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In a competitive era like we have today, it is essential to catch up with the
latest trends in the society. With increasing emphasis on various competitive exams
and your soft skills for grabbing all upcoming opportunity, English as a language
is becoming all the more important. Everywhere we go, we face difficulties in
getting a job, which is our aim, to survive in the society and lead a successful
life. Speaking and writing correct and required English is one of them.
Here we bring a book that will give a basic structure to all the aspirants to
attempt descriptive English properly. We give a complete framework covering
each and every topic of descriptive English paper. The book comprises techniques
to attempt précis and essays, contains types of letters, sample letters & even
model tests for your practice. This will provide the aspirants with basic knowledge
of general rules of attempting English language descriptive paper, guiding them
in learning English to an extent to which they attempt confident use of English.
The book is aimed to provide you the content, sufficient enough, to attempt
the descriptive English paper efficiently and may lead you to success in your
examination. For this purpose all the current topics are being covered here. This
book also intends to provide the competitors a conceptual base through the
explanations of the questions asked. Any modification or error shall be entertained
and we will try to incorporate it in our next issue.
With Best Wishes
Mahendra Publication
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TOPICS
CONTENTS
What is Descriptive English
Precis Writing
Letter Writing
Essay Writing & Sample Essays
ECONOMY
Brain Drain
CSR
Rise in Oil Prices
Union Budget
Eurozone Crisis & its impact in India
Effects of Devaluation of Indian Currency on Indian Economy
Global Recession
FDI
Land Reforms Wisely Conceived Poorly Executed
POLITICAL
Coalition Government
55 years of freedom-A dismal scenario
Discipline in Public Life
India’s Foreign Policy
Grading System in Board Exams
Internet Censorship
Panchayati Raj in India
Reservation
On Mumbai Attack
Presidential vs Parliamentary System
Criminalization of Politics
ENVIRONMENT
Our Wildlife Heritage
Organic Farming is Eco-friendly farming
Global Warming
SOCIAL
The Benefits of Learning A second Language
Use of Indian TV for development purpose
Voluntary Euthanasia
Racism
Reservation Policy in India
Khap Panchayats
Opening Higher Education to Foreign Institutions
Nuclear Liability Bill
Human Cloning
BANKING
Internet Banking
Financial Inclusion
CULTURE
Describe the ways music effects your life
Effects of Green Tea
Benefits of Book Reading Habit
Practice Sets (10)
Answer to Practice Sets (10)
Some Topics Predicated for this year’s Exam
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DESCRIPTIVE ENGLISH
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DESCRIPTIVE ENGLISH
What is Descriptive English ?
Test of English is an important section in the Written Tests of Bank exams. Descriptive English
is mainly the test of how you express your views in appropriate words. Descriptive paper in
Banking exams comprises various sections like Essay writing, Paragraph writing, Précis writing
and Letter Writing. It helps in testing the writing skills of the candidates. What usually happens
is a candidate might be good in appearing in the objective type test but generally he is found to
be weak in attempting descriptive type questions. Banks are now emphasizing on this aspect
and therefore our attempt here is to motivate and prepare each and every candidate for this
Descriptive paper.
What is the importance of Descriptive English paper in various competitive exams ?
The descriptive paper in competitive exams proves to be a vital part in deciding the candidate’s
sufficiency for being an officer or a successful employee in any bank. You have to know your
surroundings to be successful in this test. Not all PSU’s have this paper and even the banks that
have this paper have their own types of questions. But the basic idea remains the same, to
extract your knowledge on your surroundings.
How to prepare for IBPS Descriptive Paper ?
In the descriptive test normally candidates are required to write essay type answers to the
questions which are based on situations, current topics, topics of common interest, national
issues etc. The questions are basic in nature and not much preparation is required for it. However
since you have to qualify that, therefore your objective should be to write very well in the given
time. In case you are not comfortable with this section what you can do is, try to write short notes
on life situations and current topics regularly. For this you will have to read newspapers, magazines
on current topics on a regular basis. From there you will be able to extract sufficient information
regarding all the topics that may come in the exam.
Regarding, writing in English one should always be aware of the few points such as knowing
where the capital letters are used and the ability to use grammar with no mistakes. Also using
commas properly while joining two sentences and full stops after the completion of every single
sentence makes it look professional.
What are common Tips/ suggestions while preparing for Descriptive Exams ?
In order to write an interesting and effective descriptive essay, you will need to describe a person,
object, or event so vividly that the reader feels like he/ she could reach out and touch it. Here are
some of the very basic suggestions through which you can achieve your goal of qualifying in the
Descriptive paper in your written exams:
Get right to the action
Avoid long introductions and lengthy descriptions ——— especially at the beginning of your
answers.
Decide
First decide what you want to describe. Just because it is a descriptive paper, does not imply
that every aspect of the topic has to be expressed in great details. Choose one part of the topic
and stick to describing it vividly.
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Purpose of description
Keep the purpose of your answer in your mind when you are writing your answer.
What should you include
Remember that a descriptive essay is all about the explanation and depiction of the person or
event or object that you’ve chosen to describe.
Drafting your answer
Make an outline of all the aspects you want to take into consideration and try to jot down what
details you should include to ensure that you have a brilliant description that will leave an impression
on the reader.
Avoid unnecessary description
Ensure that you do not go overboard with describing each and every portion of the essay. Limit
your description to what you’ve decided will be the focus of the answer.
Clarify why the topic you have chosen is important
After you have chosen what topic you want to write on, question yourself, why you have chosen
it and why it is important.
Appeal to reader
Your answers should be written in such a manner that it should appeal to the senses of the
reader. Use simple yet apt words which could easily be understood. You can use your personal
experiences too.
Be creative
Try to use original ideas especially for your essays. Facts and figures are less important in a
Descriptive Paper.
Present the Ideas systematically
Always try to be organized with your answer. Proceed step by step.
PATTERN OF DESCRIPTIVE ENGLISH IN EXAMS
Descriptive English Paper consists of the following:
(1) Précis Writing
(2) Letter Writing
(3) Composition
We would describe each of the above mentioned topic in detail in the following chapters. Here is
a brief note on each of them.
(1)
Precis writing - A précis is a shortening, in your own words, of a text of written work. You are to
describe as precisely and briefly as possible the substance or main ideas contained in a text. A
well written précis should be a serviceable substitute for the original work. The goal is to preserve
the core essence of the work in a manner that is both clear and concise.
(2)
Letter writing – It is a technique as well as a mode of communication. Letters are generally of
two types – formal and informal. In formal letters, correspondence is made officially, or to
business. Informal letters are generally the ones which we write to our friends or someone
whom we know personally.
(3)
Composition/ Essays – It is a short literary composition on a single subject, usually presenting
the personal view of the author. An essay should be so constructed that it gives a meaningful
impression to the reader. Essays can be written in various styles but the crux should be effective
and capturing.
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PRECIS WRITING
Precis (Pronounced presse in French) is a derivative from “Prezisi” a Latin word. Précis is
an art of compression or giving the gist of a passage. However précis is entirely different from
paraphrasing. A paraphrase is normally a substance of the passage in detail touching upon the
points in order of sequence. But a précis is different in matter and content rather body and soul.
A précis is a concise version of a complex paragraph, making it more clear, reliable and
understandable. It is a short version of a speech that contains only the most important points. It
is a cut version of the original, retaining the main ideas and omitting all or most of the examples
and secondary ideas.
One of the difficulties to overcome in writing a précis is getting the facts straight. You
should make no statements unsupported by the text. Make sure that all you say about the text
is factually correct.
Another difficulty is putting the material into your own words. To do so, read the work carefully at
least three times, put it aside, then begin writing. This will force you to use your own words
without the temptation of borrowing directly from the original. Selecting the most effective details
is also a difficulty.
To write an effective précis, read the passage several times for a full understanding. Note
key points. It may, in fact, be helpful to underline these words. Restate each paragraph in one or
two sentences. In cases where there are very short paragraphs, combine them in your restatement.
Make sure that you retain the precise order of the original points, and combine the sentences
into one more smooth paragraphs. Finally, check your précis against the original to be sure that
it is exact and retains the order, proportions and relationships of the original. The précis should
be written from the original author’s point of view, with editorializing.
What is the significance of a Precis ?
It is a short summary of long passages/compositions etc. The main thought behind the passage
is reproduction in miniature, retaining the mood, tone and the essence of the original. No
acclamation made in the passage should be insinuated. It must possess clear diction, meaning
and sentence construction at the same time must be captivating enough. Your summary must
be intelligible to a reader who has not seen the original and should have solid compositional
worth. 100-200 words is the normally desired length of a précis, unless otherwise specified.
How to write an interesting Precis ?
First, write an outline of the main ideas- those you see as most important. Think of it this wayyou are summarizing the lecture for a friend who missed the class and the material will be on an
upcoming test. Also, you may want to include a brief statement about the tone, audience, or
purpose of the article. Second, put your outline into sentence/paragraph form. Third, count the
number of words and make necessary changes.
What is the stepwise technique to prepare writing a Precis ?
Step I : Identify the purpose of a precis.
This determines how much detail should be included and how formal the précis needs to be.
Step II: Read the original document thoroughly.
Skim – read the document to get an overview, then read it again more slowly to identify the main
theme and to distinguish the key ideas and concepts from the unimportant ones.
Step III : Underline the key ideas and concepts
Each paragraph should have one key topic, which the rest of the paragraph clarifies, supports
and develops.
Step IV : Write a note-form summary of each paragraph.
You can use some words of the original document if required but omit all irrelevant material.
Step V : Expand your note-form summary
The summary in the form of notes of each paragraph made by you is ready and will help you form
meaningful sentences for your précis.
Step VI : Write a precis
Paraphrase to express the summarized points more concisely and to develop them into coherent
sentences, expressing all important points in a generalized form. Eliminate any repetitions or
irrelevant details.
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Step VII : Review and edit
Complete your précis in time and then read the original passage and read your rewritten précis
again to compare both of them. Make sure you have covered all the essential points in lesser
words. Edit the unimportant part if it is getting too long or add on points to prolong it upto the
required limit.
Do’s of Precis Writing
Student must read a passage at least three times so that he understands the meaning of the
passage.
Underline the most important points which must be covered in your précis.
Try to start your précis by creating context (setting) and stating the main idea of the piece of
writing. Then you should begin presenting the method that the author used to defend this thesis.
Reduce the article to one – fifth to one quarter of its original length and omit nothing from the
essential argument.
Do not use the words “in this article”. Use the style “The author argues that the most significant
contribution of the Indians was …”
As far as possible, it should be put in one paragraph.
Avoid injecting personal opinions. The purpose of a précis is to summarize another person’s
story or argument, not to tell about your “favorite part” of the story. (A précis is not the same thing
as a “response” paper)
Try to give maximum information within required limit .
Use the same tense as used in the paragraph and when writing about history, use the past tense.
Count your “ands”.
Avoid words like big, good, bad, little and a lot. Also, do not use the phrase “throughout history”.
This is cliché.
Titles of texts should be put in italics OR underlined.
·
Before writing all these, first count the total number of all the words in that paragraph and divide
it by 3.
Avoid using figure of speeches (Hyperbole/Simile/ Metaphor).
Always write your précis in third person, even if the original is written in first and second person.
Dont’s of Precis Writing
Do not use the words of the original except for certain key words which you may find indispensable.
Do not use any example not used in the original paper; do not add support or question the
author’s arguments;
Do not use abbreviations or contractions.
Do not attempt to copy the style of the original source. You may use keywords and phrases only
when you are expressing ideas which are technically precise or when you feel comfortable using
writer’s own words.
Do not introduce ideas of your own. Do not criticize or change the author’s ideas. The précis
adds nothing of your own – no comments or interpretations at all. The purpose is to condense the
original, not to explain it.
Do not divide précis into paragraphs unless the original passage is very long.
Grammatical errors and spellings should be checked.
Avoid the use of Direct speech.
Avoid the use of superlative adjectives or passive voice.
Writing a précis is an excellent study skill. It forces the reader to wrestle with the story or
the argument and read for comprehension. It gives the reader material to review later in preparation
for tests. It also aids in the preparation of later papers in response to the original text. And of
course, it makes a great name for a classroom, newsletter and companion website !
Here we present some of the examples of writing an effective and interesting précis which is
bound to hold readers.
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Q.1.
Write a precis for the following paragraph in not more than 60-70 words giving it an
appropriate title.
Trees give shade for the benefit of others, and while they themselves stand in the sun and
endure the scorching heat, they produce the fruit of which others profit. The character of good
men is like that of trees. What is the use of this perishable body if no use is made of it for the
benefit of mankind? Sandalwood, the more it is rubbed, the more scent does it yield. Sugarcane,
the more it is peeled and cut up into pieces, the more juice does it produce. The men who are
noble at heart do not lose their qualities even in losing their lives. What matters whether men
praise them or not? What difference does it make whether they die at this moment or whether
lives are prolonged? Happen what may, those who tread in the right path will not set foot in any
other. Life itself is unprofitable to a man who does not live for others. To live for the mere sake of
living one’s life is to live the life of dogs and crows. Those who lay down their lives for the sake of
others will assuredly dwell for ever in a world of bliss.
Word count =199
Title- Good men live for others.
Outline: The character of good men is like that of trees _____ What is the use of this perishable
body if no use is made of it for the benefit of mankind_____ The men who are noble at heart do not
lose their qualities even in losing their lives _____ Those who tread in the right path will not set
foot in any other _____ To live for the mere sake of living one’s life is to live the life of dogs or
crows _____ Those who lay down their lives for the sake of others will assuredly dwell for ever in
a world of bliss.
Ans. Precis
Title - ‘Good men live for others’
The character of good men is like that of trees. They live for others and do not lose their qualities
even in losing their lives. They always follow the right path. Praise is immaterial to them. To live
for one’s own sake is to lead the life of beasts. Only those who lay down their lives for others will
live for ever in a world of bliss.
Word Count = 67
Q.2.
Write a precis for the following paragraph in not more than 65 words giving it an
appropriate title.
Today there are 3000 million people in the world. Fifty years ago only about 2000 million
people lived in it. If earth’s population were evenly distributed over its land surface, there would be
about 550 persons to the square mile. But Earth has vast areas of forest, mountains and desert
which are almost totally inhabited. On the other hand, it has great cities each with millions of
people living in a few square miles.
To feed the fast growing population of our earth, scientists and planners have to discover
new ways to produce more. One possible way is to bring more land under cultivation. This can be
done only in places where there is lot of land not used for productive purposes. In many places
this is no longer possible as all the arable land is already cultivated. A second way is to make use
of new types of seeds to produce more. Already a number of new strains of paddy and wheat have
been developed in different parts of the world. India is one of the countries where a lot of useful
work has been done in the field of agriculture research.
Word Count = 193
Ans. Title - World Population and Food Production
During the last fifty years, the world population has increased from 2000 to 3000 million.
It is unevenly distributed with millions of people living in a few big cities. Scientists in India and
abroad are, therefore, busy with agriculture research to find out new methods of increased food
production to feed them all and they have already developed many new strains of paddy and
wheat.
Word Count = 65
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Write a precis for the following paragraph in not more than 100 words giving it an
appropriate title.
The cease with which democratic government has given way to authoritarian regime in
one Asian country after another has made many persons ask in despair whether the parliamentary
system based on the western model is suited to underdeveloped countries. People who do not
know how to read and write, they argue, can hardly know how to vote. Popular elections often
bring incompetent men to the top, they contend and the division of party spoils, breeds on
corruption. What is worse, the system of perpetual party warfare obstructs the business of
government.
They point to the dismal results of the last ten years. The pace of social and economic
change has been far too slow and the governments in most of the under developed countries have
failed to come to grips with the problems which face the people. What they say is, no doubt, true
to some extent but it is pertinent to remember that every alternative to democracy while it, in no
way, guarantees integrity or efficiency in the administration, lacks even the saving merits of
regimes which are based on the suffrage of the people, leave it to the people to find out, by trial
and error, who is their best friend. The people can peacefully get rid of a democratic government
which has failed to keep its promise. They can overthrow a dictatorial regime only through a
violent revolution. Those who feel sore over the ills from which democratic regime suffers should
beware, therefore, of suggesting a cure which is likely to undermine the democratic structures of
the state. The people can at least raise their voice in protest against the injustice of a democratic
government; they can only suffer in silence the tyranny of a regime which is responsible to no one
but itself.
Word Count = 297
Title-Democracy vs Dictatorship
Generally democracy is regarded to be unsuitable for underdeveloped countries. This fact is
supported by the experience of failures of democratic government in these countries. The obvious
reasons cited are illiteracy, election of inefficient leaders, internal dissensions, corruption and
slow tempo of progress. Dictatorship is, therefore, considered a panacea for the ills of democracy.
But dictators, the world over, have not been able to provide efficient and clean administration, For
all the faults inherent in democracy, it provides for smooth change over of government, thus
replacing the inept administration without violence and bloodshed. Such a smooth change is
foreign to autocratic regimes.
Word Count = 102
Write a precis for the following paragraph in not more than 150 words giving it an
appropriate title.
The test of a great book is whether we want to read it only once or more than once. Any
really great book we want to read the second time, and every additional time that we read it we
find new meanings and new beauties in it. But we cannot consider the judgement of a single
individual infallible. The opinion that makes a book great must be the opinion of many. For even
the greatest critics are opt to have certain dullnesses, certain inappreciations. Carlyle, for example,
could not endure Browning, Byron could not endure some of the greatest English poets. A man
must be many sided to utter of trustworthy estimate of many books. We may doubt the judgement
of single critics at times. But there is no doubt possible in regard to the judgement of generations.
Even if we do not at once perceive anything good in a book which has been admired and praised
for hundreds of years, we may be sure that by trying, by studying it carefully we shall at last be
able to feel the reason for this admiration and praise. The best of all libraries for a poor man would
be a library entirely composed of such great works only books which have passed the test of
time.
