Indias outreach by linking it with International North-South Transport
Corridor (INSTC) to which India is one of the initial signatories.
From Chbahar, the existing Iranian road network can link up to Zaranj in Afghanistan. The
Zaranj-Delaram road constructed by India can give access to Afghanistans Garland Highway,
setting up road access to four major cities in Afghanistan Herat, Kandahar, Kabul and Mazare-Sharif.
Reason For Slow Progress
Despite the strategic import of Chabahar for India, there has been very little progress on it for
several reasons.
1.First is Irans unenthusiastic support for the project. A key factor behind Irans reluctance to
allow an Indian presence at Chabahar was the opposition by the Army of the Guardians of the
Islamic Revolution (the so-called Revolutionary Guards), which reportedly uses the port to ship
arms to Yemen and militant groups in the region.
2.Secondly the economic viability of the project is suspect. India, which has had trouble raising
funds for the project, has so far been able to invest only $85 million to build a couple of berths. It
remains to be seen if India can raise sufiecient funds for the projects.
3.Moreover, given the presence of Gwadar next door, where China has already invested over $1
billion and committed another $46 billion for the 3,000-km long economic corridor to link
Gwadar to Kashgar in Xinjiang province and its One Belt, One Road project, it is unclear
whether the Chabahar route will generate enough trade and traffic to justify the investment.
Conclusion
Thus to conclude the recent progress over the development of a Chbahar port is definitely a firm
foot forward for India both in economic and strategic terms apart from achieving the peace and
stability in the region. Development of ports, road and rail connectivity will open up new
opportunities, leading to new jobs and prosperity in all three countries. But, seeing the slow pace
of growth, greater diplomatic skills and alternate innovative channels of funding is required.

Project Saksham is an excellent example of application of e-technology to achieve the

objectives of good governance.In this context give an account of the project and discuss its
benefits especially its role in reorienting the tax governance.
Model Answer :
About the Project

Project Saksham is a new indirect tax network of the Central Board of Excise and Customs
(CBEC), recently approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). It is a
back-end information technology (IT) project for the indirect tax department that will help in the
implementation of the GST and integrate CBECs system with the GSTN by the GST roll out
deadline i.e April 2017.
E-Technology In the Aid Of Tax Governance
With the arrival of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization the nature of governance has
also become complex. To meet the changing demands of the governance and fulfill the peoples
aspirations technology has a great role to play. This is true in the case of tax administration as
well.
The government of India has brought several innovative tax reform initiatives such as e-Shayog,
e-fliling, e-Nivaran, simplified IT forms etc. Despite these positive move, tax governance in
India is considered as rigid and complex. Also it has not been able to reach out to the citizens in
simplified manner leading to evasion of taxes and revenue losses. With the thrust on governance,
especially with the coming up of GST, such intervention is much needed. And Project Saksham
is welcome move in this direction.
Benefits of the Project
It will help in implementation of GST. The CBECs IT systems will be eventually integrated
with the Goods & Services Tax Network (GSTN) for payment and returns, registrations, GSTN
Data transfer to CBEC, and other modules such as Investigation, Audit and Appeal.
The project will also help the indirect tax department in reaching out to the larger number of
taxpayers when GST rolls out from April 1, 2017. The number of taxpayers under various
indirect tax laws administered by CBEC is about 36 lakh at present, and will nearly double to 65
lakh after the introduction of GST.
This IT infrastructure is also urgently required for continuation of CBEC's e-services in
Customs, central excise and service tax, implementation of taxpayer services such as scanned
document upload facility, extension of Indian Customs SWIFT initiative and integration with
government initiatives such as e-Nivesh, e-Taal and e-Sign.
It will facilitate implementation of other taxpayer-friendly initiatives under Digital India and
ease of doing business of CBEC.

Conclusion
Thus the project Saksham has the definite potential to not only enhance the revenue due to
outreach to the wider tax net and increased number of taxpayers but also help to shift the rigid
tax governance to a more streamlined and user friendly mode. What is to be assured is that there

should be no overlap in the GST-related systems of CBEC and GSTN. CBEC's IT structure
needs to integrate with GSTN for both the back-end as well as front-end modules.

Oct. 12, 2016

Malnutrition in India is considered to be worse than even some Sub Saharan countries.So
what do you understand by the malnutrition?What are the key factors responsible for it?Write
about the steps taken by the government along with recent UNICEF initiative to supply
nutritious food to the children in Andhra Pradesh?
Model Answer :
According to WHO Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a persons
intake of energy and/or nutrients. The term malnutrition covers 2 broad groups of conditions.
One is under nutritionwhich includes stunting (low height for age), wasting (low weight for
height), underweight (low weight for age) and micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies (a
lack of important vitamins and minerals).
The other is overweight, obesity and diet-related non communicable diseases (such as heart
disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer).
According to various UN Reports on Human Development Index over the years, India has been
lagging behind the Sub Saharan countries. According to the recent Hungama Report around 40%
of the children are malnourished while 1/3 are affected by the stunted growth.
Reasons
This has been attributed to the many factors important among them being
1.

Poverty and hunger leading under nutrition due to inadequate calorie intake.

2.

Over nutrition leading to obesity and other non communicable diseases.

3. Poor health of mother: The damage that happens in the first 1000 days of life cycle is
irreversible, and affects child health.
4.

Lack of sanitation and hygiene

5.

Lack of access to education leading to ignorance and lack of awareness.

6.

Lack of access to affordable and quality healthcare.

7. Faulty policies and approaches of government: Repeating programs that have not yielded
result.
Measures Taken by Government
Government has followed a multi-sectoral approach for accelerated action in targeting nutrition.
The schemes/programmes include the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), National
Health Mission (NHM), Mid-Day Meal Scheme, Rajiv Gandhi Schemes for Empowerment of
Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) namely SABLA, Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojna (IGMSY)
as direct targeted interventions. Besides, indirect Multi-sectoral interventions include Targeted
Public Distribution System (TPDS), National Food Security Mission, Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, National Rural
Drinking Water Programme etc. All these schemes address one or other aspect of nutrition.
Besides, the government is focused to address micro nutrients deficiency through Food
Fortification and Bio Fortification Measures.
Way Forward and The UNICEF Project
Malnutrition has both intrinsic (on people) as well as instrumental (on GDP) impact. This has an
adverse impact on the health of our children, who are the future of country. High IMR and child
mortality is a result of malnutrition and resultant diseases. Thus, the socio-economic and human
development not only of an individual but of entire country is at stake due to malnutrition.
Though efforts of the government are commendable more concrete efforts are needed to tackle
the problem. Along with the nutritional factors focus has to be devoted to the provision of
affordable, accessible and quality social services with the involvement of civil society and
community based service delivery.
In this context the recent decision by the UNICEF to launch a pilot project in Andhra Pradesh to
tackle the malnutrition is commendable. It will supply nutritious food for children in the State.
UNICEF, with the help of government departments involved in child care, other stakeholders and
NGOs, is proposing to launch Community Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM)
and supply Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) in the State. RUTF contains therapeutic
milk, sugar, oil and peanuts, which contain high vitamins, minerals and nutritious supplements. It
has saved some thousands of children suffering from severe malnutrition.

Deteriorating quality of voice and data services is a major concern not just for the growth of a
telecom industry but also a key hurdle in public service delivery and achieving the objectives
of ambitious government programmes like Digital India.Discuss in the context of recent
spectrum auction.
Model Answer :

Indias telecom success story has been key to the countrys growth in the last decade,
demonstrating to the world its ability to tap and grow the domestic market quickly as well as
establish a global footprint.
But a billion consumers, huge volume of data and voice services and low tariffs are not enough if
the quality of service on offer is deteriorating, both in data and voice. In many areas, networks
that should operate at 65 % capacity are working at 95 % due to high congestion, leading to poor
voice services.
The recent auction of 2350 megahertz of telecom spectrum was also not so encouraging. Only 7
out of 11 telecom players in India participated and only 40 %of the prized radio frequency band
on offer was sold. High indebtedness (Rs.4,00,000 cr) of telecom companies and the high base
price set by the government probably rendered the action uncompetitive for the telecom
companies. This will cause a revenue loss to the government as it will get only around Rs.33000
cr. This will hamper investment in the telecom infrastructure.
Despite the new spectrum available to companies, the sheer volume of voice traffic means that
improvements in quality may not match the requirements. Similar issues plague data traffic. In
this auction also companies have focused on acquiring enough spectrums to enhance the 4G data
services in urban markets, where they expect tough competition from the new player, Reliance
Jio.
Impact on the Telecom Industry
This short-sighted strategy focusing on the immediate gains to garner more profits and consumer
share based on extremely competitive tariffs but giving not enough focus to the quality may harm
the long term growth of the industry both domestically and in global markets.
Impact on the Government Programmes
However more important will be the impact on the objective of government to bridge the digital
divide through its ambitious programme of Digital India along with its E- Kranti where
government focus is on both the improvement of connectivity apart from public service delivery.
In all these objectives mobiles and network quality have an important role to play.
Way Forward
Government will have to take a relook at the uncompetitive prices it has set for such spectrum
auctions with the aim of meeting its budgetary targets. Focus has to be to let the market take
precedence over the bureaucratic decisions.
Long term growth of the telecom sector is crucial for the growth of economy as a whole with the
impact on employment creation also. Hence it has to be promoted rather than suppressed via
uncompetitive measures.

Oct. 13, 2016

"Saudi Arabia cannot be allowed to destroy Yemen to defend its narrow geopolitical
ambitions."Comment in the context of destruction and human rights violation caused by the
Saudi Arabia in violation of international principles.
Model Answer :
Humanitarian Catastrophe
For the past one year and half, Saudi Arabia has carried out military operation in Yemen which is
replete with attacks on civilian centres causing mass casualties. The very recent was the horrific
strike last week that left at least 140 people dead and more than 500 injured.
The so called war by Saudi Arabia and its allies has turned the Yemen into a humanitarian
catastrophe. The UN estimates that over 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have so far been killed
and millions displaced since the Saudi intervention. Besides, the countrys already poor
healthcare system has crumbled and its economy is in shambles. More than half of Yemens 28
million people do not get enough food; while close to 400,000 children endure severe
malnutrition.
International Criticism And Saudis Defence
Ever since it started, this brutal military campaign in one of the poorest Arab countries has
evoked international criticism against the Saudis for the use of excessive force and alleged war
crimes. The two groupsAmnesty

International and Human Rights Watchaccused

Saudi
Arabia of gross and systematic violations of human rights.
Further,Both ISIS and AQAP have used the conflict between the Houthis and the Saudi-led
coalition to forge resentment towards the Shia Houthis amongst Yemen's predominantly Sunni
population.
But Saudi Arabia has remained adamant of its actions. Riyadh claims that it is defending the
internationally recognised regime of PresidentMansour Hadi, which operates out of the southern
city of Aden, against Shia Houthi rebels. But defending a government that doesnt seem to
enjoy any legitimacy at home, shows the fallacy of Saudi Arabias claims.
Even from a strategic point of view, the Saudi Arabias intervention is a disaster. After 18 months
of incessant bombing, the Houthis are still defending their bases, including the capital city, while
the Hadi administration is functional on the margins.
Real Motives
Neither the human suffering nor the futility of the campaign has compelled Saudi Arabia to look
for other solutions. This is because Riyadh sees this war as part of its rivalry with Iran. It
considers the Houthis to be agents of Iran, and does not want Iran to have a proxy presence in its
backyard. Both the countries have been competing to promote their own version of Islam. Iran is
allied with the Hezbollah in Lebanaon, Syrias Alawite Shia President Bashar al Assad and Shia
militants in Iraq. Saudi supports Wahabism worldwide.Saudi is also insecure about Irans nuclear
deal with the Western countries and its economic expansion.
Solution

But Saudi Arabia cannot be allowed to destroy Yemen further to defend its narrow geopolitical
ambitions and further the Shia-Sunni sectarian conflict.
While the U.S recently pulled out of the Syria peace talks citing Russias bombing of Aleppo, it
supports Saudis campaign in Yemen through intelligence-sharing and by vetting targets. US has
announced a $60-billion arms deal with Riyadh months after the Yemen operation began.
US should take a similar stand in Yemen crisis, and use its ties with the Saudi Arabia to find a
diplomatic solution to the Yemen crisis. What Yemen needs is an immediate ceasefire between
the Houthis and the Saudis, followed by talks involving all parties, not more bombings.

Digital connectivity has the great role to play in not only the public service delivery but also to
achieve the development at the regional level according to the requirements of the respective
states thus fulfilling the objectives of the cooperative Federalism. Explain in the context of the
major highlights of Maharashtra Net Programme.
Model Answer :
Digital connectivity is the use of information and communications technology in the form of
digital highways and gateways to achieve the objectives of a public service delivery and enable
the smooth, people friendly governance based on the interactive platform.
Why it is needed?
The advent of the LPG era has changed the aspirations of the people and their expectations from
the government have increased manifold. In this scenario the digital connectivity has the key role
to play as far as the 21st century public service delivery based on cutting edge technology is
concerned. It also has a role to reorient the whole of governance itself.
Digital connectivity through fibre optic network will help leverage technology to not just provide
education, health services, and generate employment, but create virtual markets, enhance
productivity, and eliminate middlemen from agro-marketing chain.
Maharashtra Net Programme
Maharashtra is in the process of setting up the information technology infrastructure with fibre
optic network, which can roll out multiple digital applications, and connect 29,000 gram
panchayats by 2018 at an investment of approximately Rs. 5,000 crore under the Maharashtra
Net programme.Maharashtra will be the first State to have all its villages connected digitally.
Government plans to integrate transport, solid waste management, lighting, parking, and
environmental sensors on Digital platform to help digital transformation of the State, which
includes roll-out of broadband infrastructure, creating citizen-centric services through smart city
framework for Nagpur, setting up digital learning and e Commerce hub in Dharavi, and
establishing 25 Cisco networking academies to train 10,000 students.
Strengthening the cooperative federalism
With the establishment of NITI Aayog and 14th Finance Commission enhancing the share of
states in financial sphere, now the states have the major role to play in achieving the objective of
inclusive development with centre playing the role of a facilitator.

Maharashtra Net will act as an actual implementation arm of the Digital India at the state level
helping in the regional connectivity in a better manner according to the requirements at the state
level.Maharashtra Net is on the lines of Digital India initiatives of Centre, where with the roll out
of optical fibre network objectives of rural connectivity, improvement in Panchayat Governance
and provision of social services is targeted.This definitely helps in strengthening the objectives
of cooperative federalism.
Conclusion
The future of 21st century belongs to revolution in information technology (IT). Thus, both the
Centre and States have a role to play in building digital technology infrastructure and use it for
better delivery of public services. These objectives can bestrengthened by achieving the better
coordination and integration of the national and State level initiatives as as has been done by
Maharashtra with Maharashtra Net Initiatives.

Oct. 14, 2016

Briefly explain the key features of recently introduced Citizenship Amendment Bill and why it
has become controversial?Do you think the bill will be an attack on secularism professed by
the constitution?
Model Answer :
Current Context Of The Issue
Governments proposed amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955, which plans to provide
citizenship to religious minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, is facing stiff
opposition from civil society groups in Assam, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Key Features of The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016
The Bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs,
Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for
citizenship.
Under the 1955 Act, one of the requirements for citizenship by naturalisation is that the
applicant must have resided in India during the last 12 months, and for 11 of the previous 14
years. The Bill relaxes this 11 year requirement to six years for persons belonging to the same six
religions and three countries.
The Bill provides that the registration of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders may be
cancelled if they violate any law.
The bill proposes to remove disparity between Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas
Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders.
Concerns Raised Over The Bill

The proposed amendment seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim minorities from Muslim
majority countries. According to civil society organizations, this is a communally motivated
humanitarianism as it would enable Hindu migrants from Bangladesh living in Assam to
become citizens while Muslims who migrated to Assam from East Bengal a century ago would
continue to be harassed as illegal migrants from Bangladesh.
The proposed act also violates Indias long-standing refugee policy that does not differentiate
between victims and see refugees as a sufferer of humanitarian catastrophe.
The proposed amendment will also put our international relations in jeopardy. The Bill will
portray these countries as institutions of religious oppression and worsen bilateral ties in an
already skewed regional socio-political atmosphere.
The Bill does not provide citizenship to the people of Indian origin from Sri Lanka who fled to
Tamil Nadu as refugees following the communal holocaust in July 1983.
The Bill makes illegal migrants eligible for citizenship on the basis of religion. This may violate
Article 14 of the Constitution which guarantees right to equality.
Cancellation of registration of OCI card holders on the grounds of violation of law is very wide
and vague that may cover a range of violations, including minor offences (e.g. parking in a no
parking zone).
Attack On Secularism?
Granting citizenship rights to non-muslim minorities migrants will render muslims as illegal
migrants prone to harassment. Muslim sects like Shias and Ahmediyas also face persecution in
Sunni-dominated Pakistan but the Act doesnt have provision for them. This would not only
violate Article 14 that preaches right to equality, but also lead to a dent in secular image of the
country. It can also create further discord among the communities thus threatening the
democratic fabric of the nation.
Conclusion
Unfortunately the Bill does not take note of the refugees in India from among the Muslim
community who have fled due to persecution and singles them out on the basis of religion,
thereby being discriminatory. For example, the Ahmadiyyas are not considered Muslims in
Pakistan and are subject to many acts of discrimination. Other groups include members of the
Rohingyas, who being Muslims are subjected to discrimination in Myanmar and have fled to
India.
It would have been appropriate if the Bill had used the term persecuted minorities instead of
listing out non-Muslim minorities in three countries. Such a gesture would also have been in
conformity with the spirit of religious and linguistic rights of minorities guaranteed under our
Constitution.

Meanwhile, Indias law of the return should be given a relook by inviting a wider public
consultation followed by the all party discussion for it severely undermines the otherwise secular
socio-legal framework of our nation.

"ISRO's decision to use the micro and small satellites is set to revolutionize the scientific
exploration and space programme in an unprecedented way." comment.
Model Answer :
After major success in heavier communication spacecraft weighing 4,000 kg to 6,000 kg, the
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has finalized a strategy to make increasingly smaller
satellites for earth observation and other scientific exploration missions. The plan is to focus on
10 kg micro satellites to 300-500 kg mini satellite.
The objective behind this move is not only to be a part of the global trend of going smaller but
also to achieve a cutting edge in technology and scientific exploration which will help to further
advance countrys long term developmental goals.
Revolution In Scientific Exploration and Space Programme
A series of 350-kg mini satellites, probably with high resolution cameras and innovative
features, will be built in the near future for the ISROs own remote-sensing uses.
It will help the users to save time to import a suitable small satellite and instead focus on test
novel concepts on the satellites.
Key benefit will be that it will need fewer launch vehicles, efforts and time.
Most important benefit will be cutting down the cost of project compared to satellites of US and
European space agencies.
Nano and micro satellites can offer ready and reliable micro and nano satellite shells on which
the Indian Institutes of Technology, universities and even start-ups can put their experimental
payloads or devices.
Other Benefits
Since the student satellite projects come up with interesting and relevant experiments the new
micro and mini satellites will help them.
Micro and mini satellites also have the potential to transform the health services by providing
the telemedicine facilities to the remotest corners of the rural areas.

It will making the scientific measurement of land possible thus helping in land reforms and
digitization of land records.
Remote sensing and GPS technology will also help to make it possible the advances in
communications and IT along with achieving the objectives of Digital India.
Way Forward
While ISRO has established itself as the pioneer in the field of space and cutting edge
technological research, government has to provide more policy support apart from facilitating the
requirements of funding, infrastructure and human resource especially for cutting edge
research.
In this case it will be important to have the participation of private players to not only provide the
funding but creating the holistic scientific ecosystem and supply chain.

Oct. 15, 2016

"Resolution of complex international issues requires the healthy partnership between the US
and Russia but off late the rising tensions have created the atmosphere of going back to days
of cold war era." Explain.
Model Answer :
The deteriorating relations between the two military powerhouses of the world, US and Russia,
always reminds us of the cold war era. When era of cold war started just after WWII both US
and Russia were engaged in an intense competition to establish their political, economic, military
and cultural hegemony threatening the international peace and stability and start of arms race
especially the nuclear race.
With the end of cold war era and disintegration of erstwhile USSR, which lead to unipolar world
order dominated by the US, global order was troubled by the common threat of terrorism rather
than national rivalries at least for the decade or so. It also marked the new rivalry in the first
decade of 21st century with China replacing USSR.
Revival Of Cold War Politics
Over the last few years, especially post global financial meltdown, the clock is turning back
again with the rise of resurgent Russia under the strong and determined leadership of its current
president.

Friction has been increasingly evident, as Russia pursues an aggressive foreign policy framed
around Russian interests. This happened in Georgia in 2008, Ukraine in 2014 and in Syria 2015.
In turn, coercive diplomacy of US in dealing with Russias aggression has widened the rift. The
suspension of Russia from the G8 moved Russia farther away from the West, while sanctions
negated the goodwill built, since the 1990s, between Russia and the West.
Tensions came to a head this month when the U.S. pulled out of talks with Russia over the Syria
conflict. This was immediately after Russia abandoned a key nuclear disarmament treaty with
Washington, demanding the removal of sanctions on Moscow. If the belligerence and
intransigence of both nations continues, international politics will be more troubled.
Way Forward
Russia is also to blame to certain extent with its blatant disregard for the international system in
case of Ukraine and Syria. Still treating Russia as a rogue nation or trying to isolate and
weaken it through sanctions and other means could only be counterproductive.
Though the present international system is largely dominated by the U.S., Russia, still an
extremely consequential military power, remains the key player whose cooperation is necessary
to resolve several of todays crises be it Syrian civil war or the sectarian turf in the middle east or
the issue of terrorism.
The Iranian Nuclear Deal shows that even the most complex international issues could be
resolved if Russia and the U.S. work together with creative diplomacy. Ideally, that should set the
model for U.S.-Russia partnership.
Unfortunately the opposite is being witnessed, with Russia and the U.S. fighting a proxy war in
Ukraine, Syria etc. Hence, the need of the hour on the part of west, especially US and Russia as
permanent members of UN Security Council, is to bury the differences and form a healthy
partnership based on a mutual cooperation and serving the global interests to bring lasting peace
and just international order.

