Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Mains
Marathon
October 2016
The Journey of a Thousand Miles begins with the first step
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GS-1
INDEX
Questions
1. Since World War 2, European countries spoke passionately about the
universalization of human rights, but in 2015, when Europe faced the
refugee crisis, all these fine principles have been cast aside. In this context
bring out the implications of refugee crisis on Europe.
2. Rural Development is key to National Development. In the light of this,
discuss how rural transformation can be made more inclusive?
3. Analyze the impact of Globalization on the indigenous tribes of the
World.
4. Examine Prohibition imposed in certain states is often discriminatory to
the weaker sections of the society. Do you agree?
GS-2
Questions
19. Critically examine the need of a right based legislation in the health
sector on the lines of Right to Education (RTE).
20. Critically examine the evolution of National Education Policy in India.
How does the new Education Policy, 2016 improve upon the former
policies? The Mental Health care Bill is the first step towards recognizing
mental health as a health challenge. Critically examine discussing its salient
provisions.
21. Account for the choice of Prime Ministerial form of Government over
the Presidential form of Government in India.
22. The recent Constitutional crisis in Arunachal Pradesh does not augur
well for Indian federalism. Critically examine.
23. Does abolishing triple talaq interfere with the right to freedom of
religion? Critically analyze.
24. India best defense against state sponsored terrorism is to strengthen
military deterrence and diplomatic coercion against Pakistan. Critically
analyze.
25. Examine the need for a national water commission. What role can it
play in the management of water?
26. Is unilateral revocation of the Indus water treaty a viable non war
offensive against Pakistan? Discuss in detail.
27. Discuss the significance of the Trilateral Highway Project between India
and Myanmar.
28. The United Nations Security Council does not reflect the new world
order of the 21st century. In this context, discuss the need for UNSC
reforms.
29. What do you understand by domestic violence? How effective is the
Domestic Violence Act, 2005 in dealing with protecting women from
violence in domestic relationships?
30. What has led to the rise in consumer demand in Indian Economy?
Analyze.
GS-3
Questions
1. It took us centuries to develop the complex systems of values assigned to
lands in the agrarian settlement, which is being altered by urbanization
with new logics of efficiency and economy of service delivery. Elucidate.
2. In case global oil prices stays at the present low range, what can be the
long term implications on economy of India and world. What Policy
alternatives should India consider for that scenario?
3. Critically analyze the rationale behind tax disclosure scheme and its
effectiveness in dealing with black money.
4. Call drop problem has become one of the biggest problems for the 900
million-odd mobile subscribers in the country in recent times. Highlight the
factors causing call drop problem and suggest some measures to deal with
it.
5. Government has been promoting LPG as a clean and healthy cooking
medium compared to traditional Indian cooking mediums like dung cakes
and firewood. Highlight the benefits of using LPG over traditional mediums
and what are the barriers in introducing it universally in India?
6. How does the Chinese growth story differ from Indias? Discuss the
challenges that they face.
7. Policymakers in India are facing the dilemma between promoting the
generic industry for social welfare and development of healthcare sector . In
this context , how far will Indias new National Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR) Policy be helpful in balancing IP rights with needs of the nation's
poor for cheaper medicines.
8. It is said that development of molecular machines can be the beginning a
new industrial revolution of the twenty-first century. Write a short note on
Molecular Machines, also bring out their various possible applications?
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9. Discuss the loopholes in the land acquisition laws that have facilitated
Union and the various State governments in routinely acquiring land for
the benefit of private industry.
10. Despite having a enough potential and contribution to Indias
renewable energy, wind power sector has been subject to the neglect of
government compared to solar energy sector. Comment and also highlight
how Indias new policy for repowering of wind power project will be helpful
to promote wind power projects in India?
11. Whats ailing research and development in India? Suggest some
measures for development of R&D in India.
12. How far does India ease of doing business perception get affected by
domestic resistance to implement international arbitration. Examine with
suitable examples.
13. Innovation is the key to growth. In this light discuss the recent rise of
Startups in India. What recent changes have helped in the promotion of
Start ups in India?
14. Discuss the challenges faced by food processing Industry. What benefits
do food processing industries offer to various stakeholders.
15. What do you understand by National Technology Missions? Critically
examine any two National Technology Missions.
16. Evaluate the benefits of a Committee based approach to framing
monetary policy.
17. Briefly discuss the provisions of the new Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR) Policy? Suggest measures to bring a strong and effective IPR
governance system in India.
18. Air pollution is the worlds biggest risk to health. In this light, how does
particulate matter cause air pollution? How does it affect health?
19. Why does India find the Aviation emission cap for Civil Aviation by
2020 unjust? Cite reasons.
20. How would digital payments play a critical role in achieving the Digital
India vision?
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ANSWERS
GS 1
1. Since World War 2, European countries spoke passionately
about the universalization of human rights, but in 2015, when
Europe faced the refugee crisis, all these fine principles have
been cast aside. In this context bring out the implications of
refugee crisis on Europe.
Since the end of World War II, these countries owned the human
rights narrative as a proprietary feudal asset. They lectured the Global
South on human rights. They used it as a tool of their foreign and
economic policy. They spoke passionately about the universalisation
of human rights. But in 2015, as refugees from West Asia stream into
Europe, all these fine principles have been cast aside.
This is the time for developed countries in Europe to take the lead in
co-creating new approaches in international law, upholding existing
guidelines for refugees while pushing for even more humane
standards.
poverty. As India moves forward, with the overall GDP likely to grow
at 7-8% per annum till 2030, the share of agriculture in GDP will fall
further.
But to keep the rural transformation more inclusive for faster poverty
elimination, India will have to not only focus on raising productivity
in agriculture through higher R&D (seeds) and irrigation, but also
move fast to build value-chains for high-value agri-products like
livestock and horticulture, which account for more than half of value
of agriculture (cereals account for less than 20%).
Also, in health and education to have inclusive rural transformation.
If India can do it, and do it efficiently and in a participatory mode, it
can certainly hope to eliminate not just poverty, but also malnutrition
by 2030 and bring about inclusive rural development.
ii.
Beef Ban - recently imposed in Maharashtra affected lakhs of poor in
the supply chain.
iii. Alcohol ban - in certain states again hits poor as over the counter sale
is done by them.
Prohibitions are not planned well to provide alternatives to poor for
livelihood. They are ad hoc and done most of the time politically motivated.
This increases vulnerability of the poor.
However prohibiting alcohol benefit women and increases their safety at
home in public places. In fact demand to ban alcohol emanates from poor
women groups.
DPSP must be balanced with right to life under article 21 of the
constitution. State has the responsibility to develop a value laden society
but also must endeavor to fulfill everyones right to livelihood.
GS 2
1. Demand for reservation in jobs is escalating, in this context
critically analyze how helpful can be the reservation in
government jobs to handle increasing unemployment. What
should be the rationale behind providing reservation in jobs.
