Does India need World Bank?
(Civil Services Exam 2009, 150 words)
The World Bank provides long term financial assistance for developmental goals in developing and underdeveloped countries. However there are conditionalities associated with the financial assistance of World Bank which generally envisage neoliberal and market reform agenda. According to critics these conditionalities make the ambience of the country “exclusive” since they are skewed in the favor of big multinational companies, corporate houses, rich countries and elites in the developing and under developed countries. Thus arise the debate “does India needs World Bank.”
India needs World Bank, in spite of the fact that argument against the World Bank has some merits. India has one of the lowest human development indices in the world. In various sectors social indicators are low, thus a huge investment is required for developmental work sectors such as health, education, energy and infrastructure. India is among the Bank’s top borrower with cumulative borrowing of about US $ 50 billion. From 1949 to 2000, the bank has extended about 215 loans and 292 development credit to India.
Therefore in order to mobilize the resources; at the rates lower than the market; for vital sectors of the economy and to improve the human development indices World Bank plays important role for India.
Discuss the impact of Globalization on the higher education in India.
(Civil Services Exam- 2006)
Globalization has linked the higher education in India with the market forces or in other words with global demand and supply. This has resulted into mixed impact in India; however the benefits of this are greater as compared to the drawbacks.
On the positive side, the globalization has infused competition in higher education in India as the sector is thrown open to the private players and foreign institutions. This has given more opportunities and choices to the students and has improved the quality of instruction along with the educational infrastructure. Last decade has witnessed a steep rise in the number of private institutions, which have immensely increased career opportunities for the students. Linked with the market forces, the higher education in India is now creating world class professionals to cater the demand. This has given huge impetus to the service and software sector of the country. For the students the floodgates are now opened for the foreign universities and multinational companies.
The flipside of this is roll back of the government from this sector, as a result of which the cost of higher education has increase manifold. This has further excluded the bulk of population which cannot afford higher education at the market prices. Globalization of higher education has also resulted creating homogeneous culture, promoting consumerism and erosion in traditional values and ethics.
Since Globalization is now a irreversible phenomenon across the world, public policy must tackle the grey areas related to this in higher education so that this become more inclusive.
Bring out the powers and responsibilities attached to the office of the speaker of the Lok Sabha?
(Civil Services Exam- 2010)
Speaker of the Lok Sabha is one of the most important offices in Indian parliamentary democracy.
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the Chief presiding officer of the Lok Sabha. There are various matters wherein the decision of Speaker is final. These includes the power to decide if a Bill is Money Bill, on matter relating to breach of privilege or contempt of the house and in the case to disqualify a member on the grounds of anti defection.
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha also presides over the joint sitting of both the houses in case of disagreement between the two houses.
All the committees of the Lok Sabha function under the control and direction of the Speaker. The Chairmen of the committees in the Lok Sabha are appointed by the speaker.
The speaker is responsible to maintain the decorum of the house and has the power to ask a member to withdraw from the house or even suspend the member for disorderly behavior.
Discuss the role of public sector during the post reform period of the Indian Economy?
(Civil Services Exam- 2006)
The role of the public sector has altered during in the neoliberal era after 1991. In the era of liberalization apart from the social objectives, it is envisaged that Public Sector should run on the sound market fundamentals so that they can compete with other players. Economy and efficiency are other two principles which the public sector is expected to inculcate.
Public Sector units in the era of liberalization are expected to compete with others in the ambience of level playing field. Various sectors which in the pre-reform era had the monopoly of the Public Sector are now open for private players. It is expected that Public Sector apart from its traditional social objectives should be competitive. The resources mobilized by them should come from market mechanisms rather than from governmental subsidies and tax payer’s money.
The performing units are also given higher autonomy for the expansion in the liberalized era. Status like Miniratna, Navratna and Maharatna are examples of this.
Disinvestment and privatization of the Public Sector Units are also the mechanisms which the government has leveraged in post reform era to mobilize resources for the social sector and other obligations.
Are the “Dedicated Freight Corridor” railway project and “Golden Quadrilateral” mutually complementary or competitive?
(Civil Services Exam-2010)
The Dedicated Freight Corridor railway project covers two routes i.e. Eastern Corridor from Ludhiana to Dakuni and western corridor from Mumbai to Dadri. The “Golden Quadrilateral” highway project connects the four metros. In the current scenario the two projects complement each other; it may be only in the future that these two might be mutually competitive.