Simplifying our legal and justice system along with its implementation and not more prisons
is the key to address the problem of overcrowding prisons and prisoners.Discuss in the context
of problems faced by the prisoners.
Model Answer :
Recently SC highlighted the issue of overcrowding in the jails of Delhi and nine other states
which have occupancy ratio of more than 150% of their capacity. The overcrowding of prisons in
the country is a long-standing problem which has remained unaddressed. Even though the
Supreme Court has, from time to time, raised the issue of prison reforms in general, and that of
overcrowding in particular, measures to decongest jails have been sporadic and half-hearted.

Problems Faced By the Prisoners Due To Overcrowding

Cramped conditions in prison violate the prisoners right to good health and dignity.
An excessive prison population creates problems of hygiene, sanitation, management and
discipline.
Prison suicides and murders along with sexual exploitation and other crimes like drug menace
often in complicity of jail authority or with their deliberate ignorance create more problems.
Root Cause Of The Issue
Though various reasons can be attributed to the pathetic state of prisoners, key among them are
inadequate infrastructure, limited staff strength and the level of training they receive; along with
the fact that not a single State or Union Territory has bothered to prepare a plan of action, as
directed by the court five months ago, to decongest the jails and reduce overcrowding.
However the root cause of the issue lies in our outdated criminal justice system which is to
blame for the overcrowding. Also responsible at times is the faulty and biased law and order
implementation.
Because of ineffective criminal justice delivery, we have a little over two-thirds of Indias total
prisoners as under trials that crowds the prisons. Poverty remains the main reason for this, as
most prisoners are unable to execute bail bonds or provide sureties.
What SC Has Suggested?
Court has focused more on the funding, infrastructure and augmentation of human resources
rather than addressing the legal and procedural lacunae which affects its own functioning also
due to rising pendency of cases.
What Needs To Be Done?
Since 2014, there is some effort to invoke Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure,
under which under trials who have completed half of the maximum jail term specified for their
offences may be released on personal bonds.
However, there is a need for the complete overhaul of the criminal justice system with
systematic changes in IPC and CrPc along with registration and investigation of the cases.
a)Issue of false charges leading to fake FIRs has to be addressed during the preliminary enquiry
itself by ascertaining the genuineness of the case.
b)Courts themselves have to curb their overzealous attitude of ordering the filing of cases in case
of police not filing FIRs which amounts to transgressing into the executive domain.

c)There is a need for reform in judiciary as well. The pendency in courts has to be addressed by
filling up the vacancy of judges in courts, and integrating judiciary right from lower court to
higher level. In China, entire Judiciary, from lower court to the higher court, is well connected
through a computer network with each judge having information in front of him. The crime rate
in China is very low with criminal cases accounting for only 6% of the total. It takes only 3
months from trial to jail.
d)In view of the pendency, the creation of four regional Courts of Appeal as final appellate
courts, while restricting the Supreme Court of India to its true function as a Constitutional Court,
has become imperative.
Conclusion
The issue of overcrowding of the prisoners needs to be addressed on a war footing and both the
centre and states have a key role to play. It is high time they pay heed to SC directives.

Oct. 17, 2016

In Paris climate deal agreement, nations have committed themselves to keep the rise in global
average temperature well below 2 Celsius over pre-industrial levels. What challenge does this
agreement faces to effectively counter peaking of greenhouse gas emissions and what new
strategies could be adopted?
Model Answer :
Paris deal was concluded recently where nations have agreed to keep the rise in global average
temperature well below 2 Celsius over pre-industrial levels. Apart from this, Nations have also
set out their own contributions in the form of targets, policies and actions, framed as Intended
Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) submitted prior to the Conference of parties. It is
unique in the sense that never before has every country given commitment for reducing Green
House Gases (GHGs).
Challenges
Despite being universal and unique in the sense that never before has every country given
commitment for reducing GHGs in nature, there are many challenges that need to be resolved to
make it effective in countering the peaking of greenhouse gases. Some challenges lying ahead
are:

Climate Finance: There is little sign of any significant progress towards rich countries
contributing $100 billion annually by 2020 for climate-related projects in poor countries. In the
text, the nature of funds is still unclear.


Most of the pledges are partly or entirely conditional on financial support for their
implementation.

There is no clarity on certain issues like Intellectual Property rights (IPR), technology
transfer etc.

Paris agreement is about targets, not mechanisms.

Cheap fossil fuel challenge: Fossil fuels will probably dominate the worlds energy mix
until at least 2040, due to the lack of cheap & practical alternatives. Carbon price of these fuels
are cheaper than the alternatives and Paris agreement is silent on this
Some Strategies That Could Be Adopted Are:

Increasing the contribution from renewable and lessening use of fossil fuels in all sectors.
For instance, focusing on unconventional means of transport like waterways, use of LPG etc will
help limit climate change.<o:p></o:p>

Improving efficiencies of energy production and use

Shift in human behaviour and economic systems, which are closely tied with atmospheric
systems and the future of our planet.

Smart grids could be deployed to minimise T&D losses.

Local action needs to be synergized with strategies adopted at global level.

Setting up a monitoring mechanism to achieve INDCs.

This treaty is crucial to save humanity from wrath of climate related disaster and in want of
finance let not put the future of entire humanity into danger. We as an individual and world
leaders have to push agenda of the deal from textual stage to actual implementation so that this
planet could be saved for the coming generations.

GST bill is a historic landmark but implementation of it is fraught with many challenges.
Discuss.
Model Answer :
GST is a single tax on the supply of goods and services, right from the manufacturer to the
consumer. It will replace all indirect taxes levied on goods and services by Centre and State.
Historic Achievement

GST is by far one of the most awaited tax reforms in the country which was passed after a long
gap of 10 years after it was first time introduced in parliament in 2006. It seeks to address
challenges with the current indirect tax regime by broadening the tax base, eliminating cascading
of taxes, increasing compliance, and reducing economic distortions caused by inter-state
variations in taxes. Consumers will benefit from a more transparent system of taxation, while
manufacturers will benefit from easier payment and administration of their taxes.
Challenges
Although, a long battle to unify Indias economy to attract FDI and create jobs have been won
yet the implementation is challenging and time-consuming. Some of the challenges are:

IT platform: Indias GST is complex in nature consisting of state GSTs, central GST, and
an integrated GST for interstate movement of goods and services. Making such a complex
platform and implementing interoperability of all the three tax rates in a software system would
be a bigger challenge.

Sorting out administrative arrangement: Resolving overlapping jurisdictions of Union and

state governments

Challenge in federal system: Who would collect the tax, deal with the tax entity, conduct
audits or undertake litigation if required? This question needs to be settled as neither state nor
Union has voluntary given up control of their jurisdictions.

Training of government machinery in short span of time when GST have to be rolled out
from 1 April, 2017

Businesses have to register each of the state where they are conducting businesses,
defeating the very purpose of GST.

Initial rollout of GST may be inflationary in nature although in long run prices will come
down.

Issue of GST council where decisions have to be taken on consensus basis which might
delay implementation of some of the decisions.

Resolving question of Revenue Neutral Rate (RnR)

Way forward
Although GST is fraught with challenges, but these issues are not strong enough to delay the
implementation of GST at the earliest.

Centre and states have to come to a consensus on uniform GST rates, inter-state
transaction of goods and services, compensation requirements, list of exemptions, threshold

limits, administrative efficiency and infrastructural preparedness to implement the new tax
reform.

Processes and changes required for GST compliance need to be automated and
encapsulated in the IT system.

Current business processes will have to be analysed and compared with the ones expected
in the GST regime. The ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning, a kind of business data management
software) of business entities will also have to be thoroughly reviewed. <o:p>

It is also essential for the government to set up GST Monitoring Cells at different levels of
implementation of GST
GST is a welcome change for Indian economy and will help in improving competitiveness,
controlling leakages, curbing the black money and Money laundering and helping in fiscal
consolidation. So, its implementation has to be pursued effectively as early as possible.

Oct. 18, 2016

Court orders have the force of rule of law, however recent incidences show that there has been
increasing hostility to court orders. Why there is increasing disobedience to court orders and
what must be done to deal with such situations within the framework of law?
Approach:
Do you agree with the fact that there are increasing disobedience of court orders?
Support above argument with recent incidences
Bring out reasons if any
Suggest some measures which could be taken
Conclude
Model Answer:
Under the Constitution of India, the Supreme Court has been vested with power to punish for
contempt of Court and has been given plenary power to pass such order as is necessary for doing
complete justice. However, recently it has been seen in many incidences where Supreme
courts orders have been defied. These cases pinpoint to failure of judiciary to implement its own
directive. Some cases to point are: <o:p></o:p>

In Kaveri raw, Karnataka government openly criticised the SC directive to release water to Tamil
Nadu. Some other case to point are SC directive on demolition of illegal structures, including
makeshift temples, mosques and churches, built on public spaces; failure of BCCI to implement
Lodha panel recommendations as directed by court.<o:p></o:p>
Why this disobedience to court orders?<o:p></o:p>
Interference by court in that territory where politicians fear to tread as these issues could
invoke public anger and it is all likely that Judiciary is unlikely to get any respect for it.
<o:p></o:p>
Intrusion of court to law making affair: There is separation of power where legislative has
been bestowed with the responsibility of law making and Courts cannot do what the executive
and legislature are mandated to do, even if the latter are doing their jobs badly. When courts go
into that territory they will invite disrespect.<o:p></o:p>
When disputes involve not just the law, but equitable distribution of resources it is all likely
that people who are being affected likely to defy the order.<o:p></o:p>
Above cases are unfortunately not a sole aberration but symptomatic of a larger malaise that is
growing every day. For this following measurers could be taken:<o:p></o:p>
Fixing accountability in governance: once an argument is decided by a court of law, then that
particular argument gets replaced by judicial fiat and to implement it personal responsibility of
concern authority have to be fixed.<o:p></o:p>
Adequate protection may be provided to such officers or officers from the Central government
may be appointed with court directions to assist in the compliance of court orders. <o:p></o:p>
Public authorities acting in violation of constitutional or statutory provisions should be held
accountable for their behaviour as observed by SC in Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) v.
M.K.Gupta (1993)<o:p></o:p>
And at last, above instance highlight not the case of judicial activism but a case of Judicial
adventurism where judiciary is stepping out of its domain and taking law in their own hand.The
courts need to be clear about the limits of judicial intervention and exercise self-restraint so that
balance between all the institution is maintained.<o:p></o:p>

Healthy, living soil is the basis of food security but the expansion and intensification of
agriculture has led to deteriorating soil quality which is challenge to feed growing population
from scarce land resources. Comment.
Approach:
Land resources and its scarcity

 Why soil quality is important for food security link it with production system
Causes of soil degradation- focus on agricultural practices and then others
What measures could be taken
Model Answer:
Healthy, living soil is the basis of food security and nutrition as major demand of food of the
world over 97% is met by land resources. Although, advances in agriculture technology have led
to increased food production and bolstered food security. However, the expansion and
intensification of agriculture has led to soil degradation and loss of biodiversity which is a
challenge to meet growing demand of food unless the soil quality is not restored.
Faulty agri practices are leading cause of soil erosion and with advance of technology and
intensification major part of world (According to UNEP41 % world area prone to it) are
converting into deserts.
Some faulty practices are:
Nutrient imbalance due to excessive use of fertilisers
Intensified nature of agriculture and soil erosion
Agriculture not done according to land capability classification
Salinization and alkalisation due to excessive use of water.
Growing crops which are not suitable for Agro-ecology of that area.
Overgrazing
Other factors for decline of fertility of soil:
Pollution/contamination by toxic substances
The soil-plant/crop-atmosphere continuum poses serious challenges under changing climate
scenarios as increased temperature can lead to the soils releasing carbon this will lead to
decreased soil quality, due to loss of soil organic matter.
Decreased soil quality will affect essential soil properties, including nutrient availability, soil
structure, water-holding capacity and erosion capacity which are essential ingredient of healthy
soil and thus productivity of it.

Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to
safe, nutritious and sufficient food and for that healthy, living soil is the basis. To restore quality
of soil so that agricultural production doesnt decline thereby maintaining food security and
stability of food prices, following measures could be taken:
Sustainable management of land and water resources
promotion of agricultural systems and agro-ecological/ agro climatological practices that
nurture soil biodiversity
Promotion of organic farming, zero-tillage, crop rotations and conservation agriculture.
Promoting the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices tailored to local contexts, enabling
smallholder and marginal farmers to make considerable productivity and income gains, while
increasing the resilience of their agricultural activities to extreme variable weather as
recommended by FAO.
Restoring quality of degraded soil and sustainable management of these soils
Afforestation programmes.
Soil quality is neglected aspect in ensuring food and nutrition security that needs to be given
adequate attention to meet the rising demand of food and nutrition and to keep spiralling food
prices under check.

Oct. 19, 2016

The effectiveness of human rights commissions depends on how a particular commission
locates itself in a society and is able to confront the issues before it. In this light assess the role
of NHRC in safeguarding human rights and what reform must be brought to make it more
effective?
Approach:
NHRC and its role in safeguarding human rights
On basis of some reports assess role of NHRC (How far NHRC has been effective)
Write some drawback in functioning of NHRC
What reform/changes should be brought

 Conclude
Answer:
Some rights are inherent to all human beings and are universal and inalienable and to uphold
those India under Protection of Human rights act 1993 has set up NHRC. After its establishment,
commission has done laudable job of:
Creating an awareness of human rights in the country
Sensitizing public servants and political authorities.
Taking suo moto cognisance of human rights violation.
Bringing into sharp focus the problem of custodial deaths.

However, an in-depth analysis of data related to cases received by the Commission, the process
of functioning, challenges that it faces-- pose a question mark upon its effective functioning. The
effectiveness or otherwise of human rights commissions does not directly depend upon the
existing human rights structure in any society. What is important is how a particular commission
locates itself in a society and is able to confront the issues before it.
Some of the issues which are of concern are:
Operation inefficiency of commission is evident from the fact that commission has failed to
register complaints. For example, though NHRC in its 2003-2004 Annual Report stated that it
has taken 3,75,758 cases in its first 10 years, many of the complaints were simply not registered.
NHRC had often dismissed complaints on frivolous grounds.
NHRC has taken little action when the State authorities fail to provide response within
stipulated time, if the complainant cannot provide the information in time, the cases are
summarily closed.
The NHRC often orders interim compensation but seldom follows up final compensation.
Commission has failed to provide effective remedies for the families of fake encounter victims.
It has failed to take cause of prisons in effective way and issue of concern here is need to
provide prior intimation to the authorities for visiting jails.
Other concerns are:

The Act does not apply to Jammu and Kashmir.

In case of human rights violations by the armed forces, the powers of NHRC is restricted to
only seeking a report from the Government and then issuing the recommendations. NHRC cant
summons witnesses in these cases.
Recommendatory nature: Commission remains quite as a paper tiger for the states violating
the human rights as it has no power to enforce its judgement.
Under the Act, NHRC cannot investigate cases if the complaint was made one year after the
incident. Such a period is too small and allows many incidents to go addressed if the violations
have been found later on.
Although government cooperation is necessary to uphold human rights, the commission itself
has failed to confront and solve the issues which lie in its domain only. Some of the steps which
could be taken to make NHRC effective are:
On the government part, it should bestow powers to enforce its orders. Also it needs penal
powers against authorities which do not implement its orders.
NHRC have to reflect plural nature of society and chairman & its members should be
appointed after vide consultation.
Commission need to strengthen its administrative framework and should remove systematic
deficiencies so that it could track complaints, take follow up action.
NHRC, instead of bemoaning its lack of powers, has to play a more proactive and
transformative role for the advancement of human rights in the country.
A separate cadre of dedicated staff should be established to man NHRC with specialized
personnel. The personnel on deputation from different ministries dont have motivation and
expertise to carry out the dedicated tasks.
Human rights are fundamental rights of any individual and its protection must be effectively
ensured. To not just only ensure but effective redressal in case of violation, apex body of rights
NHRC must be empowered with required provisions and at the same time Commission have to
reform itself as most of problem lies within which have to be solved.

Kigali agreement to amend the Montreal protocol is the single largest contribution the world
has made and it is absolutely vital for reaching the Paris Agreement target of keeping global
temperature rise to below 2-degree celsius compared to pre-industrial times. Discuss
Approach:

 Give a brief background of Kigali

Highlight issues of HFC and their contribution to global warming
Some of the provision of Kigali agreement and on basis of these explain why success of
Kigali necessary for Paris agreement to succeed
Conclude
Answer:
In 1987, alarmed by the discovery of a huge hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica, several
countries signed Montreal protocol to end the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) and replace
CFC with hydro fluorocarbon (HFC).
HFC, though non-ozone depleting in nature, yet have a strong effect on global warming. They
are thousands times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping the long wave radiation emitted
by earth. They are currently the worlds fastest growing greenhouse gases, with emissions
increasing by up to 10 % each year and is bound to increase as developing countries progresses.
Hence, to eliminate planet-warming HFC gases Kigali agreement was signed recently. This
agreement is absolutely vital for reaching the Paris Agreement target of keeping global
temperature rise to below 2-degree celsius compared to pre-industrial times.
Developed nations will begin phasing down HFC gases by 2019, and developing countries will
follow suit by 2024. The deal aims at total elimination of these emissions by 2050, preventing a
0.5-degree Celsius rise in world temperatures by the end of the century. The phase-out scheduled
under the amendment is estimated to avert 70 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent
emissions between 2020 and 2050.
Unlike the more glamorous Paris agreement that will come into force by 2020 and doesnt
legally bind countries to their promises to cut emissions, the amended Montreal Protocol will
bind countries to their HFC reduction schedules from 2019. There are also penalties for noncompliance as well as clear directives that developed countries provide enhanced funding
support estimated at billions of dollars globally. Thus, this agreement places absolute framework
for financing and phasing out of HFCs unlike Paris deal and will contribute one fourth share in
success of Paris deal.
However, developing nations like India want funding for research and development of low
global warming potential (GWP) alternatives and capacity building so that the technological
transition can be achieved. Nevertheless, this agreement by bringing HFCs under Montreal
Protocol sends a clear signal to the global market place to start replacing dangerous chemicals
with a new generation of climate friendly and energy efficient alternatives.

Oct. 20, 2016

A review of the Indus Water Treaty could prove to be a double-edged sword for India.
Discuss.
Model Answer :
Give a brief background and why talk of reviewing treaty
What are pros for scrapping it
What are cons
(In pro and cons cover all angles diplomatic, political, social, historical, bilateral and also
comparative aspect.)
Conclude
Answer:
In the light of escalating tensions with Pakistan and to compel Pakistan to take action on terrorist
outfit based in its territory without actually waging a war, India is reportedly considering a
review of its position on the Indus Waters Treaty, a treaty embodying the doctrine of restricted
sovereignty where an upriver state deferred to the interests of a downstream state.
In Favour OF Reviewing IWT
Indus is lifeline of Pakistan and supports economy of some of the most powerful States of
Pakistan. It is important for irrigation, drinking and other purposes. Indias decision to abrogate
the treaty would affect Pakistan severely. Pakistan may face draught-like conditions, which in
turn will put huge pressure on Pakistan leadership to take action on terrorist outfit.
Unfair Gesture: Some points to the fact that, under IWT sharing mechanism, India receives just
20% of the water from five rivers. Nowhere in the world upper riparian States have been so kind
to lower riparian States. For instance, US grants shares just 10% of its water with Mexico. China
has no such water sharing obligation with any of the 13 lower riparian States.
Pakistan has been unnecessarily halting the progress of many Indian power and irrigation
projects by taking them to international arbitration, which is permissible under IWT. Tweaking
the provisions can avoid project delays and cost overruns.
Other argument given is the use of water diplomacy as a weapon at international level and their
success. For example, In 2014, Turkey completely cut off water from the Euphrates to punish
Syria for its alleged role in supporting the terrorist activities of the Kurdistan Workers Party
(PKK) and Israel used this against Palestine.
Challenges In Reviewing IWT
However, chocking lower riparian States of river water may bring serious damage to civilian
populations and prove to be a cure worse than the problem. It will give a negative message to
Awam of Pakistn and Indias public diplomacy cant afford to ignore their sentiments. Further,
abrogating this treaty will do more damage than gain for India such as-

Geographically, Himalaya comes into Earthquake zone I and India may face environmental
damage if it decides to scrap the treaty.
The IWT has survived 3 wars and phases of frosty ties between India and Pakistan. Indias any
move affecting the treaty would be closely watched by the international community.
This move would, reinforce the perception that India has a strong unilateralist and would make
other smaller neighbors uneasy.
Indus originates in China and if the country decides to divert the Indus, India would lose over
35% of its river water and India could hardly oppose this move if, it takes similar action against
Pakistan.
How A Double-edge Sword
Thus, a review of treaty could prove to be a double-edged sword for India. Pakistan could just as
well use it to signal that the Indus framework is increasingly inadequate, call to question Indias
intentions, and at same time credibility of India would suffer at international level. Instead of
scrapping, India should focus on utilizing full share to its credit in the treaty and invest its time
and energy for irrigation, storage, and even for producing electricity, in the manner specified.
Conclusion
These steps within the bounds of Treaty would be enough to cripple Pakistan. India also needs to
engage with Afghanistan on the development of the Kabul river that flows into Pakistan through
the Indus basin. This again can make Pakistan extremely vulnerable. It will also serve our
strategic interest enhancing our engagement on developmental issues with Afghanistan.