Reservation in Government jobs to handle unemployment
Since last two years there has been a constant reduction in latent
unemployment in the agri sector. But, this labour force in now
engaged in unorganized labour sector which has less to do with
reservation.
The underlying theory behind the reservation policy by India isunder-representation of the identifiable groups as a legacy of the
Indian caste system. The framers of the Constitution believed that,
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due to the caste system, SCs and the STs were historically oppressed
and denied respect and equal opportunity in Indian society and were
thus under-represented in nation-building activities.
Reservation not only provides social justice but also economic justice
as prescribed in constitution.
The Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) has laid out the process
for acquisition of equipment for the Indian Army, Navy and Air
Force.
The policy would make the system more transparent and cut out
delays But the centerpiece of the new policy is to boost home grown
defence industry.
The new DPP would help India reduce its dependency on foreign
countries and source defence equipment within India.
It will set the tone for a new procurement regime with a clear
intention to boost the Make in India initiative in the defence sector,
and to speed up the procurement process.
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Thus, the DPP favors a swift Defence Procurement Procedure which would
help in decision making and delegating powers to the appropriate
authorities to ensure an efficient and effective implementation of the
procurement process, by all the stakeholders concerned.
3. Does divesting in PSUs hinder the social welfare of a nation?
Also discuss the rationale behind pushing for divestment in
PSUs in India.
Possible implications
Use of geospatial information of India outside India - Fine ranging from Rs.
1 crore to Rs. 100 crore and/or imprisonment for a period up to seven
years.
5. India and Mauritius have agreed to amend their more than
two decade old tax treaty. What objectives does India and
Mauritius intend to achieve by that and what would be its
various possible effects?
India and Mauritius have amended their more than two decade old
tax treaty in Port Louis.
India gets the right to tax capital gains arising from transfer of shares
of Indian resident companies.
The protocol gives India the right to tax capital gains on transfer of
Indian shares acquired on or after 1 April 2017.
The protocol will tackle the long pending issues of treaty abuse and
round tripping of funds, curb revenue loss, prevent double nontaxation, streamline the flow of investment and stimulate the flow of
exchange of information between India and Mauritius
The great Himalayan Divide between India and China was in evidence
following the Chinese refusal to support India's case for entry into the
Nuclear Suppliers Group.
While non-entry into the Group is not the end of the world, for India
lives to fight another day, of concern is what the Chinese stance
implies for the bilateral relationship between the two Asian giants.
There are only two ways to deal with this power asymmetry; one is to
acquire and deploy capabilities which will make any aggressive
military move by China a risky proposition. The other is to enmesh
oneself more tightly in the U.S.-led countervailing coalition targeting
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Stern warnings about tough action and possible jail terms for those
who failed to declare their cartloads of black money may have added
punch to the Finance Ministrys pitch.
The Centre, however, must not consider this the end of its campaign
on black money. To put things in context, the average undisclosed
income per taxpayer under the scheme stands at Rs.1 crore; and
though the disclosures are nearly double those in the last income
amnesty scheme (around Rs.33,700 crore), nearly two decades have
passed since then, making comparisons misleading.
The tax department is aware that Rs.65,250 crore is just the tip of the
iceberg it had sent seven lakh letters to suspected evaders based on
information on about 90 lakh high-value transactions that took place
without PAN card details.
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The tax department must crack down on such evaders and spruce up
its data-mining methods to expand the countrys shallow tax base.
While the departments efforts have revealed undisclosed income of
over Rs.58,000 crore in the last two and half years, and more is being
pursued from tax havens where Indian holdings have come to light,
all of this is akin to treating the symptoms without addressing the
root cause.
Every person in India can use this act to find out information that can
make their lives better. Every citizen of India has a right to have
Information from public authorities.
Under the provisions of the Act, any citizen of india may request
information from a public authority which is required to reply within thirty
days. So, it ensures time bound delivery of information.
Misuses of RTI
Many a times, applications are filed only to harass the officers like
seeking details of an officer or beneficiarys private life.
Misusing the RTI includes blackmailing and no one can stop anyone
in doing so, because as per the law there is nothing mentioned in it about
denying the information to people.
Information which would impede the process of investigation or
prosecution of offenders
The Supreme Court was anointed the final arbiter of the Constitution,
and in the landmark Kesavananda Bharati case, it held that even a
constitutional amendment could not violate the basic structure of the
Constitution.
The Supreme Court did not take this opportunity to lay down any
system of transparency in selection of judges.
that those who have relevant information about the candidate can
send it to the appointing authority.
12. How can the amendments to HIV and AIDS bill, 2014 tackle
the challenges?
The bill requires that no person shall be compelled to disclose his HIV
status except with his informed consent, and if required by a court order.
Every HIV infected or affected person below the age of 18 years has
the right to reside in a shared household and enjoy the facilities of the
household.
Chabahar port has been jointly financed by India and Iran. India is
helping in building the port to get access to oil and gas resources in Iran
and central asian countries.
Chabahar lies outside the Persian Gulf and can be easily accessed from
Indias western coast.
From Chabahar port, the existing Iranian road network can link
up to Zaranj in Afghanistan.
It will open up route to landlocked Afghanistan where India has
developed close security ties and economic interests.
With the Chabahar Port agreement, India has not only engaged with
Indias long-term ally Iran, but has broken through the strategic
encirclement by China and Pakistan.
Winding down a disastrous, unpopular war in West Asia fit into USs
foreign policy narrative of regaining the trust of the Islamic world and
giving greater attention to other challenges.
The U.S. withdrawal came under major criticism only after the
Islamic State (IS) took over Iraqi cities in early 2014. Critics say the
withdrawal was too early and put Iraqi security at risk.
But such arguments overlook the fact that Iraq witnessed sectarian
civil war and massive bloodshed in 2006-07 at the peak of the
American invasion. So the presence of U.S. troops per se doesnt deter
jihadist violence in the country. On the other side, there are several
reasons, such as the sectarianism of the Iraqi government and the
chaos in Syria, that led to the rise of the IS.
Americas Iraq war and the rise of Shiites to power in Baghdad had
made Irans regional presence stronger.
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The U.S. has been actively present in the Syrian crisis from the very
beginning through its proxies. The nature and extent of U.S.
involvement in stabilizing a Middle East in chaos could have serious
implications for India.
Given the potential devastation from the use of even one nuclear
weapon, global nuclear disarmament must remain at the top of the
United Nations agenda.
It would be the height of folly to take for granted that such weapons
were too terrible ever to be used and that States would keep them for
deterrent purposes alone. As long as some States had developed such
weapons and as long as States stocked such weapons, there was
always a risk that they might resort to using them.
17. The best way to fight terror is to not by war, but by political
and economic isolation of nations that sponsor terror. Examine
how regional associations like SAARC can contribute to a
terrorism free world.
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The war against a common enemy like terrorism must unite members
of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
and not divide them.