This then would be the most important guide for us in the choice of readings. We should read
only the books we want to read more than once, nor should we buy any others, unless we have
some special reason for so investing money. The second fact demanding attention is the general
character of the value that lies hidden in all such great works. They never become old; their youth
is immortal. A great book is not apt to be comprehended by a young person at the first reading
expect in a superficial way. Only the surface; the narrative is enjoyed. No young man can possibly
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see at first reading the qualities of a great book. But according to a man’s experience of life, the
text will unfold new meanings to him. The book that delighted us at eighteen if it be a good book
will look to us different at thirty years of age. At forty we shall reread it wondering why we never
saw how beautiful it was before. At fifty or sixty years of age the same facts will repeat themselves.
A great book grows exactly in proportion to the growth of the reader’s mind.
Word Count = 414
Ans. Title-The Test of A Great Book
The test of a great book lies in the universality of ideas that are applicable in every age. The
judgement of one person does not determine the real value of the book because this judgement
is likely to be prejudiced, the greatness of a book is determined by the judgement of the posterity.
A reader wishes to read again and again and discovers a new meaning contained in such great
works. It is likely that the real significance of a great book may not be understood at first reading.
As man grows older the context of our interest in a book also changes. The ideas of a great book
are always changing as man advances in years. Therefore, the best of all libraries should contain
such great works which have passed the test of readers of various generations. The ideas of a
great book are perennial and truthful in all ages.
Word Count = 151
Q.5.
Write a precis for the following paragraph in not more than 150 -180 words giving it an
appropriate title.
The Union Cabinet’s approval of an Information and Broadcasting Ministry proposal to
bring forward legislation to regulate cable television is belated but necessary step. The boom in
cable television following the satellite invasion of the skies has revolutionized the medium in
ways that are still not fully appreciated. And the full potential of multiple and free choice in viewing
that satellite and cable television represent, has far from been realised as yet. With millions of
homes being inundated with entertainment and information programmes from all kind of sources,
it is obvious that some degree of regulation is essential in the public and national interest. But
the precise nature and means of regulation are bound to be contentious. It is as well that the
Government appears to be proceeding carefully. The bill will require cable operators to register
themselves and their operations will be monitored. All operators will be obliged to telecast one
Doordarshan channel for purposes of important public information and to use equipment conforming
to ISI standards. All operators will also have to observe programme and advertisement codes
which have still to be evolved.
Just how the programme content and equipment of tens of thousands of neighbourhood cable
operators are to be monitored remains to be seen. If it leads to an army of local inspectors it is
bound to lead to petty corruption without any real efficiency. And of what use would such a
monitoring agency be in a few year’s time when technological developments put small and cheap
satellite dishes within reach of individual household? Similar problems are presented by the other
objectives of the proposed Bill. Some kind of minimal programme and advertisement codes are
obviously necessary to protect audiences against things like pornography, inflammatory propaganda
and misleading information. The difficult question as always in these matters is who is the best
judge of what audiences should or should not see, governments or private citizens? It must be
hoped that the intended programme codes will be drafted with the greatest care so as to protect
rather than infringe individual rights. As general rule, regulatory bodies will have to rely on
complaints from audiences rather than their own inspectors to be able to intervene promptly. At
the same time, there should be no occasion under the guise of enforcing programme codes to
interfere with the freedom of expression and information as has been the case all too often with
the programmes of independent producers supplying Doordarshan.
The Information & Broadcasting Ministry would do well given the many difficulties in drafting its
new Bill to consult informed public opinion, television producers advertising professional and
other experts on the mechanisms for regulating cable television as well as programme codes. It
should also encourage the formation of self-regulating bodies for cable and network operators.
Word Count = 464
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Title-Government Control Over Cable T.V
The use of cable T.V. in millions of homes has made it essential for the government to bring about
some kind of regulation. Accordingly Union Cabinet has approved of I and B ministry proposal to
bring forward legislation. It is a most welcome step but the real problem lies in the nature of
legislation to control the cable operators. All the cable operators will be required to register
themselves. Their operation will be monitored. They will have to comply with programme and
advertisements and codes laid down by the government. They will also have to telecast one
Doordarshan channel. The question is when cheap satellite dishes are within the reach of individual
house-holds, these regulatory methods will be rendered useless. Still some kind of programmes
and advertisement codes are necessary to protect the Viewers against the dangers of pornography
and misleading information. While drafting new Bill, those engaged in the field of production and
advertisement programme should be consulted beforehand so as not to violate the right of expression
and speech of the people.
Word Count = 174
QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE
Write a precis for the following paragraph in not more than 150 words giving it an
appropriate title.
Culture is not mere learning. It is discrimination, understanding of life. Liberal education
aims at producing moral gifts as well as intellectual, sweetness of temper as much as sanity of
outlook. Into the art of living, the cultured man carries a certain grace, a certain refinement, a
certain distinction which redeems him from the sterile futility of a aimless struggle. Culture is not
a pose of intellect or a code of convention, but an attitude of life. An education that brings up a
young man in entire indifference to the misery and poverty surrounding him, to the general
stringency of life, to the dumb pangs of tortured bodies and the lives submerged in the shadows,
is essentially a failure. If we do not realize the solidarity of the human community, nor have
human relations with those whom the world passes by as the lowly and the lost, we are not
cultured. The most depraved individual has his starting interest and the worst criminal is unique
to his thumb-prints, as he knows to his cost. Great literature shames us out of our complacency
and reveals to us something of the immense capacity of the human for suffering and isolation.
We may suffer, we many fail, we may be forgotten, but we have succeeded in the true sense of
the term if we refused to be vulgar, mean or squalid. If anything justifies life, it is nobility, greatness.
Man notices our failings but God sees our strivings.
In our country today, we are suffering from want of understanding. Whether it is between the
Indian and the British or the Hindu and the Muslim, we are up against the same difficulty. Even
when we seem to understand each other, we suddenly reach a point where it becomes clear that
we do not have a sufficient grasp of each other’s meaning. The trouble is not so much with regard
to high philosophy and art as with practical affairs and political motives. Understanding of human
relations and motives is not a matter of scientific method which can be taught in a university. It
is a contagion of the spirit, not analyzable or demonstrable, and yet it is not incommunicable. A
good deal in this matter depends on the teachers and their outlook on life as distinct from their
intellectual equipment. The unique experience of pursuing common ideals within the walls of the
university, in spite of differences of temperament and creed, has consequences of wider import.
The many pleasant friendships, many personal contacts, must not merely be vivid recollections
but must remain with us to the end of our lives. It rests with you to pledge yourselves to one
another, that, when misunderstanding and disputes arise, you will be among those who will
counsel patience and restraint and proclaim that reason, fair play and listening to both sides are
the solvents of all differences.
Word Count = 480
Write a precis for the following paragraph in not more than 150 words giving it an
appropriate title.
These are two considerations which deserve at least a word in any discussion of the
future of the Indian theatre. The first is the rapid development of the cinema as a competitive for
prophesied favor. At first, in the early flush of cinematic triumph people—some of whom might
have been expected to , know better—prophesies the extinction of the theatre. It is now clear that
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though here and there, temporarily, the theatre may be affected, the cinema can not hope to
replace the stage and elbow it out of existence. Experience in the West has shown that the
stage will always be required as a federal studio. For the technique is different and great stage
actors have, always, to their disgust, discovered that film acting is at least only second best to
them; it cannot mean to them what the stage means. Something is lacking in the human touch.
In the theatre heart responds to heart and mind acts on mind in a way unknown to the cinema.
Thus there is no danger of extinction to the theatre. On the other hand, the rivalry of the screen
ought to and will put theatre to a new test and give it a new stimulus that may well lead to still
higher planes of artistic achievement.
Finally, a word about a national language spoken, written and thought might do for the theatre in
India. With the new awakening in social life the need of a common tongue is being increasingly
felt. Much work is being done to bring out a common linguistic medium. The day when, it is
accepted will be a great day for the Indian theatre, as it will be for all art in the country. But the
theatre, because its life blood is spoken word, will gain most. With a common tongue, with a live
national consciousness, the theatre will become to its own as definite instrument of national
unity reflecting the national mind, interpreting the national heart and dreaming national dreams
for the future.
Word Count = 338
Q.3.
Write a precis of the following passage in not more than 100 words and suggest a suitable
title.
Coffee comes from coffee beans; and these beans grow on trees. Coffee trees need sunshine
and water, so they grow well in hot countries like South America, South Africa, India and the far
East. Coffee trees are very delicate and difficult to grow and picking the beans is a long process.
The workers have a hard job because they pick the beans by hand and this can take a long time.
There are millions of people who drink coffee in coffee bars or restaurants all over the world. While
drinking coffee they talk about the day’s news or they just relax.
People also drink coffee so that they can keep awake. Students drink it late at night because
they want to study. Lorry drivers drink it because they want to keep awake on the road. Most
people drink coffee in the morning when they get up and after each meal. Coffee breaks are a
good way to relax at work.
Coffee has a bitter taste, and people usually drink it with sugar or milk. Some people like to drink
their coffee black. In Italy they drink very strong black coffee, it is called Cappuccino. There are
some people who drink their coffee with warm milk and the Irish have a special coffee with whisky
in it.
The coffee tree is a native of the highlands of Southern Ethiopia and the name coffee is derived
from that of Highland district of Kaffa where it was found. From Ethiopia it was taken across the
Red sea to Saudi-Arabia. The coffee tree bears pulpy berries which are dark red in colour when
ripe and about the size of cherries. Each berry contains two seeds or beans which are dried,
roasted and ground into coffee powder.
Word Count = 292
Q.4.
Write a precis of the following passage in not more than 150 words and suggest a suitable
title.
Slow motion photography is often used in newsreels to show exactly how a horse jumped
or a sports man played a stroke. If you want to film a scene in slow motion you run the camera
twice as fast as usual, which sounds ridiculous, but isn’t. When a film camera is running at
normal speed, it takes twenty four , pictures a second. When the film is runing through the film
projector in the camera twenty four pictures a second appear on the screen. This is because the
camera which took the pictures and the projector which shows them run at the same speed. If
you are filming in slow motion however, the camera runs at twice the normal speed, yet in spite
of this the projector which shows the film will run at the normal speed, and this means that the
projector will show the film at half the speed at which it was photographed. On the screen
everything appears at half the speed at which the camera recorded it when it was filmed. In other
words, things will seem to be done in ‘slow motion’.
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This trick can also work the other way round. In a film comedy it sometimes looks very funny if all
the characters suddenly move very fast. The director may want to tell his audience in an amusing
way that life in a particular city is lived at a tremendous pace. He shows a shot of the city streets
in which men and women seem to be darting about at top speed.
To get the effect you do just the opposite of what you did to get ‘slow motion’. Instead of running
the film camera at twice the normal speed you run it at half the normal speed. The projector in the
camera is, as usual, run at the normal speed. This time the projector shows the film at twice the
speed at which it was photographed, since the camera was run at half the normal speed.
You may find this difficult to work out at first. But the thing to remember is that a projector in the
cinema always runs at the same speed, so if the action is to be slowed, the projector must be
showing things which have been taken by a camera that was moving faster than usual. If the
projector is to show things speeded up, it must be showing things which have been taken by a
camera whose speed was slower than usual. Either way the people who appear in the scene will
have been acting at a perfectly normal pace.
Word Count = 433
Write a precis of the following passage in not more than 150 words and suggest a suitable
title.
The habit of reading is one of the greatest resources of mankind and we enjoy reading
books that belong to us much more than if they are borrowed. A borrowed book is like a guest in
the house; It must be treated with punctiliousness, with a certain considerate formality. You must
see that it sustains no damage; it must not suffer while under your roof. You can not leave it
carelessly. You cannot mark it, you cannot turn down the pages, you cannot use it familiarly. And
then, some day, although this is seldom done, you really ought to return it.
But your own books belong to you, you treat them with affectionate intimacy that annihilates
formality. Books are for use, not for show; you should own no book that you are afraid to mark up,
or afraid to place on the table, wide open and face down. A good reason for marking favourite
passages in books is that this practice enables you to remember more easily the significant
sayings to refer to them quickly, and then in later years, it is like visiting a forest where you once
blazed a trail. You have the pleasure of going over the old ground, and recalling both the intellectual
scenery-and your own earlier self.
Every one should begin collecting a private library in youth; the instinct of private property, which
is fundamental in human being, can here be cultivated with every advantage and no evils. One
should have one’s own book shelves, which should not have doors, glass windows, or keys; they
should be free and accessible to the hand as well as to the eye. The best of mural decorations is
books; they are more varied in colour and appearance than any wall paper they are more attractive
in design, and they have the prime advantage of being separate personalities, so that if you sit
alone in the room in the firelight, you are surrounded with intimate friends. The knowledge that
they are there in plain view is both stimulating and refreshing. You do not have to read them all.
Most of indoor life is spent in a room containing six thousand books; and I have a stock answer
to the invariable question that comes from strangers. “Have you read all of these books?” Some
of them twice. This reply is both true and unexpected.
There are, of course, no friends like living, breathing corporeal men and women; my devotion to
reading has never made me a recluse. How could it? Books are of the people, by the people, for
the people. Literature is the immortal part of history; it is the best and most enduring part of
personality. But book-friends have this advantage over living friends; you can enjoy the most truly
aristocratic society in the world whenever you want it. The great deads are beyond our physical
reach and the great living is usually almost as inaccessible. As for our personal friends and
acquaintances, we cannot always see them perchance they are asleep, or away on a journey.
But in a private library, you can at any moment converse with Socrates or Shakespeares or
Dumas or Dickens or Shaw or Golsworthy. And there is no doubt that in these books you see
these men at their best. They wrote for you. They “laid themselves out,” they did their ultimate
best to entertain you, to make a favourable impression. You are necessary to them as an audience
is to an actor, only instead of seeing them masked, you look into their inmost heart of hearts.
Word Count = 595
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LETTER WRITING
The key to the success of the era of globalization is communication. And correspondence (letters)
is perhaps the most important component of communication. Even in the age of modern
technological innovations like e-mail, internet and long distance connectivity, letters still carry
the maximum load of personal and business communication.
Of course writing a letter is not as big a job as planning a marketing campaign or building a family
room. But it is important. As the saying goes, “Anything worth doing is worth doing well”. Besides,
the “planning” you do for a small writing job like a letter, need not and should not be elaborate or
time-consuming. A few minutes spent thinking and following the steps can help you write a better
letter, and may actually save time rather than take more time.
Whatever be the medium of carrying the message, the message has to be properly written to
convey the required meaning and complete sense. One has liberty to write personal letters as
one wants, but business or formal letters have to follow some norms in order to make appropriate
impact.
What is the importance of letter writing ?
Letter writing is an important and effective tool. Letter writing helps you put something
concrete in hand that helps you iron out a position or reinforce something you may have
talked about.
Types of Letters
There are several types of letters – like application and appreciation, enquiries and requests,
Complaint and Recommendation, Sales and Promotion, Welcome or Invitation letters. Mainly we
have to study two types of letters.
Formal Letters
Informal Letters
Formal Letters – They can be related to business, institution or educational purpose. The
format has to be followed while writing a formal letter.
Informal Letters - These types of letter are written to relatives or friends. These can also include
invitations etc. Such kind of letters are also known as Personal or Social Letters.
Tips for Writing A Letter
You must write good letters. And good letters come from careful writing as all literate people
reading your letter are surprisingly talented at quickly spotting errors or gaffes in the writing of
other people. Here are some common tips –
Keep paragraphs short, preferably fewer than five lines. Vary the length of your sentences. And
don’t be afraid to begin sentences with conjunctions (and, but, or). To emphasize a point, you
can use a one – sentence paragraph.
Think twice before using any adjectives or adverbs. Impress people with your nouns and verbs,
not with decorations.
Use a friendly, conversational tone. Also, keep it deferential.
Show confidence but not arrogance.
Avoid unclear phrases like “enclosed please find my resume for your perusal”. Be more creative
than that.
Avoid vague statements. Give specific statements : people will find it both refreshing and easy to understand.
LETTER WRITING RULES
There are mainly five points that have to be taken care of while writing a letter. These are(a) Heading
(b) The Salutation or courteous greetings
(c) The Body of the letter – communication or the message
(d) The Subscription – courteous leave taking, or conclusion
(e) The Signature Name of the writer
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(a)
(i)
(ii)
*
*
(b)
HEADING
Heading of a letter basically consists of Two Parts :address of the writer followed by
the date on which the letter was written by him.
Heading can be written on the Right or Left (keep on changing with time-presently we follow the
convention of writing heading in the left corner) corner of the first page of the letter.
Examples of a Heading are
63, Vinay Colony
Delhi-160032
June 12, 2010
Examination Hall
A.B.C.
12 th June, 2010
SALUTATION
The Salutation in the letter will depend upon the depth of relationship of the Writer with the person
to whom the letter is being written, thus it varies from letter to letter.
Salutation is written at the left hand of the page, at a lower level the Heading. The first and last
word of the salutation are always started in Capital Letters (of alphabet).
Examples of the salutation are:
In Formal letters
To officials/Principal/Headmaster/Teachers
Sir,
Madam,
In Business Letters
To Businessmen:Dear Sir,
Dear Sirs,
In Informal Letters
To Blood Relations,
My dear Father,
My dear Mother,
My dear Kavita,
To,
Friends,
Dear Rajesh,
My dear Ajay,
Note: Dear friend or my dear friend is never used as Salutations.
(c)
BODY
The body itself is considered as the life of the letter and the style in which it is written will depend
upon the kind of letter one wishes to write. Like, the style of the letter to be written will be entirely
different from the style of the letter to be written to an official and so on. But few points that one
has to keep in mind irrespective of the style while writing the body of the letter areDivide the letter into various paragraphs to mark changes of subject-matter etc.
Use simple and direct language in short sentences. It will make the message clear and to the
point.
Always try to be complete. For this, think out what you want to say before beginning to write a
letter; and put down all the point in logical manner.