Worldwide skyrocketing sugar intake has forced WHO to propose sugar tax. What is the
rationale for this and does taxing necessarily solve the problem?
Approach:
Agree/disagree with the statement in question on basis of facts
What has WHO proposed
Rationale for introducing sugar tax
Are above mentioned points strong enough to introduce sugar tax
Will it solve problem
What other measures could be taken
Answer:

According to a US study sugary beverage consumption has increased by 500% in 50 years and
that for adults, sugary drinks make up an average of 7% of their calorie intake; often
proportionally more for children. In 2014, 41 million children under age of 5 were either
overweight or obese across the world.
Based on above observations, WHO has proposed sugar tax, linking it to increased childhood
obesity and increasing risk of diabetes, heart disease, & gout. The rationale for introducing this
tax are:
Children from low income family have the greatest risk of obesity and are most influenced by
price. So taxing will increase the prices and thus according to economic principle discourage
their buying.
Fiscal policies may encourage this group of consumers to make healthier choices as well as
providing an indirect educational and public health signal to the whole population.
From the experience of both local and international sin taxes, it can be believed that sugar tax
will be successful in discouraging consumption of these goods. For example, a 10% tax in
Mexico led to an average 6% reduction in sales of sugar-sweetened drinks in 2014.
Although sufficient evidences are available in favour of sugar tax, but it is no longer sufficient to
rely on "simple codes" for food labelling. There are a lot of problems with it. Where there has
been an impact it has been very small.
Obesity is a huge problem but to blame sugary drinks alone is to have tunnel vision. There are lot
of other things which contribute to obesity. We cant tax all of them. So, we should not get away
from our responsibility for what we eat and drink. Higher taxes may bring down sales a bit but it
is not going to make people thinner or healthier in the long run unless we really watch what we
eat and drink. Other measures that could be taken are:
Food advertising: It doesnt just affect brand preference it drives consumption. So any
attempt to tackle childhood obesity should, therefore, include a reduction in exposure of children
to the power of marketing.
Parents have to see that their children dont overindulge in sugary drinks. Parents should be
given advice on exercise, healthy body sizes, and appropriate use of screen-based entertainment.
Schools should ban the "provision or sale of unhealthy foods, such as sugar-sweetened
beverages and energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods, in the school environment
So sugar tax alone wont solve problem. Other encouraging methods like more physical activity
in schools and other interventions should as suggested above should also be adopted.

Oct. 21, 2016

In Post-cold war era where the U.S. and its allies are politically, economically and
strategically more dominant than ever, NAM does not have any relevance for Indias global
ambition. Critically analyse the statement in context of recently held Venezuela summit of
NAM.
Approach:
Start with recently concluded Venezuela summit and Indias ignorance to summit
What is global scenario now
Does this body have still any significance Argue on basis of NAM principle
Can India use it for his global ambition (You could take any of side)
Conclude
Answer:
The end of the Cold War came about as a result of the economic collapse and implosion of the
Soviet Union. This in turn stimulated disenchantment with centralized government, and thus the
socialist government structures in many nations were abandoned in favor of market-supported
democracies.
From a geo-political stand point, the most significant factor to emerge was the preeminence of
the West collectively as the dominant world power. This was evident from the coalition of West
forged by the US to confront Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War. That war demonstrated the
superiority of Western military technology.
All the above developments pointed to re-ordering of the international power structure wherein
the bipolar world gave way to unipolar word with US and its allies becoming more dominant
than ever.
In the backdrop of above mentioned changing scenario, it was argued that India should join this
camp to bolster its global ambition. Skipping of Indian Prime Minister to Venezuela NAM
summit, recently held in Sept 2016, is seen through this angle.
NAM is a group of states, founded at the height of the Cold War, which are not formally aligned
with or against any major power bloc. Its actions were a key factor in the decolonization process.
But after the end of Cold war, critics have argued that NAM has outlived its utility and should
be abandoned as there are no longer two rival blocs to be non-aligned between. Its utility is also
being questioned as NAM countries did not come to help on any of the critical occasions when
India needed solidarity, such as the Chinese aggression in 1962 or the Bangladesh war in 1971.
Critics say that NAM did not have any binding principles and that it was a marriage of
convenience among disparate countries.
However, such argument against NAMs irrelevance arises from the narrow, literary
interpretation of word non-alignment. It conveyed the wrong notion that it was not aligning

with the power blocs. But the quintessence of non-alignment was freedom of judgment and
action i.e. strategic autonomy in decision making which is absolutely vital even today for
foreign policy which is guided by national interest. It still can play a strong role in devising
methods to foster cooperation among these nations to ensure sustainable development.
Relevance For India
To fulfil its global aspiration and in past has helped India from its activism occasionally.
It was through NAM that India operated to counter the efforts to expand the UN Security
Council by including just Germany and Japan as permanent member.
NAM whose 120 nations comprise over 50% of world population, affords India a great
opportunity to focus world attention on terrorism and isolating/sanctioning Pakistan.
Through NAM India could hard bargain in talks of Climate change and development that are
going in WTO.
NAM would help in breaking hegemony of China in Asia and USA at world level and help in
achieving vision of multipolar Asia and multipolar world as desired by INDIA which is also
necessary for global ambition of India.
Conclusion
Even if building better relations with US and other powerful states has benefited India in recent
decades, abandoning the solidarity with other developing nations within NAM may well end up
adversely affecting the nations economic, political and strategic interests. Non-alignment in the
post-Cold War era is still relevant and really means the freedom to choose a wide range of
partners to cooperate with on different issues, to protect our national interests.

Critically analyse the recently approved amendment to HIV and AIDS (Prevention and
Control) Bill, 2014 and how this legislation would make some difference to people living with
HIV (PLHIV)?
Approach:
Brief introduction about bill and why amendment
How bill will positively affect to PLHIV community
Is there any gap that needs to be addressed?
Any suggestion
Conclude
Answer:

Making antiretroviral treatment the legal right, recently cleared amendment to HIV and AIDS
(Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014 is a good move to end discrimination against the people
living with HIV (PLHIV) who constitute a sizeable chunk of Indian population i.e around 2.1
million in number. The bill has a number of provisions to safeguard rights of these people:
The Bill lists the various grounds on which discrimination against HIV positive persons is
prohibited. These include the denial, termination, discontinuation or unfair treatment with
regard to: (i) employment, (ii) educational establishments, (iii) health care services, (iv) residing
or renting property, (v) standing for public or private office, and (vi) provision of insurance
(unless based on actuarial studies). The requirement for HIV testing as a pre-requisite for
obtaining employment or accessing health care or education is also prohibited.
The Bill requires that no HIV test, medical treatment, or research will be conducted on a
person without his informed consent. No person shall be compelled to disclose his HIV status
except with his informed consent, and if required by a court order.
Bill goes one step further by enforcing these rights through a provision of upto 2 years jail
term and a fine of up to one lakh on anyone proved to be discriminating against the affected
people.
Bill tries to secure dignity of life for PLHIV as it forbids right to not reveal their HIV-AIDS
status and if they do, no company can deny them insurance on the basis of their declaration.
To deliver justice and to redress grievance, amended bill provides for setting of ombudsman
for grievance redressal or people can go to court if they feel they have been discriminated
against.
Though the bill provisions are welcome, it fails on one important count: the insurance industry is
allowed to use actuarial calculations to limit access to products to PLHIV. This law, however,
can only deliver benefits within the overall constraints imposed by an underfunded public health
system. Further, the success of the anti-discrimination aspects hinges on the readiness of
governments to accept the inquiry findings of ombudsmen, to be appointed under the law, and
provide relief.
Nevertheless, the bill is a great relief to PLHIV as despite the runaway success of the healthcare
schemes and availability of anti-retroviral therapy in government hospitals, social discrimination
against HIV-positive people is pervasive. Many patients are often denied jobs, thrown out of
schools and refused housing. The proposed amendments aim to check this bias and for this it also
set up formal mechanism which is a good move.

Oct. 22, 2016

Imposing a trade embargo on Pakistan is not advised and such move is neither economically
and nor legally sustainable Discuss.
Approach:
Highlight recent context

 Trade between India and Pakistan

What are the problem to implement this decision?
What is the way ahead?
Answer
After URI attack, there has been growing tension between two neighbours and talk are on the
round to lift Most Favoured Nation status granted to Pakistan. Suspending its MFN commitment
towards Pakistan would mean India restricting imports from Pakistan without restricting imports
of like goods from other countries, or/and India restricting exports to Pakistan without restricting
the export of like goods to other countries.
Withdrawing MFN status could mark an important even if symbolic attempt by India to
demonstrate that it is taking tough action, but it won't have any real effect and is neither
economically and nor legally feasible.
Economic fallout of Decision
India actually stands to lose from imposing sanctions on its neighbor as Indias exports to
Pakistan amount to $2.1 billion whereas imports from Pakistan are just $441 million, resulting in
a trade surplus of $1.7 billion in favor of India.
Pakistans total import from South Asia itself is less than 4 per cent, Hence, India alone
imposing economic sanctions will hardly make any difference.
Indias overall trade balance remains negative and contracted in last half and year. Cutting
trade ties would actually cost India as trade surplus with Pakistan has grown almost 1.5 times in
the last decade.
A ban would also hit the trade happening across the Line of Control between small traders
Legal Challenge:
Globally, countries tend not to revoke the MFN in cases apart from economic hostility by a
trade partner. Since India cannot complain of harmful trade practices by Pakistan in recent times,
revoking the status may make it difficult to explain Indias position to the global community.
Also, India cannot justify its MFN violation if Pakistan were to challenge this in the WTOs
dispute settlement body (DSB) on the pretext that Pakistan does not honour MFN obligations
towards India.
Although, revoking MFN on security ground is permitted but a certain degree of judicial
review is still possible in WTO dispute settlement and given the fact most of the trade happens
in dates, cotton, tomato and agricultural commodity which constitute almost 50 per cent of
Indias imports from Pakistan; it would be difficult to give satisfactory answer foe why it is
necessary to restrict these items to protect Indias essential security interests?
Article XXI (b) of WTO a general national security exception which an be invoked in time of
war or other emergency in international relations (EIR) it would be is difficult to answer does the
present situation fall under this category both countries continue to have diplomatic relations,
cultural and social ties.

Therefore, given near minimal economic impact and potential legal problem, snapping trade ties
will only escalate the problems. Trade can help ease tension between the two countries and help
resolve other important issue. Instead of weakening trade ties, both countries should pay heed to
this famous claim that when goods dont cross borders, soldiers will.

While India celebrates its near-victory over polio, leprosy continues to haunt it. In this light
bring out adversaries suffered by leprosy patient in India and analyse the effectiveness of
Indias effort in eradicating it from the country?
Approach:
Write leprosy scenario in India
Problem being faced by leprosy affected people
Initiative by Government of India and their effectiveness
What more needs to be done
Answer
In spite of, leprosy being declared as eliminated as a public health problem in 2005, close to 58%
of total leprosy affected people across the world; which is a quarter of million, are living in India.
Although we have won over polio and country declared polio free in 2014, leprosy problem
continues to haunt India.
Leprosy attacks the nerves and skin, leaving behind scaly scabs and is the leading infectious
cause of permanent disability. Disabilities lead to their being shunned and isolated; the fear is
worse than the disease itself. Persistent stigma, prejudice and misunderstanding of leprosy
continue to be stubborn barriers for leprosy patients. Evidence suggests that a staggering number
of individuals are at risk of being left behind, burdened by low self-esteem, subject to low
expectations and diminished in their ability to pursue their dreams.
To fight from this menace, India launched National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) in
1955 which focuses on both prevention and cure. The dramatic reduction in the detection of new
cases is largely due to the progress made in India, where there were 74% fewer new cases from
2001 to 2005. Yet, 64% of new leprosy cases are registered in India.
Such programme by government can only help medically cure patient and they are bound to fail
if not accompanied by other social measures and that is what also happening with Leprosy
programmes too.

While the physical effects of leprosy cause pain, disfigurement and loss of function, the social
stigma accompanying leprosy results in isolation, depression and loss of livelihoods. Some steps
that could be taken are:
Fight against leprosy has to be measured against sensitivity displayed by society and for this
removal of the stigma is vital.
Government could launch programme like Traffic sentinels as launched by Delhi Police to
build champions for the disease who will spread awareness and prevent stigma.
A clear shift has to be made where focus should be on door to door visit and person-to-person
basis contact to complete detection and screening.
A follow-up system should be established to monitor deformities after treatment completion.
Because leprosy nearly always affects extremely poor people, access to treatment should be
ensured.
Programme should be launched to more easily integrate recovered leprosy patient back into
society.

Oct. 24, 2016

Despite having huge significance of female labor participation in economy their participation
is low in India? What are the causes for low female labor force participation in India and how
it can be improved?
Approach:
Agree/disagree with statement on basis of some data
Female participation and India
What are the constraints (Cover all dimension- at work as well as at home)?
Solution
Answer:
Despite making half the population of India, women constitute minority in labour force in India.
They constitute 24% of the paid labour force, as against the global average of 40%. Not only

other countries in the BRICS grouping, but peer emerging economies in Asia such as Indonesia
fare much better when it comes to employing women.
If this gender gap in labour force participation is filled, it could add to economic output of India
by as much as 27%. Despite such larger gain to economy and other social and related
development outcomes, including greater investments in childrens education and health, this
participation is low.
Barriers To Female Work Participation
1.Behavioural/Attitudinal Barriers
Patriarchal Mindset of Society- women as household stuff not accustomed to work outside,
Attitude of Employers- women are less competent, cant take on risk due to being soft, less
efficient due to household responsibility etc.
2.Educational and Skill Barriers
Male-female literacy gap is close to 20%.
Lack of training and skills in women due to negligence.
3.Policy/Legal Barriers
Property rights
Access to finance
Loopholes in laws relating to harassment at work place.
Ineffective adherence to equal pay for equal work to both men and women.
4.Infrastructural Barrier
Without access to basic transport or energy sources, women find it very difficult to work
outside the home.
Poor sanitation facilities at workplace deny women to take up job at sites like MGNREGS.
Arresting Low Womens Participation At Workplace
India is in a situation where participation is declining with rising income. Therefore, steps will be
required not only to arrest the fall, but to reverse it meaningfully and for this work have to be
done on multiple fronts to achieve this.
Create awareness in society highlighting the women success stories and portraying them as
role model to change the patriarchal mindset.
Girls education is probably the single best investment a country can make. One extra year of
primary school boosts a womans earning potential by 10 to 20 %. One extra year of secondary
school boosts her earning potential by 25 %.
Remove policy and legal barriers: To help women find work, removing legal barriers, such as
having equal property rights, is vital followed by womens pay and unequal access to finance and
extending paid maternity leave beyond the grossly insufficient three months currently mandated
by law.

Strengthening infrastructure, such as roads and sanitation, that makes it easier for girls to get
to school and job opportunities. In rural South Africa, for example, electrification increased
female labour force participation by 9 %.
Research suggests that cutting the cost of childcare by half could increase the number of young
mothers in the labour market by 10 %. Paid parental leave helps to maintain a womans
connection to the labour market. Japan, for example, has expanded childcare leave benefits from
50 % to 67 % of salary.
Focus should be to create a safe and secure environment to facilitate greater labour mobility
among women. This will require increasing investments in infrastructure and public
administration.
Addressing labour market distortion: Ninety percent of Indian workers are employed in the
unorganized sector, where not only are wages for women lower, but the inability to provide
flexibility, childcare benefits and maternity leaves creates disincentives for women to seek work
outside the home. So, to improve participation and to close the gender gap, it is necessary to
address such concerns.
Conclusion
No country can attain its full potential if half of its human capital is unable to contribute fully to
its growth and development. India is also no exception to this. As the country commends itself on
world-leading economic growth and aspires towards a $20 trillion economy, urgently course
correction needs to be done by taking suitable measures.

Critically examine the idea of Bad bank with reference to India?

Approach:
Provide the context
Why this idea is gaining popularity
Put forward both sides of argument
Conclude
Answer:
With huge pile of bad loans, where more than 6.2 % of PSU banks total loans are categorised as
bad loans or NPA, the idea of Bad banks is gaining currency in Indian financial system to
permanently solve the health of India banks. This bank will absorb toxic assets from loss-laden
state-owned lenders/banks and free up their books for fresh lending and then suitably dispose of
the toxic assets.
Benefits Of Bad Bank

The merit of this proposal lies not just in getting NPA off the books of banks but other associated
benefits like:
A well-structured bad bank would enable the existing banks to renew their focus on their longterm core operations without the ongoing distraction of troubled assets.
It will help Public Sector Bank (PSB) management to focus on new business instead of having
to expend their energies on trying to effect recoveries.
Banks are short of capital required for initiating new loans due to stressed assets. Freeing them
with NPA will provide necessary pool of money. Freeing of such capital is very much required
for governments massive infrastructural expansion and its Make In India programme.
If Bad bank is a private entity, it can bring in superior expertise.
Apprehensions About Its Formation
Although a good move but with reference to India there are various issues which needs to be
settled:
First is who will have majority stake in Bad bank? If it is private entity like sovereign wealth
funds and pension funds; the price at which PSB loans are sold to the bad bank could become a
major issue. If the price is too high, the bad bank will not be viable. If its too low, PSBs will be
accused of selling their loans too cheaply to private investors this will be the makings of an
NPA scam.
And if Government holds majority, it will be just old wine in new bottle as new institution
would be doing nothing fundamentally new that the government or state-owned banks are not
already doing to address the issue of NPAs.
Apart from this, as former governor of RBI pointed out, idea of bad bank is suitable only for
the projects which are not viable but in India non-completion are mostly extraneous to the
project, such as problems in land acquisition or environmental clearance. Selling these loans to a
bad bank, on the other hand, would be a time-consuming process. It would impede fresh flow of
funds into these projects. Their debt would rise as the interest piles up.
If Bad bank is set up, PSB officials would not bother to follow up on a loan as they would
know that eventually it would be transferred to the bad bank for recovery. This would be
dangerous situation.
Other fear is that if the government indeed sets up a bad bank, the fear is banks would continue
with their reckless lending.
Setting up a new institution could delay the resolution process. It will require setting up a
company, articles of association, picking people to run it, etc.
Way forward And Conclusion
Thus, idea of Bad bank is bristles with problems. To allay fear government may start bad bank to
deal with NPAs at some of the weaker PSBs, instead of one that picks up NPAs from all PSBs. It
would prove less controversial if the government had a majority stake in it. Second, the
government must infuse more capital into the better-performing PSBs. It must also create,
through an act of Parliament, an apex Loan Resolution Authority for tackling bad loans at PSBs.
The authority would vet restructuring of the bigger loans at PSBs. This would mitigate the
paralysis that has set in at the PSBs because of the fear factor and get funds flowing into stalled
projects.

Resolution of bad loans and restoring the health of PSBs is among the biggest challenges the
economy faces today. Its a challenge that requires a response on multiple fronts. Just bad bank
cannot be the sole and the only response.

Oct. 25, 2016

Critically examine the recently pronounced judgement of Supreme court on Domestic violence
act?
Approach:
What is judgement and Basis of this
What are its implications
Conclude
Answer
Recently in a landmark verdict (Hiral P Harsora and ors Vs. Kusum Narottamdas Harsora &
Ors), Supreme court has widened the scope of the Domestic Violence Act by ordering deletion
of the words adult male person from Section 2(q) of the 2005 Act which deals with
respondents who can be sued and prosecuted for harassing a woman in her matrimonial home.
Earlier law insulated women from being accused of offences. This defeated the objective of the
legislation since perpetrators and abettors of domestic violence can be women too.
According to the judgement, Word Adult male in the act was not only an offending expression
but also rejected the popular belief that juveniles could harass the elders and this very much
defied intent of the legislation by providing effective protection to rights of women and
subverted the doctrine of equality by restricting the reach of a social beneficial statute meant to
protect women against all forms of domestic violence.
This judgement has wider implication: Now anyone irrespective of age or gender can be
prosecuted. As in past it has been seen an adult male person not standing in the forefront, but
putting forward female persons who could forcibly evict a woman or defeat any other order
passed under the Act without fear of inviting prosecution. However, on the other side it could
have negative repercussions too:
It might encourage husbands to file counter cases against their wives through their mothers or
sisters. Mothers-in-law may accuse their daughters-in-law of committing violence and this may
deny women their basic rights and lead to utter confusion.

Intent of act was specific: to provide maintenance, shelter, or interim finances to a woman
subjected to domestic violence or harassment by an adult male but change introduced by
judgement might serve to dilute the Act as women in law by justifying sufficient harassment in
particular case might compel the Court to give an order in favour of the man.
Removal of the word "adult implies that the Act could now potentially have juvenile persons
as respondents but because there are no criminal provisions, there is no question of dealings with
the juvenile board, and question arises what relief claim can be imposed on a minor?
Although a good move by going with the intent, but other side and its implication should be
sufficiently weighed and to remove these concerns legislature should craft an exception for
daughters-in-law and another option might be that daughters-in-law are included as respondents
but only when their husbands are also made respondents.