It is a menace that has taken a heavy toll on the economic and social
fabric of almost all our countries. Terrorism poses an existential
threat to the civilized world, and it must be defeated. No country
should ever be allowed to facilitate or allow cross-border terrorism.
All the leaders of South Asia must unite and take a firm stand and
decisive action to eliminate terrorism which stands as an obstacle to
the achievement of the goals that we envision for the region.
18. Critically examine the Draft National Policy for Women 2016.
Evaluate how far it will succeed in the empowerment of Indias
women, in the 21st century.
National Policy for Women, 2016, will replace the National Policy for
the Empowerment of Women, 2001. Apart from the safety issues, the
draft also seeks to address the emerging challenges confronting
Indian women.
Planning
and
Administration
(NUEPA)
will
be
Finally, the government will take steps for reaching the long pending goal
of raising the investment in education sector to at least 6% of GDP as a
priority.
21. Account for the choice of Prime Ministerial form of
Government over the Presidential form of Government in India.
Difference between Parliamentary system and Presidential system:
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In the presidential system, the executive is free from the evils of party
influence in his daily administration as compared with parliamentary
form of government. His ministers are not political in nature nor he is
leading a political party in the legislature. This allows him required
freedom to carry on his administration without any obstacles.
Conclusion:
This was the second time that Presidents Rule was imposed in the
State after it was granted full statehood in 1987. There followed bitter
recriminations between the Congress and the National Democratic
Alliance (NDA). On February 19, Presidents Rule was lifted.
The same day, the Supreme Court rejected the Congress plea for a
floor test in the Assembly, and on February 20, Pul was sworn in as
the Chief Minister.
Chief Minister Nabam Tuki resigned, a few hours ahead of the muchanticipated floor test. Pema Khandu, son of former Chief Minister
Dorjee Khandu, was elected as the chief of the Congress Legislature
Party.
These events therefore, did not hold good for Indian federalism as it
saw interference of the Union government into the political matters
and government formation of the state government.
In spite of its positional advantage, India has never used water as a military
tool, even in times of war. The revocation of the Indus water treaty as nonwar strategy will create following problems:
i.
Deteriorate bilateral relation - It may set off a spiral of discontent and
mistrust between the two countries. Peace may always remain elusive.
ii.
International credibility - Article 54 of Protocol I to the Geneva
Convention prohibits actions targeting civilian populations. 65 per cent of
Pakistans territory is part of the Indus basin which makes them overtly
dependent on the river.
iii. Regional stability Dhaka, Kathmandu or Thimphu may perceive
India as a unilateralist state. India must be seen to have inclination for
benefit-sharing. Only then Indias leadership will be accepted.
iv.
Indias position as a lower riparian state Indias actions as an upper
riparian country run the risk of seriously undermining its position as a
lower riparian state vis--vis China. On Brahmaputra, India has stakes in
institutionalizing norms of first-user rights, joint management and
consultative processes. If India chooses to renege on its own international
obligations then it will be unrealistic to expect cooperation from China.
However India should not be perceived as a soft state. India must take the
fight against terrorism in a targeted manner against terrorist groups.
Institutionally in U.N India can take the fight against Pakistan. Using
regional groupings like BIMSTEC, India can try to diplomatically isolate
Pakistan.
Water is an essential commodity. Poor will be most hurt by its scarcity.
Hence using Indus water treaty will be against the ethos of India.
27. Discuss the significance of the Trilateral Highway Project
between India and Myanmar.
Trilateral highway project between India, Myanmar and Thailand will have
following significance:
i.
Strategic
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It will help in our Look East Policy. Our reach in Southeast Asia will
increase.
Our influence in Indian Ocean region will increase and help in power
balance vis--vis China.
Regional grouping like BIMSTEC may further increase and give us an
opportunity to diplomatically isolate Pakistan.
ii.
Economic
It will provide India direct access to the South-East and East Asian
markets. Trade potential with ASEAN will increase.
The highway can be connected to free trade zone proposed to be
developed at Sittwe Port in Myanmar.
In the second phase the highway is proposed to be extended to
Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Addition of Vietnam will be significant as it
is a member of TPP Agreement.
iii. N-E India will be better connected with East and S-E Asia. The
prospect to develop Food processing and other industry will increase
resulting in rapid development of the region.
iv.
Political Better regional cooperation through the project will help in
strengthening fight against terrorism, Disaster management, Piracy and
will bring peace and stability in the region. This will also help in our bid to
UNSC reform.
Infrastructure projects become drive of growth and development. Hence
the trilateral project must be completed in time bound manner.
28. The United Nations Security Council does not reflect the new
world order of the 21st century. In this context, discuss the need
for UNSC reforms.
has changed relatively little since 1945, when wartime victors crafted
a Charter in their interest and awarded "permanent" veto-wielding
Council seats for themselves.
The Club of Four, or the G-4, comprising Japan, Germany, Brazil and
India that got formed to collectively lobby for permanent membership
in an expanded UN Security Council.
Each of the four has the gravitas necessary for entry into this most
exclusive of clubs within the UN system, although eyebrows may get
raised at yet another European country being included in a group,
where the continent is already well represented, with the UK and
France being permanent UNSC members.
The apex court has ordered striking down of the two words from
Section 2(q) of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act,
2005, which deals with respondents who can be sued and prosecuted
under the Act for harassing a married woman in her matrimonial
home.
Retail loans, too, are rising, and this boom is likely to support the
broader economic growth in the current financial year.
Sales of consumer durables such as TVs, refrigerators, airconditioners and washing machines are expected to grow by 30
percent.
If India continues on its current high-growth path, over the next two
decades the Indian market will undergo a major transformation.
Income levels will almost triple, and India will climb from its position
as the twelfth-largest consumer market today to become the world's
fifth-largest consumer market by 2025.
While the initial stages of the BRICS countries coming together did
not yield much, the pace of developments has significantly picked up
in recent years.
The BRICS countries would nevertheless show their support for the
G20 countries in playing a prominent role in steering the economic
leadership of the world.
It's true that economic cooperation among the five BRICS countries is
very important and would give a boost to manufacturing.
China and India are the second and seventh largest world economies,
respectively, ranking the second and first in terms of growth rate, and
first and third in terms of contribution to world economic growth.
i.
Strategic
It will help in our Look East Policy. Our reach in South East Asia
will increase.
Our influence in Indian Ocean region will increase and help in power
balance vis--vis China.
Regional grouping like BIMSTEC may further increase and give us an
opportunity to diplomatically isolate Pakistan.
ii.
Economic
It will provide India direct access to the South-East and East Asian
markets. Trade potential with ASEAN will increase.
The highway can be connected to free trade zone proposed to be
developed at Sittwe Port in Myanmar.
In the second phase the highway is proposed to be extended to
Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Addition of Vietnam will be significant as it
is a member of TPP Agreement.
iii. N-E India will be better connected with East and S-E Asia. The
prospect to develop Food processing and other industry will increase
resulting in rapid development of the region.
iv.