One of the biggest growth constraints that India is facing currently is the paucity of infrastructure and physical connectivity. In such case nearly all of the infrastructural projects complement each other. The Rail network connecting the four metros Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata carry the country's heaviest rail traffic. These routes are highly congested; although they account for just 16% of Indian Railways rail track they carry more than 60% of the freight transported. The freight corridor of the railway and “Golden Quadrilateral” can both help to reduce this congestion. At present the demand for transporting freight is far greater than the infrastructure available. Moreover, in general railway projects cannot account for the final delivery of goods at the doorsteps, which is possible only through road transport. Thus the projects are mutually complementary of each other.
However it is only in the future when ample additional capacity is developed in rail and road wherein the demand matches with the options for transportation, then the projects like these can be competitive.
Discuss how state governments can exercise control over Panchayats?
(Civil Services Exam- 2004)
There are various ways in which the State government can directly and/or indirectly exercise the control over Panchayats.
Although in the 73rd Amendment Act, the 29 subjects which should be devolved to Panchayats are clearly mentioned. However it is the state legislature that have final say to confer on Panchayats such powers and authorities as may be necessary.
Panchayats are very much dependant on State government in the matter of finances. A large portion of Panchayats financial resources comes from the State government in the form of grants. The state bureaucracy is also very assertive on Panchayats because of the role and powers given to them. In some states District Rural Development Authority and District Collector are given roles of such kind which make them very assertive over the Panchayats.
The State Planning Bodies have power to amend, reject or modify the plans sent by the local planning bodies and recommendations Panchayats. In Various governmental developmental schemes for Panchayats like MANREGA etc, the bureaucracy of state has active monitoring role to play to regulate Panchayats.
Did Nehru really speak the “Language” of Gandhi? Locate the points of their agreements and departure.
(Civil Services Exam-1998, 250 words)
Agreement-disagreement dichotomy was a fact in the political ideologies of Nehru and Gandhi. During freedom both these leaders of the Congress agreed and worked together on many issues but there were issues where they took different stands.
Nehru was in agreement with Gandhi on issues like emancipation of rural India, constructive work, Satyagraha, Swadeshi and boycott of foreign goods to achieve political motives. There were no differences on the launch of mass movements like Non Cooperation and Civil Disobedience. Nehru was one the first volunteer for the Individual Satyagrha.
The economic ideologies and the developmental models of the two leaders differ to a great extant. Gandhi had deep faith in Class collaboration and trusteeship model while Nehru believed in class conflict. Unlike Gandhi, Nehru openly proclaimed himself as “a socialist”, he had deep sympathy towards the Trade Union and working class movement. Gandhi had faith in the developmental model based on cottage industry and decentralization. However Nehru favored development based on heavy industries with centralized planning on the lines of erstwhile Soviet Model. On political front Nehru criticized the withdrawal of Civil Disobedience Movement by Gandhi. He demanded “Complete Independence” much before Gandhi. Nehru also accepted the partition of India and Pakistan which was not acceptable to Gandhi.
“Compared to the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation Free Trade Area (BIMSTEC FTA) seems to be more promising.” Critically evaluate.
(Civil Services Exam-2011, 150 words)
The progress in SAFTA is slow as compared to BIMSTEC FTA, but it has huge economic potential which can be leveraged upon for the socio-economic development of the region. Thus both the initiatives are promising.
The flip side of SAFTA is that the political and border disputes between two of its biggest member country has always overshadowed the economic issues. As a result SAFTA is moving with a slow pace. Also in various sectors the member countries are competitors in the world market for example India and Bangladesh in case of Jute, India and Sri Lanka in the case of Tea etc. On the other hand members like Myanmar in BIMSTEC are very crucial in terms of their strategic geographical location and energy security in the region. Strong economic tie ups with countries like Myanmar and Thailand can give fillip to India’s Look East Policy. The sectors like Tourism, Fisheries, Energy, Transport and Communication, Technology etc has huge potential to flourish under the BIMSTEC FTA regime.