Payment digitisation play transformative role in economy. In this light elaborate various
factors which prolongs use of cash and what measures could be taken to bolster cashless
transaction?
Approach:
Explain role of Payment digitisation in economy
What are the factors which incentivise cash uses
What steps could be taken
Conclude
Answer
Payment and settlement architecture plays truly transformational role and by going on cashless
mode India could save millions by eliminating cost of cash transaction which was a staggering
1.7% of the GDP last year.
Payment digitisation helps in several ways not just to economy but to administration, law
enforcement authorities, society and businesses as well. By going on digital mode would
strangulate the grey economy, prevent money laundering and even increase tax compliance,
which will ultimately benefit the customers at large. This also helps to ensure that loopholes in
public systems get plugged, and the intended beneficiaries are able to avail the benefits due to
them. Despite such large benefits, there are various factors which are roadblocks to penetrate this
transformation to deep hitherto unknown territories which must be plugged out.
Various Factors Which Perpetuate Use Of Cash
Propensity to save and use cash, more so in rural areas. Presence of a large shadow economy.

Gender imbalance in the use of digital transactions.

Lack of adequate acceptance infrastructure and high cost of deploying it
Certain regulatory prescriptions that favour cash (free ATM transactions) and militate against
digital payments (MDR regime).
Lack of financial literacy
Digital infrastructure
Suggestions To Encourage Cashless Transactions
While digital payments are on a rise, the cash to gross domestic product ratio is one of the
highest in the world - 12.4 per cent in 2014, compared to 9.5 per cent in China and four per cent
in Brazil. So to incentivise payment digitisation to save significant cost to economy and
administration, work has to be done on various fronts. Some strategies that could be followed
are:
Merchants collaboration: There are 15 million retail shops but only 0.6 mn have Point of Sale
(PoS) terminals. They are reluctant to take PoS terminals, as these are costly and take more time
than cash payments. For this, innovation is required in PoS, which are either more efficient or
eliminate the need for any physical infrastructure.
Tax incentives: Providing tax concessionsa measure successfully adopted in countries like
South Korea with great success. If implemented properly, this can lead to an increase in GDP by
reducing the cost of cash and shrinking the informal financial sector.
Financial education could play a significant role in use of cashless methods.
Promoting Bharat Bill Payment System as one stop solution for all payment of utility
services
Focussing on cyber infrastructure of Payment and settlement architecture and dispelling
the fears of consumer for a possible security breach.
Conclusion
India is at an inflection point in its payment digitisation journey and if all stakeholders get their
act right, India will see an explosion in digital payments which could save of Rs 70,000 crore
over a five-year period and a cumulative savings of R4.7 lakh crore by 2025. It is on us how
quickly implement it. It is not time for deliberation but action.

Oct. 26, 2016

India needs to revamp its development cooperation programme for poor and developing
countries. Discuss
Approach:
What is this programme all about?
What are the various issues?

 Does there any need to revamp

Conclude
Answer:
In the past few years, India enhanced its involvement in development partnership projects with
developing countries in wake of rapid economic growth in 21st century. The volume of its
foreign assistance has grown rapidly since the late 1990s, increasing seven-fold between 2000
and 2015. Indias development cooperation framework is based on grants, technical training and
capacity development and lines of credit involving soft loans.
Issues with Indias Development Cooperation Framework
Before expanding and giving lions share through this development assistance programme, India
needs to ponder seriously on some of issues:
No specialised agency for international cooperation - The international aid is still controlled by
a body under external affairs, while this should be handled by specialised agency headed by
specialist.
Data Management: Systematising, regularly collecting and sharing data should be priority as
little attention has been focused on Indias development assistance. India is not part of the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Developments (OECD) Development Assistance
Committee (DAC), the consortium of the worlds large developed countries donors that have
been the drivers behind collecting and harmonizing data on their foreign aid and discussing
foreign aid policies. Since India is not a member of DAC, India does not categorize its aid using
guidelines of DAC, nor share its development assistance data, further complicating comparisons
of Indias development assistance program
Indias development assistance has been more demand-driven, with relatively less emphasis on
aid-conditionality, but it must develop a vision based on sustainable development goals and focus
on development effectiveness in recipient countries and more transparency and accountability in
terms of the exact volume and impact of the assistance.
The vast majority of Indias grants and loans continue to go to its South Asian neighbours.
Given the rise of India as an international power, its growing economy, and its significant
strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, India needs to focus on other areas too.
Conclusion
India which has gone to similar phase and have experienced what other developing countries are
going through, it should use its experience in benefit of those countries and enhance its aid
effectiveness. And for greater clout and visibility to Indias development cooperation initiatives,
a specialised agency needs to be set up and should explore possibilities for trilateral cooperation
with DAC and other partners from the South to have a credibility and transparency to its aid.

What strategies could be followed in India to make cities more inclusive and sustainable living
space in India?

Approach:
Urbanisation in India
What are the problem of Indian cities
What strategies could be followed
Conclusion (Measures could be given here)
Answer
With 31% of population living in urban areas and which is set to rise to 50% by 2050, it becomes
extremely important to give focussed attention to urban areas to make them healthy living place.
Indias urbanisation, unlike west, is pseudo urbanisation. This happens largely because of socalled `rural push`: factors which push people from the countryside into the cities, without the
city being prepared to accept them. Rural-urban migrants in the third world usually move into the
cities due to poverty-related reasons, and not because of the development in cities.
Problem Areas and Strategies To Deal With Urbanisation
Rapid urbanization creates problems for housing, infrastructure, transportation, energy and
employment, as well as for basic services such as education, health care and sanitation. Urban
sustainability then entails examining urbanization within the context of dynamic and complex
social, economic, political, and ecological processes producing urban growth in sustainable or
unsustainable ways.
For that, the following approaches and strategies are suggested:
1.Strengthening Local Governance and Community Participation
The need is to shift away from a set of preconceived standards and set particular goals and
flexible modes of implementation that has meaning and relevance for each urban area. This calls
for strenghtening of the capacity of institutions of local governance to emerge as institutions with
enough power, mandate, and resources to act. Most of problem of cities are social in nature so
technology could be just an aid and not a panacea. Community participation should be key and at
the core of any solution.
2.Network Cities Model, Not Mega Cities Approch
The proposed network cities model for Andhra Pradesh can ensure balanced development and its
success is important to all States grappling with rapid urbanisation. The idea is to develop about
ten cities as specialised mini capitals rather than investing only in one mega capital city. This
network cities model can ensure balanced and dispersed development.
3.Focus On Core Infra Services
Focus should be on core infrastructure services like adequate and clean water supply, sanitation
and solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transportation, affordable
housing for poor, power supply and robust IT connectivity. The Mission of building 100 smart
cities is a welcome move in this direction. It intends to promote adoption of smart solutions for
efficient use of available resources and infrastructure with the objective of enhancing the quality
of urban life and providing a clean environment.
4.Area Based Approach

Different regions of the country have their specific problems. So, one-size-fits-all approach will
be detrimental to the development of urban cities. To bring in flexibility in planning and
implementation of policies and programmes, area based approach should be followed.
Conclusion
Most of the problem of urban areas are interrelated and none are objectively defined and so none
can be addressed in isolation, therefore System approach should be followed to address problems
holistically. Solution offered should be dynamic in nature and capable of self-rectifying and must
be constantly revamped so as to strengthened the institutional infrastructure
(governance), physical infrastructure, as also social infrastructure.

Oct. 27, 2016

Instead of launching direct benefit transfer for Kerosene (DBTK), it is better government
promote and incentivise use of alternative fuels. Comment.
Approach:
Provide Recent context (Jharkhand)
What is the rationale for replacing or not replacing?
Conclude
Answer
After the success of PAHAL scheme, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for liquefied petroleum gas
(LPG)/cooking gas, government has initiated measures to plug leakages or lower the subsidy in
kerosene by introducing DBT; where government pays a subsidy of Rs 32.98 per litre on
kerosene along with an additional subsidy of Rs 0.82 per litre.
Although well intentioned there are problem of scrutinised database, identification of
beneficiaries in launching DBTK looking at the current data, where only 49 per cent of the PDS
kerosene actually reaches the households at a subsidized price and about 34 per cent of the
subsidized kerosene never reaches the household.
Even if these problems are overcome there is issue of diversion as being cheap fuel it diverted
for adulteration of diesel /petrol which are much costlier. So, for a pragmatic move, it is much
desired to have an alternative strategy which confirm to our climate commitment and at the same
time in conformity to our economic capacity.
Primary argument to provide subsidy for Kerosene is that it is used by primarily poor people for
fuel and as an alternative for lightning. However, available research suggests, rural households
spend INR 50120 per month to meet their lighting needs from kerosene, with a median
expenditure of INR 80. In comparison, urban households using kerosene for cooking (along with

other fuels), spend anywhere between INR 400800 per month, with expenditure even above
INR 1500 per month in some cases. Thus, in the contemporary context, subsidizing kerosene
essentially fails to meet the objective of providing affordable cooking and lightning
Even at subsidized prices, households end up spending an exorbitant amount of money to get
very poor end service, especially in case of lighting, which is by far the predominant use of the
fuel in rural India. In the case of cooking, which is the common end use of kerosene among
urban-poor households, the amount of subsidized fuel available does not meet their entire needs,
and so households spend a significant amount of money to meet their cooking energy needs as
well.
Thus, subsidizing kerosene, not only fails to meet its primary objective, but also poses a
significant public health burden (indoor pollution related) overall economy. It is desirable to
promote and incentivise alternative like solar and LPG and continue with subsidy for the
underprivileged who cannot afford it otherwise. With energy security and clean energy access
high on Indias priorities, we may look beyond kerosene to provide cooking and lighting
solutions to poor households, while ensuring affordability, reliability and universal availability of
these alternatives.

" Art has no boundaries but nations have." In light of this statement, is it justifiable to keep
Pakistani artist out of India?
Approach:
Provide recent context
Provide argument of both the side
Conclude
Answer:
Recent URI attack, flared-up tensions between India and Pakistan and demand was to snap all
ties with neighbouring country including people to people and cultural. Justification of it was, we
as a nation are Indian first and when on the one hand our soldiers are dying fighting with
Pakistani based terror outfit how can we allow citizen of that nation to work in India. When India
on its strategic part is trying hard to diplomatically isolate Pakistan, then it is an undeclared state
of war and maintaining cultural ties in this scenario is not justifiable.
Art forms part of the text and texture of a societys politics. When a war is taking place, it is
expected that our artists collectively helped boost the morale of our army and not doing drama in
other country. Also at the same time, it is in congruence to idea of Non-cooperation where by
peacefully protesting we are telling our neighbour his attitude of hostility and war is not
acceptable to India and trustworthiness, credibility, defence and security of country is
prerequisite for maintaining any ties.

However, other side of argument is howsoever much we love your country, banning Pakistani
actors is no solution. In the long run, everyone on other side or this side of the border wants
peace and artists are messengers of peace, and by performing dance and music, which the
militants oppose, the artists are defying the militants, and should be encouraged.
Security and defence of country is paramount for any nation and it cant be compromised but at
the same time it also has to be kept in mind arts play important role in connecting the hearts of
the people. Kneejerk solution, like banning artist will not solve problem instead India should
focus more on international diplomacy, economic sanctions and isolation of Pakistan from world
fora.

Oct. 28, 2016

We need to be very careful with the artificial intelligence and should have regulatory
framework in place. Discuss.
Approach:
AI and it development
Concern of AI
Should there be any regulatory framework?
Conclude
Answer:
Technologies have significant impact on human lives and changed how we live. Over and over
again, the human imagination has given birth to science-fiction fantasies. From pocket
computers, to self-driving cars, space tourism, virtual reality, and now, artificial intelligence
which was once thought to live purely in the realm of the human imagination, is a very real and
looming prospect.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is all about developing cognitive skills of machines and making them
to think and perform like humans. The general benefit of AI is that it replicates decisions and
actions of humans without human shortcomings, such as fatigue, emotion and limited time.
Machines driven by AI technology are able to perform consistent, repetitious actions without
getting tired.
Companies incorporate AI into production and service-based processes. In a manufacturing
business, AI machines can churn out a high, consistent level of production without needing a

break or taking time off like people. This efficiency improves the cost-basis and earning potential
for many companies. Mobile devices use intuitive, voice-activated AI applications to offer users
assistance in completing tasks. For example, users of certain mobile phones can ask for
directions or information and receive a vocal response.
Although, its success would be a biggest event in human history, unfortunately, it might also be
the last and could be our greatest existential threat unless we learn how to avoid the risks. The
risk arises when research is taken to such a height that they could potentially undergo recursive
self-improvement, triggering an intelligence explosion leaving human intellect far behind. This
intelligence could trigger social challenge as with AI its criminal potentials are also increasing
where Computational Propaganda i.e explosion of deceptive social media campaigns on social
media could be launched to suit interest of criminals/wrongdoer.
Threat to human civilisation could be also from its ability to either going into wrong hand or
making such that it is impossible to turn them off as fictionized in Bollywood movie Robot.
These fantasies of movie like Robot could be true one day and become our greatest existential
threat unless regulatory framework are put in place. Although companies have put their ethical
framework on how research will be progressed but rise of AI cannot be left to the industry; it
demands the involvement of everyone from social scientists to ethicists and philosophers in the
greater interest of humanity. The role of government could also not be under-emphasised.

Price incentives for agriculture can catalyse, achieving sustainable goal of poverty
elimination. Comment
Approach:
Rural area, Poverty and agriculture
Does Agri income necessarily leads to reduction of poverty
Suggest some method to raise farmers income
Conclude
Answer:
Agriculture or allied sectors employ 55% of the total Indias population. Agriculture is the main
occupation for majority of rural population and also has maximum share of poverty among
occupational groups in rural areas i.e around 40 %. Thus, catalysing agriculture and transforming
it could play vital role elimination poverty.
Research shows that Indias poverty reduction was much slower during 1988-2005, but during
2005-12, it got accelerated dramaticallyalmost three times faster than during 1988-2005. The
reason for this was significant change in relative price scenario in favour of agriculture.
Private investment in agriculture boosted in the wake of rising global prices in 2005-12 which
raised agri-GDP growth to 4.1% during 2007-12, as against only 2.4% during 2002-07. Also, in

this period agri-trade from India reached at crescendo raising real farm wages by 7% per annum.
All these led to unprecedented fall in Indian poverty.
How To Infuse Price Incentives In Agriculture
All this implies that a good price incentive can trigger investments in agriculture, leading to
productivity gains, increase in real farm wages, and thus fall in poverty. Some of the step that
India can take urgently to check fall in prices and thus incentivise farmers are:
Incentivising and taking lead to create scale in aggregating produce from small-holders,
grading and packaging, cold storages, food processing and organised retailing.
Focus on strengthening agricultural extension centres.
Building consensus on replacing APMC with farmer and consumer friendly law.
Focussing on localisation of food processing and for this AMUL model can be followed.
Training farmers in apiculture, sericulture, pisciculture so that loss in agriculture income can be
compensated.
Focus on R&D with active collaboration between research institute, industries, and farmers.
Conclusion
To keep the rural transformation more inclusive for poverty elimination, India will have to not
only focus on raising productivity in agriculture, but also move fast to build value-chains for
high-value agri-products like livestock and horticulture products, and thus bridging the gap
between forward and backward linkages, which account for more than half of value of
agriculture.
Rise in agriculture income will revive whole economic cycle of country and will boost
consumption capacity which will incentivise industry to manufacture more and which in turn
give more jobs to people. Through this a virtuous cycle could be established, which will help
India in achieving sustainable target of reducing poverty.

Oct. 29, 2016

Although BRICS reflects ongoing global power shift, it has yet to devise a common actionplan to silent the critics who have termed BRICS just an acronym without substance.
Discuss
Approach:
Explain does BRICS reflect power shift ?
Argue is there any meaningful activity in BRICS
Do countries have common agenda
What are contradiction

 What need to be done to realise the potential of BRICS

Conclude
Answer:
BRICS which represent more than a quarter of the earths landmass, over 42% of the global
population, almost 25% of the worlds GDP, and nearly half of the global foreign exchange and
gold reserves is fast emerging as multilateral fora which is challenging the hegemony of western
established institutions. It acted as united front for reform in IMF and World Bank and secured
bigger quota for promoting emerging economies and developing countries. Setting of New
Development Bank, marked new era of economic cooperation in BRICS.
Yet, in reality, BRICS is struggling to define a common identity and build institutionalised
cooperation among its members. Recently concluded Goa summit underscored inherent
challenges, including building effective unity. Reasons for this divergence are rooted in starkly
varying geography, political systems, economies, and national goals. There is little in common
among the BRICS states. Some of the point to mention are:
India has taken a decisive shift towards USA and Sino-India relations have reached new lows
due to Chinas ever increasing closeness to Pakistan after the announcement of CPEC and Indias
support to the USA on South China Sea issue.
Russia is diversifying its diplomatic relations which has affected its special relationship with
India. Moscows growing defence ties with Islamabad and increasing dependence on Beijing is
weakening political coherence of BRICS.
Brazil and South Africa, possibly being influenced by China, have expressed their reservations
about Indias NSG membership.
In Security Council as well, there is no united voice of BRICS and China is continuously
opposing Indias membership.
On terrorism, while India wants a strong statement, China tried to dilute it for Pakistan. China
would want BRICS support on South China Sea which India resist. Russia would like backing
for its action in Syria which is also being resisted by India and Brazil.
So, one important question in front of BRICS, with their different priorities and interests, is thatCan it unite on key international issues? BRICS must take a lesson from G7 which began as a
discussion platform like BRICS but, by defining its members common interests, it advanced
within years to joint coordination on key international issues. There will be conflicting interests
within any grouping, but if BRICS has to build collective clout, its members must frame
common objectives and approaches to tackling the pressing international issues to make it
meaningful and sustainable institution at world fora.

To improve ease of doing business ranking, India needs to seriously focus on commercial
arbitration. In this light, explain what are the problems of commercial arbitration in India
and how this could be strengthened?
Approach:
Ease of doing business and India
How arbitration dragging ranking of India
Problems
Measures taken and what else could be done
Answer:
In India, one of the main concerns of foreign investors has been the delay in resolving the dispute
and uncertainty of enforcing the award. This has dragged down Indias ranking to 130, out of 178
countries, in the World Banks Ease of Doing Business Index 2016.
Commercial disputes are one of the weak area where India needs to seriously focus; as cases get
entangled in the complex judicial procedures which ultimately results in loss of man-days and
hamper the ease of doing business. Some of the problems of commercial arbitration in India are:
Judicial Intervention: Judicial intervention prolongs the arbitration proceeding, especially
because Indian courts are looked upon for adjournments during the proceedings. This was
admitted by current CJI himself in recently concluded international conference on National
Initiative Towards Strengthening Arbitration and Enforcement in India.
Enforcement: This is major problem where the process of arbitration becomes quite similar to
a normal court case with the parties having to first fight to get arbitrators and then battling to get
the awards enforced in Indian courtsthe case of White Industries which has still not been able
to enforce its 2012 award against Coal India is, the most egregious case.
Attitude of Government: Apathy and negative attitude of government towards arbitration is a
serious hurdle in effectuating commercial arbitration. In the case of Antrix-Devas where a global
arbitration panel ruled against ISROs subsidiary Antrix, the government got Antrix to challenge
the award in a local court instead of making the payment.
All of the above hurdles have negatively painted the image of India as poor investment
destination. However, India is continuously attempting to overcome these hurdles and recently
passed an act to amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. The passing of Commercial
Division of High Courts Bill will have wide ramification in improving arbitration which talk of
fast track mechanism with stringent timelines, give court the power to enforce its order, and take
into account cost overrun by incorporating the costs follow the event rule as the base rule in
relation to arbitration.
Nevertheless enacting a law is only part of the solution; implementing it effectively by selecting
the right personnel is as important. Courts should be sensitised about showing deference towards

arbitral awards. System should not only train arbitrators to settle disputes but also pass
legislation to lend the weight of law to their rulings so that adversaries follow the word and
simply dont refuse to follow and go to civil court. There is need for a legal framework which
can ensure that the prolongation (of arbitral cases) in the courts is reduced.

Nov. 1, 2016
Recently India experienced high number of death due to vector borne diseases. What are the
problem in Indias strategy to tackle these and what steps could be taken to prevent these types
of outbreak?
Approach:
Recent context
Fault in Indias strategy do deal vector borne disease
Steps that could be taken
Conclude
Answer:
India being tropical country, is routinely affected by outbreak of Vector borne disease like
Chikungunya, Dengue and Malaria Japanese encephalitis. In 2016, viral outbreak was severe and
took host of lives and this has exposed the vulnerability of health infrastructure of India and
frailties of Indias approach to vector-borne diseases.
Some explain the sudden "upsurge" of the disease this year due to "evolution" of the viral strain
of Chikungunya which has taken in its grip most of the population of Delhi but fault is also on
the part of government strategy to deal with these menaces.
Traditionally India relied on mosquito control to check the diseases. Municipal corporations run
campaigns asking people to check breeding of mosquitoes. They also conduct checks at the
neighbourhood and household levels and periodically undertake fogging operations. These are
clearly not enough. Some of the problems in Indias approach are:
Indian health establishments prime focus has been not on prevention but post mortem. There
is an attitude of letting people get sick, and then thinking about how to setup healthcare facilities
to treat them.
Other problem is of finance. Public health today barely accounts for 10 to 20 per cent of most
state governments expenditure on health. In this meagre allocation, too, as per recent report;
most of the states spent on an average 60-70 % part on salary of employees.