Political Better regional cooperation through the project will help in
strengthening fight against terrorism, Disaster management, Piracy and
will bring peace and stability in the region. This will also help in our bid to
UNSC reform.
Infrastructure projects become driver of growth and development. Hence
the trilateral project must be completed in time bound manner.
i.
Building infrastructure With budgetary allocation tripled for SBM,
more infrastructures like community toilets with adequate water facility
must be built.
ii.
Behavioral change Through various surveys it is known that people
do not use toilets despite having the facility of same in their houses. This
demand for behavioral change in people. The components of Information,
education and communication of SBM should be increased from present
1%.
iii. Understanding the beliefs of locals - Manual pit emptying is stigma in
rural areas as it is a work traditionally associated with lower class. The kind
of toilet promoted by government under SBM requires the same. More
research should be done to understand the behaviour of people.
iv.
Bio-digester toilets can be built under SBM. This will create
renewable energy and also obviate the need of manual pit emptying.
v.
Innovative measure Rajasthan government has stated to form
teams of young boys to patrol the fields early morning. People doing open
defecation feel shy and have stopped. Similarly in a district in Kerala
children in school are asked to say OD (open defecation) or ODF (Open
defecation free) instead of Present or absent. This has caused children to
persuade their parents to use toilets.
vi.
Awareness campaign through videos, nukkad natak etc.
SBM will have to build both physical and behavioral infrastructure to make
India open defecation free.
ii.
Regional Connectivity Apart from India no two countries are
connected in SAARC except for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Interstate trade
infrastructure is also abysmal. On the other hand BIMSTEC countries have
number of infrastructural projects on the offing like Kaladan project, IndiaMyanmar- Thailand highway, BCIM corridor, BIMSTEC economic corridor.
iii. Trade potential BIMSTEC countries are more open to trade. If
Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore can be inducted in the group then trade
potential will go even higher.
iv.
Integration with other groups like ASEAN, TPP etc will become
easier through BIMSTEC.
v.
Unifying factor like shared Bay of Bengal and benefits and losses in
form cyclones etc, concern with china assertiveness etc better bind
BIMSTEC countries.
vi.
Cultural ties Most of the countries profess Buddhism whose roots
are in India.
37. Discuss the various features of Indias nuclear Doctrine. Is
there a need to revisit the Doctrine? Critically examine.
Indias nuclear doctrine was first enunciated following a Cabinet
Committee on Security (CCS) meeting in January 2003 over four and a
half years after the May 1998 tests.
Indias nuclear weapons were meant only for self defence, that India was
not interested in arms racing, and encapsulating concepts such as no first
use of nuclear weapons and their non use against non nuclear weapon
states.
Main Features of Indias Nuclear Doctrine:
1. Building and maintaining a credible minimum deterrent;
2. A No First Use posture; nuclear weapons to be used only in
retaliation against a nuclear attack on Indian territory or on Indian
forces anywhere;
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ECCE for children from four to five years of age be declared as a right.
This would facilitate pre-school education by the government instead
of the private sector until children reach six years of age.
The Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009: Currently, the norms for
infrastructure and quality have been laid down only for private
schools. The Committee recommended that the RTE should be
amended to provide uniform norms for recognition of both,
government and private schools.
39. What role can India play in non-escalation of the South China
Sea dispute?
Southeast Asia and its contested littorals matter to Indian interests. Indian
trade and economic linkages in the Pacific are becoming stronger and
deeper. India can play following role in averting the escalation of the South
China Sea dispute:
i.
India followed the arbitration of ICJ in which 4/5th of disputed
maritime territory was given to Bangladesh. India can persuade other
countries to follow the judgement of ICJ and elevate the sanctity of its
Judgement. This will make it difficult for China to violate the judgment.
ii.
Help in building capability of littoral state like Vietnam to reduce
asymmetry of power.
iii. Help in acceptance of the principle of freedom of navigation and
commercial access as enshrined in the UNCLOS.
iv.
Highlight the issue of environmental degradation. This will make
China accountable for building Islands and destroying coral reefs in South
China Sea.
v.
Military alliance in Indian Ocean may make Chinas presence
difficult. This can be used as a concession to ease up the situation in South
China Sea.
Issue of South China Sea must be dealt with persuasion, Arbitration and
coercion as a last resort.
40. What are the key amendments to the Maternity Benefit Act,
1961?
The Act provides maternity leave up to 12 weeks for all women. The
Bill extends this period to 26 weeks. However, a woman with two or
more children will be entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave.
The Bill introduces maternity leave up to 12 weeks for a woman who
adopts a child below the age of three months, and for commissioning
mothers. The period of maternity leave will be calculated from the
date the child is handed over to the adoptive or commissioning
mother.
The Bill requires every establishment with 50 or more employees to
provide for crche facilities within a prescribed distance. The woman
will be allowed four visits to the crche in a day.
An employer may permit a woman to work from home, if the nature
of work assigned permits her to do so. This may be mutually agreed
upon by the employer and the woman.
The Bill requires an establishment to inform a woman of all benefits
that would be available under the Bill, at the time of her appointment.
Such information must be given in writing and electronically.
Several expert bodies like the WHO have recommended that 24 weeks
of maternity leave is required to protect maternal and child health.
However, since the costs of this leave are to be borne by the employer,
it may have an adverse impact on job opportunities for women.
Various countries have implemented different funding models in
relation to maternity benefits. In some countries the employer bears
the cost, while in some others it is paid by the government.
While women will be provided with 26 weeks of maternity leave for
two children, the period of leave for a third child will be 12 weeks.
This could affect the growth and development of the third born child.
The Act and Bill cover women workers employed in establishments
with 10 or more employees, and other notified establishments.
iii. Individuals who do not have aptitude and appetite to win direct
elections too are able to contribute to the legislative process.
However in current times of strengthening direct democracy there is little
relevance of Legislative councils and it should be scrapped on following
basis:
i.
They can be used to park leaders who didnt win election. As per Lok
Sabha data, 21 present MPs were MLCs earlier.
ii.
iii.
v.
Participation in governance and policy formulation for citizens not
going for direct election is easier now through RTI, mygov.in, responding to
governments questionnaire etc.
There should be systemic measure to make Legislative assembly more
accountable to the people and Legislative council must be scrapped.
42. Critically examine the salient features of Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
The Code provides for the creation of multiple IUs. However, it does
not specify that full information about a company will be accessible
through a single query from any IU. This may lead to financial
information being scattered across these IUs.
After the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks against the US, the very discourse
of international relations and global politics has been transformed.
Prior to Sept. 11th, the dominant issues were geoeconomic in nature.
Globalization and humanitarian issues occupied the agendas of
international summits and international organizations.
To encourage the democratization of Arab and other mainly Muslim
nations is to ride in the slipstream of technological evolution, which
at the moment has anti-autocrat tendencies.