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Write neatly to avoid inconvenience to the reader because of your bad penmanship.
Take care of the punctuation and be consistent with it. Incorrect punctuation may alter the whole
meaning of the sentence.
(d)
SUBSCRIPTION
The subscription of the letter i.e. the end should be according to the sharing of the letter. A letter
must not end abruptly as this would look rude. So certain forms of polite leave taking are prescribed
that should be written after the last words of the letter on the left hand side corner of the lines after
the body. It should start with a capital letter and end with a comma. Some examples of the
subscription of the letter of various kinds are:To Blood Relations : Yours affectionately,
To Friends: Yours sincerely,
To Principal/Headquarter/Teacher etc: Yours obediently
To Officials/Businessmen: Yours faithfully,
To Strangers : Yours truly
Note : Never use apostrophe (‘) with‘yours’in the subscription (your’s is incorrect).
(e)
SIGNATURE
The signature of the writer of the letter should be below the subscription. In a letter to the stranger,
the signature should be clearly written so that he could know whom to address in reply.
Note : A woman should prefix to her name Miss or Mrs. or Ms in brackets before her name like
(miss) Purvi Agarwal.
ADDRESS
The address is written on the envelop of the post card very clearly with pin code.
SAMPLE LETTERS
INFORMAL LETTER
Ex-1.
Write a letter to your parents about the programme which you had attended as part of
your SUPW activity in your college.
Sector-13, Kandivali, Mumbai.
15, August, 2008.
Dear mom and dad,
I am writing this letter to you as I want to share my rare experiences with you.
As a part of the SUPW. activity, we had been to the village Bhojpur, which is on the way to
Mathura. The village has an orphanage with 50 other students. They are visually, mentally and
physically impaired. We went there to wish them a happy Dusshera. As a token of love, we
prepared sweets and cutlets in the orphanage and distributed among them. Many of them rejoiced.
They came forward to offer their help. Really mother! It was a tremendous pleasure to see their
happy smiles. No mumbling, no crying, but simple joy! A lesson to learn that happiness is so
cheap to buy!
The education we received here is more useful than my engineering education. I have decided to
help atleast one handicapped person everyday. Mother, I suddenly recalled your oft-quoted words,
“Service is the best form of worship of God”. Now I have realised that service gives contentment
and inner peace.
Please reply immediately.
With love and regards,
Yours lovingly,
Akanksha.
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Ex-2.
Ex-3.
Ex-4.
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Write a letter to your sister inviting her for the Felicitation Function at your college.
SRCC,
New Delhi.
26 August 2008.
Dear Apurva,
I am sorry I couldn’t write to you for a long time. I had my fifth semester examination, so
I couldn’t spare time. Only today I have finished my exams.
From today we would be busy in making arrangements for our Felicitation Function. Being an
autonomous college, this is our third year function. I would be receiving silver medal for having
secured 2nd rank in the past examination. As I know, our parents cannot come owing to mother’s
ill-health. I would be happy, atleast if you could attend the function and be with me for sometime.
His Highness, the Governor of Uttar Pradesh will give away the medals to the best students
selected in the gala function.
I will make arrangements for your accommodation.
Expecting an early and favourable reply.
Yours lovingly,
Kirti
FORMAL LETTERS
Write a leave letter to your Branch Manager.
Hiba,
Canara Bank, R. K. Puram Branch
New Delhi-22
6 November, 2008.
Branch Manager,
Canara Bank, R. K. Puram Branch
New Delhi-22.
Sir,
As my mother is admitted in a hospital at Agra for an operation, I have to be with her. Hence, it
would not be possible for me to attend office for two weeks. Kindly grant me special permission
to take 15 days leave.
Thank you,
Yours Truly,
Malvi
APPLICATIONS AND OFFICIAL LETTERS
Write a letter to the Manager, Birla Sunlife, Maharashtra for the post of a Clerk.
Geeta colony, 15/8,
Madhuban Flats,
Pune.
15 November, 2008.
Sir,
Sub: Application for the post of a Clerk.
I came to know that there is a vacancy for the post of a clerk in your corporate office at
Pune. I am submitting my application for the same.
I am a commerce graduate with typewriting higher and short-hand lower in English. I have learnt
MS Windows ’98 also.
I have two years of experience as an accountant. After my marriage, I couldn’t take up any job
owing to my family commitments. As my child has begun going to school, I would like to take up
a job near my house.
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I would render sincere service, if I am offered an opportunity.
Thank you,
Yours faithfully,
Harini.
Enclosures:
1. Copy of degree certificate.
2. Copy of typewriting, short-hand and computer certificates.
3. Experience certificate.
Ex.-5. Write an application to ‘Aplab Industries’ for the post of trainee at the end of the third
year of your course.
Smarika Khare
III Year
Amity International,
Noida
09, May, 2008.
The Production Manager,
Aplab Industries,
Chennai
Sir
Sub.: For Apprentice trainee
I came to know that your organization encourages senior students of Electrical and Electronics
Engineering to undergo training under your able guidance. As I am interested in Micro Software
and in assembling chips, I would be benefited, if you could give me an opportunity to undergo
training. Even during summer vacation we have done a group project. A copy of the abstract of the
project is enclosed for your perusal.
th
Our summer vacation is from May 15th to June 14 of 2012.
Eagerly expecting your favourable reply.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
Smarika Khare
Enclosures:
1. Bonafide Certificate.
2. A letter of recommendation from the Head of the Dept.
3. A copy of the abstract of group project.
QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE
Q.1.
Write a letter to the applicants for the post of ‘Architects’ fixing a date for an aptitude test, skill
test and an interview.
Q.2.
Draft a letter introducing your product.
Q.3.
Imagine you are a Sales Manager of Mahindra & Mahindra Products. Draft a letter to various
offices explaining the special discount offer before the end of the financial year.
Q.4.
Imagine you have to get a bulk order from educational institutions for Encyclopedia of Information
and Knolwedge on Current Affairs.
Q.5.
Write a letter to the Controller of Examinations about the wrong spelling of your name in your
certificate.
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ESSAY WRITING
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author’s personal point of view.
Essays can consist of a number of elements, including-literary criticism, observations of daily
life, recollections, and reflections of the author.
Learning how to write any essay can be quiet annoying and difficult if you are not working in a
right direction. The word ‘essay’ means ‘to try’, ‘to attempt’. When you are writing any essay,
you are trying to describe that topic to the best of your ability and knowledge. It can also be said
to be the just opposite of précis writing i.e. an exercise similar to the expansion of the topic.
Here we bring to you a complete chapter dedicated to types of essays their techniques of writing
along with basic rules that one would follow to write an impressive piece of essay.
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF ESSAYS ?
Essays can be classified as Narrative, Descriptive, Expository, Reflective & Imaginative.
NARRATIVE ESSAYS
Narrative essays are narration of some event or incident. They are experiences written by you
that you face during your life. It tells a story whether based on real experiences or imaginative.
The writer uses details that are significant and merges them to build up a story line that is easy
for the reader to follow. The narrative can cover Historical Events (The 1857 Mutiny), Social
Events (a marriage or festival) incidents like an accident or earthquake.
DESCRIPTIVE ESSAYS
The descriptive essays are a genre of essay that asks the students to describe an object,
person, place, experience, emotion, situation etc. These types of essays basically allows for a
great deal of artistic freedom. They could be written so as to paint an extremely vibrant image
that is vivid and moving in the mind of the reader.
EXPOSITORY ESSAYS
An expository essay presents, completely and fairly, other people’s views or to report about
an event or a situation. It helps in presenting a subject in detail, apart from criticism, argument or
development. Such writing is discourse designed to convey information or explain what is difficult
to understand. The purpose of these types of essays lies in putting forward other people’s views
with fairness and absoluteness.
PERSUASIVE ESSAYS
Through persuasive essays, you have to persuade the reader into convincing that your point
of view is correct by adopting logical reasoning to show that one idea is more legitimate than the
other idea . Basically all essays are persuasive essays. Sometimes you are assigned a
controversial topic, but an essay on the meaning of an article or poetry is also a persuasive
essay.
REFLECTIVE ESSAYS
It is a reflection or thoughts on some subject. The goal of a reflective essay is to not only
discuss what you learned, but to convey the personal experiences and findings that resulted.
IMAGINATIVE ESSAYS
In these, you have to imagine a position or situation, such as ‘If I were the Prime Minister’; or
‘If all the motor cars are banned’, ‘Autobiography of a Television’, etc.
HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY ?
Essays can range from five paragraphs to twenty pages or more and cover any topic. What all
essays have in common, however, is that they explain your perspective - preferably in a clear,
illuminating, and informative manner.
Body of an Essay
INTRODUCTION
Every topic should be introduced properly. Slightly general in nature, the introduction should
define, explain or enlarge the topic. It should be a short paragraph leading to the further exposition
of the topic in the body of the essay.
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BODY
Contains the main points or arguments of the explanation All the major points should be put in
separate paragraphs. These should be linked logically, the first point leading to the second, the
second to the third and so on. This is the most important aspect of the essay, the major thrust of
the essay. Points for an argument should come first followed by points against, which you should
dispute properly.
CONCLUSION
Ideally, it should summarize the main points of the essay.
SAMPLE ESSAY
An outline
“Should Students Take part in Politics”.
Introduction : Start with what politics is and how it should be dealt with.
Body : Take a position; if you think students should or should not.
For :
*
It is but correct to give students ideas of politics even in the early age.
*
In a democracy, politics of the right spirit, will only prove beneficial.
*
It provides them with leadership qualities.
*
It gives them the idea of nationality and confidence to work for the nation.
*
It makes them aware of the problems that face India, and to find out right solutions.
*
They become ideal citizens by taking part in politics.
Against :
*
Politics diverts the student’s attention.
*
It gives rise to strikes etc.
*
An immature mind is not capable of knowing the full details of a particular party.
*
Their exploitation by the selfish politicians is well known.
*
Instead of becoming the best citizens, they get into the most miserable conditions in life as a
result of this.
Conclusion : Summarize the major arguments in one paragraph.
Brief Overview of 10 Essay Writing Steps.
Below are brief summaries of each of the ten steps to writing an essay.
Step - 1 : RESEARCH
Begin the essay writing process by researching your topic, making yourself an expert. You could
utilize various databases like internet, library, magazines etc. Read maximum to enhance your
knowledge on all subjects so that you are not forced to face a completely new topic in the exam.
Step - 2 : ANALYZE
Now that you have a good knowledge base, start analyzing the arguments of the essays you are
reading. Clarify your doubts as soon as they arise. With proper analysis, you will be able to retain
the meaningful points of any topic and you will be able to recall them at appropriate time. Learning
how to write an essay begins by learning how to analyze essays written by others.
Step - 3 : BRAINSTORMING :
Your essays should have your insights, genuine essay - writing brilliance. Ask yourself a dozen
questions and answer them. Meditate with a pen in your hand. Take walks and think and think
until you come up with original insights to write about.
Step -4: CHOOSE A TOPIC
After you have prepared yourself thoroughly, try to choose something you are interested in, in
your exam, as this will make the essay easier to write. You can also write your thesis statement
at this point. Pick your best idea and pen it down in a clear assertion that you can write your
entire essay around. It is practically impossible to write a good essay without a clear thesis.
Step - 5 : OUTLINE
Sketch out your essay before straightaway writing it out. Use one-line sentences to describe
paragraphs, and bullet points to describe what each paragraph will contain.
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Step - 6 : INTRODUCTION
Now properly write the essay. The introduction should grab the reader’s attention, set up the
issue, and lead in to your thesis. Your introduction is merely a build up of the issue, a stage of
bringing your reader into the essay’s argument.
Step - 7 : PARAGRAPHS
Each individual paragraph should be focused on a single idea that supports your thesis. Speak to
your reader as if he or she were sitting in front of you.
Step - 8 : CONCLUSION
Gracefully exit your essay by making a quick wrap-up sentence, and then end on some memorable
thought, perhaps a quotation, or an interesting twist of logic, or some call to action.
Step - 9 : READ THROUGH YOUR ESSAY
For now, don’t worry about grammatical errors, underline them so you can go back and fix them
later. Go from start to finish to see how your essay flows. Does each sentence lead smoothly and
logically to the next ?
Step - 10 : PROOF READ
Now check for spelling and/or grammatical errors.
Pick out any repetitive words. Make sure that you are using unfamiliar words correctly.
Avoid using colloquial (informal) writing. Your essay should have a serious tone, even if written in
a light or lyrical style.
Use English punctuation correctly. Consult a style book if you are unsure how to properly use
commas, apostrophes, colons etc. Avoid using exclamation points to emphasize your statements.
TIPS TO WRITING ESSAYS
Use clear and concise language
Choose vivid language
Use your senses
Leave the reader with a clear impression
Be organized
Start early and budget your time
Write a quick draft all the way through
Think differently
Format and Presentation counts.
Here are some essays to help you get the criteria of writing an organized piece on a given topic.
NARRATIVE ESSAYS
Example 11.
A Terrible incident in my Childhood
Every spring, when the weather is cold, I remember when I was a little girl (almost seven years
old) I lived with my mother and my grandma in the country, because they were teachers there. Of
course, this place is in Himachal Pradesh.
We stayed at Shiksha School from Monday mornings to Friday afternoons. There were a lot of
children that went to school there. On the weekends, we lived in a little town named Mandi, in
Manali. My father lived and worked in another place, Delhi (the second most important city in
India). We were together as a family only on the weekends and when we were on vacations.
One day, in the afternoon, when the weather was very cold, the sky began to turn dark. At this
moment, an old man arrived at the school and said: “Please, take care of the children and
yourselves. I heard on the radio that hard winds and rain, with the possibility of becoming a
twister, are coming!”
I believe that I never felt as I did at this moment. I thought that it could be the final day of our lives.
All the children, my mother, my grandma and I were under the tables and desks. What fear we
had in this moment! However, a few minutes later (almost ten), the sun was shining again, and
the sky went back to blue.
From this experience, I learned not to exaggerate something so little. It was a small storm, and
I thought I was going to die. I think now that similar things happen in many areas of life. The sun
always stays, but the clouds go.
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Example 22.
It was late in the night when I woke up from my bed. I looked out from a window and saw the
street in front of my house. There was that kid again. He was standing like a small creature,
freezing like an ice, and sometimes, walking back and forth like someone who was in a confusing
mind. Unlike the other nights, I went out of my house and got in closer to where the kid was
standing. When I was quite close to him in distance, I saw that the boy had a cold face. His body
was not so big but I could see the way he looked at me. That eyes! I knew that eyes!
“Hi, kid. What are you doing around here? It’s late at night,” I said. He didn’t say anything. What
he did was he just kept walking back and forth without saying anything.
“I saw you every night in front of my house since last week. Well, if you have nothing to eat or
something, you can come to my house,” I offered him food for I could see how his body was
trembling by the snow. And the way his hands tounched his stomach showed how hungry he
was. The weather outside was very bad. I even felt that my body was going to be trembling too,
so, I got back to my house. When I wanted to open the door of my house, that kid touched my
coat. He said something that I was barely able to hear. But, I let him in.
In that house, I stayed alone. I was still a young person them if not very young. Now, there
was a kid in my house. At that time, I felt that the night was going to be longer than I expected,
but, in fact, it wasn’t. I gave him a glass of hot chocolate and a French bread that I made by my
own hands. I looked at that kid while he was eating his foods. He was so hungry.
Usually, if the time was at 2 o’clock, I would probably be sleeping in that full-of-rose bed. My
husband was still there. Sleeping. This night, I felt little bit different. It was because of the kid.
Days and days passed. But, my husband never knew that the kid and I were always laughing in
the kitchen, even until 3 or 4 in the morning. We ate foods and sometimes, I told him a story of
the fairy tales. Once my husband was awake and he said, “Laura, I hear you talk with someone.
Who is that ?” I never care for what my husband said. He kept saying that he couldn’t see the kid.
And I kept saying that the kid was there with me. I though that the kid was afraid of seeing my
husband.
In one night, he never showed up again. That kid was like missing or going somewhere. I
didn’t know. That happened since my pregnancy. I always missed that kid. He had come to my
house and had dinner with me together almost for a month. Again, for this one, my husband didn’t
know that. Until I had to bear a baby, I was totally amazed for what I could see in the face of my
baby. He was a miracle.
My baby grew up as a boy. His face was exactly the same as the face of the boy who had
come to my house in that wonderful night. He said, “Thank you, mom.” He always said that three
words. Everytime he wanted to sleep, he said that words again. I asked him for why he said that
words again and again every night before he went to the bed. My boy said, “You were always
there when I needed you.” There was only a guessing in my mind and I don’t know why he said
that.
I felt happy for what my boy said. But, things were different when I tried to think of it. A five
year old boy would never say that unless he was taught to do so. I wondered about a weird thing,
so I took a walk around the street of my house. Suddenly, after I passed five corners of the street,
I saw a picture sticked into a wall of a house and something written down on it. “Gilbert, 5 years
old, was found dead in this street because of accident.” I was crying. My mind brought me back
to that boy and I never realize how weird this life was.
DESCRIPTIVE ESSAYS
Example -1
1.
I have always been fascinated by carnival rides. It amazes me that average, ordinary people
eagerly trade in the serenity of the ground for the chance to be tossed through the air like
vegetables in a food processor. It amazes me that at some time in history someone thought that
people would enjoy this, and that person invented what must have been the first of these terrifying
machines. For me, it is precisely the thrill and excitement of having survived the ride that keeps
me coming back for more.
My first experience with a carnival ride was a Ferris wheel at a local fair. Looking at that
looming monstrosity spinning the life out of its sardine-caged occupants, I was dumbstruck. It
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was huge, smoky, noisy and a little intimidating. Ever since that initial impression became fossilized
in my imagination many years ago, these rides have reminded me of mythical beasts, amazing
dinosaurs carrying off their screaming passengers like sacrificial virgins. Even the droning sound
of their engines brings to mind the great roar of a fire-breathing dragon with smoke spewing from
its exhaust-pipe nostrils.