The perennial denial of public health problems by health authorities is a road block for any
corrective measures. Limited efforts are made to strengthen the reporting system for diseases,
which in turn leads to only a small proportion of cases being reported and a rosy picture is
painted of the health status of the population.
Clearly, problem in India is institutional and systematic which urgently have to be rectified by
taking lesson from other countries of tropical region which are also frequently affected by these
diseases. Some of the steps that could be taken are:
Disease surveillance network should be strengthened by engaging private healthcare sector
more for reliable counts of cases of dengue and chikungunya
Vector transmission should be checked through the use or combination of three methods:
Environmental management, chemical control and biological control.
As these mosquitos thrive in stagnant water, installation of reliable piped water supply to
communities need to be given priority to reduce the need for storage
Following the footstep of Sri Lanka: Focus could be given on mosquito control in irrigation
and agriculture, introducing new classes of insecticides for residual spraying within houses, and
scaling up distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets even in areas caught up in conflict.
Pre-emptive approach could be undertaken by regular inspections at residential and
commercial premises to remove the breeding habitats of vectors and prevent the transmission of
diseases as followed by Singapore to check outbreak of Zika.
World is increasingly becoming global village. There is frequent exchange of people and through
these previously unknown diseases which will be multiplied due to effect of climate change, is
likely to spread world over. This require each country should strengthen their surveillance
network and develop a cooperative strategy to prevent outbreak in other part of the world.

Rapid growth of cities, without efforts to boost resilience will affect urban poor in a
significant way. Comment.
Approach:
Introduce with prospect of urbanization
Resilience of city and urban poor
Conclude
Answer:
The urban population of the world has grown rapidly since 1950, from 746 million to 3.9 billion
in 2014. This continuing population growth and urbanization are projected to add 2.5 billion
people to the worlds urban population by 2050. This rise is putting heavy pressure on cities

which has limited option for outgrowth and this is reflected in rise of slums, unplanned colonies
and poor transport and sanitation infrastructure.
No significant investment has been made to equip city to this burdening pressure and this could
reverse many development gains and force 77 million of urban residents back into poverty.
Threat of climate change and man induced disasters cast shadow over sustenance of cities and
greatest burnt will be on urban poor. Resilience matters for city poor a lot and desirability of it is
due to:
Urban resilience-poverty linkages: Poverty is urbanizing and the urban poor, especially those in
informal settlements which are close to 880 million, are increasingly faced with risks to their
lives, health and livelihoods as these settlements mostly slums have lower levels of infrastructure
and services and are more exposed to hazards of varying types.
Risks faced by the urban poor relate to their limited economic base, low access to risk-reducing
infrastructure and services as well as inadequate governance (Problem of safe housing, drinking
water and lack assets) and disaster risk management.
Many poor neighbourhoods are located in or close to risk-prone areas, imposing severe social
and economic costs on urban populations. Any slight disturbance would give greater blow to
large number of urban poor not just in terms of life but also in terms of social, economic or
psychological bindings.
Apart from this, weak governance system in these area, makes government unaccountable
especially poor and in any type of disaster response system paralyses and harm them most.
Climatic induced vulnerability and growing number of economic, social, and environmental
shocks and stresses, pose the greatest risk to rapidly-growing cities and for this adequate
attention have to be given to make cities more resilient. The resilience of the urban poor is
heavily tied to the finance, quality of governance and government capacity to properly plan and
manage public infrastructure. For this, local governments should engage with households and
communities at risk, taking into account the specific concerns of the urban poor especially and
invest in building necessary social, physical and human infrastructure to withstand any kind of
unfortunate tragedy which might destroy sustainable ecosystem of cities.

Nov. 2, 2016
Agreement on free trade would be meaningless in south Asia, if transit barriers are not
resolved. Discuss.
Approach:
South Asia and Trade prospect
Why trade falling (Role of transit)

 Bring current context

Conclude
Answer:
At a time when regional trade blocs and free trade area have emerged as models of cooperative
economic growth, South Asia has not done any much progress in this regard. Intra-South Asia
trade in 1948 accounted for 18% of its total trade, which now languishes at a paltry 3-4% of its
collective global trade turnover, in comparison with over 25% in ASEAN, 35% in East Asia.
Despite having the presence of SAARC and BIMSTEC and coming up of SAFTA in 2006, this
region witnesses the least regional trade and remains bedevilled for want of adequate economic
integration. One reason may be the hostile attitude of one member in SAARC but this cannot be
said to be true for BIMSTEC where each country is mutually dependent.
Even if tariff and non-tariff barriers have been removed through free trade agreement, greatest
challenge in economic integration of South Asia is transit barriers which prevent seamless
connectivity and free flow of goods. For example, Assams tea for export travels 1,400 km to
Kolkata port, while it could traverse under 600 km, if it went to Chittagong port.
The common problem areas include- Vehicular movement restriction as no permit is given to
vehicles of one country to enter and operate in another. Countries indulge in antediluvian
practice of unloading/loading of cargo at border check posts, resulting in multiple handlings,
delays, losses. According to World Bank, the total perceived cost of these deficiencies and delays
amounts to 12.31% of the average value of a typical shipment from Kolkata to Bangladesh
compared to an ideal cost of 1.93%. This loading and unloading have a cost. According to
World Banks Logistics Performance Index, logistics costs in South Asia are 15-24% of national
GDP vs 8% in EU and US.
In this context, a SAFTA, MFN or free trade means little, if the goods do not move across
borders freely. For this reason, recent arrival of Bangladesh truck loaded with its export
consignment in India, marks significant achievement. South Asia have to push region-wide
seamless road and rail transport to gain significantly from free trade and in this respect BBIN
MVA (Motor Vehicle Agreement for the regulation of passenger, personnel and cargo) is a
positive welcome. These countries also have to strengthened connectivity at other roots as well
and for that BCIM corridor, Asian trilateral highway could be game changer. Apart from this,
there is need for seamless cross-border infrastructure, both hardware and software. They have to
work on reducing current physical and non-physical barriers to trade by means of both visible
infrastructure (such as multimodal corridors and terminals) and invisible infrastructure (such as
reformed policies, procedures, and regulations).
Transit is as important as trade liberalization. It is an intrinsic element of any cross-border
movement of goods and vehicles; regional transit arrangement will help South Asia to better
integrate the region and also to strengthen the globalization process.

Despite having high growth prospect and liberalisation of foreign investment, India is still not
the top priority of foreign investor. What are the bottlenecks that worry foreign investors and
suggest some solutions?
Approach:
Introduction: Growth and liberalisation of FDI
Causes for less FDI
Measures
Answer
India, with a high growth prospect of 7.4 % in 2016-17, is one of the top destination which can
attract foreign FDI and in tune with this government has liberalised FDI in many sectors and
signed bilateral investment treaties with many countries, released guidelines on advance pricing
agreements, relaxed the definition of FPI & FDI etc. which could pave the way for hassle free
investment. Despite this there are various bottlenecks to foreign investor which must be
addressed just as its own corporates expand their global footprint.
Some of the issues which hamper FDI in India are:
Uncertainty of Tax regime: Indian taxation is heavily tilted towards enforcement rather than
compliance and uncertainty and lack of clear foresight is one of the most feared things to foreign
investors. For example, the retrospective amendments after Vodafone and the persistent abuse of
transfer pricing provisions seriously reduced the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI).
Land Reform: Delayed land acquisition and protest are hampering prospect of various plants in
India and this portray negative image of India as an investment destination.
Labour laws: Tight regulations and business unfriendly labour laws are a big cause of worry
and one of the most dreaded thing is labour strikes.
Corruption & Bureaucracy: India is afflicted with a crisis in governance, with corruption in
nearly every public service, investors whether local or foreign have to pay some form of bribery.
A combination of legal hurdles, lack of institutional reforms, bureaucratic decision-making and
the allegations of corruption at the top have turned foreign investors away from India.
Fractured Polity: Fractious nature of Indian politics where regional parties have become more
dominant, these try to outweigh the national consideration on name of protecting the interests of
poor and opposes liberalisations of policies. A case in point is POSCO steel plant in Orissa which
is yet to take off due to opposition by locals.
Problem in commercial arbitration: Though, reform introduced by setting up of commercial
arm in respective high courts, investors are worried off and want to solve case through
international arbitration.
Intellectual property rights: Compulsory licencing and its ambiguity is one of the feared area
by Pharmaceutical companies and they are hesitant to significantly invest in India.

With 63 % population in young age group which are in wanton need to employment, FDI are
must for India which could also propel make in India. Some of the measures that could be taken
are:
Reform in Taxation system: Instead of flexing muscles to apply outdated, insensible tax laws
aggressively, the government and the tax department need to focus on simplifying the system, in
line with better models elsewhere including that followed by Singapore which boasts of tax
compliance of more than 90% simply by the virtue of lesser taxes and simpler systems.
Commercial disputes are one of the weak area where India needs to seriously focus; as cases
get entangled in the complex judicial procedures which ultimately results in loss of man-days
and hamper the ease of doing business.
India needs to focus on updating its intellectual property regime so that technology and
innovations have adequate safeguards.
Simplifying bankruptcy and insolvency laws so that investor can exit business quickly.
Archaic and colonial era labour laws need to be amended which takes care of interest of
labours and industry both.

Nov. 3, 2016
Fight against TB is a serious cause of concern and global fight against TB wont be
successful unless India win this in its own frontiers. Comment
Approach:
TB as a serious cause of concern
India and TB
What could be done to eradicate it
Answer
TB is a serious cause of concern in front of world community where close to 10.4 million people
in 2015 fell ill with TB and around 1.8 million died from the disease. It is one of the top 10
causes of death worldwide and it is leading killer of HIV-positive people: in 2015, 35% of HIV
deaths were due to TB.
TB is just not a health concern but also a socio-economic concern as well. It mostly affects
children and youth who are major human resources for the economy. TB induced disabilities lead
to patients being shunned and isolated, prejudice and misunderstanding of leprosy continue to be
stubborn barriers for leprosy patients
Thus, TB is a serious worry in front of world community and ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is
among the health targets of the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals. However, this

global fight has major impediment and those are the high-burden countries, particularly India
which has the highest TB burden in the world. In 2015, 2.8 million people who are affected with
TB are living in India; up from 2.4 million cases (in 2014). These revised disease burden
estimate for India is an interim one; the actual burden, which could be much higher, once the
scheduled national TB prevalence survey data are known.
For an effective fight against TB, India needs to seriously revamp its strategy to tackle TB and
the control programme needs to be aware of every single patient diagnosed. Some steps that
could be taken are:
Fight against TB has to be measured against sensitivity displayed by society and for this
removal of the stigma is vital.
A clear shift has to be made where focus should be on door to door visit and person-to-person
basis contact to complete detection and screening.
A coordinated effort with the help of community should be launched and no case of TB should
go unreported.
A follow-up system should be established to monitor deformities after treatment completion.
Because TB nearly always affects extremely poor people, access to treatment should be
ensured. A collaborative effort by Private and public health sector could be a game changer.

Recently concluded Paris agreement on climate change is nothing new from Kyoto and it
wouldnt be wrong to term it as Kyoto 2.0 Critically examine.
Approach:
Introduction
Compare and contrast two deals and on basis of these justify the statement
Conclude
Answer:
Paris climate deal is a historic achievement to limit the rise of global temperature, and speed at
which the ratification process moved forward is an expression of the importance that countries
attach to climate change. Paris talk was build up over Kyoto which was signed in 1997.
Although, Paris deal in contrast with Kyoto, makes all countries responsible for reducing GHGs
instead of just the rich or Annex-1 countries, which are responsible for the bulk of the total GHG
concentrations in the atmosphere; critics have termed it just old wine in new bottle.
Though Kyoto which was binding, developed countries like Canada left in between and USA a
major producer of greenhouse gas emission did not ratify the treaty. China (23% share of global
emissions) and India (5%) never signed the treaty. Same fate can be met to Paris, where the
United States and other countries are making promises they cant keep. Another thorny question

in front of Paris which can derail it like Kyoto is the implication part for an agreement that enters
into force without the support needed to implement it? Although, Rich countries are supposed to
make available $100 billion annually by 2020 for climate-related projects in poor countries, but
there is little sign of any significant progress towards this goal.
However, terming Paris as second Kyoto would not be justifiable. Paris learnt lesson from Kyoto
and instead of top down it has now followed bottom up approach, where countries agreed to
reduce greenhouse emissions in the way and at the level that they see fit and crafted intended
Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). Though non-binding in nature, it takes into
account local politics which is essential to give legal effect to signing nations. Paris though
recognises principle of CBDR but it no longer draws a distinction between the obligations that
developed and developing countries have in reducing emissions. Now, every country is
encouraged to set its share, though each gets to define what precisely that means. A more flexible
agreement will also have advantage as it will allow countries to ratchet up their efforts over time.
Inclusion of China in Paris is major improvement from the Kyoto Protocol. This signals a new
era of climate cooperation.
The expectation from Paris was that summit would be Kyoto Protocol 2.0. While that has not
been the case, the 197 signatories of the treaty have certainly pressed the restart button. The easy
bit is done and the momentum on climate action has shifted towards the positive. However, the
take-off button in climate action is yet to be pressed, individual countries need to seize this
opportunity and work towards a greener future by abiding the voluntarily set target of global
emission by mutual collaboration and technology transfer and at the same time keeping promise
of financial mechanism adoption of cleaner and greener technologies.

Nov. 4, 2016
While on the one hand performance evolution of lower judiciary in India is plagued with
various problems, on the other hand there exist none for higher judiciary. Discuss
Approach:
Indian Judiciary and Performance evaluation (Higher and Lower)
Problem in existing system
What methods could be adopted
Conclusion
Answer:
Judiciary is one of the important pillars of Indian democracy and efficient functioning judges is
absolutely vital for its efficient functioning. In this respect, critical evaluation of performance of

judges is necessary so that it is not clogged with so much of cases and the same time maintain
absolute transparency and neutrality in its functioning.
However, in India while lower judiciary is subjected to performance evaluation of various sorts,
but for higher judiciary there exist none. At the lower level, also, the system of evaluation is
plagued by many problems.
Lower court judges in India are evaluated through a system of Annual Confidential Reports
(ACRs), but ACRs are neither filled up regularly nor is the evaluation process transparent.
There is doubt over the process and this lack of due process have even reached the Supreme
Court, which early this month summoned the Registrar General of the Delhi High Court to
explain why a lower court judge was marked as integrity doubtful without material basis.
ACR are evaluated by the senior-most judges of the lower court, and reviewed by the State
High Court but there is no separate body to specifically look and verify the material which has
been placed or written in ACR.
Apart from this, the civil and the criminal courts does not have proper records of the cases a
judge or a lawyer has handled and how many have got justice.
There is no uniformity in performance evaluation in India. Each state high court following its
own method.
A delicate balance needs to be struck for evaluation of judges performance evaluation. For this,
a mix of objective and subjective criteria could be used as it is very important to monitor not
only the processes of courts which are objective in nature whether the judge is being polite and
efficient and listening and so on, and there is timeliness, and efficiency, and effectiveness, but
also to monitor the substantive idea of justice that is being delivered by courts. If not, the gap
between what Pound calls legal justice and social justice will start to emerge, and no matter
how efficient courts are they will not serve their social role and their social function.
At higher level, a separate mechanism, could be set up taking judiciary into confidence. Recently
debated NJAC could be a solution to this but before proceeding all concerns must be cleared.
At a time when Indian judiciary is sitting over 2 crore cases, efficient performance evaluation
will come handy. However, we need to be careful and this evaluation should not put undue
pressure on judges to dispose of cases, thereby compromising on quality of jurisprudence.
Jute industries are continued to decline in India. What are the causes for this and what are
the efforts being made to save them?
Approach:
Jute industry: Historic Perspective
Reason for decline
Various government effort to save them

Answer:
Jute which is called golden fibre, India had monopoly in its trade for a long time but this is
continuing on decline. The reason for this are:
Jute was used for Packaging but after coming of synthetic fibre in WWII, its use is on decline.
As synthetic fibre is more durable and strong.
In wake of WWII, market of jute has shrunk as many customers of India did not get jute
products and found substitute in synthetic fibre.
After independence, most of jute growing areas went to east Pakistan and in want of short
supply many industries closed. Although efforts have been made to increase the supply of raw
jute, after independence, it still falls short of current requirement of India.
Newly developed industries in East Pakistan are able to produce better quality goods and have
an edge over India jute products in international market.
Obsolete nature of Indian industries where industrialists are hesitant to invest in modernisation
is another reason for decline.
Poor working conditions and low wages have led to a crippling shortage of labour in this
industry.
Other problem is lack of sufficient research. Jute cant resist moisture and shad fibre. It also
causes rusting to iron due to which India railway banned transportation of salt jute bags.
Jute bags are not water proof and thats why major industries like cement, sugar or salt are not
preferring Jute bags as preferred packaging material.
This industry has social dimension as it is labour intensive and give employment to vast numbers
of people. So, to address the problems of jute growers/cultivators as well as revival of jute
industry in the country, government has taken various supportive measures. Some of the
important steps are as under:
Jute technology Mission: It is a major initiative for overall development of the jute industry
and growth of the jute sector during the 11th Plan. It aims at aims towards strengthening
agriculture research and development in jute sector, modernization of jute industry, upgradation
of skills and market promotion.
Jute Packaging Material Act, 1987 (JPMA): This legislation was enacted to protect the
traditional jute sector against alternative modes of packaging such as synthetic HDPE bags.
Sacking accounts for around 65 per cent of jute usage and initially food grains, fertiliser and
sugar were reserved for jute packing.
Apart from these MSP is declared for Jute, research institutes are being set up for Jute products,
National Jute board was set up.
Jute industry has prospect with rising concern of environment. These fibres are natural and
environmental friendly. Research have to be strengthened not in just products but in marketing as
well. It can be linked to higher end chain of textile where geo textile products have a good say
which has potential to revive whole Jute sector and could bring good fortune.

Nov. 5, 2016

Credit growth is essential to revive investment and hence industrial development but despite
1991 reform credit has failed to take off. What are the reason behind this and what is the way
forward?
Approach:
Credit and role in industrialisation
Has it taken off
What are the causes for slow growth
Way ahead
Answer:
Credit growth is essential to revive investment cycle where industry can borrow and invest in
expansion, generating a virtuous cycle through the multiplier-accelerator mechanism, which
would generate a more sustainable growth momentum. However, credit to the industrial sector in
India has started shrinking and root of this lies in incomplete reforms of last 25 years.
RBIs own figures show that offtake of credit to industry has slowed down steadily in a smooth
fashion over the years. Though the growth of the economy steadily picked up from the low of
5.6% in 2012-13 to 7.6% in 2015-16, and both the overall bank credit to the economy and the
offtake of commercial bank credit to industry continued to decelerate with the latter numbers
moving to 13.1% in 2013-14, 5.6% in 2014-15 and a bare 2.7% in 2015-16.
Muted investments, rising risk aversion owing to deteriorating asset quality of public-sector
banks has led to low credit offtake. What puzzle Indias credit history is, this decline is not due to
lack of demand for credit but magnitude of stressed and restructured loans; which is serious
cause of concern.
Problem of the rising NPA lies in failure to systematically put in place institutional mechanisms
for dealing with the death of firms, exits, bankruptcy and failure of banks. Despite the fact
reforms of 1991-92 pushed for a market oriented economy which has booms and busts. A naive
version of a market economy led to an institutional framework suitable for capitalism that only
witnesses booms and not busts like now, which is India facing today.
There was an inconsistency between the vision of market-led industrial growth and government
controlled resource allocation where although reform of 1991-92, liberalised the industries but
not the banking. Government continued giving directions to all banks, public and private, about
which sectors to lend and which were priority sectors.

As far as economy was small, quick fix like recapitalisation of banking was good but after 2000
Indian economy has grown more than doubled and is on high growth trajectory. It is not possible
for government to inject large sum of money into making up for the losses or loans not returned.
Due to this, banks are not willing to either recognise bad loans or sell off weak assets at losses.
To rectify this anomaly, a critical reform that is required is development of a competitive private
banking sector. Government should move away from directing banks to invest in certain sectors
to regulating and monitoring the risks banks take in the business of banking. An institutional
change is required where market should play role where profit making banks grow and
inefficient banks are shut down and taken over by efficient banks.