However, even if the pace of SAFTA is slow, it cannot be considered as less promising. SAFTA can play an important role in unified South Asian region. It can be a lucrative market as three thickly populated countries i.e. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are the members. The keen interest shown in SAFTA by countries like US, China, Russia, Japan and South Koera is the testimonial of the fact that its potential should not be underestimated
What do you understand by ‘repo rate’ and ‘reverse repo rate’? What are the implications in raising these rates?
(Civil Services Exam-2010, 150 words)
“Repo Rate” stands for repurchasing agreement between the Central Bank of a country and the other commercial banks. It is an instrument of monetary policy which is used to adjust the short term money supply in the economy.
Repo is a lending with collaterals i.e. the banks which borrow money from Reserve Bank to meet short term needs have to sell securities, usually bonds to Reserve Bank with an agreement to repurchase the same at a predetermined rate and date. Reserve bank charges some interest rate on the cash borrowed by banks this is called ‘repo rate’. The lender of securities is said to be doing repo whereas the lender of cash is said to be doing ‘reverse repo’. In a reverse repo Reserve Bank borrows money from banks by lending securities. The interest paid by Reserve Bank in this case is called reverse repo rate.
Implications of increasing these rates:
Increase in Repo or Reverse Repo rate squeeze out the money supply generally to control inflation. Increase in repo rate means that the bank which is lending from Reserve Bank has to pay more interest, this make borrowing dearer and thus control the excessive liquidity.
On the other hand increase in Reverse Repo means that Banks can earn more interest by lending money to Reserve Bank thus it is an incentive to them to lend the money to Reserve Bank. This also results in squeezing money supply from the economy.
Agricultural productivity in India remains low. Explain the reasons for this.
(Civil Services Exam- 2008, 150 words)
Agriculture productivity in India is very low as compared to the other countries. Various socio-economic factors as well as institutional and infrastructural bottlenecks are responsible this.
Indian agriculture is predominantly rain fed and substantial in nature. The size of average landholding in the country is one of the lowest in the world. The sector in the recent past has been marred by increasing fragmentation, low rate of capital formation and decreasing public investments. The use of farm inputs like fertilizers in India is much lower than the world’s average.
Institutional bottlenecks such as lack of political will for land reforms, land consolidation, proper land tenure system have resulted into low productivity. Lack of governmental support for the farm inputs, paucity of institutional finance and the use of obsolete technologies along with poorly directed farm subsidies are also responsible for the same.
Infrastructural factors such lack of public support for farm mechanization and paucity of irrigation facilities, power supply, credit at low rate, storage and processing facilities and marketing mechanism have resulted into low productivity.
What is “Round-Tripping” in the context of FDI inflow, and why has it been in the news recently in case of India?
(Civil Services Exam- 2010, 100 words)
It refers to the routing of the investment by a resident through a different country with whom the country has signed DTAA (also called tax heavens). The only purpose to do so is to avoid taxes. For example any Indian resident if invests directly in shares of an Indian company would have to pay capital gains taxes. However, if he routes his investments through an entity incorporated in Mauritius, the taxes can be avoided under a double taxation avoidance treaty (DTAA) between the two countries. Thus the resident can avoid the capital gains tax by routing his investment through tax heavens; this is called “Round Tripping”.
It was in news recently because of the bulk of media attention to opaque participatory notes (PN) off FII has given fillip to this practice.
“Many Englishmen honestly consider themselves the trustee for India and yet to what a condition they have reduced our country”. Critically analyze the statement with reference to the context in which they were made.
(Civil Services Exam- 2009, 250 words)
The statement was made by Nehru in 1929 while addressing Lahore Session of the Congress as the President. The fundamental idea behind this statement was to highlight the cause of peasant and working class. Through these words Nehru not only attacked the British Raj but also the Gandhian ideology within Congress which advocated for the trusteeship model, class collaboration and status quo.
According to Nehru, Paternalism in any form would not be able to emancipate masses and improve their condition. Some Englishmen even though they had good intention to improve the country and countrymen but since they considered themselves as the trustee for India actually perpetuated the colonial and class interests. The concepts like “Whiteman’s burden” were racist in the tendency and were not based on the tenets of equality and were the example of Paternal Despotism which was ignominious to native knowledge, culture and civilization. The idea of trustee did not devolve the power equally in India society and thus perpetuated status quo. This also ruined the country and countrymen during the colonial rule.