The first ride on one of these fantastic beasts gave me an instant rush of adrenaline. As the
death-defying ride started, a lump in my throat pulsed like a dislodged heart ready to walk the
plank. As the ride gained speed, the resistance to gravity built up against my body until I was
unable to move. An almost imperceptible pause as the wheel reached the top of its climb allowed
my body to relax in a brief state of normalcy. Then there was an assault of stomach-turning
weightlessness as the machine continued its rotation and I descended back toward the earth. A
cymbal-like crash vibrated through the air as the wheel reached bottom, and much to my surprise
I began to rise again.
Each new rotation gave me more confidence in the churning machine. Every ascent left me
elated that I had survived the previous death-defying fall. When another nerve-wracking climb
failed to follow the last exhilarating descent and the ride was over, I knew I was hooked. Physically
and emotionally drained, I followed my fellow passengers down the clanging metal steps to reach
the safety of my former footing. I had been spared, but only to have the opportunity to ride again.
My fascination with these fantastic flights is deeply engrained in my soul. A trip on the wonderful
Ferris wheel never fails to thrill me. Although I am becoming older and have less time, or less
inclination, to play, the child-like thrill I have on a Ferris wheel continues with each and every ride.
Example-2
2.
One of my favorite things to do before starting my day is to take a jog in the local park. My
mind will clear, and I will be able to face whatever may happen that day. It makes me appreciate
the simple things in life a lot more. Jogging in the park during early hours opens up opportunities
to see different scenes and portraits and open my mind to a new perspective.
Entering the park, a slight breeze rustles the leaves making them fall to the solid ground one by
one. The sun begins to rise, waking the tired sleepers. Flowers are vast, and they conceal the
freshly cut green grass. There are sun-colored daisies, vivid purple lilies, carrot tinted hydrangeas,
and cotton candy pink hyacinths. The pathway is nothing more than dirt littered with random
rocks. The ground, moist from the night before, causes my footing to slip, keeping me on my
toes. There is a white picket fence that runs along the trail, reminding me of the one running along
Marilla and Matthew’s property in the movie,Anne of Green Gables. The park is barren except for
an elderly couple feeding the ducks and a couple of fellow joggers breathing in the fresh morning
air.
Walking by the minute green and brown tinted pond, the milky white, soft feathered ducks
can be heard a block away as they quack and battle for the food being thrown for them. The
elderly couple, dressed in their black silk slacks and crème colored matching sweaters, watch in
amusement as they are the ones causing all the excitement. Behind the oddly shaped rocks and
algae in the pond, orange, red, and yellow fish dart back and forth. They only come out of hiding
when miniscule hints of bread begin to fall. If you look closely enough, you can see a turtle,
colored forest green, blending in with the algae.
Beyond the pond lies the lonely playground. The brick red jungle gym sits there in its solitude,
longing for some eager company. In between parts of the jungle gym is the bridge to partake in
children’s fantasies from battling trolls, or patrolling the fort. An ugly putrid brown covers it, and it
is obvious that the screws are becoming unhinged, and it is only so long before it comes crashing
down. The swings rock gently, and the sound of the metal rubbing together can be heard. Orange
and bright in color, the swirl shaped slide echoes the belly laughs and shrilly screams of children
who have dared to go down the slide. The merry-go-round, an orange red color with splashes of
blue across the edges, is still like a parked car. No one is there to move it or spin it; There are no
bursts of laughter or tears for when someone falls off and scrapes their knee.
The park offers a variety of scenery, which makes the jog more worthwhile. As the end of the
jog nears, my mind is refreshed and my body is energized for the day. Unforeseen thoughts pop
into my head just as new answers for old problems unfold. One beautiful morning run can change
your day and make all the difference.
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EXPOSITORY ESSAYS
Example -1
1.
In Pursuit of Thinness
Throughout history and through a cross-section of cultures, women have transformed their
appearance to conform to a beauty ideal. Ancient Chinese aristocrats bound their feet as a show
of femininity; American and European women in the 1800s cinched in their waists so tightly,
some suffered internal damage; in some African cultures women continue to wear plates in their
lower lips, continually stretching the skin to receive plates of larger size.
The North American ideal of beauty has continually focussed on women’s bodies: the tiny waist
of the Victorian period, the boyish figure in vogue during the flapper era, measures of beauty
between the 1930s and 1950s. Current standards emphasize a toned, slender look, one that
exudes fitness, youth, and health. According to psychologist Eva Szekely, “Having to be attractive
at this time . . . means unequivocally having to be thin. In North America today, thinness is a
precondition for being perceived by others and oneself as healthy”. However, this relentless pursuit
of thinness is not just an example of women trying to look their best, it is also a struggle for
control, acceptance and success.
In attempting to mould their appearance to meet the current ideal, numerous women are
literally starving themselves to death. The incidence of eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa
and bulimia, has “doubled during the last two decades”. This increase is no longer limited to
women in their teens and twenties, but is increasingly diagnosed in patients in their thirties and
forties. “No doubt, the current sociocultural emphasis on thinness and physical fitness as a
symbol of beauty and success has contributed to this age distribution”.
One of the negative psychological side effects associated with eating disorders is the patient’s
distortion of their own body image,body image being defined as “the picture a person has in his
mind of his own body, that is, the way his body appears to him”. For the anorexic this distortion
is exaggerated, the patient feels fat even while emaciated, however, many women who are caught
up in the relentless pursuit of thinness also experience some degree of disturbed body image.
The experiences and practices of women who “simply diet” are not radically different from those
who are diagnosed with eating disorders. For some women, achieving the “perfect” body form
becomes the most important goal in life.
Example -2
2.
General Elections In India
In a democratic country, government must take a verdict of the people from time to time.
When it contemplates a change in policy, it becomes necessary to know what people think
about it. Also it may be necessary to consult the people as a routine measure, after intervals,
fixed by the statue. For this purpose elections are held all over the country and people are asked
to cast their votes for or against certain measures.
The existing popular assemblies are dissolved, and they are re-constituted on the basis of a
general election. Usually people vote on party lines. Where there is only one party, as it was in
the former Soviet Union and in the present-day communist China, votes are cast for or against
the party candidate. Policies are decided or the basis of such voting.
In our country, a general election is held normally after five years. But if a Prime Minister
contemplates a new line of policy, he or she may seek mandate from the people even before the
expiry of five years, as Mrs. Indira Gandhi did in 1971.
For the purpose of elections, the country is divided into a large number of constituencies.
These constituencies are asked to elect their representatives. Each party puts its own candidates
for election. When the candidates have submitted their nomination papers by the prescribed
date, after the scrutiny of nomination papers are finished, dates for election are announced and
the electoral machinery begins to function.
The candidates or their agents go from house to house, canvassing votes. The party bosses are
active and hold public meetings to explain to the people what they stand for. Each party uses
every argument and influence to convince the electorate that it alone is right and can deliver the
goods.
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At one time voters were bribed, persuaded or threatened. But now this is not much in evidence.
For malpractices during election are strictly forbidden and the whole election may be countermanded or annulled (cancelled) if such a corrupt charge is proved. For there is the three man
election commission to oversee the entire election process.
A prominent and eye-catching feature of election propaganda is by flaunting posters on houses
and banners across the streets as also hoardings with flags and slogans and symbols of the
candidates and wall graphics.
The Election Day is usually a general holiday. From morning, voters go their way to the
polling-booths where long queue are formed to ensure orderly voting. Voters move up to the ballot
box after running through proper formalities and cast their votes according to their preference.
To obviate false voting, the forefinger of the voter is marked with an indelible ink spot and his
signature is taken, after check-up by the rival polling agents. The system to be followed in the
next General Election is to supply each voter with a photo identity card which he must have to
produce to the polling officer on compulsion.
Some take their voting as a serious duty; others are in a more light-hearted mood. The
Election Conducting Officers as well as candidates go from one both to another as if to remind
their supporters of their existence, for canvassing on that day is strictly forbidden. Serious
complaints about malpractices are sent up to the Election Tribunal.
After the voting is over, the ballot boxes are sealed and taken to the proper place for counting.
This is the most important and exciting of all days. The issue is to be decided. The candidates
are on the tenterhook of suspense.
The ministry, i.e. the party in power is equally so for it may be voted out of power. As the
secret of each ballot box is unlocked by the Returning officer, the successful candidate and his
party are overjoyed; the unsuccessful go out crestfallen. The total results show which party has
won. If the ruling party is defeated, it resigns and allows the winning party or coalition to assume
the reins of office. The verdict of the people is mandatory.
Do elections as they are held today in our country truly reflect the will of the people? Doubts
are- often expressed in this regard. Parties are so many that it is difficult to judge their credentials.
They often represent local, regional, communal or sectarian interest and therefore they divert
attention from important national issue. Often a party, which is in a minority on a total count of
voter, may win in a large number of constituencies, and thus secure an effective majority for
functioning as a government. Another irritant to Indian Election system is the presence of a large
number of unprincipled independent candidates in the election process. With all its limitations,
election on the basis of adult franchise seems to be the most practical way of ensuring a truly
democratic government.
PERSUASIVE ESSAYS
Example-1
1.
Terrorism in India
Terrorism means the policy of striking terror in the minds of the people by violent methods to
achieve some ends. It is a law of the jungle to use muscle power and force to get things done. It
is a barbarian act. Of late, terrorism has become the order of the day.
People who are disgruntled and who are unable to get their desires fulfilled by normal and accepted
methods in society are resorting to terrorism. Some other causes for which terrorism is resorted
to may be genuine like a protest from people to come out of bondage or fight for freedom. Even
such causes do not support terrorism, when there are other channels and methods to solve the
problem.
Terrorism has now become an international phenomenon. There are terrorists in developed
and advanced countries as well as developing countries like India. We must find out the reasons
for emergence of terrorism. There has been exploitation of the weak and the poor for centuries by
the rich and the powerful. All representations and appeals of non-violent nature failed to yield any
response. Hence the frustrated and the oppressed resort to violence as there is no other alternative.
Such protests are also called terrorist activities. There is another type, that is, where one uses
force on the weak to gain his ends; sit may be to serve the cause of a religion, a language or to
establish a new pattern of government.
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The communist movements which resort to force, and the armed protests which Netaji Subhash
Chandra Bose led, in the name of the Indian National Army (I.N.A) cannot be termed as terrorist
activities. Protests like Khalistan Movement carried on earlier in Punjab, the armed protest marches
of Assam and the L.T.T.E. Movement of Sri Lanka are not justifiable movements. They could
always use other forums of a non-violent nature if they have any grievances to be redressed. The
hijacking of the Indian Airlines Plane in December 1999 is also another ugly face of terrorism. The
worst type of terrorism was that of Idi Amin of Uganda who let loose terrorism in his country to
serve his personal ends. Whether terrorism is justified or not, it has of late become the normal
method for achieving one’s ends.
Terrorism is not confined to any area or activity. It is finding its place in the elections conducted
in our country to elect members to legislatures and parliament. Many a times the candidates are
found taking the help of terrorists to win their elections, as violence has its own place in an
election campaign. As long as violence pays dividends much more easily and is allowed to go
unchecked, the animal in man favors its use instead of peaceful methods.
Governments all over the world are doing their best to put an end to terrorism. There are a few who
encourage and support terrorism in other countries to meet their own political ends. The U.N.O.
also is unable to completely eliminate this evil, even though it is able to contain it. But use of
violence to check violence is not a permanent solution.
The only remedy to this evil appears to be the diagnosis of the root cause for each act of
terrorism and if there is a genuine reason behind it, it is better to concede the demand. If terrorism
is based on issues which are immoral and not acceptable, the sure and powerful weapon against
it appears to be non violent “satyagraha” introduced by Mahatma Gandhi.
Example-2
2.
Death Penalty In India
The Indian penal code provides for capital punishment for criminal conspiracy, waging or
attempting to wage war against the Government of India, abetment of mutiny giving or fabricating
false capital evidence in officers leading to the conviction, abetment of suicide committed by a
child or insane or delirious person or a person who is intoxicated and murdered in decoity.
In India, death penalty is discretionary rather than mandatory in all capital offences except in
case of murder by a life. Section 303 of IPC lays down “whoever, being under sentence of
imprisonment for life, commits murder shall be punished with death.”
For various capital offences the judges no doubt take into account the background of the
crime, the age of the offender and the mental and physical condition of the accused.
Moreover the appellate courts also show some leniency. And at the top of all there is the
executive clemency exercised by the President of India. The fact that only 25 to 40 percent of
convicted offenders are hanged every year, goes to prove that both judicial process and executive
clemency are available to a significant percentage of offenders condemned to death.
Meanwhile the President of India has rejected the mercy petition field on behalf of Dhananjay
Chatterjee and he was sent to gallows.
The recent announcement by the Government that it was not in favour of abolishing the death
penalty has again highlighted the questions raised by many human rights activists. Is it consistent
with human dignity?
The question was raised even in 1946 on the eve of independence. Since then we have been
discussing the relevance of capital punishment. Does it really solve problems?
The opposition to abolition of the death penalty stems from the myth that it will lead an increase
in the number of murders. The fact is that in the state of Travancore there were 162 murders
between 1946 and 1950 when the death penalty was not in force, But in the five years from 1950
when it was re-imposed. There were 967 murderers. It has been argued that it is not possible to
fight such crimes by framing law. What we need is to target the root of a crime. Discontent in a
society is one of the reasons for such crimes.
Those who do not support capital punishment often quite ignore incidents like Mumbai terror
or attack on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s convoy in Tirupati. But we should remember that
terrorist and suicidal maniacs responsible for the blasts and other such crimes also do not care
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about the consequences or punishment. They are already beyond the pale of humanity and have
to be fought using innovative ideas and methods of counter terrorism.
It was 1931 where the death penalty was seriously challenged in the Bihar Assembly. A
member of the Assembly unsuccessfully sought to introduce a bill seeking its abolition. In 1946,
on the eve of independence the then Union Home Minister stated that the Government did not
think it was to abolish capital punishment. Ten years later when the government asked the states
for their opinions; most of them expressed support for the death penalty.
In the 35th report produced in 1967 the Law Commission took the view that capital punishment
acted as a deterrent to crime. But the statistics did not prove these so called deterrent have any
effect the Supreme Court traditionally has not questioned the death sentence per se. In the
Jagmohan Singh case (1973) it agreed with the Law Commission that capital punishment should
be retained.
But subsequently cases such as those of Eliga Anawana (1974) and Rajender Prasad (1979)
saw dissenting voices being raised in the Apex Court. These led (1980) case by Constitution
Bench. The Bench concluded by four to one vote that the death penalty did -not violate Article 14
or Article 21 of the constitution. But some liberal judges tried to develop the alternative by holding
that the consent could involve Article 21 in the event of the death sentence not being carried out
even after two years and demanded that it be quashed.
Amnesty International, a strong opponent of the death penalty world wide, cites the Boldus
report prepared in the U.S. to argue that capital punishment is socially oppressive. It found, that
if the homicide victims were white, the killers were four times more likely to get the death sentences
that if those murdered were black.
It can not be disputed that the outcome of any trial depends to a large extent on the quality of
legal advice that the accused receive. This loads the scales in favour of the rich. The arbitrariness
of the sentencing mechanism in India persuades one to strongly argue against releasing the
death penalty but it is the Parliament who has the right to take capital punishment.
REFLECTIVE ESSAYS
Example-1
1.
As an English major I have learned to appreciate the peaceful, yet exhilarating moment when
my mind engages with an author’s thoughts on a page. As Toni Morrison says in The Dancing
Mind , “Reading is to experience one’s own mind dancing with another’s.” In my early days as a
college student, I wanted to know the “true” meaning of a work or what the author intended,
however, I have now realized this would void literature of its most noteworthy complexities. Individual
interpretations bring varied insights to a work and it is also interesting to point out messages the
author may not have realized.
I have always been a thinker, but throughout my coursework, I have greatly sharpened my
critical analysis skills. Instead of focusing on proposed meanings or biographical background, I
have learned to continuously ask “why” on many different levels. I challenge myself to dig into a
text as deeply as possible and unpack every detail to develop a satisfying close read. Also, by
reading multiple novels by the same author I have learned to identify different writing styles and
make connections that weave texts together; this helped me develop a deeper understanding of
the novels. When I look at one of my freshman level novels and see clean pages, I realize that I
did not actively read the book. I guess you could say that I have learned to read with a pen, which
has drastically taken my writing to a new level because I am able to connect back with my initial
insights marked on the page.
Writing had always been one of my strengths, but it was challenging to take that initial step
past the high school, five-paragraph essay form that constricted my ideas for so long. Moving
past this form, however, has greatly opened my mind. My thoughts are now able to be more
complex because I have learned how to sustain a logical argument in an organized manner. My
writing has become increasingly more concise and I no longer have room for added “fluff” or
“padding.” Another improvement is my ability to point out multiple complexities within a text,
instead of sticking to one-sided arguments in my papers. Furthermore, learning how to find peer
reviewed journal articles and order books through interlibrary loan has significantly widened the
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scope of my research, which has lead to more scholarly papers with credible references. My
writing is so much more interesting than it used to be.
It is difficult to identify gaps in my knowledge as an English major, only because I feel like I
have learned so much. I feel that I have largely expanded my literary analysis and writing skills,
but I need to be prepared to teach high school students their required literature. I think it would be
useful to identify commonly taught novels in our local high schools and study them myself. By
studying the required literature and thinking about how to teach it, I will have a sturdy foundation
to work from once I am in the classroom.
IMAGINATIVE ESSAYS
Example-1
1.
If I were the Prime Minister of India
India is the largest democratic country and the Prime Minister is the head of it. He represents the
country and is regarded as the first among equals. It is really a matter of pride to be the Prime
Minister of such a vast country.