Critically examine reason for falling for wildlife populations and what measures could
urgently be taken to conserve wildlife?
Approach:
Are wildlife population falling
What are the causes
Suggest some measures
Lifeform on the earth are in constant evolution and 90% of all lifeforms that ever existed on
planet are now extinct and last half billion years has seen 5 major extinction phases but what
causes worry is the sixth extinction phase which is unlike the other is because of anthropogenic
intervention. Natural extinction is part of evolutionary processes and biological succession which
present natural genetic stock but human intervention has accelerated this.
According to a recent study, global wildlife populations have fallen by 58 per cent since 1970,
and if the trend continues that decline could reach two-thirds among vertebrates by 2020. The
reason for this falling wildlife population are:
Habitat loss: Deforestation, forest fragmentation due to want of land for urbanisation and
agriculture is shrinking space for wildlife.
Illegal Wildlife trade and Poaching: Each year, hundreds of millions of plants and animals
are caught or harvested from the wild and then sold as food, pets, ornamental plants, leather,
tourist curios, and medicine. While a great deal of this trade is legal and is not harming wild
populations, a worryingly large proportion is illegal and threatens the survival of many
endangered species. Poaching of elephants for ivory, tigers for their skins and bones, rhinos for
their horns has led to decline of these species on planet.
Climate Change: It is natural phenomena but human induced change doesnt allow time for
homeostasis due to increased emission of greenhouse gas emission. Some species that are
already in decline due to climate change are: Polar bear, Adlie penguin, North Atlantic cod,
Orange-spotted filefish. Climate change disrupt migration pattern, breeding season and invasion

of exotic species which results in adaptation challenge and species-species conflict leading to
decline of wildlife.
Pollution: It is one of the primary ways in which humans have caused drastic modifications of
wildlife habitat. For example, run-off from an agricultural farm to the ocean are carried into the
water, as well as fertilizers. The sediments block sunlight and inhibit the growth of organisms,
which photosynthesize, or get their energy from the sunlight, such as corals and algae. This
disrupts whole food web and leading to downfall of whole of ecosystem.
Unless urgent steps are taken, we will lose most of our wildlife. We have reached a point where
there isnt really any excuse to let this carry on. Some of the steps that could be taken to conserve
wildlife are:
Protected areas: Creation of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, Biosphere reserve etc.
Attention have to be given for scientific management of these.
Species specific conservation: where high impact species can be given attention on top
priority.
Ex situ conservation like gene banks, captive breeding, botanical garden, zoo etc,
International collaboration to curb illegal trade and poaching.
Empowering people to protect wildlife: local communities could be made partner to help
them manage their natural resources and ensure a future that includes healthy wildlife
populations and sustainable economic growth.
Eco fencing and wildlife corridors could be made.
Research have to be done to examine the impacts of climate change on populations of
terrestrial vertebrates as human-induced climate change is emerging as one of the gravest threats
to biodiversity in history. Research on adaptive and mitigative techniques to improve the
immunity of animals against climate change as well as how to control on invasive species is also
required.

Nov. 7, 2016
NALSA judgement has brought much cheers to Transgender community but Transgender
Persons (Protection of rights), Bill 2016 of the Union government will reverse the gain which
was achieved in pursuit of dignity for this gender. Analyse in this light what concerns has
been raised about Transgender Persons (Protection of rights), Bill 2016 of the Union
government?
Approach:
An overview of NALSA judgement and Transgender community
Transgender bill 2016
Various concerns raised

Conclusion
Answer:
NALSA judgement (National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India) delivered by SC in
2014 was a landmark judgement which recognised the rights of transgender people and said they
should enjoy all the fundamental rights enshrined in the Indian constitution. This judgement gave
broad directives to the Central and state governments on affirmative action, public health, social
welfare and other services to be made available for transgender people.
However, the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2016 of Union government is a
much-diluted version of the judgement and if passed will reverse all the gains the community has
achieved in its pursuit of dignity through decades of struggle.
Some of various concern raised against the bill are:
The Bill imperils some of the rights guaranteed by the Supreme Courts April 2014 judgment in
National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) vs Union of India. It gives a degrading and
scientifically incorrect definition of transgender as part male and part female or an
incompletion with the binary gender as the reference point which is in contravention of the
definition of transgender provided in the judgement.
The government bill proposes a district screening committee to certify transgender persons.
This violates the NALSA judgment which upheld the transgender persons right to decide their
self-identified gender. It also goes against constitutionally guaranteed rights of equality before
the law and freedom of persons.
Bill calls for setting up the National Council for Transgender Persons which s would be a
massive bureaucratic structure without enforcement abilities, rendering it powerless to be a
protector of rights.
The Bill includes terms like trans-men, trans-women, persons with intersex variations and
gender-queers in its definition of transgender persons. However, these terms have not been
defined.
Crucial issues affecting the large transgender population in India such as infliction of violence
by families, police, lack of availability of a complaint mechanism etc. had not been incorporated
in the Bill.
Bill does not talk of reservations in educational institutions for members of the transgender
community who do not belong to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribe.
The government bill proposes a district screening committee to certify transgender persons.
This violates the NALSA judgment which upheld the transgender persons right to decide their
self-identified gender.
It also goes against constitutionally guaranteed rights of equality before the law and freedom of
persons.
Clearly, bill is in contravention to what is being demanded by the community. Government
should rectify the concern being raised by transgender community and should bring
comprehensive bill with due deliberation with all stakeholders which addresses the systemic
discrimination that transgender people face every day.

India and Russia have many unresolved issues which needs to be cleared for a perpetual
friendship and in this regard, recently concluded agreements are sign of a good progress.
Discuss.
Approach:
Introduction
Issues between the two countries
Also, write some area of cooperation
Recently concluded agreements and how they try to resolve the differences
Conclusion
Answer
Changing geo-political priorities set new dimension to foreign policies of the countries and
despite Russia being all-weather friend of India and with whom India up-graded its relationship
from "strategic partnership" to "special and privileged strategic partnership", recent military
exercise of Russian military with Pakistan has marked a new low in India Russia relationship.
Although
Beside this there are other concerns in relationship which are roadblocks to mark a new history
in the relationship between India and Russia. These relates to:
No much progress in economic partnership which is due to less pleasing image of Russia in
international media, low economic growth, sanctions imposed by other countries on Russia etc.
Rapidly expanding ties between India and USA, which started with the India-US nuclear deal
in 2008.
Aspects of Russia-China relation
Expanding share of USA defence equipment in Indian forces although in absolute terms Russia
still the largest supplier but its share in overall imports has progressively declined.
Despite these, India has been supportive of Russian positions and has a careful and calibrated
response to all Russian actions in Chechnya, Syria, Ukraine and elsewhere, India has
supported Russia. The Russians, on their part, have dutifully backed the Indian position on
Kashmir; they share Indian concerns on terrorism; they continue with deep collaborations,
providing sensitive technologies, military equipment, nuclear power engines and much more to
India. They have a partnership in energy. And recent, agreement between two countries on side
line of BRICS-BIMSTECH meeting reiterate this position. The statement of Indian Prime
minister " An old friend is better than two new ones. is proof of this.
Recently concluded agreements on Kamov helicopter, S-400 missile deals are a mark of
transforming buyer-seller relationship into a defence industrial collaboration relationship. These

agreements are not just only limited to defence but also in the domain which close the gap
between the communities and establishes communication link. In this regard Agreement on cyber
security, Joint collaboration in space, collaboration in urban development and setting of agro
irradiation centres are important departure from past where concentration was mostly defence
deals.
India and Russia are natural allies. It is in the interest of both countries to have vibrant relations.
The responsibility for this devolves upon current leadership. A frank and continuous high-level
dialogue, reinforced by regular backchannel communications, would ensure that each partner
remains sensitive to the core concerns of the other and discordant public messaging is avoided.

Nov. 8, 2016
Over dependence on China for Active pharmaceutical products warrant urgent attention.
Discuss.
Approach:
API and Significance
API and India
Fallout of overdependence
What could be done
Answer:
Recent directive of Prime Minister to NITI Ayog to prepare a plan on to reduce the countrys
dependence on China for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) highlights the importance of
the matter.
Although India has emerged as a world leader in generic medicines, its overdependence on China
for API is a cause of serious concern. A pharmaceutical dose contains the API, which is the drug
itself; and excipients, which are the substances of the tablet, or the liquid the API is suspended in,
or other material that is pharmaceutically inert.
Once, India was the source of low cost and good quality bulk drugs, and but in the past 25 years
it has been outpaced by China. Some policy fallouts like stringent controls on bulk drug
production, neglect of research etc kept indigenous API production way below domestic
requirements. At the same time, the country did not invest in its public-sector outfits which
worsened API scenario in India. China, beset by overproduction, is now resorting to dumping
and skewing the market against Indian companies.

Currently, India imports over 80-85% of API from China, and any kind of tensions or adverse
circumstances between two countries have potential to lead to a public health crisis. China has
done the same to Japan in 2010, when it blocked export of rare earth minerals- crucial elements
in electronics equipment.
Thus, overdependence on China for APIs threatens Indias dominance in generic medicines.
Some of the steps that could be taken are:
Domestic production of APIs should be encouraged. For this, SPZ (special pharmaceutical
zone) could be set up.
Streamline Regulations: Presence of multiple regulatory authorities for the industry is also
hampering the growth of the sector. The API manufacturers have to approach different
authorities for renewal of licences that become a tedious affair. A single committee of various
government departments should be formed to regulate the industry through a single window and
audit of plants
Government could focus on reviving closed units of enterprises like the Indian Drugs and
Pharmaceutical Limited (IDPL).
Despite several opportunities and incentives, established Indian pharmaceutical firms have not
stepped up R&D measures to fulfill their needs for ingredients. Some policy measures are
needed to press for enhancing the use of domestic content by this sector.
Diversification of sources of imports should be seriously explored.
To counter economic advantage of Chinese API, Government could facilitate the industry by
ensuring adequate power and water supply, providing logistics and helping companies in
capacity building to bring down cost of production.
One of the main reasons for huge API imports from China is low cost of its manufacture and
subsidy in China while India levies negligible import fee. The import fees should be increased
in line with other counterparts
The government declared 2015 as the Year of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients. There were
some deliberations but very few initiatives. Government should act now and take the lead at
ground unless it becomes too late to act.

What are reason for severity of pollution in Delhi in winters?

Approach:
Introduction
In general sources of pollution
Elaborate causes (Why winters are severe)
Answer:

Winters of Delhi has become scary and air quality has become so worsened that it is uneasy to
breathe even at home. Problem is most severe in Delhi which is partly due to natural and partly
due to anthropogenic emissions.
Although, pollutants emitted by vehicular movement, dust from roads or construction sites,
burning of municipal solid waste (MSW) are source of pollution but life come to halt in winters
due to several other reasons as well. These are:
Meteorological causes: During winter months, cool air stagnates over the city, keeping
pollution close to the ground where people breathe. Cold air is heavy and it does not allow
particles to escape in upper atmosphere unlike in spring.
Burning of biomass: As winter approaches, polluting activities increase such as people burning
more biomass to heat their homes within the city.
Normal pattern of winds during winter season is north-westerly. These winds drag the smoke
and fine particles of burnt crop in Punjab and Haryana region and mix them with Delhis
atmosphere.
Onset of winter also coincides with next cycle of cropping and end of summer harvesting
season. Farmers burn the stubble off their fields. This is the major source of pollutants in Delhi
which has choked the life.
Onset of winter also coincides with Indian lightning festival Diwali, where people burst
crackers in large numbers. This produces lot of smog in atmosphere.
After ban of brick manufacturing in Delhi in 1996, industry shifted just outside Delhi territory
and their main production period coincides with Delhis winter season. According to a report,
15% of the PM 2.5 affecting Delhi can be attributed to brick kilns
As the winter progresses in the month of December and January, the duration of haze, mist or
fog gets extended. Due to this, pollutants remain suspended in the atmosphere for longer duration
of time.

Nov. 9, 2016
Critically discuss why despite number of measures domestic violence against women
continues and women continues to live in an abusive relationship in India?
Approach:
Crime against women (focus on domestic violence)
What measures taken
Why domestic violence continues
Reason for living in abusive relationship
Answer:

In India where almost half of the population are women, they continue to suffer from subjugation
of men and are victims of violence. According to NCRB, a crime has been recorded against
women in every three minutes in India.
Worst form of this is the violence suffer by them within the four wall of house which despite the
number of measures like passing of domestic violence act continues and according to one report
as many as 70 per cent of married women in India between the age of 15 and 49 are victims of
beating, rape or forced sex.
There is no one single factor to account for violence perpetrated against women. Several
complex and interconnected institutionalized social and cultural factors have kept women
particularly vulnerable to the violence directed at them, all of them manifestations of historically
unequal power relations between men and women. Various factors responsible for its
continuance are:
Societal Failure: Patriarchal nature of society continues to see women as an inferior being and
expects them to subjugate under the formers dominance.
Legal-Institutional Failure:
oAlthough law has been passed but to get justice, people have to suffer ordeal of judicial delay
which bolster the perpetrators.
oLack of awareness about the law and rights is also one of the reason for violence.
oThere is little compliance by protection officers and the police to enforce court orders.
oThe state fails to provide adequate infrastructure for victims, who are then left with no choice
but to remain in abusive relationships.
Others:
oThere is a link between rising alcoholism and increasing violence against women.
oLimited access to education and training for women
Although, law is passed and measures taken, still women continue to suffer brunt of violence and
in most cases, no case is reported and they continue to remain in abusive relationship. The reason
lies in:
Self-inflicted Injury: In Indian society, divorced women are seen as like she has committed
big crime. A woman is made to believe that it is her shame and not the perpetrators shame.
Social stigma associated with it prevents many women to seek separation. Sanctity of
Marriage and future of child prevent women to take any extreme step.
Lack of education and financial dependence are other reasons which compel women to
continue to live under such relationship
Unsupportive families & family pressure forces women to keep mum and not to raise issue
which might blow their reputation.
Ending domestic violence is not just a legal challenge but a societal challenge as well. Response
to it must be multi-sectoral; addressing the immediate practical needs of women experiencing
abuse; providing long-term follow up and assistance; and focusing on changing those cultural
norms, attitudes and legal provisions that promote the acceptance of and even encourage

violence against women, and undermine women's enjoyment of their full human rights and
freedoms.

Sluggishness in Indias export is not entirely related to global factors but domestic factors are
much to blame for this. Comment.
Approach:
Is India facing decline in export
Is this due to global factors or domestic
Conclude
Answer
World market is witnessing slowdown which has directly impacted Indias export interest. In
2015, merchandise exports showed an unprecedented year-on-year decline of 17.2% and this
contraction continues in 2016 as well.
Commodity prices are in the reverse gear which is impacting Indian commodity-related export
such as petroleum products, iron ore etc. Exports have fallen for USA, EU, China, and Japan.
Although this sluggishness in world economy is one of the factors for decline in export but
looking at export data of Bangladesh, China, Vietnam whose export are rising despite this global
slowdown suggest that something is seriously wrong at domestic front. Apart from this price of
crude oil is also low; a crucial input to manufacturing which also has not helped in boosting
merchandise export. Factors which are holding back Indian exports are:
Port Infrastructure: These issues include poor road conditions and port connectivity,
congestions, vessel berthing delays, poor cargo handling techniques and equipment, lack of
access for containerized cargo, and frequent EDI server down or maintenance, resulting in
multiple handlings, increased lead time, high transaction costs, and thus loss of market
competitiveness.
Inverted duty structure: Inverted duty structure is making Indian manufactured goods
uncompetitive against finished product imports in the domestic market. Under the inverted duty
structure, finished goods are taxed at lower rates than raw materials or intermediate products
which discourage domestic value addition.
Land Acquisition: Delayed land acquisition and protest are hampering prospect of various
plants in India.
Apart from this, uncertainty in tax structure, rigid labour laws, lack of skilled manpower are
holding back Indias exports.

To harness its full potential, India needs to remove the above-mentioned bottlenecks, focus on
facilitative tax infrastructure to exporters, diversify its export market & basket of goods, capture
the space vacated by China, integrate faster with the world and improve international
competitiveness of its key exports.

Nov. 10, 2016

India need to adopt a uniform and apolitical asylum law and focus on codification of Indias
best practices with regard to refugees. Comment.
Approach:
Introduction: Why this debate
Indian asylum Policy and issue
Should we go for a uniform policy (discuss political and humanitarian ground)
Conclusion
Answer:
Baloch leader Brahumdagh Bugtis move to seek political asylum in India has prompted debate
on the status of Indian asylum laws which in absence of any domestic laws; are unstructured and
informal in nature. Added to this, Neither India signed the UN Refugee Convention of 1951 or its
1967 Protocol that stipulates the rights and services host states must provide refugees which has
left India without an institutionalised framework for addressing refugee inflows. Apart from
this, other issue which is of debate are:
Granting asylum on humanitarian versus political ground: A fundamental principle of
international refugee law is to not grant asylum to such persons who are involved in terror related
acts, as doing so would go against the humanitarian spirit of refugee protection. And on the same
principle, there is opposition to grant asylum to Mr. Bugati on account of his party being put on a
terror watch list by Pakistan.
Can someone apply for asylum in India from outside the country: International refugee law
states that a person needs to be outside his/her own country to seek asylum; it is silent on
whether the person needs to be physically present in the territory of the country where s/he hopes
to receive asylum or whether s/he can make such an application from a third country. This is a
much-debated issue in international law and countries have adopted varying policies in this
regard. Indian laws are also silent on this.
On these counts and with rising influx of refugees, there is call for a pragmatic way to address
asylum policies of India and for that India should adopt a uniform asylum law and codify Indias

best practices with regard to refugees as codification would reduce the need for parallel
mechanisms, and put in place a structured system for asylum management in the future.
However, although duty to protect refugees is widely accepted, and refugee convention refuses
protection to people accused of serious non-political crimes such as terrorism but governments
routinely slap trumped-up terror accusations against their dissidents and this is what happening
in case of Mr. Bugati. If India accept him, it would not be first time India is granting shelter to a
political person. As in 1959 asylum was granted to Dalai Lama and he has never been officially
recognised as a refugee; he remains an honoured guest diplomatese for political asylee.
India hosts millions of refugees and even after that Indian law does not even mention the term
refugee, there are no clearly defined rights and duties for refugees. There are multiple
approaches towards the different refugee communities and still there is no clarity in this regard.
This calls for seriously looking into issue but a uniform asylum policy is not the right way to
deal. What India could do is a discretionary political asylum regime for people like Mr. Bugti as
well as a mandatory refugee regime to ensure humanitarian protection and for this asylum laws
have to be codified to have uniformity.

Despite having made serious effort to improve ease of doing business ranking, India scored
poorly. Critically examine the reason for low ranking of India this year?
Approach:
Introduction (Bring current context and reforms)
Why low ranking (Discuss the methodology of bank also)
Conclusion
Answer:
India ranked just one notch higher than 2015 in world banks ease of doing business report,
despite the fact that in the past India has taken number of steps like having a timeline for
clearance of applications, de-licensing the manufacturing of many defence products, introduction
of e-Biz project for single window clearance, Simplification and rationalisation of rules.
Report itself note, progress by India in some of the areas. Some areas where India has improved
is under the head of ease of access to electricity, where it moved up 29 spots to 70. Other area
acknowledged are Indias gains in simplifying tax payments, trade procedures, protecting
minority interests of shareholders, and contract enforcement.
However, these reforms did not impress the index of the report and still, due to even-larger
improvements in other economies, Indias ranking in several areas fell this year. On the ease of
starting a business, it slipped to 155th from 151st. On dealing with construction permits, it
stumbled to 185th from 184th. On paying taxes, it held steady at 172nd. Other reason for low

ranking is due to new criterion postfiling index under the header paying taxes in 2016 report
to measure the efficiency of processes that occur after a firm complies with its regular tax
obligations, the post-filing index is a criterion in which India finds itself fourth from the
bottom.
India of late has upgraded infrastructure, raised foreign-investment limits, digitized approvals
and registrations, taken steps in improving tax governance this ranking does not reflected that.
One of the criticism against report is, it just focussed only on two cities while reforms are
happening across States. Therefore, Indias overall position may well be better than what this
latest report shows.
For any ranking process has its limitation but flaws of the ranking system, however, do not mean
that India should not try and improve its position in areas identified by this report. Some of the
area where India need to focus are:
Access to credit to industry
Enforcement of contract where although steps taken but still these are not enough. India ranked
a low 172 on this front.
Resolving insolvency where India ranked at 136

Nov. 11, 2016

Critically discuss the significance of Supreme court verdict on equal pay for equal work to
daily wagers.
Approach:
Introduction
Significance of judgement
Any concern
Conclude
Answer
In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court has held that the principle of Equal pay for equal
work is an unambiguous constitutional right vested in every employeewhether engaged on a
regular or temporary basis. Court has termed denial of equal pay for equal work as
"exploitative enslavement", and nothing short of "oppressive, suppressive, and coercive
conduct. This ruling has significance not just to uphold and protect constitutional rights but for
the economy as well.
Significance of this ruling are:

Right to equality: This ruling reaffirms the concept of the right to equality enshrined in our
Constitution by striking down artificial distinction of remuneration between contractual workers
and regular employees.
This ruling will put brakes on those employers including the Government, Banks, Financial
Institutions who hire people on ad hoc basis or on temporary basis without giving the benefit of a
Permanent employee instead of filling a regular post or as a sanctioned post.
It will serve as a signal to companies that they cannot circumvent laws to exploit labour
It will also compel the companies to invest in skilling the labours so that regular up gradation
of skills benefit the industry and boost R&D in the nation
Due to this wage bills will rise, but one firms wage bill represents purchasing power for the
rest of the economy. The economy will get a boost when workers are better paid. They will boost
demand for industrys produce and invest in their childrens education.
This ruling will also set equality between man and women which will set equal pay.
Although, good move, but there are some concerns.
Implementation will be difficult as it will need monitoring and inspections of company records
and premises.
Judgement has carved down certain exceptions as to who all cannot come under this judgement
and claim the benefits. This may lead to a lot of industrial disputes and litigation in order to
prove for the contesting part does fall under the said exceptions.
Job security of contractual employees will be at stake.
What is equal work and how to define it, will be a major challenge.
Nevertheless, judgement is a good move towards securing equality which will definitely improve
the living standard and provide immediate respite for lakhs of temporary workers.