And steering nations toward economic modernization is largely a
matter of tearing down trade barriers and letting capitalism do what
it naturally does.
The ongoing globalization of technology and commerce, it would
seem, amounts to an autopilot anti-terrorism machine.
This clash of cultures, by itself, needn't be a huge problem. Sure, the
encroachment of modern values on traditional culture will create
friction, including resentment and even disgust.
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will give dignity and confidence of weak and poor and bring them on the
path of inclusive development.
The Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India have undertaken
concerted measures to extend financial inclusion i.
PM Jan Dhan Yojana was set up to remove financial
untouchability.
ii.
Special banks
a)
Mudra Bank Will give loans in niche areas like MSME etc
b)
Payment and Small Banks especially designed to serve lower
section of society.
iii. Special schemes - Start-up-India and Stand-up-India brings easy
credit to special categories for inclusive growth.
iv.
Banking correspondent serves the purpose of regular bank in
remote areas.
v.
Financial literacy programme to help people take maximum
advantage from available financial products.
45. India has moved from its Look East to Act East Policy which
promises a greater role and partnership in the ASEAN region
and RCEP negotiations keeping in line with its status as an
emerging global power. Critically examine.
South East Asian region has always been strategically important to India.
India's relations with ASEAN countries have blossomed in past few years.
New Delhi's strategic upgradation in the policy towards the region i.e. from
Look East to Act East has following evidences:
India and Russia have one of the strongest strategic partnership. Both
counties have stood by each other in difficult times. But recent recalibration
of Russias foreign relation has impacted relation with India:
i.
Russia has reevaluated it relationship with Pakistan. It doesnt see
Pakistan as terror supporting state rather have declared than Pakistan is
also one of the victims of terror. Russia gave full support to Pakistan's
membership for SCO; conducted Joint military exercise; signed deal for
MI-35 helicopters. This is the major reason for recent easiness in the
relation.
ii.
Russias aggressive policy towards Crimea and sour relation with
West has made situation difficult for India who believe in multi-alignment.
India may find difficult to balance relation with U.S and Russia.
iii. Russias unconditional support to China on the issue of South China
Sea is also a matter of concern for India.
But Russia has made clear that relation with Pakistan is not at the cost of
relation with India. Relation with India is much deeper and stronger.
Recently India also signed deal to procure Moscow's most advanced antiaircraft defence system - S 400 Triumph. Russia, under sanction from the
west, may find it prudent to gather more friends and ally. India is aware of
Russia problem and has also supported it at international fora. Russia
supported India decision for recent surgical strike. Hence with
reciprocation from both sides relation can not only be maintained but
strengthened with time.
47. Examine the significance of Antarctic
Expedition (ACE) that was held recently.
Circumpolar
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key did not explicitly support
Indias application to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group, but only
committed to contribute constructively to the process to reach a
decision by an early date.
The formulation of the Kiwi response was similar to the noncommittal statement made by Brazilian President Michel Temer, who
expressed understanding about Indias position at the bilateral
meeting in Goa earlier this month.
New Zealand is part of a group called the New Agenda for Coalition
which promotes the NPT and pushes for nuclear disarmament
worldwide.
Recently New Delhi and Male patched up its ties and signed a crucial
action plan on defence cooperation. Indian Maldives relation,
although strong, is influenced by China. India seems to have adopted
a pragmatic approach in dealing with Maldives and will help to
counter the influence of China.
The 10% cap on subsidies will not be feasible for developing nations
like India to accomplish.
GS 3
1. It took us centuries to develop the complex systems of values
assigned to lands in the agrarian settlement, which is being
altered by urbanization with new logics of efficiency and
economy of service delivery. Elucidate.
2. In case global oil prices stays at the present low range, what
can be the long term implications on economy of India and
world. What Policy alternatives should India consider for that
scenario?
Following are the implications of low global oil prices:
i.
Economic Fiscal health of non oil exporting countries like India,
China, Japan etc will improve. CAD will decrease and Forex reserve will
build up. But oil exporting countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela,
Russia etc suffer economically.
ii.
Social Workers in OPEC countries will become vulnerable to
becoming unemployed due to contraction of their economies. India having
huge number of workers in those countries may face problem in this front.
Further, most of oil resource rich countries have low level of social
development. Less government revenue owing to low prices will further
make human development difficult.
iii. Political Regional conflict over control of oil reserves will further
increase.
iv.
Environmental Low oil price will be a disincentive for investment in
clean energy. Shale gas exploration in U.S.A has been slowed down due to
low oil price. Countries may miss on Intended Nationally Determined
Contributions target.
The opportunity provided by low oil prices should be tapped well by
following Policy alternatives:
i.
Strategic storage More agreements for underground storage of
crude oil like the one we have with United Arab Emirates (UAE)
government should be signed with other oil exporting countries.
ii.
Oil refineries Indias already well-established oil refineries should
be beefed up to capitalize further on low oil prices.
iii.
iv.
Investment in renewable energy Fiscal benefit accrued from low oil
price must be used in research and development in renewable energy to
translate it into long term benefit.
With futuristic policies long term benefit can be gained from the present
low oil price.
3. Critically analyze the rationale behind tax disclosure scheme
and its effectiveness in dealing with black money.
Stern warnings about tough action and possible jail terms for those
who failed to declare their cartloads of black money may have added
punch to the Finance Ministrys pitch.
The Centre, however, must not consider this the end of its campaign
on black money. To put things in context, the average undisclosed
income per taxpayer under the scheme stands at Rs.1 crore; and
though the disclosures are nearly double those in the last income
amnesty scheme (around Rs.33,700 crore), nearly two decades have
passed since then, making comparisons misleading.
The tax department is aware that Rs.65,250 crore is just the tip of the
iceberg it had sent seven lakh letters to suspected evaders based on
information on about 90 lakh high-value transactions that took place
without PAN card details.
The tax department must crack down on such evaders and spruce up
its data-mining methods to expand the countrys shallow tax base.
While the departments efforts have revealed undisclosed income of
over Rs.58,000 crore in the last two and half years, and more is being
pursued from tax havens where Indian holdings have come to light,
all of this is akin to treating the symptoms without addressing the
root cause.
4. Call drop problem has become one of the biggest problems for
the 900 million-odd mobile subscribers in the country in recent
times. Highlight the factors causing call drop problem and
suggest some measures to deal with it.
Call drop is- "a voice call, which after being successfully established, is
interrupted prior to its normal completion (and) the cause of early
termination is within the network of the service provider.
What Causes Call Drops?
Reasons for call drop are technical and non-technical issues. Primary
among the technical reasons include lack of radio coverage, radio
interference between neighbouring cells, imperfections in the functioning
of the network, capacity constraints and overload, transmission media
related problems and unauthorized repeaters.
Non-technical issues could be low battery, low funds in pre-paid
connections. Even if you are miffed with your partner and disconnect the
call, it's considered a call drop.