As a Prime Minister I would like to develop India as a strong self reliant nation. For this first of all
I would like to have a check on the increasing population. Unless it is checked, our country can
not progress. Malnutrition, insufficient medical care, high infant mortality rates and problems of
aged people are some of its direct consequences. Hence population control would be the first
priority.
Then I would control the price rise. The distribution system of essential commodity would be
made more effective. The hoarders and businessmen would not take advantage of the things
because of strict rules. Eradication of poverty and illiteracy are also very important.
They are curses and I would try my best so that each and every Indian may get rid of them.
I would give priority to achieve the target of 100% literacy which would be employment oriented.
Rural school would be provided with good and sincere teachers.
Higher education would be based on merit. The talented people would be given proper placements
by setting up centres for excellence. This would stop brain-drain, one of the major problems of
India.
Necessary steps would be taken to uproot unemployment. It has created depression among
our youth. In lack of employment, the young boys go astray. They are indulged in serious crimes
and thus become the unsocial elements.
They would be given proper direction so that they may extend their helping hands in the
progress of the country. My aim would be to spread computer, internet and telephone lines to the
remotest village of the country. Special training sessions would be organised for youth. Loans will
be available for the deserving people.
This would encourage self-employment, which is the need of the hour. There would not be
any gap between the rich and the poor. Employment avenues would be available for all.
People would be taught about their duties in respect of their rights as provided by the constitution.
Strikes will be banned. Attention will be given towards immoral elements to punish them seriously.
I would give priority to establish a society free from fear and insecurity by encouraging universal
brotherhood. Restoration of peace would be the ultimate goal of my tenure. I would leave not a
stone unturned to bring peace in the country. The dignity of the individuals and the finer qualities
of the citizens would be elevated.
Strict laws would be framed for smugglers, hoarders and blackmarketeers. Law and order will be
maintained at all cost. In a nutshell, as a Prime Minister I would like to build my country as it was
dreamt by Rabindra Nath Tagore.
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up
Into fragments by narrow domestic walls
Into that heaven of freedom
My father let my country awake.
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ECONOMY
BRAIN DRAIN
“No man’s genius, however shining, can raise him from obscurity unless
he has industry, opportunity and also a patron to recommend him.”
The term ‘Brain-drain’ hasrecently come into vogue for describing the flight of talent from our
country to another. Often, it is loosely employed to describe all migration of educated and talented
persons to countries abroad in search of better careers even though their services may be badly
needed in their native land, and thus, this exodus of talent, depletes a country’s intellectual resources
and tells on national life.
However, the problem of ‘Brain-drain’ is not peculiar to the present age of ours. It existed even in
Medieval times when great conquerors carried away not only hoards of gold and rich treasures from
the vanquished countries, but they also took away men of talent and genius as a matter of right. The
only difference we see today is that now the talented and educated persons migrate of their own
accord, attracted by the glitter and glamour of better emoluments and amenities.
Today, the problem of Brain-drain is a product of the revolution in science and technology inspired
by the Second World War and speeded up by the discovery and use of the nuclear energy. After the war,
the stupendous advance made by U.S.A., U. S. S. R., Great Britain, Germany etc. in the field of scientific
research began to attract men of science and talent from other Countries.
One striking feature of this problem of Brain-drain is that it is a global phenomenon, affecting
almost every country. India, too, has been facing this problem and it is discussed from time to time in
a rather casual and cursory manner. It is revived with afresh momentum when some Indian repatriate
in another country achieves some distinction in his field of work.
Let us also analyze the reasons which prompt such people to leave the land of their birth for foreign
shores. Is it merely the enchantment and glamour of life in more affluent countries, or is it the search
for a more satisfying professional career. An overwhelming majority of such repatriates go abroad as
students seeking academic, scientific or technological education which is sadly lacking in their own
countries. More often than not, such advanced courses of training are designed to benefit the host
country. Naturally, such an education has no market in their native countries, and quite obviously, they
cannot be accommodated there. So they are forced to seek voluntary exile to settle in .the country of
their learning.
One more factor deserves consideration. After a promising young-man has completed his training,
he usually expects work which should not only bring in enough money and other emoluments but also
give him sufficient professional satisfaction.
But a greater contributing factor to this problem of Brain-drain is the unimaginative handling of the
issue by the most callous and unimaginative bureaucracy of the country. The research workers and
men of genius are men out of the ordinary and their work is of an extraordinary nature. But bureaucracy
fails to cope with such people for it lacks the intellectual equipment and sensibility needed to handle
such volatile human material. Very often, this becomes the main deciding factor for the emigrant, with
other factors acting as catalytic agents.
In India, the pattern of Brain-drain has caught the public eye very recently. Facts and figures are put
forward to emphasize the terrible loss being caused to the country as a result of this phenomenon.
What is really alarming is the information that the average age of migrants is between 20 and 40 years.
This means that India is losing the cream of the intelligent at the most productive period of their life.
The Government of India set up the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, partly with a view
to meeting the problem of Brain-drain. The C.S.I.R. installed in 1958 the scheme of scientists’ pool as
a device for bringing back highly qualified Indian nationals from abroad. On papers this scheme has
been doing some service but in actual practice the scheme has flopped owing to various simple
reasons viz., a yawning discrepancy in salary and emoluments and a severe lack of research-cumworkshop facilities for the highly skilled and specialized scientists.
The problem of Brain-drain should be tackled at national and international level on a broad-based and
rational pattern, for it is a global issue. On the national level, a country like India, should ameliorate the
working conditions of scientists and equip the laboratories with latest technology. Internationally, the
country gaining by Brain-drain must compensate the losing country by sending her scientists in return.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Business social responsibility should not be coerced; it is a voluntary decision that the
entrepreneurial leadership of every company must make on its own.
“CSR is a company’s commitment to operating in an economically, socially and environmentally
sustainable manner whilst balancing the interests of diverse stakeholders.”
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept whereby organizations consider the interests
of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, employees, shareholders,
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communities and the environment in all aspects of their operations. This obligation is seen to extend
beyond the statutory obligation to comply with legislation and sees organizations voluntarily taking
further steps to improve the quality of life for employees and their families as well as for the local
community and society at large.
The debate about CSR has been said to have begun in the early 20th century, amid growing concerns
about large corporations and their power. The ideas of charity and stewardship helped to shape the
early thinking about CSR in the US.
To demonstrate good business citizenship, firms can report compliance with a number of CSR
standards The scale and nature of the benefits of CSR for an organization can vary depending on the
nature of the enterprise, and are difficult to quantify, though there is a large body of literature exhorting
business to adopt measures beyond financial ones. CSR may be based within the human resources,
business development or public relations departments of an organization, or may be given a separate
unit reporting to the CEO or in some cases directly to the board.
Some companies may implement CSR-type values without a clearly defined team or programme.
The business case for CSR within a company will likely rest on one or more of these arguments:
A CSR programme can be seen as an aid to recruitment and, particularly within the competitive
graduate student market. Potential recruits often ask about a firm’s CSR policy during an interview and
having a comprehensive policy can give an advantage. CSR can also help to improve the perception
of a company among its staff, particularly when staff can become involved through payroll giving,
fundraising activities or community volunteering. In crowded marketplaces companies strive for a
unique selling proposition which can separate them from the competition in the minds of consumers.
CSR can play a role in building customer loyalty based on distinctive ethical values. Business
service organizations can benefit too from building a reputation for integrity and best practice. So
businesses should be more responsible for their environment. It is difficult to concede if CSR is purely
driven by the intentions of corporate members to exert ethical conduct or is it a distraction and/or
opportunity to over shadow or distract society and consumer perception based on the moral standing
of an organization
There are major challenges in today’s corporate arena that impose limitations to the growth and
potential profits of an organization. Government restriction, tariffs, globalization, environmentally
sensitive areas and exploitation are problems that are costing millions of dollars for organization. It
may be apparent that in some cases, ethical implications are simply a costly hindrance that potentially
forces businesses to finding alternative means to shift viewpoints.
It is certainly a potential strategic tactic to gain public support to sustain a competitive advantage.
Another plausible driver of CSR is by independent mediators to ensure that corporate goals don’t
harm or disadvantage anyone or environment. Unfortunately many consequential events are a reason
why CSR policies become evident. But CSR opens up a whole new horizon for safer and better
opportunities for both the employer and employee. It is now for more organizations to realize the
importance of CSR, and take the right step towards success.
RISE IN OIL PRICES; AN ENCOUNTER
Across the country, people are willing to tighten their belts and sacrifice. The President should ask
the oil industry to do the same.
There was a time when global oil prices reflected changes in the real demand and supply of crude
petroleum. The current oil price spike reflects not only current economic conditions and perceptions of
future activity, but also world political situations. Crude oil price increased five-fold in five years: from
$22 per barrel in 2003 to $110 per barrel. Cost per barrel was $100-115 in April-May, 2011. A country like
India that imports three-fourths of its oil cannot ignore global price trends for very long. However,
repeated fire-fighting to douse the oil surge has adverse effects on people. Already burdened by
inflation, hike in oil price directly or indirectly enters into all other prices, leaving a consumer unhappy.
The repercussions will be far-fetched: an increase in the price of diesel, the economy’s main
transportation fuel, will push up the cost of cloth and food items, including fruits and vegetables, eggs,
and many other perishables that are moved largely by truck. A hike in transportation costs usually has
a cascading effect on food prices already reeling under food inflation. Transported raw materials will
raise input costs, thereby, production costs. Eventually, end consumer takes the blow in the form of
cost push inflation.
A common man can find an increase in fares charged by public transport system in order to offset
the price rise as recently was the case with APSRTC. The cement industry has a large part of its
transport through roads. Cement prices will be impacted by about Rs. 3-4 per 50 kg bag and
consequently a dearer infrastructure leading to hike in user fees. The recent fuel price hike has had a
cascading effect on the packaged drinking water industry as well. According to manufacturers of
packaged drinking water around the city of Chennai, the price has been hiked by Rs.5 per 20-litre
bubble-top container by the dealers.
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As per census 2001, 12,528,916 Indians use kerosene as a cooking fuel; significantly rural. As for
the increase in the price of kerosene —— the poor woman’s fuel —— there have been reports that a
significant proportion of the fuel obtained from the public distribution system is being diverted for
adulterating diesel and other more expensive fuels. Clearly, an access made difficult. Even cooking
gas users —— primarily of middle class or above poverty level (APL) —— were not allowed to save
their neck. A recent increase of Rs. 50 on a LPG cylinder of 14.2 kg is deeply resented.
Now considering a petrol price rise, in India two-wheeler density is more than 75% while the
passenger vehicle is only 15%. Petrol is the only fuel for two-wheelers. Hence, proportion of twowheeler users affected by petrol price rise is several times more than car and big car users.
Such cost pressures have another consequence: they push governments to inflation control measures,
such as higher interest rates. In many countries this worsens the chances for the already fragile
economic recovery after the crisis. So people across the world face lower real incomes and may face
reduced employment opportunities.
From the above it is clear that we encounter the percolation effect of oil surge into every possible
sector. Oilonomics has gone haywire. Strong oil reforms, especially in pricing, subsidies and retailing
in place could unleash the burden of consumer.
UNION BUDGET AND ECONOMIC SURVEY IN INDIA
“A budget tells us what we can’t afford, but it doesn’t keep us from buying it.”
The term ‘budget’ was derived from an old English word Bougett which means a pouch or sack. In fact,
it was a leather bag from which the British Chancellor of Exchequer (incharge of finance) took out his
papers (which contained government financial programme for the coming year) to present to the
Parliament. Thus “Budget is plan of financing for the coming fiscal year. It has two parts- an itemized
estimate of all revenues on the one hand and all expenditure on the other hand.”
IMPORTANCE OF BUDGET
According to Kautilya “All undertakings depend upon finance. Hence foremost attention must be
paid to the treasury”. Financial administration is always at the core of modern government. It is an
integral and indispensable tool of administration. It is concerned with implementation of policies.
“Finance is universally involved in administration as oxygen is in the atmosphere.”
FUNCTIONS OF THE BUDGET
Budget ensures the financial and legal accountability of the executive (government) to the legislature.
It makes sure accountability of subordinates to superiors in the administrative hierarchy.
It works as an instrument of social and economic policy to serve the functions of allocation, distribution
and stabilization.
It facilitates the efficient execution of the function and services of government.
It facilitates administrative management and coordination as it unifies the various activities of the
government into a single plan.
FORMULATION OF BUDGET
There are four organs which are involved in the formulation of the Budget:
The Finance Ministry-it has the overall responsibility for the formulation of the budget and provides
required leadership and direction.
The Administrative Ministers-They have a detailed knowledge of administrative requirements.
The Planning Commission-It facilitates the incorporation of plan priorities in the budget. We can say
that the Finance Ministry remains in constant touch with Planning Commission to incorporate the plan
priorities in the budget.
The Comptroller and Auditor General-He provides the accounting skills which are necessary for the
formulation of the budget estimates.
STAGES IN FORMULATION OF BUDGETStage 1- ln September-October (5-6 months before the commencement of the financial year).
The Finance Ministry dispatches circulars and forms to administrative Ministry and invite their
estimates of expenditure for the next financial year. The administrative ministry passes on these forms
to their local field officers. In these forms the estimates and requisite information have to be filled in by
local field officers. Each such form contains:
(i) Actual figures of the previous year.
(ii) Sanctioned budget estimates for the current year.
(iii) Revised estimates of the current year.
(iv) Proposed estimates for the next year.
(v) Actual of current year available (At the time of preparation of the estimates).
(vi) Actual for the corresponding period of the previous year.
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Stage 2- Head of the departments after receiving the estimates from drawing officers, scrutinizes and
consolidates them for the entire department and submits them to the Administrative Ministry. The
Administrative Ministry scrutinizes the estimates in light of its general policy and consolidates them for
the whole ministry and submits them to the Finance Ministry.
Stage 3- The Finance Ministry scrutinizes the estimates received from the view point of economy of
expenditure and availability of revenues. Its scrutiny is nominal in case of standing charges and more
exacting in case of new items of expenditure.
Stage 4- If there is difference of opinion between the Administrative Ministry and Finance Ministry on
the inclusion of a scheme in the budget estimates the former can submit such estimates to the Union
Cabinet and the decision of cabinet in this regard is final.
Stage 5- After this, the Finance Ministry consolidates the budget estimates on the expenditure side.
Based on the estimated expenditure, the Finance Ministry prepares the estimates of revenue in
consultation with the Central Board of Taxes and Central Board of Indirect Taxes. It is also assisted by
Income Tax Department and Central Excise and Customs Department in this regard.
Stage 6- The Finance Ministry places the consolidated budget before the cabinet. After the approval of
the cabinet, the budget can be presented to the parliament. It must be mentioned that Budget is a
secret document and should not be leaked before it is presented to the Parliament.
ENACTMENT OF BUDGET/PASSAGE OF BUDGETEnactment of budget means the passage of the budget by the Parliament and ratification by the President.
The government can neither collect money nor spend money without the enactment of the budget.
EUROZONE CRISIS AND ITS IMPACT IN INDIA
The aim is of course to make the euro an irreversible project.
The eurozone (a currency union of 17 European countries) has been going through a major crisis
which started with Greece but spread rapidly to Ireland, Portugal, and Spain and subsequently Italy.
While it got sparked off by fear over the sovereign debt crisis in Greece, it went on to impact the
peripheral economies as well, especially those with over-leveraged financial institutions. These
economies (especially Greece) have witnessed downgrades in the ratings of their sovereign debt due
to fears of default and a rise in borrowing costs.The sovereign debt crisis has made it very difficult for
some of these countries to re-finance government debt. The banking sector in these countries also
stands adversely affected.
Good times: After the launch of the euro, the eurozone witnessed not only a decline in long-term
interest rates (especially from 2002 to 2006), but an increasing degree of convergence in the interest
rates of member countries. A common currency, similar interest rates, and relatively strong growth
provided a basis for a rise in public and private borrowing with cross-border holdings of sovereign and
private debt by banks.
Trigger: In the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2008, sovereign debt levels started to mount.
The revelation that the fiscal deficit in Greece was much higher than stated earlier set off serious
concerns in early 2010 about the sustainability of the debt. The downgrade of ratings led to a spiral of
rising bond yields and further downgrade of government debt of other peripheral eurozone economics
as well, that had high public debt or a build-up of bank lending or both.
How it spread: Concerns intensified in early 2010 as cross-border holdings of sovereign debt and
exposure of banks came to light. The financial markets quickly transmitted the shocks which not only
led to a sharp rise in credit default swap (CDS) spreads but later impacted capital flows elsewhere.
Underlying weaknesses: The crisis has been difficult to resolve due to certain specific things
The eurozone hicks a single fiscal authority capable of strict enforcement;
Economies with different levels of competitiveness (and fiscal positions) have a single currency;
These economics cannot adjust through a depreciation of the currency.
There is no lender of last resort, i.e. a full-fledged central bank
Steps to resolve it: In May 2010, the European finance ministers agreed on a rescue package worth
• 750 billion to ensure financial stability by creating the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). In
October 2011, the eurozone leaders agreed to a package of measures that included an agreement
whereby banks would accept a 50 per cent write-off of Greek debt owed to private creditors, an increase
in the EFSF to about 1 trillion, and requiring European banks to achieve 9 per cent capitalization. The
date for starting the European Stability Mechanism was brought forward to July 2012. To restore
confidence in Europe, EU leaders also agreed to a fiscal compact with a commitment that participating
countries would introduce a balanced budget amendment. In December 2011, the European Central
Bank (ECB) took the step of offering a three-year long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) at higlily
favourable rates to alleviate funding stress which helped bring down the yields somewhat during
January and February 2012. But overall uncertainty about the effectiveness of all these measures and
how further resources would be raised, their adequacy, and doubts about sovereign debt levels
coming down and the ability of Greece and other economies to undertake further fiscal austerity
remain, especially due to the low-growth scenario.