Delhi experiences worst form of air pollution. Suggest some of the steps which could be taken
to reduce it permanently?
Approach:
Air Pollution in Delhi
Steps that could be taken
Conclusion
Answer
Delhis air quality has been severe as pollution levels touched a new high in this winters.
Levels of particulate matter finer than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) crossed the 900 mark in some
areas, recording almost 15 times the safety limit.

This is the situation of not just delhi but most urban areas of India. The pollution has almost
become routine and situation calls for taking urgent steps which long lasting and not just knee
jerk solution. Some of the steps that could be taken are:
Seeking long term solution to straw burning: According to M.S. Swaminathan, India
produces 140 million tonnes of paddy and 280 million tonnes of rice straw in a year. We have to
find ways to use paddy straw instead of burning it. It is not expected from farmers to stop
burning paddy straw as he has to prepare his field for the next crop. Commercialisation of straw
will be a long-term solution. Some ways could be:
A technology developed in Maharashtra could be promoted which uses paddy straw as animal
feed.
Employing technology to use this stubble not just as animal feed but for cardboard paper and
other products can be experimented with.
Pilot projects to produce power using biomass as demonstrated in Rajasthan can be replicated
elsewhere. Mechanised composting and biogas production units of IARI could be scaled up.
Conservation agriculture: This needs to be popularised as it has twin benefits of agriculture
productivity and pollution abatement. This would encourage farmers to use newer low-till
seeding technologies that allow much of the crop residues to remain on site, and curb the release
of a variety of pollutants
Cooperative federalism at play: Delhis air pollution and future trends says that 60% of
Delhis particulate matter pollution comes from neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Moreover, even if Delhi were to adopt the cleanest-grade fuel available and ensure that power
plants in the vicinity adopt stringent emissions, pollution would persist well above globallyrecommended safe levels, unless neighbouring states too adopt similarly stringent policies. For
this, it is necessary that States collaborate and devise a joint strategy to give fresh air to their
citizens.
Setting Robust Transportation system: Public transport shares more than 65 % of Delhis
commuting needs but occupies less than 5 % of road space. This means just road expansion and
more number of roads are not solution to city transport and hence lessening vehicular pollution.
Need is to strengen public transport.
Citizens have to be incentivised as well as pressurised to shift towards public transport
system. For that measures like pollution taxes, car free days/areas, robust public transport and
better urban planning could be taken.
Counter migration: Delhi is already overpopulated and constant stream of migration is further
putting pressure on city resources. Policies have to be devised to start counter migration current
and create alternate magnet centres which would lessen burden on Delhi.
Construction firms could be asked to keep the dust confined within the site.
Reducing air pollution in Delhi would require restrictions, regulations and most importantly,
wide-ranging cooperation and collaboration from the masses. Collective apathy towards

environmental issues would not allow government to implement radical measures, hence it needs
to be turned to collective collaboration to check rising anthropogenic pollution.

Nov. 12, 2016

What policy changes do you recommend in the new era of aggressive foreign policy as
perused by new political dispensation at centre?
Approach:
Introduction
Write shortcomings
Conclude by giving suggestion
Answer
Foreign policy of country is cannot be bounded in rigid set of rules and regulation. The sole
guide to it is national interests and also to achieve goals within its international relational milieu.
In this multi-polar world, India has tried to maintain to better relations with other nations,
however there are certain areas where Indias foreign policy has failed. Some of the concern of
Indias current foreign policy are:
Lack of long term vision: Indias foreign and security policy seems to be driven by tactical i.e
Short term considerations rather than any strategic (long term) thinking. It has failed to deliver in
terms of tangible outcomes and is marked by inconsistency and lack of follow-up measures.
Neighbourhood first: Indias foreign policy is too much concentrated on its neighbouring
countries & despite various measures and all type of assistance provided to its neighbouring
countries, there are accusations of big brotherly attitude and interference. In this course,
countries are taking shelter to China. Other reason for preoccupancy are:
Increasing diplomatic and political confrontation with Pakistan
Growing tension with China & its increased outreach in South Asian countries which could
compromise Indias strategic interest.
Terror-fixated foreign policy: Single agenda of Terror while dealing with Pakistan and other
countries displays a tactical approach to foreign policy. More important issues like governance
and institutional reforms, FDI, economic diplomacy and forging global partnerships have taken a
backseat.
Foreign policy engagements in general and alliance choices in particular seems impulsive than
well-thought-out. Signing of LEMAO with US showed Indias shift in foreign policy but along it
set an example of clear departure from tradition policy of not getting into military alliance and
thus attracting rivals.

Long-term strategic thinking requires solid intellectual foundations and freedom from short
term political expediencies, institutional coordination and follow-up action. However, there are
no signs that this is happening. This has led to a lack of focus and prioritization of goals and
objectives.
Today, India is being seen as an important regional power and a responsible global player. It is
the goal of Indias foreign policy to achieve major power status for the country in the
international arena while at the same time securing the national interest. Some of the course
correction which could be taken are:
Long-term strategic thinking must drive nations security and foreign policy. For this. India
must not restrain its policies to South Asia and Pakistan-backed terrorism.
India should stay away from forming alliances on ad hoc basis and chart strategic partnerships
with various powers through sustained and mature negotiations.
The Government should regularly set up highly specialised groups to generate policy reports
and perspective planning for policymakers.
There should be structures within the government (over and above the regular bureaucratic
apparatuses) tasked with grand strategic thinking in a purposeful manner, whose inputs are then
taken on board.
A national security doctrine: After broad based political consultation, careful scenario building
and net assessment by experts a comprehensive National security doctrine should be framed
which can prevent the unnecessary politicisation of national security issues.

Critically examine the draft Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 as proposed by Union Cabinet?
Approach:
Introduction
Why Surrogacy Bill
Various concern against the bill
Conclusion

Answer:
Commercial surrogacy was allowed in India for the first time in 2002 without legal backing.
Although, it brought good fortune to economy but was fraught with risks and uncertainty; not
just for the surrogate mothers but also the babies they agreed to bear, as highlighted in case of
Japanese & Australian couple cases of 2008 and 2012 respectively.
These incidents highlight the total disregard for the rights of the surrogate mother and child. The
culmination of these questions resulted in Indias draft Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill that was

approved by the Cabinet. Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 proposes to regulate surrogacy in
India by permitting it as an option for couples who cannot naturally have children, have a lack of
other assisted reproductive technology options, are keen to have a biological child, and can find a
surrogate mother among their relatives. Bill is a welcome state in protecting women from
repeated surrogate pregnancies for monetary gains and at the same time legalize the offspring
that will be born.
However, various concerns have been raised in the present draft.
The idea of altruistic surrogacy expressed in the Bill, greatly limits both potential surrogate
mothers as well as couples wanting children: since women can become surrogates only once, and
since couples who cannot find willing relatives have only one way out adoption
By allowing surrogacy for select classes of citizens on the basis of their lifestyle, sexual
orientation, and life choices, the bill violate citizens Fundamental Rights as laid down in Article
14 of the Indian Constitution.
Blanket ban on commercial surrogacy will only push the industry underground and render
surrogate mothers even more vulnerable as experienced in UK after the total ban on it.
This complete ban will deprive the economy its share and surrogacy industry ($2 Billion in
2015) will shift to neighbouring countries.
The right to life enshrines the right of reproductive autonomy, inclusive of the right to
procreation and parenthood, which is not within the domain of the State. It is for the person and
not the State to decide.
Bill only allow married couple to have surrogate child and the fact is that society is changing.
One cant make marriage the only criterion. By doing so we are ignoring ground reality.
Although, regulation is essential but in its present form the Bill may end up denying millions
of Indian women the opportunity to take advantage of advancements in medical science. The
need of the hour is to regulate the unregulated surrogacy market to ensure and protect the rights
of surrogates vis-a-vis the rights of the commissioning parents and children born as a result of
such arrangements. Necessary changes should be made in the proposed Bill on surrogacy to
safeguard the constitutional rights of the stakeholders considering the social, legal and ethical
dynamics of this sensitive subject for the formation of a progressive regulatory framework.

Nov. 14, 2016

Rising senile population in India is a cause of concern, and the recent report of United Nation
Population Division is a reminder of this fact only. In this respect highlight the problems of
elderly in India and suggest ways to take care of their welfare?
Approach:
Elderly People and India
Problem faced

 Steps for welfare

India is going to be host 48 million seniors over the age of 80 and 324 million citizens above 60
in 2050 as per recently released report of United Nation Population division. These numbers
although appears to be scary but they are reminder to policy makers that urgent steps are need of
the hour to safeguard interest of elders who are already worst sufferers. Some of the problem
being faced by them are:
Health Care: Difficulties faced by seniors in accessing health care services, e.g. problems in
finding a family physician and a lack of treatment for particular medical conditions.
Every 10 elderly couples in India, more than 6 are forced by their children to leave their
homes. With no place to go and all hopes lost, the elderly have to resort to old age homes, which
do not guarantee first class treatment.
Isolation: Isolation or a deep sense of loneliness, is a common complaint of many elderly.
Isolation is most often imposed purposefully or inadvertently by the families or communities
where the elderly live. Loneliness is a very real problem, as contemporaries die and families
move. They become increasingly aware that their life on earth is nearly over and many are afraid
of dying
Elder abuse: Elder abuse occurs in large part due to negative attitudes towards the elderly or
their economic and social vulnerability.
lack of a social security system and economic insecurity: economic insecurity is faced by the
elderly when they are unable to sustain themselves financially. Many older persons either lack
the opportunity and/or the capacity to be as productive as they were.
Crime against elders: Cities are not safe for elders.
This situation call for urgent action where India by taking proactive step could equip himself to
solve the crisis faced by elder. Some of the steps that could be taken are:
Health care systems needs to be focussed which is innovative and sustainable and which could
cope with the demographic shift.
India needs to create elder-friendly environments and policies to engage older men and women.
For this, we have to ensure access to health care and rehabilitation services for older people.
Lifestyle choices for Active Ageing should be promoted early in life and could include
participating in family and community life, eating a balanced, healthy diet, maintaining adequate
physical activity, avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol consumption.
It is time for a new paradigm, one that views older people as active participants in an ageintegrated society and as active contributors as well as beneficiaries of development as economic
security is as relevant for the elderly as it is for those of any other age group. Those who are
unable to generate an adequate income should be facilitated to do so.
Although laws are there to protect harassment of elders from their wards but need is effective
implementation.
Elderly who suffer from fear need to be reassured. Those for whom the fear is considered to be
irrational need to be counselled and, if necessary, may be treated as per their needs.
Many elderlies can be trained to carry out productive activities that would be useful to them or
benefit their families, communities or environment; activities that others would often be unable
or unwilling to do. Being meaningfully occupied, many of the elderly can be taught to keep

boredom away. For others, recreational activities can be devised and encouraged at little or no
additional cost.

What do you understand by Payment Bank? Critically examine the impact of recently released
guideline on Payment bank and small finance banks?
Approach:
Define Payment bank
Write recent context
On basis of guideline explain impact
Conclude
Answer
Payment banks are unlike traditional banks which can accept deposits restricted to only Rs. 1
lakh per customer, and are allowed to pay customers interest on the money that is being
deposited. They provide small savings accounts, payment/remittance services to migrant labour,
low income households, small businesses, other unorganised sector entities and other users. A
payment bank can't loan money to people, or issue credit cards and are only allowed to invest the
money customers deposit into government securities.
These non-traditional ways banking could revolutionise the banking experience in India and
recently released separate operating guidelines for payments banks and small finance banks
corroborate this. According to these guideline:
Small finance banks will be allowed exemption from the existing regulatory ceiling on interbank borrowings till the existing loans mature or up to three years, whichever is earlier.
75% of Small banks adjusted net bank credit should be given to sectors eligible for Priority
sector lending and 50% of its loan portfolios should constitute loans up to 25 lakh rupees.
Both small and payment banks will be required to maintain a capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of
15% with Tier I (consisting of equity and reserves) and Tier II (long term debt, among other
things) ratios equally split at 7.5% each.
These guidelines, although a good measure to protect depositors in case banks goes bust.
However:
They discourage payments banks to take any disruptive measures which are required for their
growth. Although, High CAR is justified for small banks which are like universal bank which are
allowed to do most of things albeit in small doses, but payment bank which dont give loans
except to its employees this measure will put a strain on their resources.
Besides, payments banks are only permitted to accept deposits up to Rs1 lakh, about 75% of
which are mandatorily required to be invested in government bonds. On an average, the 10-year

benchmark bond yield is ranging around 7-8%, which means that these deposits will have to be
priced lower than that for a payments bank to earn a margin, as they are not allowed to lend.
These banks are expected to provide small savings accounts and payments/remittance services
to hitherto untouched areas and section. For this, they have to spend tons of money to create the
right infrastructure to be in the business and high requirement of CAR and other tight regulatory
guidelines will shrink their profit margin, leading to fall of these.
Much of the regulatory requirements are the same for these as for conventional banks. Which
will hamper the future growth of these.
However, relaxation in E-KYCs (know your customers) to these new disruptive banks, allowing
to work with group firms, employing them as business correspondents and using their premises
to conduct business, albeit at an arms length will certainly help in ushering of new era of banks
which are highway on which other financial services could ride, and will help in meeting the
challenge of financial inclusion

Nov. 15, 2016

Fishing is source of livelihood for coastal communities. In this context critically examine
recent steps taken by India and Sri Lanka to resolve fishermen issues?
Approach:
Introduction
Recent context
Measures and their effectiveness
Way ahead
Answer:
Despite the existence of two bilateral agreements of June 1974 and March 1976, the Joint
Working Group and elaborate understanding, fishing rights have become a major issue in India
and Sri Lanka ties, causing tension in diplomatic relations between both the countries quite often.
Fishing is a major source of livelihood for coastal people and widespread poverty on both side
forces fishermen to cross international boundary in search of fishes, thus facing wrath of other
countrys authorities. In this light recently, both countries have agreed to come out with a mutual
solution regarding the matter of fishermen. These new measures relate to:

A hotline between the Coast Guards of both countries which will help in clearing the
differences at instant.
A meeting of the Joint Working Group once in three months, and a meeting of the Fisheries
Ministers every six months, for follow up of action and resolving issues mutually, keeping the
fishermen interest in mind.
Immediate release of Indian fishermen from custody
Providing facilities for meeting between Fishermens Associations of India and Sri Lanka.
Also, commitment that there would be no violence or loss of life of fishermen.
Although, good move but these measures will unlikely have any immediate impact on the
livelihood crisis facing the fishermen of northern Sri Lanka. This agreement also doesnt take
into account what would be impact on Tamil Nadu fishermen once Palk bay sources is
exhausted. Agreement also overlooked the issue of bottom trawling (a major worry to Sri Lankan
fishermen) and remained silent over time frame over which this issue wold be resolved. These
vessel causes serious economic and ecological damage to ecosystem of the area.
It is the duty of Governments of both the countries to provide a balanced and suitable solutions.
A cooperative and collaborative action should be adopted by both countries. For this, Tamil Nadu
fishermen which are better off than their Sri Lankan counterpart, could be trained and equipped
in deep sea fishing. And to secure livelihood of small fishermen a licensing system could be
deployed under which fishermen from both sides can fish on specified days using sustainable
methods and permissible equipment.

What are the various constraints to go for cashless transaction in India? Suggest suitable
measures to make India a cashless economy?
Approach:
Introduce by highlighting importance of cashless transaction
Write constraints
Write measures
Answer:
Despite having various benefits of cashless transaction, like curbing the black money and money
laundering, having convenience in payment, checking on counterfeiting of note etc.; its share in
total transaction is meagre 14% in India. Belgium has the highest proportion of cashless

transactions in the world -- 93% of consumer spending. In the US, more than 80 % of consumer
spending is cashless.
Although India is slowly moving towards cashless transaction due to rise of e-commerce,
digitisation of banks but still it is way behind. There are various constraints involved to fully
implement the idea of cashless transaction which it has to overcome. Some of the roadblocks are:
Nearly half the population is without access to banking, hence cash being the only means
available to them.
An overwhelming majority of retailers, suppliers and service providers belong to the
unorganised, informal sector. They have neither the infrastructure to offer card-based
transactions nor the inclination to encourage consumers to pay by credit or debit cards.
The perception of consumers also sometimes acts a barrier. The benefit of cashless transactions
is not evident to even those who have credit cards. Cash, on the other hand, is perceived to be the
fastest way of transacting for 82% of credit card users. Deep rooted perception is that having
cash helps you negotiate better.
Most card and cash users fear that they will be charged more if they use cards. Further, nonusers of credit/debit cards are not aware of the benefits of these.
These roadblocks are mix of infrastructural shortage and human perception. So just increasing
access to banking wont suffice. A multi prong strategy of inclusive access to banking have to be
adopted. Some measures that could be taken are:
By putting in place robust payments mechanism to settle digital transactions.
By giving incentives such as a service tax waiver for promoting cards or digital payment
gateways.
Inclusive affordable and accessible banking through Jan Dhan Yojna.
Focussing on cyber infrastructure of Payment and settlement architecture and dispelling the
fears of consumer for a possible security breach.
Efforts should be made for financial education and could be included as part of school
curriculum.
It may be distant idea but worth considering. Lesser the cash transactions, easier for authorities
to curb tax evasion. Government should focus on enabling this transition than on draconian and
hard-to-implement laws catching tax evaders. If all stakeholders get their act right, India will see
an explosion in cashless payments which could save of Rs 70,000 crore over a five-year period
and a cumulative savings of R4.7 lakh crore by 2025.

Nov. 16, 2016

What are the consequences of changing landscape of Himalaya over Livelihood and
environment?
Answer:
Himalaya and changing Landscape

 Explain the consequences

Conclude
Answer
Himalaya, a young folded mountain of cretaceous era is showing sign of change in its landscape
in wake of climate change which is evident from glacial retreat, barren rocky structure due to
deforestation or pasturing. This changing landscape could have severe socio economic
ramification which would not just only affect ecosystem of the area but livelihood of people as
well. The likely consequences are:
River regime: Initially, increased melting of Himalaya will result in increased discharge. With
time, however, as glaciers completely disappear or approach new equilibria, long-term effects
will be increasing water shortages and limited supplies for downstream communities, particularly
during the dry season.
Agriculture and Food Security: Himalayan glaciers are the water towers of Asia, and the
source of many of the world's great rivers. Over a billion people depend directly on the
Himalayas for their survival, with over 500 million people in South Asia, and another 450
million in China completely reliant on the health of this fragile mountain landscape. With change
in river regime, agriculture will be severely affected which is the sole source of livelihood in
these region, thus directly impacting food security scenario.
Changing Monsoon and poor farmers: Changes in the mountain region due to glacial melting
could have a direct impact on the monsoon. Changes to monsoonal rainfall patterns could affect
agricultural productivity and thus would affect livelihood of people of this region. Small holding
farmers are often forced to take out loans to buy seeds to sustain agricultural production. The
destruction of an entire seasons production pushes farmers into debt and increases the price of
food. Consequently, levels of poverty also rise.
Water related hazards:
Glacial Flooding: Due to glacial retreat, glacial lakes will burst which are common along Nepal
and Bhutan causing catastrophic floods downstream.
Glacial retreat would accelerate landslides, debris flows, and flash floods. Due to thisthe
groundwould be exposed which will leads soil saturation leading to slope failure. There will be
volumes of water released onto slopes which before had been protected by solid sheets of ice.
The underlying soil may be made of rocks and sand without binding clay, and may be mobilized
by the melt water, causing landslides
The Himalayan region contains one of the most dynamic and complex mountain systems in the
world. Changing landscape of this would poses a serious threat to the ecosystem and would have
far-reaching impacts on biodiversity, food, water and energy security. Associated factors posing
threat to this unique topographic feature have to be mitigated and vulnerable nation of Himalayas
should form a collaborative and cooperative framework to meet any unmet and uncertain
challenge.

What do you understand by 'Sin- Taxes'? Discuss the effectiveness of sin taxes to meet
sustainable goal target of reducing, by one-third, premature deaths from Non-communicable
diseases.
Approach:
Define sin tax
NDC and why attention needed
How sin taxes could be effective measure
Conclude
Answer:
Sin taxes are state sponsored taxes, which are levied on services/items that are seen as vices,
such as alcohol, tobacco, junk food, sweetened beverages, and gambling to discourage
individuals from partaking in such activities without making the use of the products illegal.
Worldwide non-communicable diseases (NCD) kill around 38 million people and according to an
estimate an estimated 52 % premature deaths (deaths under 70) were as a result of noncommunicable diseases. The risk of dying from an NCD increases due to tobacco use, the
harmful use of alcohol, physical inactivity, and unhealthy diets.
Among these, Tobacco use is a primary risk factor for all the main NCDs heart disease,
strokes, diabetes, cancer and chronic lung diseases. In 20th century Tobacco use killed 100
million people and, if trends do not change, it will kill one billion people this century. SDGs
recognizes this devastating impact of NCDs and the tobacco use risk factor, and thus vows to
reduce premature death by 1/3rd from NCDs.
Thus, to meet the target of Sustainable goal, effective implementation of tobacco controls is
imperative and for that taxing this sin good could be an effective strategy to deter purchase of
tobacco products. According to WHO, in high-income countries, a 10% increase in tobacco
prices will reduce consumption by about 4%. The effect of higher prices on reducing
consumption is likely to be greater in low- and middle-income countries.
These taxes should be high enough to be an effective deterrent. This has worked in Philippines;
where governments Sin Tax Reform Law which has increased tax rates on tobacco products
by as much as 341 % for low-priced brands has seen sharp fall in their consumption. Sin tax not
just deter but also generate funds which government can utilize in health programme to better
take care of people.
These taxes are also alternative to complete prohibition as sudden withdrawal of sin products like
tobacco may result in nearly a million smokers dying. Nevertheless tax measures should be
combined with other control activities, which could be funded by earmarked taxes and can help
in strengthening health infrastructure.