1. Inadequate coverage which can be due to multiple reasons
o Lack of tower infrastructure
o Improper network planning
o Non-optimization of network
2. Overloaded cell towers number of subscribers are growing day by
day and most of them are on smartphones. The network capacity is
simply not being ramped up at the same pace resulting in
overloaded networks
3. Cityscape changes there have been instances where a new
multistoried building comes up and the adjacent buildings
subscribers lose cell reception. Such instances are very common
with rapidly changing cityscapes and call for routine network data
analysis from service providers.
4. Switching between towers this situation occurs when a person is
traveling or moving around while talking. If a call handover takes
2.
Allay Radiation Fears: With radiation scare causing major concerns,
ideally telcos can take a collaborative route and use print, digital media to
spread awareness. This will naturally result in citizens coming forward and
proposing locations for newer towers as it involves monetary benefits.
3.
Use Analytics: Customers must not have to undergo hardships to
solve call drop issues. Through the use of sophisticated analytics, operators
must be in a position to assess the health of their networks, measure the
quantum of call drops and address them accordingly.
4.
On the LTE front: LTE offers more benefits in terms of spectral
efficiency.
5.
Technologies like Wi-Fi offloading must be rolled out in a faster
manner.
6.
Indoor coverage: Indoor coverage has always been a problem,
especially with higher frequencies.
7.
LPG is less harmful to the environment, with minimal sulphur
content and lowest black carbon emission to the atmosphere. It has the
lowest CO2 emissions amongst all refined fuels.
Swifter cooking of foods. LPG can cook quicker than any other
available alternatives as it has huge calorific value.
The reform process of China included transforming agriculture,
opening up of industrial sector for the growth of local enterprises, or
putting substantial effort to make state- owned enterprises more efficient.
Chinas real GDP measured at purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2011
international dollars is now 2.4 times that of India. .
Apart from these, there is another problem with the growth story of
India. According to the Economic Survey, more than 90 percent of labor
force is self-employed or is in unorganized sector.
This means inferior work quality and poor working conditions - both
of which hampers productivity. Also, a large percentage of Indias labor
force is unskilled or uneducated.
The Policy also seeks to facilitate domestic IPR filings, for the entire
value chain from IPR generation to commercialisation. It aims to
promote research and development through tax benefits.
However, some believe that the policy shows that the government has
not succumbed to demands from the US, but that it should have made
the policy more radical to protect Indias generic industry.
It also says India will continue to utilise the legislative space and
flexibilities available in international treaties and the TRIPS
Agreement. These flexibilities include the sovereign right of
countries to use provisions such as Section 3(d) and CLs for ensuring
the availability of essential and life-saving drugs at affordable prices.
The policy left the countrys patent laws intact and specifically did not
open up Section 3(d) of the Patents Act, which sets the standard for
what is considered an invention in India, for reinterpretation.
They could even detect any disease before we see any symptoms. They
could one day lead to the design of a molecular computer which could be
placed inside the body to detect disease before any symptoms are exhibited.
The colonial-era law might stood repealed by the loftily named Right
to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act of 2013 (LARR Act).
Under the 1894 statute there were broadly two forms of recognised
expropriation: one, acquisition for public purpose for governmental
use, and two, forced transfer of land from private individuals to
corporations for the latters commercial use.
The statute not only defines public purpose with greater clarity, but
also mandates that where acquisitions are made for the benefit of
private companies, the prior consent of at least 80 per cent of the
affected landowners ought to be secured. But this legislation doesnt
negate the value in Justice Gowdas judgment, not least because the
power to make laws on acquisitions vests both with the Union and the
State governments.
The LARR Act was never going to be a panacea to all these evils; its
barely revolutionary when you consider that it does little to topple the
states supposed sovereign hold over all land.
The new policy for repowering of wind power project will provide a
fillip to new investment proposals and infuse a fresh lease of life in
the ailing sector.
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Two, both the public and private sectors in India invest a woefully
small amount in research and development (R&D)less than 1% of
the countrys GDP. This compares poorly to leading nations such as
Israel, Finland and the US who invest anywhere from 3-6% of their
GDP in R&D and innovation.
Time after time, nations such as Finland, Japan and South Korea
which have successfully transformed themselves into innovation
destinations have shown that a collective national vision and strategy
for innovation are critical.
Countries such as China and South Korea have shown how a focused
approach on a few sectors that mobilizes resources and leverages
knowledge transfer can lead to success. Doing this is not easy and
India has had its share of failures in the past.
There are attempts being made to promote awareness and adopt IPRs
by Startups and facilitate them in protecting and commercializing the
IPRs by providing access to high quality Intellectual Property services
and resources, including fast-track examination of patent
applications and rebate in fees.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Bill 2015 (IBB), 2015 has provisions
for the fast track and / or voluntary closure of businesses.
The government has also outlined a plan to address the low scale of
processing activity in the country by setting up the mega food parks,
with integrated facilities for procurement, processing, storage and
transport.
of
Immunizations:
The mission also launched Indias polio vaccine production capacity. In
1987, India had zero production capacity. With government backing, they
began to study France and Russias methods. Several years later, India was
producing all of their own vaccines.
Telecommunication:
The official goal of the telecom mission was to improve service,
dependability, and accessibility of telecommunications across the country,
including rural areas. This was through indigenous development, local
young talent, rural telecom, digital switching networks, local manufacturing
and privatization.
While strong bouts of pollution can make breathing hard and increase
respiratory problems, they also provoke low-grade pulmonary
inflammation, accelerating the development of atherosclerosis, a leading
cause of heart disease and altering heart function.
Particulate matter therefore, causes serious harm to the body and thus has
adverse effect on the health of a person.
19. Why does India find the Aviation emission cap for Civil
Aviation by 2020 unjust? Cite reasons.
Developing countries, such as India, are resisting curbs that they feel
will obstruct their economy's growth.
New Delhis concern stems from the decision to cap the amount of
carbon dioxide produced by international civil aviation at the amount
produced in 2020. The aviation sector in India is far from mature
growing at a rate of 23 per cent annually.
The high cost of cash stems from large volumes of cash flow in the
Indian economy relative to its peers across the globe.
Digital payments will pay a critical role in achieving the Digital India
vision and in driving financial inclusion. Achieving this goal would
not only help us to bring more people into the formal financial
system, but also in reducing the size of the shadow economy and
delivering an increase in jobs.
Ever-increasing penetration of smartphones, the entry of several nonbanking institutions offering payment services, consumer readiness
to adopt digital payments, progressive changes in the regulatory
framework will power the trend for digital payments.
India has become one of the top five start-up ecosystems in the world,
alongside the US, China, the UK and Israel. The country today is
home to a strong angel investor network, with the sector witnessing
active participation from every major venture capital or private equity
firm.