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The Euro zone and India: The eurozone, though distinct from the European Union (EU) is a major
subset of the EU. The eurozone and EU account for about 19 and 25 per cent respectively of global
GDP. The EU is a major trade partner for India accounting for about 20 per cent of India’s exports and
is an important source of foreign direct investment (FDI). The IMF has forecast that the eurozone is
likely to go through a mild recession in 2012. A slowdown in the eurozone is likely to impact the EU and
the world economy as well as India.
EFFECTS OF DEVALUATION OF INDIAN CURRENCY ON INDIAN ECONOMY
Devaluation means decreasing the value of nation’s currency relative to gold or the currencies ofother
nations.
Devaluation occurs in terms of all other currencies, but it is best illustrated in the case of only one
other currency. Devaluation is usually undertaken as a means of correcting a deficit in the balance of
payment. Some analyst are of the view that weakening the value of currency could actually be good for
the economy-since a weaker currency will boost manufacturing production, which in turn will lift
employment and all this will set in motion economic growth and keep the economy going. But the
dangers of a falling rupee too quickly, would be that the foreigners will stop investing in the country,
which would make it impossible to finance the current account (trade) deficit. It will then be forced to
push interest rates up to defend the rupee (crashing rupee stock and bond markets is supposed to
make the rupee more valuable), and that could create recession.
IMPACT OF DOLLAR FLUCTUATIONS ON THE INDIAN ECONOMY:
Possible impacts of the devaluation on the economy could be the stimulation of merchandise
exports, discouraging merchandise imports and thus improving terms of trade, increase revenue
collection and savings in repatriation of profits and royalties by existing foreign investors, bringing
illegal foreign exchange leakages into official channels and putting an end to gold smuggling. Inflow
of foreign capital can be improved by devaluation only if prices do not rise. It is supposed to provide an
escape from vexation import controls that prevent utilisation of full industrial capacity, stifle export
drive, bestow monopoly profits on a few, inefficient market regulation and pressure on budget and
domestic prices will sky rocket. Balance of payment (BOP) of any country is the balance resulting from
the flow of payments/receipts between an individual country and all other countries as a result of
import/exports happening between an individual country, in our case India and rest of the world. This
gap widened during Iraq’s attempt to take over Kuwait. Thereafter, exports also contributed to FX
reserve along with Foreign Direct Investment into the Indian economy and reduced the BOP gap.
The obvious consequence of devaluation in the short run would be to worsen the balance of
payment position and raise the burden of India’s foreign debt and debt service liability and foreign
loans repayment would break the back of the budget, which would in turn increases the trade gap. It
will upset all the cost price relationships in the economy, lead to galloping inflation, and will stall many
ongoing projects due to rising costs. Conclusively, appreciation and depreciation of rupee cannot
certainly be taken as beneficial to the Indian economy in general. On one hand the rupee appreciation
will affect exporters, BPOs, etc., on the other, rupee depreciation will affect importers. So now it depends
on what the future has to reveal for, how effectively the central bank can balance the FX rates with little
impact to the relative areas of FX usage. Can the Dollar remain king or not, is no longer a million dollar
question, but a million Rupee question!
GLOBAL RECESSION: IMPACT ON INDIA
It has engulfed America and Europe and is now spreading to Asia and Africa and has left behind
carnage of mass unemployment, slowing of industrial growth; fall in the stock market and an overall
negative sentiment of the economy. Yes we are talking about the global recession which is now a
reality and posing us serious questions.
There is a raging fire so enormous that no economy seems to be safe from it. It has engulfed
America and Europe and is now spreading to Asia and Africa and has left behind carnage of mass
unemployment, slowing of industrial growth; fall in the stock market and an overall negative sentiment
of the economy. Yes we are talking about the global recession which is now a reality and posing us
serious questions. With the global GDP growth rate expected to be merely 0.5 percent this year our
concerns immediately shift to what implications it will have on India and what can be done about it.
How it Started
Before we analyze its implications for India it would be wise to understand the causal factors
behind it. If we look back just a little into our past it started in the US with the sub prime housing crisis.
The banks were guilty of lending to sub-prime borrowers or NINJAS (No Income, No job, No Assets)
due to the following reasons:
Large inflow of foreign funds leading to excess liquidity in the market. (These funds came in from well
to do economies such as China, India, Japan and Russia having surplus foreign reserve and they
pumped the money back to US in the form of sovereign funds)
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Booming housing sector (It was imagined that the property rates would keep increasing in perpetuity)
Low interest rates in the market.
Thus seducing the banks into ignoring the prudential norms and lending to sub prime borrowers
with bad credit history and no source of income to repay their debts.
However this bubble created was to burst someday. It did, and was witnessed by falling property rates
and defaulting of the amount payments by the sub prime borrowers. Numerous Hedge funds and
Mutual Funds, who had purchased these high risk sub prime loans from the banks with the hope of
making high profits, started making losses. But this crisis led to a domino effect spreading to various
economies through out the world. The hedge funds and the mutual funds removed their money from
well performing stock markets to cover their losses in the sub prime crisis. Thus leading these stock
markets around the world to crash. This crisis has seen major financial institutes such as Lehman
Brothers, Bear Sterns, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and leading insurer such as AIG eat dust, Banks and
financial institutes are the backbone of any economy and the fall of these titans has resulted in
spoiling the entire money market, causing difficulties for industry to get credit thereby slowing down
the overall industrial growth.
TIME FOR INTROSPECTION
The US government offered a bailout package of 700 billion dollars to these financial institutes. This
move has been met with tremendous uproar throughout the world and people are asking many
uncomfortable questions and making caustic observations.
Is the taxpayer’s hard earned money being put to prudent use by bailing out these institutes?
Wouldn’t bailouts reinforce them thus making them carry even more risky behaviour in the future?
Are free markets in the best interest of the country? In fact the very conception of capitalism is under the scanner.
Many of the fundamentals that free markets take for granted are not applicable even for sophisticated
financial markets such as the US. It is then an obvious question that how are they expected to work in
developing markets such as those of India with widespread imperfections.
IMPACT ON INDIA
In the age of globalization, no country can remain isolated from the fluctuations of world economy.
Heavy losses suffered by major International Banks is going to affect all countries of the world as
these financial institutes have their investment interest in almost all countries.
India is facing challenges mostly on the following three fronts. These fronts are deeply interlinked.
THE CONTINUOUS FALL IN THE STOCK MARKETS.
For the last two years, our stock market was touching new heights such as crossing the impossible
to imagine 20000 mark by the Sensex, thanks to heavy investments by Foreign Institutional Investors
(FIIs). However, when the parent companies of these in- vestors (based mainly in US and Europe)
found themselves in a severe credit crunch as a result of sub-prime mess, the only option left with
these investors was to withdraw their money from Indian Stock Markets to meet liabilities at home. FIIs
were the main buyers of Indian Stocks and their exit from the market is certain to wreak havoc in the
market. FIIs that were on a buying spree last year, are now in the mood of selling their stocks in India.
As a result our Share Markets are touching new lows everyday.
RUPEE IS WEAKENING AGAINST DOLLAR
Since, the money, which FIIs get after selling their stocks, needs to be converted into dollars
before they can sent it home, the demands for dollars has suddenly increased. As more and more FIIs
are buying dollars, the rupee is loosing its strength against dollar. As long as demands for dollars
remain high, the rupee will keep loosing its strength against dollar.
OUR BANKS ARE FACING SEVERE CRASH CRUNCH RESULTING IN SHORTAGE OF LIQUIDITY
IN THE MARKET.
The current financial crisis has also started directly affecting Indian Industries. For the past few
years, the two most preferred method of raising money by the companies were Stock Markets and
external borrowings on low interest rates. Stock Markets are bleeding everyday and it is not possible
to raise money there. Regarding external borrowing from world markets, this option has also become
difficult.
International lenders have become extremely risk averse and this is affecting the Indian financial
markets and real economy. In the present scenario the earlier targets of 9 per cent growth rate seem
to be out of reach. A modest 7 per cent is a more realistic target in the existing circumstances However
the picture is not entirely gloomy as our finance minister has repeatedly pointed out. India won’t be
affected much by the current recessionary trends due to the following reasons.
India is a domestic consumption- and investment-driven market where contribution of exports to the
growth is not as big goes in its favour to tackle this crisis in a much better way than few of the other
emerging economies
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The inflationary pressures have eased out to a comfortable level and the government can refocus on
its growth strategies.
Indian banks have very limited exposure to the US mortgage market, directly or through derivatives,
and to the failed and stressed financial institutions.
LESSONS LEARNT BY INDIA:
It is of utmost importance that India takes appropriate lessons from the cur- rent financial mess
because those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Some important learnings that
emerge would enable India to have a pragmatic approach towards the future and will help it to ward off
similar problems in a more efficient manner.
India will be increasingly moving towards a more integrated financial network with the world over the
next 10-15 years. We need to rethink our policy framework for such integration. We are fortunate that
our economy is relatively decoupled and pretty much free from such external shocks.
We should reign in our horses before we jump onto to the capital convertibility bandwagon. We never
realized the ill effects of the 1970’s oil crisis nor the East Asian crisis ‘of the 90’s. This time we wouldn’t
be thai fortunate and if not cautious even in the future we stand vulnerable.
The policy makers should rather be interested in protecting the interests of our markets such as
agriculture (though it only contributes 1A of the GDP but employs 60 per cent of our work force.)
There is a great demand for deregulation in the economy especially from the middle class and the
media. We should however not be fooled into thinking that economic freedom will automatically lead
to economic growth. We need to focus on developing a regulatory framework for the economy at a
much faster rate.
Market failure is a distinct possibility. The Indian policy makers should make use of various simulation
models and construct ‘what if scenarios for various banks and NBFCs. This would ensure the
governments readiness to tackle various contingencies.
Many experts are now appreciating the prudent practices and the socialistic fiscal policies followed by
countries such as India. India should take heart from its well thought of economic model for removing
glaring social inequities and its aversion for blindly jumping into a dark alley in pursuit of instant profits.
India should resort to old Buddhist teachings of following the middle path and develop a unique
modified economic model. A model that would be neither socialistic nor a free economy model and
which would be regulated by independent regulators. Thus our model should neither be influenced by
the left nor the right and neither should be self serving in nature.
India has an important lesson in the fact that we should not let our own judgment to be replaced by that
of self serving international institutions propagating absurd financial doctrines having no semblance
what so ever of either the past or of the future.
We could also benefit from international effort for co-ordination between the various agencies entrusted
with the task of maintaining financial stability. The IMF suggests that the respective roles of central
banks, regulators, supervisors, and fiscal authorities regarding financial stability needs to be revisited
India should cooperate and coordinate with the developed countries in the management. It should
also ensure its participation as a representative of the developing world so that the implications of this
management on the developing world are factored in. This move would also open a dialogue for the
future, so that continuous cooperation can take place between north and south.
It is very well understood that the current situation has precipitated due to the greed of few, their
inability to foresee the consequences of their actions and has led to the woes of millions worldwide.
It is thus imperative for us to rethink our economic strategies and not be swayed by the blind claims of
self professed financial messiahs claiming clairvoyance when it is quite clearly evident that they have
trouble seeing disaster sitting right under their noses. An effective and efficient regulatory framework
needs to be developed that would keep abreast with financial innovations and new emerging business
models and a quick reaction time incase of market failures. Thus until and unless we take charge of
things and fight this monster with all our strength it is likely to grow and would also periodically reemerge in the form of the all powerful depression, leaving us with nothing but horrendous tales of
despair to tell to our future generations.
FDI IN REATIL: ANALYSIS and IMPLICATIONS
The study found symptoms of nervousness, chronic fatigue, body ache, insomnia, nausea, anxiety,
restlessness, depression etc. due to odd working hours (mostly might shifts, because BPOs
generally cater to clients in USA and UK) and stress.
What impact all these would have on a large section of our population is a matter of some concern,
specially because ours is a young population on whose shoulders rest the future of India. As per
industry experts, stress results in one out of every seven workers leaving the industry every year.
FDI in retail has become the new buzzword in policy-making and industrial circles. The government
has already allowed 51 per cent FDI in single-brand retailing and is contemplating the pros and cons
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of allowing FDI in retail for multiple brands. Meanwhile, small retailers are up in arms over the
government’s proposal. Political consensus too is yet to build up as the consequences of allowing
FDI in multi-brands are still being debated.
PROPONENTS OF FDI IN RETAIL
The proponents of FDI in the retail sector put forward the following arguments in its favour:
It would make economic sense to open up the sector for Multinational companies (MNCs). According
to the World Bank, foreign investment in the sector will be beneficial to India because it would lower
prices and provide more choice to the Indian consumer due to greater availability of products.
The India Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) has recommended the
phased opening up of the retail sector with an initial cap of 49 per cent FDI. It has supported foreign
investment because such a move would speed up the growth of organized formats in retailing. It has
also argued that foreign retailers can anyway enter the Indian market through other routes, such as the
franchise route. Therefore, the existing FDI ban has not, in reality, restricted the entry of foreign companies
in the retail sector. While they have been there already, it is the nation which has lost on investment.
Also the entry process for the retail companies through these other routes is non-transparent and
complex. These things can be rectified by allowing FDI in retail. The ICRIER has also suggested that
the government should grant industry status to the retail sector. It should also issue licenses to
players that are to be allowed, make quality standards for local and imported products and specify
those products where FDI would not be allowed. Besides all these things, domestic retailers should
be given time to adjust to the changed scenario before the sector is opened up.
It is also true that the major trading partners of India in the WTO have requested India to open up the
retail sector so that their companies can invest in India’s huge retail market. Thus, if the sector is
indeed opened up, it would increase India’s bargaining power in the WTO, which then would have
tremendous ramifications for future trade talks, specially the Doha found which has presently got
stuck up.
The experience of other counties, like China, which have opened up their retail sectors have been
good. These countries have benefited in the following, ways:
(i) Speedy development of modern formats with clean and hygienic shop environment.
(ii) Reduction of the capital constraints of domestic retailers.
(iii) Greater efficiency and productivity in the sector.
(iv) Increased global competitiveness of the retail sector.
Allowing FDI in retail would also be advantageous in the following ways:
(a) It would provide better quality of employment to many. In other words, there would be better
salaries and better work ambience.
(b) It would lead to greater investment in supply chains because FDI in the sector would establish
significant backward linkages by setting up supply chains.
It would stimulate allied sectors like textile manufacturing and food processing, through greater
investments. It would help the agricultural sector, which at present is undergoing one of its worst
phases. This is because, if retailing of agricultural products is allowed, then retail outlets will establish
direct contact with farmers. This would do away with middle-men. Retailers would establish world
class storage facilities and help reduce transportation cost. Better storage would preserve agricultural
products longer. Overall, farmer incomes would substantially increase. It may well help in turning
around the present rural distress in India and stem the growing number of farmer suicides. Also, due
to absence of middle-men and reduction in transportation costs, the prices of agricultural commodities
would reduce, in turn bringing down the present high inflation rates. Apart from this, interrelated
sectors like tourism may also benefit.
Global retail companies, if they are allowed to set shop in India, can help in increasing India’s exports.
The Chinese experience, in this regard is worth noting. In China, where 100 per cent FDI in retail is allowed,
global retail companies buy almost $ 60 billion of Chinese goods per year and export them to feed their
operations in other countries. In contrast, only $ 1 billion worth Indian goods are bought for export.
Indian consumers would be the biggest gainers from FDI in retail. They can buy popular brands from
global retail giants like Wal-Mart, Carrefour, 7-Eleven, Auchan etc. It is believed that all these companies
will enter the Indian market if the sector is opened up. Wal-Mart has already tied up with Bharti. Also,
Pricewaterhouse Cooper (PwC) has in its reports said that India is among the six most attractive retail
investment destinations.
Opening up the sector is an inevitable process of globalization and the integration of the India economy
with the global economy. It would also increase manifold the total inflow of FDI in to India. The experience
of many countries show that most of the FDI comes from the retail sector.
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LIMITATIONS OF FDI IN RETAIL
Despite the above advantages, the concerns also can not be ignored. Those who oppose foreign
investment in retail do so on the following grounds:
The retail sector in India employs no less than about 4 crore people i.e., 4 per cent of the population of
India. It is the second major employment providing sector after agriculture. Because of the ease of
opening up local kiranas, almost anyone without employment can set up a ‘kirana.’ Statistics show
that local kiranas constitute 7 per cent of the total employment in India. The retail sector, in fact absorbs
some of the surplus labour in agriculture. Retail is also the single largest component of the services
sector (14 per cent) in terms of contribution to the GDP. According to AC Nielsen and KSA Technopak,
India has the highest shop density in the world. In 2001, there were 11 outlets for every 1000 people.
If the retail sector is opened up to MNCs, then these unorganized domestic retailers will not be able to
withstand the competition. They will be devoured by the global retail giants. In the process, the domestic
retailers will lose their jobs, further aggravating the already bleak employment scenario in the nation.
In fact the Secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion had gone on record saying
that there is empirical evidence to suggest that wherever the retail sector has been opened up, it has
had an adverse impact on the local people. It may push many below poverty line.
Even the domestic organized retail sector in India is worried. Organized retailers feel that with the entry
of MNCs, there might not be a level playing field, and they would be driven out of the retail business.
There is also the concern that the entry of retail giants will lead to simultaneous monopoly for customers
and monopsony for suppliers. Many feel that foreign retail companies may collude with one another
and create a monopoly in the retail market. They can then hike prices at will, thereby hurting the
customers. A similar collusion may make then the sole buyers from the suppliers i.e. a monopsony
situation. They can then arm-twist the suppliers to supply goods at excessively low prices. Thus while
the retail companies will make profit both from the side of the suppliers and the consumers it is the
suppliers and the consumers who will suffer. Such a situation is dangerous.
While the urban middle class will benefit from FDI in the retail sector, a large section of the society will
be left out of the purview of the retail boom. This will result in lopsided and unequal growth in cities and
accentuate social tensions.