The statement also has the connotations of class conflict as a means to overcome the class dominance. Therefore the statement also defies the Gandhian model of trusteeship and class collaboration.
The aim of Nehru was to ensure participation of peasants and working in the National movement which constitutes the majority of the country’s population. Through the statements like this he wanted to display his commitment towards the socialist principles and dynamic socio-economic transformation of Indian society.
What are the salient features of the political and economic relationship between India and South Africa?
(Civil Services Exam 2008- 250 words)
India and South Africa are the two emerging economies of the 21st Century. Although located in different continents both the countries are facing various economic issues which are common, in political context a there a is legacy of strong relationship since freedom struggle.
Since both the countries had the history of colonial domination, there are various values which are similar. For example India strongly opposed the imperialism and Apartheid in South Africa. India and South Africa both are the champions of plural society and democracy. In various international political and economic forums the interests of both the countries coincide. For example both the countries are strong supporter of multi-polar world and South-South cooperation. Both the countries favor nuclear disarmament and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purpose. The two countries are also on the same side on various issues in WTO. The recent multinational forums like IBSA and BRICS have further cemented the ties between the two countries.
On economic front both the countries are emerging economies and complement each in various sectors. For example South Africa is a country with huge gold reserves while India has the large market and demand for the gold. South Africa is one of the leading producers of diamond while India has world’s diamond’s processing Industry. India is the largest importer of Coal from South Africa. Big Indian companies like Tata and Mahindra have done huge investments in South Africa.
However there is still lot of economic potential between the two countries that can be leveraged upon. To harness this potential effectively a bilateral trade agreement can play a crucial role.
Assess the significance of coastal regions in the economic development of India.
(Civil Services Exam- 2009, 150 words)
India is bestowed with a large coastline of 5700 km which is of great economic significance. Coastal regions supports the diverse flora and fauna, provides immense survival opportunities for human settlements and others, open the flood gates of connectivity through water transport and act as a rich source for minerals and fossil fuels.
About 25% of the population of our country is settled within the 50 km from the coastal region. Various important cities which are vital from economic point of view as well are located in coastal regions for example Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Panaji, Kochi, Vishakhapatnam etc.
Coastal regions open the flood gates for the connectivity with the world by providing us number of ports and natural harbors. Since the water transport is cheapest means of transport, it plays a crucial role in foreign trade for India.
Coastal regions are also rich in minerals and especially fossil fuels. Oil exploration and natural gas are the important economic activities in the coastal regions. For example Bombay High accounts for 15% of total oil production of the country.
Various major industries like ship building, metallurgy, manufacturing etc are located in or around the coastal regions.
Coastal regions are also important for the Tourism industry. Various coastal regions have become famous tourist destination for the tourist all across the world.
China’s “Peaceful Rise” doctrine.
(Civil Services Exam 2009- 150 words)
The doctrine seeks to characterize China as a responsible world leader. The doctrine emphasizes soft power, and establishes that China is committed to its own internal issues and improving the welfare of its own people rather than interfering with world affairs. The term suggests that China seeks to avoid unnecessary international confrontation.
The doctrine is used primarily to reassure the nations of Asia and the United States that the rise of China in military and economic prominence will not pose a threat to peace and stability, and that other nations will benefit from China’s raising power and influence.
In this context the steps like peacefully solving of the territorial disputes with Russia and Japan, the willingness to avoid unnecessary confrontation with US, showing mild assertiveness on border disputes concerning with the Spratly Islands, Diaoyu Islands, and South Tibet are also the examples of this doctrine.
However there is other is other side of the coin as well. China is still showing her assertiveness in order to fill the vacuum after Japan to be the master in Asia. China still has difficult relations with Japan and continues a military modernization program. She is raising her assertiveness in China sea, India and Pacific Ocean. The policy of “String of Pearls” is an example of this. China’s military supports to Pakistan to counterbalance India are some of the examples which grossly defy this doctrine.
Since international diplomacy is very complex in nature and at times mutually contradictory principles and doctrines are seen to be applied by the countries in different contexts. The same is true for China.
UPSC Civil Service Mains Previous Year General Studies Questions With Model Answer Part 2
UPSC Civil Service Mains Previous Year General Studies Questions With Model Answer Part 4