Finally, large capital inflows from global investors has helped ignite
the entrepreneurial spark in our country. The vibrant start-up
ecosystem we see today is the result of all these positively reinforcing
mega trends.
The apex court has ordered striking down of the two words from
Section 2(q) of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act,
2005, which deals with respondents who can be sued and prosecuted
under the Act for harassing a married woman in her matrimonial
home.
Retail loans, too, are rising, and this boom is likely to support the
broader economic growth in the current financial year.
Sales of consumer durables such as TVs, refrigerators, airconditioners and washing machines are expected to grow by 30
percent.
If India continues on its current high-growth path, over the next two
decades the Indian market will undergo a major transformation.
Income levels will almost triple, and India will climb from its position
as the twelfth-largest consumer market today to become the world's
fifth-largest consumer market by 2025.
Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol which has set limits and dephasing of HFCs altogether is a welcome step. It has added feather to
India's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) an ambitious
target to reduce GHGs emission by 2030 by switching to Green / NonConventional sources of energy.
India can limit use of GHGs by stringent legal action and compliance.
MOEFCC must articulate the same by enacting a law and seeing it through
the Parliament.
Further, attempt at reining alternatives to the use of HFCs which are nonozone depletor can be used.
The DPP also addresses issues like incentives to move the Indian
defence industry up the value chain. Various provisions remove
ambiguities, ensure transparency, offer a level playing field and
clearly lay down procedures.
DPP 2016 has also opened up several co-development and coproduction avenues for Indian as well as foreign companies. The
ministry seems to have successfully bridged the gap between intent
and implementation.
End-users will literally have to exhaust all possible options of
domestic manufacturing before suggesting Buy Global
procurements.
26. India remains a bright spot in the global economy, but rising
non-performing assets (NPAs) in public sector banks remain a
challenge. Comment.
Financial sector is the backbone of any nation on which nation's entire
economy stands. A healthy bank balance sheet reflect the strength of
economy and enable the banking sector in generating long term credit
which will be further used for economic development of the nation.
However recent increase in NPA has led to debate of deteriorating
creditworthiness of banks.
1. Banks generate short term as well as long term credit for agriculture,
industries and service sector.
2. Increased NPA deteriorate banks capacity to lend to the sectors of
economy halting further economic development
3. Often NPA are product of irresponsible lending done by banks in boom
period in lure of getting easy return driven purely by sentiments.
Effect of NPA of public banks lead to overreliance on foreign banks:
1. Since world economy mostly developed countries has not overcome the
2008 financial crisis entirely, emerging markets like India provide good
opportunity due to its increased aggregate demand
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2. Hence India is attracting capital from all over the world from foreign
banks, FDI, FII due to India's demand for credit.
3. Since public banks are not able to lend now due to increased NPA, credit
requirement might be fulfilled through private banks and foreign banks.
4. considering foreign banks susceptibility of increasing profits, it will lead
to more aggressive lending by foreign banks, over reliance on foreign
money.
5 .Too much foreign money is risky for long term economic development
due to short run overflight of capital and it will lead to exchange volatility.
6. Also they are involved in cream skimming and less priority sector
lending.
Since India has started of late in process of economic development and
there is still unfulfilled market demand and supply constraints, it seems
there is unending demand in short run and hence India stand as bright spot
in global economy, rising banks's NPA worries will surely delay this process
until the bank's balance sheet are cleaned off.
27. What are the challenges faced by the food processing
industry in India to boost growth in this sector?
Food processing industry is considered as foundation of industryagricultural linkage, considering industry has strong backward and forward
linkages and agriculture has limited backward linkage, food processing
industry can offset the weakness in agriculture sector.
Challenges:
1. Infrastructure: roads, rail, waterways
2. Technology
3. significant number of small scale industries: lack of economies of scale
4. lack of innovation
5. lack of credit
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The tax collected from the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) 2016
will go into the Consolidated Fund of India and will be used for larger
welfare of people.
But the key significance of the success of the IDS is the lessons and
the learnings it provides.there is a global drive towards elimination of
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30. Can the International Solar Alliance (ISA) reduce the global
greenhouse emissions and provide cheap energy?
Not only are jobs fewer than before but those that are created are
precarious and badly paid because of the informalisation of the
economy.
Innovation in agriculture
Using solar panels in field which protect crops from heat and also
provides on field power for pumps.
Community owned lakes to make water available throughout the year
and also allow horticulture which provides better return.
iii. Climate smart agriculture - Growth of pulses, bajra etc must be
encouraged in dry areas. MSP must be set on regional basis to make
agriculture in harmony in with geological condition.
iv.
Social collaboration - Cooperative farming, land consolidation, SHGs
etc should be encouraged to give farmers better bargaining power and
choices.
v.
Investment Food processing industry to which agricultural sector
acts as feeder must be encouraged.
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vi.
Market integration Government must remove middlemen through
efforts like e-NAM.
Agriculture sector employs half of our workers. Improving this sector could
be one of the best strategy to bring about socio-economic development of
our nation.
33. India is one of the worlds fastest growing e-commerce
markets. Discuss the possible factors that drive the e-commerce
market in India.
E-commerce is term given to the digital marketplace hosted by online etailors who bring together buyers and sellers to sell goods and services
online. India is one of the fastest growing e-commerce markets in the world
and set to grow even bigger with to increasing adoption of internet and
mobile broadband.
The big players in the e-commerce market are Amazon, flipkart, ebay etc.
the factors that are driving the growth of e-com market are:
1. improving access to internet and mobile broadband especially in rural
areas, with the subscriber base of over 110 million and growing.
2. Improving digital literacy
3. growing disposable incomes and rising rural incomes
4. innovative models tailored to indian marketplace like cash on delivery
models suited to cash transaction based economy
5. Rising entrepreneurship and self employment with govt support enabled
by easier credit policies by banks
The e-commerce model has considerable potential to contribute to
employment creation by connecting household based and small enterprises
to customers, saving on logistical and office space costs. It is imperative
that govt comes out with a facilitative rule based e-commerce policy to
enable the e-tailers to go beyond warehousing and bring their expertise to
the indian market. A coherent policy will also encourage investor sentiment
and induce investment.
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34. How can India combat Vector Borne Diseases like dengue
and chikungunya?
With concerted effort vector borne diseases can be easily tackled. India can
adopt following measures:
Preventive
i.
Managing environment Behavioral pro-activeness like removing
breeding areas and garbage, changing waters in coolers etc , using mosquito
traps, ovitraps etc
ii.
ii.
iv.
Innovation eg Hawker is an indigenous mosquito and fly trapper
developed by Kerala resident. The device makes use of bio gas and smell of
septic tank to attract the mosquitoes. Once the mosquitoes get trapped, the
heat built up inside the device kills them. Such contribution from citizens
will be invaluable contribution.
Smaller nation like Sri Lanka and Maldives have successfully handled
vector borne diseases. India much better placed economically and
institutionally can also combat it effectively.