NCDs are one of the major challenges to sustainable human development in the 21st century, and
to prevent human losses from this, Sin taxes are not choice but a necessity without which world
cannot achieve its commitment to meet Sustainable development goals.

Nov. 17, 2016

Though, demonetization may have created a temporary chaos and discomfort among the
general public but it promises huge benefits. Discuss.
Approach:
Introduction (write current context)
Hardship to people
Any Concern
Benefits
Conclusion
Answer
With an intention to rid the country of black money and dig out tax defaulters and black money
hoarders, government has taken step to demonetized Rs 500 and 1000 notes. This move will have
major tectonic impact on the ubiquitous parallel economy but sudden announcement and failure
to prepare in advance has created temporary chaos and discomfort among the general public.
Common Men are finding it difficult to buy with no money in pocket, wasting hours in queues
which although could have been avoided if planned in advance.
Apart from temporary hardship, it will also have some negative ramification on economy like
contraction in money supply and thus a slight deflationary impact, disruption in liquidity
situation, making unorganized sector volatile etc. These effects are short term in nature and but
in longer run this move will promises larger benefit to India. Some of the benefits are:
Move will help government to fight menace of Black money and help in to root out counterfeit
currency being circulated by non-state actors in India.
Blow to Terror financing: Move will also have impact on internal security as unaccounted
and counterfeit money which is used to run anti state activities will be wiped out from the market
making these anti state organization disfunctional.

Boost deposit base and saving in formal sector: With this move, people are forced to deposit
money into the banks. With this monetary transmission, will improve and interest rates will fall.
With lots of cash with bank, this could drive a virtuous cycle in the economy where industry
could borrow money at cheaper rates from formal financial system, boosting production and
demand and giving employment which in turn will feed the cycle.
Formalization of economy: Move has shaken long standing trust among business community
on which informalization sails through. Demonetization scheme will encourage people to revisit
their existing relationships, business or otherwise, and the manner in which they mediate
financial transactions. This will likely lead to greater formalization of relationships particularly
among the business community.
Demonetization move will help to institutionalize the real estate sector bringing more
transparency in the Indian real estate industry as much of money being invested in this sector
was unaccounted cash which fueled prices here.
Non-Performing Asset will go down : The NPAs of banks will go down as the cash coming in
will lead to higher CASA (current account, savings account), in turn declogging the system.
Ushering cashless economy: The demonetisation scheme would result not only in people
reviewing their need for hoarding cashboth for transaction and precautionary purposesbut
also in quicker adoption of the digital technology that enables cash-less transactions.
Cleaning electoral process: Electoral system which thrives on a cycle of large black
investments and black money would suffer a greater blow. This move will help to curb role of
money and muscle power in the election.
Equity market and financial assets: As money lying idle comes in the main economy it
would move to higher yielding and liquid assets. Money is likely to move to financial assets
from gold, precious metals, real estate and plain cash. Equities might reflect the panic in the
economy in the short term, but the move is will be beneficial in the long run say most of the
brokers report and expert comments.
These benefit promises longer term gain not just to economy but our political, security and
governance system as well. Although, some temporary hardships are there but efforts should be
made to alleviate suffering to common man. Demonetisation might be surgical strike on Black
money, but it should not cause pain to the common man.

Naxalism' and ' under- development' forms a cycle in a way that naxalism breeds underdevelopment and under-development fuels Naxalism. Discuss.
Approach:
Introduction
Explain linkage between underdevelopment and Naxalism
Strategy to follow to check Naxalism

 Conclusion
Answer:
What started as fight for an agrarian reform in a remote location of West Bengal in 1960s has
become one of the greatest security challenge of India which has taken in its grip around 76
districts. Although, movement was rooted out in its originating area by taking some of the
innovative steps like Operation Barga or comprehensive Area Development Programme
(CADP) which has alleviated grievances of discontent people but underdevelopment in other
regions and apathy of machinery to people has given new leased of life to this left wing
extremism..
Underdevelopment in the regions alienate people from the state and this is utilised by Naxalite
by taking their cause through violence. This underdevelopment is not just limited to physical
infrastructure but reflected in failure of state to protect rights of deprived section, exploitation,
artificially depressed wages, iniquitous socio political circumstances, inadequate employment
opportunities, lack of access to resources, under-developed agriculture, geographical isolation,
lack of land reforms Which all contribute significantly to the growth of the Naxalite movement.
However, on the other hand it is also true that they (Naxalite) are also one of the major bearers
for non-development in these regions. As:
Naxalite creates conditions for non-functioning of the government and actively seeks
disruption of development activities as a means to achieve its objective of wresting
control.
Companies are hesitant to set up any industries in these regions due to fear of violence. Due to
the Naxal violence and their extortion business foreign and domestic investment remains low.
These problems are coupled with the lack of good transportation facilities which are also a
victim of Naxal violence.
It also means lower domestic investment and higher expenditure on defense at the cost of lower
expenditure on education and health
Micro-economic effects include lower tourist inflows, lower regional tourism market share,
reduced usage of public transport, reduced long term investments in agriculture and other
potential sectors, reduced enrollment in schools, lower job availability and lack of substantial
opportunities.
Thus, naxalism and underdevelopment form a vicious cycle which has perpetually taken in its
grip poor tribals areas which have been caught between the legitimate sovereign
power of the State and the illegitimate coercive power of the extremists who deliver instant
justice through peoples courts and other informal devices but offer no long-term solution to
ameliorate condition of these areas.
To break this chain, government should place trust on a mixture of the police stick and the
development carrot as the panacea for naxalism. While the ultimate goal of the left extremist
movement is to capture state power, its immediate manifestation is in the form of a struggle for
social justice, equality, dignity and honesty in public services. So, eorts to remove those
conditions which give rise to the acceptance of the ideology of violent left extremism have to be
taken in vigourous manner and this require an all-around development agenda for these areas.

Nov. 18, 2016

Healthy functioning of democracy thrives upon debate, discussion and deliberation. In this
light is it justified to ban NDTV for one day? Further discuss on, whether such laws should be
immune from judicial scrutiny or not?
Approach:
Introduction (Write democracy angle)
NDTV ban: is it justified
Law under which ban was imposed: should we continue with such types
Conclusion
Answer:
Democracy is not just about electing the representative and remaining silent for rest of the term
but it thrives upon intense scrutiny of governmental action and in this process, critically review
the policy through debate, discussion and deliberation. However, recent government decision on
banning NDTV for one day on the name of National security is onslaught on this freedom.
Question is not whether we can ban or not on the name of National security but the way decision
was taken and which has thwarted democratic principles. The issues in the case are:
Who is going to take final call: Government took the final decision to ban on name of
national. This thwart very basis of democracy which rest on listening to others views and taking
a call.
Arbitrariness: According to NDTV channels broadcast took place long after the operations
were over, that the footage was already available in the public domain through Google Maps, and
that the governments singling out of NDTV India, which was just one among many channels
broadcasting similar footage. For reporting this, just NDTV cannot be held liable and action only
on this smell some foul play. Equality is hallmark of democracy and in this case, it seems
executive action has floated this norm.
Ban was justified by invoking section 5 of Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act of
1995 which prohibits any cable TV transmission that is not in conformity with the prescribed
programme code. This code is written in vauge terms and restriction put in place under the act
goes far beyond Article 19(2) of the Constitution, which allows the state to limit the freedom of
speech only through reasonable restrictions in the interests of specific, narrow-drawn
categories such as public order, defamation, or the security of the State.
Timing of action: There is no state of emergency and action was taken long after the terrorist
attack.

No judicial oversight: The Act effectively vests the power of banning television with the
government, without any judicial oversight. Once the prohibitory order has been passed, the
burden is then upon the TV channel or cable operator to approach the courts and attempt to have
it invalidated.
Banning, without any due procedure might restrict freedom of press where the broadcasters
would be hesitating to report truthful information of the common man in future that goes against
the ethics of Journalism.
Also by shifting the costs of censorship entirely from the government to the speaker, who must
move the courts to get a ban overturned, the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act
rewards state overreach. This is not only a problem with cable television. The Code of Criminal
Procedure allows the state to ban books in a similar manner, and the Cinematograph Act contains
an even more stringent regulatory regime for films.
This controversy of NDTV ban is good lesson to Indian democracy where it should rectify the
lacunas which might jeopardise Indian Democratic ethos in the future. There should not be any
blanket immunity to such laws from Judicial scrutiny on name of national security. To oversight
and to take final call government should set up a quasi-judicial body independent of the
government. The court ought to carefully scrutinise the governments arguments, refuse to
accord it undue deference, and grant its request only if it is convinced that a ban is both
necessary and proportionate in the circumstances.
However, this does not mean government should not have emergency power of blackout but that
should be used in situations which demand use of that kind of power and not in normal times. In
emergency situation also post facto; decision should be scrutinised by judicial body to have
legitimacy of governmental action. Onus to protect Nation dont just lie on the government but
on media as well. Media should strive to improve the quality of its self-regulatory institutions
and frame better guidelines to deal with conflict coverage.

According to the recent data released by National crime record Bureau, Juvenile crimes are
on upward trend and have registered sharp growth. What are the causes for rise in criminal
activities among juveniles?
Approach:
Introduction
Write causes
Conclusion
Answer:

Rise in Juvenile crimes which rose 47%, from 22,740 cases in 2010 to 33,526 cases in 2014 is
cause of serious concern and this forces We as a society to seriously look into the causes which
have led to this increasing number crime by Juveniles.
The reason for such rise are:
Deteriorating family structure and parent-child relationship: Family in this age of
globalisation and information dont have time to sit with their wards, they are left alone. Familys
place has been taken by Video games, T.V. etc. The games that todays children play on their
cellphones, laptops or personal computers are full of violence and aggression. Even the TV
programmes and movies nowadays are crime related and have violent content.
Over exposer to media: There is minimal communication even in friend circles, except for
playing games. In such a scenario, children, especially the youth, do not know where to stop or
what are the consequences of getting involved in criminal activities.
Vanishing love factor: Our social structure is becoming less and less conducive to bringing up
a child. Absence of love and understanding is bound to have a negative psychological impact on
tender minds and forces to move towards violent activity.
Broken families: A latest survey on the factors which predispose children into being in conflict
with law has found that a majority of them hail from families that showed vulnerabilities of
various nature. Among the major factors that pushed them into crimes were broken families,
frequent fights between members (either between parents or parents fighting with children), and
parents being involved in drug abuse or alcoholism. The latter has lasting repercussions as
parents then deny their wards of care and in turn facilitate his or her association with groups
that are deviant and have subsequent involvement in offences.
Criminal involvements of parents: Parents involvement in substance abuse like alcoholism,
smoking and use of drugs also forces juvenile towards crime.
Lack of awareness about consequences of act: Often, juvenile crime can emerge out of sheer
ignorance. A study done by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights found that a
majority (70.3%) of the children who were serving in the detention centres were quite unaware
about the consequences of their acts. It is inferred that driven by the immediate rewards and
other unique characteristics such as impulsiveness, adventurism/risk taking and susceptibility to
peer influence, they tend to make wrong choices.
Increasing juvenile crimes is a blot on our progressive society which on one hand boast of
economic development but on other loses out in social sphere. The onus to ensure that children
do not stray is with adults. At home and at educational institutions, they need to monitor the
behaviour of children and behave like role models for youngsters. Kids are not criminals but they
have lost track due to negligence of elders and society and for that effort have to be put in place
by community to roots out the condition which pushes juvenile towards delinquency.

Nov. 19, 2016

Indian health story needs rewrite taking into consideration the diversity and regional
inequality of disease profile. Critically analyse the statement in light of systematic issues
which plague Indian health system.
Approach:
Diversity and inequality of disease profile
What are issue in health sector?
Conclusion
India has no uniformity in disease profile neither in the age group and not on spatial basis.
Increasingly senile population, shifting disease base from communicable disease to Noncommunicable diseases, rise of mantle illness and diversified and regional inequality of disease
are new challenge to Indian health system.
Although, going by standard indicators like significant increase in the longevity of citizens,
keeping population under check, getting rid of some major illness like small pox, polio or
maternal and neonatal tetanus one would assume that all is well with Indian health system.
However, with respect to meeting its potential health outcomes and relative performance, the
country has faltered. Some of the issues which plagued Indian health system are:
Doctor Patient ratio: The shortage of doctors is one of the health-management failures in India.
A claimed doctor-patient population ratio of 1:1,674, worse than Vietnam, Algeria and Pakistan
Medical education: Six states, which represent 31% of Indias population have 58% MBBS
seats. On the other hand, eight states, which comprise 46% of Indias population, have only 21%
MBBS seats. These medical-education imbalances reflect larger public-healthcare issue.
Rural-Urban divide: Indias health services and health personnel, besides being grossly
inadequate, are inequitably distributed across and within states. Rural-urban inequalities
inevitably translate into differences in health outputs. For example, there is a 63% difference in
infant mortality rates and 44% difference in total fertility rates of rural and urban areas in India.
Despite the considerable shift in the disease burden of India from communicable to noncommunicable diseases, policy plans and funding have not altered in tandem with this paradigm
shift.
Other issue is of concern is rising profile of psychological disorder. This is alarming since
around 30% of Indias population falls within this group and India accounts for 15% of the
global mental, neurological and substance use disorders in the world. he stigma associated with
these issues coupled with a severe shortage of medical professionals in the field leads to suboptimal health outcomes.
Public health expenditure is not just low; it is also regressive. The poorest income classes
benefit less from the public health system than the better-off sections of society.
Another key issue plaguing health system of India is the high proportion of out-of-pocket
expenditure on health because of low insurance coverage and weak public health systems, which
forces even poor people to visit private medical practitioners, and drives up average health costs.

A bigger budget that irons out creases such as regional inequalities and accounts for a shifting
disease spectrum might be a good storyline to begin with but solution should not end here. Just
infrastructure or finance wont solve the problem. India need to focus on curative health care,
upgradation of primary healthcare systems, universal availability of tertiary care to all citizens,
increasing the availability of skilled healthcare workers at all levels to provide inclusive and
sustainable healthcare to all of its citizens.

What are the barriers which adversely impacting the quality of primary education in India?
What are your suggestion to improve quality in this important segment of education?
Approach:
Introduction
Barriers to quality education
Suggestions
Answer:
Education is a vital means for the potentialities of a human being to emerge in a positive
direction so that a man can live in society with full of dignity and the foundation of this is laid by
Primary education. One thing for which India should be given thumbs up is the enrolment at this
level which is close to 98 %. However, data of ASER tell a different story altogether. According
to this survey of all children enrolled in Standard V, about half cannot read at Standard II level.
This is worrying and fault is on the inherent flaws in our primary education system which are
adversely impacting the quality of primary education in India. Some of the barriers are:
Lack adequate infrastructure: These schools are neglected by states and lack even basic
facilities. District Information System for Education (DISE) report show that only 6 out of every
10 schools in the country have access to electricity and still 35 % schools dont have usable
toilets
Qualification of teachers: The quality of the teachers is also important for learning outcomes.
The DISE data shows that only 69% of all school teachers in the country have a graduate degree
or more.
Training and recruitment: A lot of the problems associated with elementary
education stem from unqualified and apathetic teachers who have not been adequately
trained to impart quality education. This is proved by the fact that close to half of all children
who are going to finish eight years of schooling but still not have learned basic skills in
arithmetic.
Focus on Curriculum and not on learning: Indian school focuses on completing the curriculum
and is not structured to provide extra help to children who are not moving ahead at the expected

pace or to those who are falling behind. Without the learning support that is critical, a large
fraction of Indian children slip through the cracks.
Overlooked: Primary teachers are required to perform a wide range of duties completely
unrelated to imparting education. These duties, including administering government programmes
such as immunisation clinics, assisting with data collection for the national census, and staffing
polling stations during elections, in addition to their teaching responsibilities, place significant
demands on teachers' time.
Just input based strategy of creating infrastructure will not solve problem of quality education, it
may be necessary to achieve schooling for all, it will not enable India to reach the goals of
learning for all. This require a holistic approach which not just addresses visible challenges (in
term of inadequate input) but invisible challenges as well which relates to their learning
outcome. Some of the steps that could be taken are:
Pedagogy technique: Teaching and learning must be viewed in the context of the learner profile
for this a greater focus on what evidence tells us about effective teaching and learning will
enable teachers to help every child achieve the highest possible standard in all aspects of their
education.
Grouping by level & not by grade can make teaching efficient and effective for acquiring these
basic skills quickly so that further progress can be made on the foundations that are built.
Focus should be to start from the childs level. Need to use appropriate methods to help them
progress.
To check absentee teachers and monitoring the learning active participation of community is
require.
Teacher Education: Training and exchange programme in the system will help teachers to
upgrade their pedagogy technique which would help to impart quality outcome to students.

Nov. 21, 2016

What is the significance of recently conducted India Japan Nuclear deal for India?
Approach:
Introduction
Significance
Any concern
Conclusion
Answer:
Signing of nuclear cooperation agreement with Japan is beginning of a new era of relationship
after Japan froze aid and announced economic sanctions on India within hours of Pokhran

nuclear test in 1998. After signing of nuclear deal with USA, this deal was necessary to put
Indias civil nuclear energy plants in gear mode as Japan is the leader in critical technology
required for setting nuclear power plants. The significance of this deal for India are:
The deal is critical to Indias renewable energy plans. Japanese companies that produce cuttingedge reactor technology were previously not allowed to supply parts to India. After this, there
would be no hindrance to supply of Japanese manufactured parts to India.
The nuclear treaty will not only pave the way for Japan to export nuclear technology to Indias
vast market, it is also a necessity for enabling Indias nuclear deals with the US, France and other
countries. Key elements of nuclear reactors, including safety components and the domes of
nuclear power plants, are a near-Japanese monopoly. Any deal would be significant for firms like
GE-Hitachi, Toshibas Westinghouse Electric Company and Mitsubishi-Areva.
This nuclear deal is Japans first deal with a non-signatory country to the Non-Proliferation
Treaty, and it recognises Indias exemplary record in nuclear prudence. It is indeed a muchneeded moral boost as New Delhi strives for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
Japan is leader in nuclear safety technology. With India going on war footing level to secure its
energy interest, a nuclear technology with much required safety is need of hour and in this regard
this deal would help in meeting the energy demand in a sustainable and safer way.
This step can also be looked as the first big move to build India into a regional counterweight
to China. Growing convergence of views between India & Japan, and strong ties will enable
them to play a stabilising role in Asia and the world.
However, nullification clause" that allow Japan to cancel the pact if India conducts a nuclear
test is a cause of apprehension. Nevertheless this clause in nuclear deal is nothing new and is
similar to termination clause in US- India nuclear deal. But termination wont be easy as it would
be a politically and commercially cumbersome process.
India currently has a moratorium on nuclear testing and intends to foster stronger commercial
ties with these countries in sector. Deeper the connect, more complicated the termination. So, the
signing of deal is a welcome move in portraying India as a responsible nuclear power as well as
meeting its growing clean energy demand.

What are the major geographical challenges of Inter river linking projects which aims to
connect Himalayan and Peninsular rivers?
Approach:
Introduction
Geographical challenges
Conclusion

Answer:
Rive linking is debated on the fact that spatially there is tremendous amount of water availability
and most of country swings between extreme ranges like flood and drought, water submergence
and chronic water scarcity. So, the idea is to connect water surplus region to water deficient
region. In this respect, National river linking programme aims to connect Himalayan and
Peninsular river system. However, there are various geographical challenge associated with this.
These are:
Challenge of water transfer: Plateau is at height of 900 meter from Northern plain area.
Interlinking of Himalayan and Peninsular component will require water to be pumped across
highlands and mountains. The amount of energy required for this is estimated to be 6-8 lakh
megawatts, around 3-4 times of current Indian capacity.
In India, Monsoon and flood cycle coincides for both Northern and Southern rivers. These
conditions are related to Indian Monson where 80% of rainfall confined to just four months of
rainy monsoon season. Due to this, it is unlikely that southern India will be willing to receive the
surplus water from North India when their own river are flowing at peak level. On the other
hand, it is unlikely that North India will be willing to part with water in lean season when they
themselves have problem of drought.
Project requires construction of dams of huge magnitude which may disturb isostatic
imbalance and cause earthquake as we have seen in case of Koyna dam.
It will have huge ecological impact where lakhs of hectares of forest will be submerged which
will disturb both upstream ecology as well as downstream ecology.
Dynamics of the River: Every river has its own quality and the mixing of water with another
river will affect the particular quality of the river which in turn will have effect on bio diverse
profile of river.
This not only has geographic challenge but socio-economic, geopolitical and federal challenges
too. One of the strong argument to go for river linking is to solve problem of drinking water,
flood or drought but these problems are not because of scarcity of water but mismanagement of
water. These problems can be efficiently managed at local level and other way would be to plan
small-small projects which connect rivers and not which completely change hydrology of water
regime before the concrete research study is concluded for linking North-South Rivers