The opening up of the retail sector is not an automatic guarantee of increased exports. If Chinese
exports have grown since it allowed FDI in the sector, then it is because of Chinese strengths in terms
of manufacturing, infrastructure and labour laws. Neither of these three are favorable in India. Hence,
to think that simply allowing foreign retail companies will increase India’s exports, is faulty. It may also
happen that the global retail giants, because of their much stronger foothold in China, may actually
import Chinese goods into India.
The issue is politically a very sensitive one. No political party can afford to overlook the interests of
almost 4 crore people and hope to survive. There have already been cries of ‘market dictatorship’ and
‘loss of democracy’ from sections of the political leadership. Any decision that is taken, has to be taken
after a lot of thought and sufficient amount of debate.
LAND REFORMS WISELY CONCEIVED POORLY EXECUTED
Land Reforms is an integrated process to enhance the productivity of land by improving the economic
conditions of farmers and tenants so that they may have the incentive to invest in and improve agriculture and
thereby ensure distributive justice and create an egalitarian society by eliminating all forms of exploitation.
Article 46 of the Indian Constitution confers the duty upon the states to promote economic interests
of weaker sections and prevent them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.- The ultimate
aim of Land Reforms in India is to confer the rights of ownership to tenants to the larger possible
extent, in order to ensure social justice.
Land Reforms is an integrated process to enhance the productivity of land by improving the
economic conditions of farmers and tenants so that they may have the incentive to invest in and
improve agriculture and thereby ensure distributive justice and create an egalitarian society by
eliminating all forms of exploitation. It is meant to create a system of peasant proprietorship with the
motto of “land to the tiller” and to transfer the income of the few to many so that the demand for
consumer goods could be created.
The basic purpose of the Land Reforms is to make more rational use of the scarce land resource
by affecting conditions of holding, imposing ceilings on land holdings so that cultivation can be done
in the most economical manner without any waste of labour and capital. It is also a means of
redistributing agricultural land in favour of the less privileged classes. It also aims at improving the
terms and conditions on which the land is held for cultivation by the actual tillers. The land reforms
have the following objectives: (a) the abolition of intermediaries and bringing the actual cultivator in direct contact with the state;
(b) the regulation of rent and provision of security of tenure of tenants and sharecroppers with the
ultimate objective of conferring ownership rights on them;
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(c) the imposition of land ceiling on agricultural land holdings and distribution of surplus land to
landless agricultural workers and small land holders, in order to bring about a more equitable
distribution of land;
(d) the agrarian reorganization including consolidation of holdings and prevention of subdivision
and fragmentation; and
(e) the maintenance and updating of the land records;
(f) to protect the interests of “tribals’ih land and to prevent non-tribals to encroach upon tribal
lands.
Only a few intermediaries have left, like Devasthan in Maharashtra, service jagirdars in Odisha,
and communidades in Goa. The security of tenure to tenants has been given in all states. The declared
surplus land has however, not been taken into possession fully due to litigation. The distribution of the
ownership of the land holdings remains unequal with nearly three quarters of the land being owned by
one quarter of the land owning households.
Further, the number of marginal farmers as well as landless farm workers has significantly
increased even as there has also been a decline in the number of self -employed, in relation to causal
labour, in the structure of the rural work force. The average value of assets (excluding land) per rural
household is estimated to have increased from Rs.1655 in 1971 to Rs.2236 in 1981 (at 1971 prices).
But at the bottom, 30 per cent of the rural households continued to hold only 4 per cent of the assets
in 1981-82 and the share of top 30 per cent increased to 78 per cent. The case of West Bengal shows
how clearly even relatively limited land reforms and distribution of vested land can play very important
role in improving agricultural productivity, generating a range of complementary economic activities in
the countryside, and generally enabling a small-producer led growth at least for some time.
In large parts of the country, the existing land records do not accurately portray the actual position
with respect to land holding and cultivation. The subdivision and fragmentation of holdings over
generations, consequent upon household division, are not reflected in the land records, which
sometimes continue to list the names of deceased holders, and so on. The problem is especially
acute in areas like Telengana. A fresh settlement of the revenue record is imperative.
This requires a major administrative drive to record the actual cultivators. While this has to be undertaken
by the state governments, but for doing it effectively they will have to seek the assistance of the
panchayats and other local agencies, since it could turn out to be a complicated process.
The increasing extent of tenancy in the states over the past few decades has been associated with a
shift away from sharecropping to fixed rent tenancy. Earlier, sharecropper tenancy dominated, with the
crop being shared on a 50:50 basis. The fixed rent systems are of two kinds: 1. Those which involve an
advance of working capital from the landlord. 2. Those, which involve no such advance. Tenant farmers
face a range of problems, they mostly stem from the lack of officials recognition of tenancy and the fact
that their status as actual cultivators is nowhere recorded.
This continues despite the fact that the Land Revenue Act 1999 stipulates that the names of tenants
should be recorded in the revenue records. This lack of recognition effectively denies tenant farmers
all access to institutional finance, such as bank credit and crop insurance.
Apart from this, they cannot benefit from any of the government schemes directed to farmers, or get
any assistance or compensation at time of natural calamity, since such benefits go to the registered
owner of the land. Nor do they receive any of the free or subsidised inputs which are distributed to the
owner cultivators by the state government. The inputs include seeds, subsidised fertilisers, pesticides
and implements.
IMPORTANT MEASURES
The Central government has brought all land reform laws under the Ninth Schedule of the
Constitution to expedite the smooth distribution of surplus land enmeshed in litigations. The Centre
has already initiated five ways to increase pace of land reforms, they are:
All land free from encumbrances has been distributed largely.
Efforts should be made to expedite pending litigations from the revenue courts and necessary steps
taken to expedite disposal of cases pending in the High Courts and the Supreme Court, so that more
surplus land is available for distribution.
Setting up of Tribunals under Article 323 (B) of the Constitution for expeditious disposal of pending
litigations should be linked with the ceiling laws. Alternatively, special benches should be created in
the High Courts.
All tenants and sharecroppers are brought on record and ownership rights conferred on them.
Loopholes should be plugged in existing laws to effectively check the alienation of tribal and to restore
possession of already alienated land. The confusion over Land Reforms must go.
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POLITICAL
COALITION GOVERNMENT
Indians have been used to one party rule under the Congress party for about 50 years. To
make the matters worse Indian mind has ever been fascinated by the dynastic rule of Nehru
dynasty. The public came to look upon his single party Government the most suitable to the
country during the formative years. But on the negative side it delayed the emergence of a strong
multiparty democracy under parliamentary form of govt. It is also true that freedom struggle was
waged under the leadership of Congress party by leaders of various ideologies and ideas. The
coalition Governments at the center during 1977-79 and 1989-90 did not prove successful. So
naturally there was aversion of the general public towards coalition rule at the center. The facts of
history can not be overlooked that India right from the beginning has suffered because of lack of
strong central authority.
The 1996 general elections will go down in the history of modern India as the most significant
one. There was a dramatic change in the political system of the country. In fact the 1999 general
elections further cemented the idea of coalition government.
Those who are in favour of coalition govt. believe that hung legislatures at the center and in some
of the states have lately become common. The trend was confirmed by the November 1993
elections in five states, with no party being in a position to form a stable ministry. The independent
and the representatives of the smaller groups joined to form a government. Since this trend is
likely to continue in the years to come, coalition Governments are the best way to avoid the
formation of shaky governments.
Political stability at the center is essential for bringing about smooth economic development.
The regional parties joining a coalition govt at the center gives the states and various groups a
sense of nationalism. Some times large parties prefer to support the minority party from outside.
It is not a healthy trend. In the absence of a clear majority, firm decisions are not possible. Every
time a compromise has to be worked out. Much of the time of the Prime Minister has to be spent
in efforts to maintain its position.
Even if our experience with the coalition govt. has not been happy one, under parliamentary
form of govt, we have to accept the arrival of coalition era with an open mind. It is a pity that
inspite of 55 years of independence we have not been able to build up healthy two party political
system. Dynastic rule of the congress has proved harmful in this direction. As things stand today
the political situation is highly fragile. The present coalition govt. at the center comprises about
24 parties. We know that each and every partner of the govt. at the center is serving its own ends.
It is important to note that coalition govt. lacks accountability and any commitment to the voters.
It is in the nature of marriage of convenience to grab power. Political morality is over looked. In a
hurry to take advantage of the situation small groups and independent members indulge in unethical
practices. Inspite of common agenda the regional parties think and act in their own interest.
As a matter of fact Indian polity is complex. The coalition govts. are vulnerable to blackmailing at
the state level. There are countless instances where the regional parties have extracted extra
advantage from the center. One can not expect that under such political formation any govt.
lacking majority can deliver goods. Yet the arrival of coalition era is a certainty. It can not be
wished away. We must learn to live with this system. There are coalition govts. in many of the
European countries. But the political parties in those countries stick to their ideologies. In India
when Ajit Singh is asked to resign, BJP becomes a religious party. Once his arch enemies Sonia
and Mulyam are now his friends. They do not mind as long as they are given the creamy layer of
the cake called power. How ridiculous our leaders appear! Unprincipled politics is the virus that
has come to infect Indian polity. Therefore, the concept of coalition governments is yet to achieve
maturity.
55 YEARS OF FREEDOM- A DISMAL SCENARIO
55 years back there was a climate of optimism all over the country when our freedom movement
was crowned with success. All of us, the young and the old, the men and women, the poor and
the rich cherished beautiful dreams of free India. After one thousand years of slavery under the
Muslims and the British rulers, India had a taste of freedom. Freedom is a beautiful dream and
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desire of every living being, be it a bird, an animal or a human being. But look, what has happened
to our country in the last 55 years? The condition is no less than a tragedy for a common man.
Our dreams have turned sour. As years pass by, the conditions prevailing in modern India are
akin to nightmare. Disillusionment is all pervasive in every section of society. Our youth is a
frustrated lot. The middle aged persons have grown cynics. The entire atmosphere in the country
is almost vitiated. The smile from the faces of young men and women have vanished. They have
taken to undesirable means to vent out their frustrations. So many rotten things have happened
in our country that every thing seems to have gone awry.
At the dawn of independence who could have thought of India becoming a cesspool of corruption?
Democracy in India has ever won admiration from foreign countries. But the question is what we
have made of a democratic way of life. Every thinking Indian has begun to ponder whether
parliamentary democratic form of govt. was the right choice for a nation afflicted with illiteracy
and poverty. Has not democratic way of working slowed our economic progress?
No doubt, there is no alternative to democracy. But in the case of India right from the very
beginning elections have thrown up incompetent, communal & corrupt elements at the center of
national life. Slowly but surely, they have been undermining the ideals of democracy while helpless,
honest citizens looked on complacently. Unfortunately the present and past breed of politicians
have done nothing else but feathered their own nests. The missionary zeal that marked the
freedom movement vanished overnight. The perpetuation of dynastic rule continued to inspire the
leadership of the country. They never allowed to come up the second rung of politicians to guide
the destiny of the nation. Leaving the last ten years the dynastic rule came to be synonymous
with Mughal rule.
The modern breed of politicians are brazenly immoral and they have a total lack of moral
values. They are so unscrupulous that they do not feel any moral qualms when they break the
rules and regulations of the society. They flout the constitution and mock at the moral values of
life. Even the Presidents of the country have been opportunistic. In the name of freedom fighters
they are still plundering and looting the nation. The chief ministers are like petty ‘Subedars’ of the
states ruling at their own will. They are law unto themselves.
One wonders what has gone wrong? Unemployment, violence, communalism, terrorism, corruption
in judiciary are the fruits of the freedom. All these evils pervading the society are cancerous in
their growth. One is bound to feel frustrated when one sees other countries progressing while
they got freedom with India. It hurts our pride to see China and even smaller countries such as
South Korea & Japan stealing a march over India. We did not bargain for this kind of freedom.
15th August and 26 January. celebrations are rituals and sad reminders of our failure. These ritual
need to be done away with until something happens to cheer us up on these days.
DISCIPLINE IN PUBLIC LIFEDiscipline is one of those values in life that give direction to life and it adds joy and harmony
to life. Discipline in life guides us to do the right things and helps us to be morally upright.
Discipline is one of those ideals which a family, a society and a country expects us to follow in
the larger interest of life.
Institutions of family, society and religion were evolved by man to bring about discipline to
anarchist conditions in the society. Without the evolution of these institutions, it is hard to think
of discipline. In fact, discipline is a core of law and order in society that leads to the development
of civilisation in the larger interest of society. A life without discipline will become chaotic and
disastrous because indisciplined life poses a great threat to law and order in society.
Discipline for countries like India is the most immediate pre-requisite to economic, social and
political progress. In the present context indiscipline is all pervasive in society. Negligence in the
performance of duty by paid public servants, teachers, doctors should make us sit up and do
some serious heart searching. The steady decline in discipline among elected representatives of
people is deplorable fact of our public life. They use their rights more to flout the principles of
discipline than to follow the path of dharma that leads to the performance of duty. Unprincipled
alignments, defections, floor crossings are painful reminder of the near collapse of discipline in
public life.
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There is total loss of value based life. Responsibility towards one’s goal of life is lacking in
every field. A responsible person would follow disciplined way of life and he will be prompted to be
careful, reliable and efficient. Responsibility means involvement in dutiful way of life for the
betterment of humanity. It is no exaggeration to say that discipline comprises many ingredients
of life.
Brotherhood is a common bond of discipline among human beings. Disciplined life can be led
only if we recognise the rights of others and follow our duties. Care for our surroundings, environment
comprising air, water, soil, animal world etc. is part and parcel of discipline in public life. Concern
for environment is indispensable ingredient of discipline because it prompts us to lead life within
norms laid down by society. Further, sympathy makes us to share the afflictions and distress of
others. In other words feelings of sympathy inculcates love for others that is anti-thesis of violence
and indiscipline in life.
In a sum, a civlilized society expects all of us to abide by simple rules of peaceful living lest
the feelings of our fellow beings should be hurt. Therefore, discipline is a comprehensive form of
life it touches all aspects of human life. Accordingly the need of discipline is imperative in a
civilized society.
Now the most important point is that discipline is relevant to every field of life, be it family,
school, society or public life. Lack of discipline in any institution leads to disorder and violent
attitude on the part of people. Administration in society breaks down & there is shift in moral
values. Unethical practices take root in society. Every one is a sufferer. There is no substitute for
discipline in life. In fact discipline implies order in public life—that is the summum bonum of life.
INDIA’S FOREIGN POLICY
Before the 15th of August 1944, India had no foreign policy for she was under the domination
of a foreign power, Indian politicians and public leaders in an unofficial way discussed the matter
but the discussion was merely an intellectual exercise and had no impact on the policy of the
country. With the achievement of independence, India has come in the grip of foreign affairs. She
has to maintain diplomatic relations with other nations of the world and had to adopt a definite
policy in the international sphere.
In conformity with her traditions, culture and philosophy, India has evolved, thanks to the
genius of Nehru, a code of international conduct which received a lot of praise and acceptance by
a majority of nations at the first instance. This code was given the technical name of ‘PanchSheel’.
Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,
Non-aggression,
Non-interference in each-other’s internal affairs,
Equality and mutual benefit, and
Peaceful co-existence.
In a fast changing world, it is not possible to define exactly the foreign policy of a nation. Truly
speaking foreign policy is a constant attempt to adjust and accommodate the changing conditions.
Thus foreign policy is necessarily an ever changing and evolutionary process.
In spite of the fast changing trend of the world politics, every nation has to base her foreign
policy on certain broad principles and general outlook in foreign affairs. In this respect India has
expresses her foreign policy in a clear-cut way. There are three basic principles of India’s foreign
policy. Firstly, India will oppose imperialism and racial discrimination. Secondly, India will pursue
the path of peace and goodwill. Thirdly, India will remain neutral by means of non-alignment.
India regards imperialism and racial discrimination a potential threat to world peace and
harmony. In her opinion, imperialism or colonial rule is radically wrong, a denial of human rights.
That is why, she took a leading role in resolving the Indonesian dispute, and always opposed the
policy of racial discrimination ardently followed by the Malan Government in South Africa. India
supported the cause of Egypt at the time of the nationalization of the Suez Canal. Many examples
can be quoted to support this argument. Whenever the time has called upon India, she has
vehemently but non-violently opposed imperialism and racial discrimination.
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India’s policy of maintaining peace and friendly relations with other nations is more theoretical
than it is practical. Outwardly, every nation of the world is professing the policy of peace and
friendship but inwardly, all the countries find it necessary to live up with one group or the other in
order to maintain a sort of political balance. India believes in and professes neutrality and refuses
to be a camp follower of either America or Russia; though she is willing to maintain friendly
relations with both.
India’s policy of neutrality or non-alignment has been a point of great criticism. Each group,
America or Russia thinks that though she is apparently neutral, yet she is secretly in league with
the other. The result is that she has failed to win political allies and so she cannot cast her full
weight in international deliberations. In the Kashmir dispute against Pakistan, we had to rely
upon the support of Russia, otherwise we had lost the case in United Nations. On the contrary,
to tide over the food crises, we had to knock at the door to America with an empty bag. How far
is our policy of neutrality successful in view of this dual game?
During the recent past, our foreign policy has been put to test. Our policy of non-alignment is
the legacy of Pandit Nehru which we have inherited in his political successors. We have failed to
maintain our neutrality in the conflict between U.A.R. and Israel. Losing the balance of mind, we
supported the case of U.A.R. and condemned Israel for no help of ours. Though the policy of
supporting one and opposing the other has pleased the Muslim population in India, yet it had bad
consequences. We could have expressed our views in a balanced way. We have forgotten that
Israel supported us in United Nations while U.A.R. kept quiet and Iran criticized us when Pakistan
attacked us. By condemning Israel, we have strained our relations with. Britain and the U.S.A. In
the present situation of the world our foreign policy has miserably failed.