India has finally taken the giant step towards a unified Goods and
Services Tax (GST) regime with the Rajya Sabha granting approval for
the implementation of the much-awaited tax reform measure that
was first proposed three decades ago.
These incentives will come to an end in the new GST regime. The
indirect tax reform through the GST could, therefore, hike renewable
energy costs and pricing and hit investors.
Analysts expect the impact of the new taxation regime on the oil and
gas sector to be largely negative. This is because five petroleum
products - crude, natural gas, Aviation Turbine Fuel, diesel and petrol
- are excluded from the coverage of GST for the initial years while the
remaining petroleum products - kerosene, naphtha and Liquefied
Petroleum Gas - are covered within the coverage of GST.
36. Examine the reasons for the low tax-to-GDP ratio in India.
Suggest measures to improve this condition.
Indias tax to GDP ratio at 16.6% is well below the emerging market
economies (EME) and OECD averages of about 21% and 34% respectively.
Taxation is the key to long run political and economic development.
Therefore, bringing more and more people into the tax net via some form of
direct taxation will help in realizing the promise of Indian democracy.
Following reasons may be attributed to the low tax (Both direct and
indirect) to GDP ratio in India.
Structural factors like low per capita income. Low average incomes
and a high poverty rate result in a very small portion of the labor force
being eligible to pay personal income taxes.
Small tax base and its adverse effect tax buoyancy-Indias ratio of
taxpayers to voting age population is significantly less than that of
comparable countries (amounting to 4% while 23% is desirable). A small
tax base unnecessary burdens the honest tax payer4. According to shome
panel, in the last 10 years though the direct tax collection has increased by
more than 700%, the number of taxpayers has merely grown by 35%.
Efficient targeting of subsidies and phasing out tax exemptionsSubsidies to the well-off need to be scaled back, similarly tax exemptions to
be reviewed and phased out; reasonable taxation of the better-off,
regardless o where they get their income from-industry, services, real
estate, or agriculture.
India has world's fifth largest coal reserves and still faces acute power
crisis.
Challenges do exist in the sector, which India has to overcome to
evolve from a developing market to a matured market. Meanwhile,
the gap between what can be achieved and what is currently present,
uncovers a number of possibilities and opportunities for growth.
The National IPR Policy is a vision document that aims to create and
exploit synergies between all forms of intellectual property (IP),
concerned statutes and agencies.
The Policy recognizes that India has a well-established TRIPScompliant legislative, administrative and judicial framework to
safeguard IPRs, which meets its international obligations while
utilizing the flexibilities provided in the international regime to
address its developmental concerns.
-All airlines can now commence international operations provided that they
deploy 20 aircraft or 20% of total capacity (in term of average number of
seats on all departures put together), whichever is higher for domestic
operations
Bilateral Traffic Rights
-GoI will enter into 'Open Sky' ASA on a reciprocal basis with SAARC
countries and countries located beyond 5000 km from Delhi
Airport PPP/AAI
-Future tariffs at all airports will be calculated on a 'hybrid till' basis, unless
specified otherwise in concession agreements. 30% of non-aeronautical
revenue will be used to cross- subsidise aeronautical charges
Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul
-Provision for adequate land for MRO service providers will be made in all
future airport/heliport projects where potential for such MRO services
exists.
42. List some of the challenges faced by startups in India.
Analyze the provisions of Start-up India program.
Challenges faced by startups in India:
CapitalThe challenge is not to merely generate enough seed capital but also to
support in expansion and sustenance and maintenance. It is critical to plan
your finances in advance.
Lack of infrastructure supportInfrastructural support such as incubation and funding are not easy to find
in India. Irregular power supply, telephone reception network, etc. can be a
hindrance to the growth of any business.
Hiring the right talent-
- To find and hire the right kind of talent for the business with skills to
match growing customer expectations is one of the biggest challenges.
-With low salaries in comparison with other corporates,hiring skilled
manpower may not be possible and so you may have to settle for the next
best option.
There are deep benefits for both domestic and global industries in
this clear, predictable, and unifying approach.
Energy efficiency:
v.
Fuel efficiency
New vehicle fuel-economy standards of 4.8 liters per 100 kilometers.
Target of 20 percent blending of ethanol and biodiesel by 2017.
vi.
Other initiatives
Lenders have been asked to not issue any communication with regard
to card misuse as all the information will now come from RBI.
The central bank once again advised banks to review their security
arrangements under cyber security framework. Even in the last few
months RBI has been asking banks to step up the security to ensure
that chances of cyber fraud is minimised.
47. What are the parameters used in measuring the National Air
Quality Index? Discuss the ways India can tackle air pollution.
Air Quality Index is a tool for effective communication of air quality status
to people in terms, which are easy to understand. There are six AQI
categories, namely Good, Satisfactory, Moderately polluted, Poor, Very
Poor, and Severe depending on ambient concentration values eight
parameters PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, NH3, and Pb.
Air pollution which is major problem in urban areas can be tackled by
following measures:
i.
Research -
Improving the fuel quality and engine design to easily move to Bharat
Stage VI.
Understanding the sources of the short-lived pollutants like black
carbon and ozone.
Improved cook stove technology for rural areas, diesel filters on
trucks in urban areas etc
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ii.
Regulation
Mitigation
Adaptation
i.
The main consequence of El Nino is poor productivity due to lower
rainfall and also lower spread of rainfall. Production of water intensive
crops like rice, sugarcane, cotton etc is severely affected.
ii.
Due to lower income technological adaptation in agriculture is also
less.
iii. Even the milch animals go hungry in absence of fodder and it leads to
poor production of milk.
iv.
v.
Returning the loan becomes difficult for farmers. This creates
unwillingness in private sector banks to lend to agriculture sector.
Although effect of El Nino on Indian monsoon has not been understood
completely but there are evidences that it does influence Indian monsoon.
During normal year water circulation happens between Peru and Australia
and pool of warm water get collected around Australia called Western
Pacific Pool (WPP). From WPP air rise above and move towards Mascarene
High Pressure zone near East Africa. With Tibet as low pressure, air mass
traversing Indian Ocean, comes from the high pressure zone as monsoon.
But due to El Nino water circulation reverses from Australia to Peru and
High pressure at Mascarene is disrupted. This there results in weaker
monsoon.
49. Critically analyze the Doing Business 2017 report from
Indias perspective. Is the ranking system flawed?
However the report takes into account only the affairs of Delhi and
Mumbai. Large number of initiative of states is also not taken into
account. States have taken initiative like online VAT payment,
dedicated single window for G2B services and facilitation, online
environmental clearances, GIS based land identification system in
Gujarat, Udyog Mitra, e-biz Karnataka etc. The cumulative effect is
large but not considered.
Hence there is need for wider coverage in the report as India is a large
country. But at the same time more effort in indicators in which India
is lagging dealing with construction permits, starting a business,
paying taxes and enforcing contracts must be taken.