Though Pandit Nehru believed in the policy of non-alignment, yet he was inclined towards the
Russian block. When Russia crushed the movement in Hungary cruelly, Pt. Nehru maintained
silence and did not condemn suppression and oppression as a true champion of human liberty,
equality and fraternity. For this he was criticized in the world. The Western countries acted with
wisdom and foresight when China made an unprovoked aggression on India by giving unconditional
support to India. Our foreign policy, in the light of the present situation of the world needs complete
re-orientation.
In order to realize the goal of a positive foreign policy, the Indian Government should;
(1)
abstain from involvement in the disputes between the power block and at the same time assure
that India would in no case assist an aggressor;
(2)
strengthen the United Nations and all its agencies in all such efforts as might lead to a world of
freedom, equality and peace;
(3)
endeavour to work for the collective security of that region of the world which keeps out of alliance
of the Atlantic and Soviet camps or any other aggressive. Conglomeration in particular the belt
which stretches from Indonesia to Egypt.
(4)
support freedom movement, in particular those of Africa and attempt to keep away from both the
camps;
(5)
seek to revise all treaties, agreements and charters as have set up an international caste system
of rich and powerful nations on the one hand, and week and poor nations on the other and thus
establish the principle of equality among nations;
(6)
extend support towards popular movements against discrimination grounds of race, color or
religion.
GRADING SYSTEM IN BOARDS- A BOON OR A BANE?
School is the place where a child experiences its first interactions with the outside world.
Seen in this perspective, school education is of prime importance for the all-round development of
children, because it is where they first access the requisite know-how essential for standing up
to the demand of modern lifestyles. Nowadays, according to opinions expressed by various
experts, the existing education system in India has become somewhat outdated.
In addition, excessive workloads have made it very rigorous for the students. Children today
are perennially handicapped by the lack of time, as they are made to work extremely hard in
schools. On top of that, there are exams at regular intervals, which make life all the more miserable
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for the children. Life of the present-day has become stress personified, which can have various
adverse effects on their overall personality traits in later years. Authorities have been giving it a
thought for a long time as to whether a qualitative change can be brought about as far as the lives
of the young schoolchildren are concerned. Also, the need for changing the existing system,
which puts a premium on rote learning, was being felt for quite some time. As a result of this, a
school examination system designed to reduce stress and bring India at par in quality with
international educational standards has been recently introduced in India.
Union Human Resource Development Minister Mr. Kapil Sibal announced on September 7,
2009 the inauguration of the new education system. As per the announcement, Class X board
examinations have become a thing of the past. Instead, students are promoted to the senior
secondary level through an internal assessment. Since the decision was taken in the middle of
the academic year, students studying in Class X in the ongoing economic session will have to
appear in the board examination as scheduled, but they will be graded instead. In this regard, the
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) said that the students will be graded into nice
categories, from exceptional to unsatisfactory.
Though it may have relieved lakhs of students from the burden of boards but it may not be
considered it an intelligent step towards the education development. In this scheme, E grade will
be given to the student who has scored below 33% marks. Such a case in case of board exams
used to fail a student (33% in two subjects). But in grading system, the fellow will be allowed to
sit in XIth standard and given a chance to improve. Such a practice will make the students to take
the matriculation exams more lightly. The dedication and sincerity that the students used to have
earlier will vanish with the implementation of this grading system. The hidden motive behind this
scheme of CBSE is not to relieve the students but to transform all schools into CBSE schools.
Students studying in various other boards like ICSE, state board etcetera will definitely find
grading system better and less burdened and will tempt them to drift to CBSE schools. As such
the ICSE and other schools will become deficit in students and they will ultimately transform to
CBSE schools.
The best part about the proposed education system is that it aims at replacing the prevalent
system of rote learning, which can by no means be a desirable method of learning. But while
implementing the new system, the authorities should exercise enough caution and discretion. In
case of such large-scale and ambitious projects, the most important thing to be kept in mind is
that the ground should always be properly prepared beforehand. Otherwise, there is a high risk
quotient of eventual failure. In case of the new system, the authorities should be mindful of the
fact that although the prevalent system seems to have run its course in India, it may still be a bit
early for a total overhaul of the same. The need for adequate training of the stokeholds has
already been mentioned, and this is really very important factor for the success of the proposed
system. If the authorities can successfully address this particular problem, there is no reason
why this ambitious scheme will not be able to change the face of the education sector in India.
INTERNET CENSORSHIP
Nowadays, Internet is commonly regarded as the most widely used source and the fastest
way to exchange information and knowledge all over the world. However, the freedom and
democracy on Internet, being one of its greatest beauties and drawing features, is apparently
abused by the population online. Pornography and hate literature are commonly used to lure
Internet surfers’ attention and to generate profits. Representing the rights of the public and the
power of a country while owning and operating the Internet, the government has the absolute
responsibility to censor the internet so as to protect its own citizens from harmful and false
information, thus in order to prevent any possible decay of social and moral values, though the
extent of Internet censorship should be carefully measured to ensure the freedom of speaking
of people.
Since the invention of ARPANET in 1962 by the Department of Defense’s Advanced Research
Project Agency in United States, Internet has developed tremendously during the past half century
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with the improvement in modern technology with government sponsoring the researching program.
It had formerly been made only for military and research purposes, where in 1974, the general
public gets its first vague hint of how networked computers can be used in daily life as the
commercial version of the ARPANET goes online. Hence it is quite obvious that without the
financial investment and political support from the government, Internet, being such a new
technological invention at that time would never achieve as great a success as what it has
achieved by today; it is apparently wrong to say governments did not build neither did they own
the Internet. As a result, being counted as partially a property of the government, Internet should
absolutely be under government’s control.
Besides exchanging information and knowledge and to facilitate communication, the most
important role of Internet is to enrich people intellectually. This requires a clean and abundant
source of information on the cyberspace that is provided to the public; it should be apparently free
of indecency and obscenity that may cause any social problems, which eventually attributes to
the decay of moral values. Human beings live in communities where easy access to indecency
stimulates many people to adopt these lower moral values, as seemingly it is quite normal and
perfectly okay to do so; the idea of “Everybody does so…” and “Everybody says so…” exerts a
detrimental influence on the minds of people and that is what people are forced to believe when
the exposure to indecency becomes so common.
What draws even more concern is for the children. We all know that children can easily be
scarred and manipulated by all kinds of information. Parents can have some control over which
books their children read as they can easily tell what the books are about; they do not have to
worry that their children will turn a page and be confronted with obscenities or other forms of
indecency. While with the Internet, there is a whole different scenario. Anyone can ‘flick’ a page
and be presented with porn, denigration, discrimination, fraud and misinformation. As parenting
is not only about chaining a child to a parental censor but about creating a safe environment for
children to grow up in at the same time, an uncensored Internet is apparently not a safe environment
for children.
Due to the above reasons, it is my opinion that the flow of information should be filtered from
anything that contradicts any of the above mentioned reasonable purposes. This includes filtering
indecent expressions and obscene materials from access to the Internet. As a result, only the
government has the power to take such actions so as to ensure the Internet is not over polluted
by indecent garbage.
However, it is very difficult to take modest steps in this sensitive issue of Internet censorship.
Some people may say that certain information on the net, which might be viewed as obscene or
indecent, are actually useful and helpful to people who are mature enough. This includes those
obtained from adult sites. Though young people are not ready to get access to such information
that may lead to their moral decay, mature adults certainly do not encounter the same problem.
However they may be banned from acquiring what they need from the net due to the possible
existence of government censorship.
Moreover, as community standards vary from community to community, it is not possible to
find a guideline for the decisions of what is acceptable to be made upon; neither is it easy to be
implemented. Furthermore, nobody is able to take full responsibility on such issues. Some
people may argue that teaching children to deal with indecencies may shield them better and
prepare them for the ‘real world’. And that the rights of freely speaking should never be violated.
Yet that does not mean that we can do nothing about the existing and possibly occurring
problems on net; government censorship is still necessary at this point of time and may have to
go on for a certain period of time. In order to make sure desirable results can be seen, what
seems to be necessary is the corporation and communication between the government and
Internet surfers. General guidelines of censorship can be discussed and decided with efforts of
both parties to reach a compromise. Feedback sites and forums can be set up to serve such
purposes online.
Eventually, the issue of Internet censorship is always controversial as the interests and
concerns of different persons can never be the same as others; it can only be eased with internet
surfers carrying out their social responsibilities. I think for government to step into the problem
currently and help censor the accessibility of certain websites containing things such as adult
materials is a modest measurement of control over Internet.
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PANCHAYATI RAJ IN INDIA
The concept of Panchayatii Raj is not new to India. Chola Kings in South India experimented
village Panchayati system long long ago. The Panchayati concept lost its utility under the British
Raj. Mahatma Gandhi had immense faith in Gram Swaraj and democratic institutions at the
village level. He wanted that every village should be self-sufficient as a unit. Producing its own
food and clothing.
There shall be at the village level artisans like carpenters, porters, cobblers, blacksmiths
etc., to provide the required tools. The village should have an elected Panchayati Raj, which
would run a school, a dispensary, and a cultural centre and look after sanitation and drinking
water.
A cooperative society looks after the commercial needs of the village. If and when such
‘Grama Swaraj’ takes shape, Gandhiji said, it would be ‘Rama Rajya’ because of the vast area
and size of our country and that a Central Government at Delhi alone would not be in a position
to solve the problems of all villages satisfactorily all over the country.
To give shape to the above views, Article 40 was incorporated in the Constitution. According
to this article, each State Government should take steps to organize Village Panchayat and
endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to work as
units of Local Self-Government.
As a first step in this direction the community development programme was taken up by the
Central and State governments. The work started with selected Firkas as centres under Firka
Development Officers. The Firka development scheme failed to achieve its purpose, due to lack
of local participation. As directions were coming from the top, it did not really result as a locally
elected Panchayati Unit.
In 1956 under directions of the National Development Council a committee was constituted
under Sri Balwantrai Mehta to look into the problems of Panchayati Raj. Along with many other
recommendations, he made a recommendation to have a three tier system of Panchayati Raj.
Besides Village Panchayat, there shall be a village Panchayat Samithi and Zilla Parishad.
The committee also recommended adequate powers and resources to be placed at the disposal
of these bodies. Rajasthan was the first State to implement the Panchayati Raj system on
October 2, 1959 at the village Nagaav. Andhra Pradesh was the next to introduce the Panchayati
Raj system and other States followed later.
These new Panchayati Raj institutions had elected representatives as Presidents or as
Chairman at the village and Samithi level and Zilla Parishad level. Adequate administrative
machinery and funds were placed at their disposal. The State Governments, of course, had the
final authority of supervision over these Panchayati Raj bodies.
Panchayat Samithis were in charge of primary education, health, animal husbandry, agriculture,
women welfare, child welfare and social education. The Zilla Parishads, besides supervising
Panchayat Samithis, had to look after roads and buildings, protected water supply, small irrigation,
social welfare and secondary education. Because of local participation, the new set-up worked
well initially. Centralization of power at the State level and local political factors affected its
progress. However, the village Panchayatis had very little role to play in this set-up.
The Ashoka Mehta Committee was constituted to look into the flaws in the working of the
Panchayati Raj in the year 1977. The committee came to the conclusion that the Panchayati Raj
institutions had failed in their purpose and recommended a two tier system like Zilla Parishads
and village Panchayat and also suggested district election to the posts of Presidents and Chairman
of Zilla Parishads. It also pointed out that many State Governments were not adopting a uniform
policy in conducting elections to Panchayati Raj intuitions regularly.
The 72nd amendment to the Constitution was passed on 22ndDecember, 1992, giving statutory
status to Panchayati Raj Institutions. The amendment came into effect from April, 1993. The Act
provided certain new advantages. It guarantees elections to Panchayati Raj bodies every five
years. It provides reservation of seats to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women. It
also indicates devolution of administrative powers. The new bill envisages “Grama Shabha” as
the basic foundation to all Panchayati Raj Institutions.
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This new measure was criticized by some, for the reason that it takes away certain powers
of the State Government and hands it over to Panchayati Raj institutions and that, it established
a direct link for the Panchayati Raj Institutions with the Central Government, ignoring the State
Government. This direct link, they argue, will promote centralization of powers and not
decentralization.
One feeling that was voiced by Pundit Nehru and Dr. Ambedkar, when the Constitution was
drafted, was that the village Panchayatis would be the centres of localism and oppression. Even
though a number of reservations have been provided, the voice of Pundit Nehru is found to be true
by experience. Many did not understand democracy and voting rights in 1947, but today the
position has changed. The same may be said about Panchayatii Raj Institutions. With the passage
of time they are sure to prove their utility and serve as real bases of democracy in our country.
RESERVATION-A BOON TO THE NATION
The reservation policy in India has been vehemently criticized throughout the country. There
was such a revolt against it in Gujarat that educational institutions remained closed for a year. All
students were promoted to the next class without examinations. It resulted in permanent
deterioration in the standard of education in that state. Such movements have also created
prolonged bickering between the people of scheduled castes and tribes and others.
The gulf has resulted in a large number of murders in the Hindi belt, specially in Bihar. It is the
people belonging to the Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes who suffer the most.
The people belonging to the so called upper castes complain that although they are highly
educated they do not get a job while people having lesser rank in education secure jobs.
Apparently the complaint seems correct. But statistics show that a large number of jobs
reserved for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes are filled by others. It has not been possible
to fine candidates having the required qualifications from among these castes an; tribes. They
can ill afford to have degrees in the latest specialized subjects.
Most of them become clerks and peons. When they are promoted to upper ranks it is grudged.
So to some extent the grudge is substantial. Some people having less experience become
senior to the incumbents of the unreserved categories. But it is equally true that a large number
of people reasoning to unreserved categories are promoted or get better jobs as they have pulls
at different levels.
Political strings can make a Dhawan even a member of Rajya Sabha when a Supreme Court
Judge had passed strictures against him. There are more examples of such irregularities in the
political and administrative fields which is giving preference to the members of reserved categories.
No one voices these. The voice is always raised against the weak and the downtrodden.
People belonging to Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes are mostly poor and uneducated.
Most of them have to do menial jobs or have to work as landless laborers and bonded laborers.
Then and then only they can make two ends meet. The educational institutions in their areas,
specially - rural areas are just on papers. They have been tormented, neglected and exploited
since 711 A.D. when foreigners started attacking the country and changing the social fabric.
The last thirteen centuries have seen their gradual degradation. The caste system was totally
reduced to its present birth equation gradually during the Muslim and European attacks on the
country. These people, reduced to the lower rungs, were gradually reduced to the position of
serfs.
The economically better people started keeping them away from the main social stream.
They were and even now are untouchables while dogs and cats are touchable. This historical
background has rather been horrible.
Reservation is its inevitable repercussion. It is not an injustice to anyone but a justice to
those who have been discarded by the society in the most abominable way.
Indian society is basically Hindu society. The culture of the country is essentially Hindu culture.
If Hindu society breaks off, Indian culture too would gradually vanish. It is culture that sustains a
society. It may look strange, but is true, that reservation has kept the society from depleting in
lumbers.
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The Scheduled caste and Scheduled tribes were given these facilities by the Constituent
Assembly when it framed the constitution. A clause was added that those who change their
religion would be deprived of all the facilities.
Nevertheless a large number of tribal’s have been converted into Christianity. The Catholic
organizations aid and educate them. The tribal’s have fallen a prey to their material aid. But the
efforts to convert Scheduled castes into other religions have failed.
A large number of people in Tamil Nadu who were converted to Muslim faith with the backing
of petrodollars lost all the facilities including reservation in jobs. Ultimately they came back to the
Hindu society. Thus reservation has proved a boon in keeping the strength of the nation intact.
It has been experienced by many social workers that it is very difficult to induce the uneducated
to get education. The reservation policy has proved an incentive to the poor scheduled caste
people. They feel that if they are educated they have an opportunity to get a job.
Thus they can be free from the clutches of the exploiters. Moreover they would be in a
position to leave the dirty work that the society has unjustly given them. They would be a part of
the main stream of Hindu society that they wish to be. Education would bring a number of
changes among them. It would strengthen democratic trends and would control population. It
would strengthen the economic programmes in the long run. When some are not only more equal
but all are ‘equally equal’ there would be no need of reservation.
ON MUMBAI ATTACK: WE CAN, BUT WE CANNOT
I think we have written a lot over the technical and organizational measures to improve
functioning of the intelligence and law and order system of India. The electronic media has
conducted a lot of discussions and interviews and a number of measures were suggested. It
would be undesirable to repeat them again.
The tragedy of 26/11 is over. The Union Home Minister, the Chief Minister and deputy CM of
Maharashtra have gone with the lives of 183 people. The US Secretary of State, Rice had paid a
visit to India and gone back to US, of course after visiting Pakistan. Once again the blame-game
has started. Even after a fortnight of the Taj attack, nothing substantial has happened. The all
party meet came and gone. Before, I start to give my opinion on this ghastly act; I must appreciate
those soldiers and civilians who lost their lives in protecting us. The ongoing investigations have
revealed that the various intelligence agencies had already informed the Ministry of Home Affairs
and the concerned State Governments about the threats to these specific targets of attack. The
chief of navy, the home secretary, the cabinet secretary, the coastal guard, the state DGP all
talked on terror. Nobody took the responsibility. Everybody only talked about this. We have also
the habit to listen such talks. This time again, Pakistan was blamed. The high-voltage diplomacy,
a wave of condemnation and condolences took place. At last, nothing concrete came out. The
future of life remained uncertain and the sense of security still threatened and life reels under
jeopardy. This is the worst ever trauma for an individual and for the nation. One has to stop
blaming the external factors and start thinking about the problems in the internal system. One
can deal with external factors only when internally a sound system has been evolved. Considering
this, it seems that we have accepted this as our fate. If something goes on for such a long period
and goes on indefinitely and repeated frequently then it seems that somewhere in subconscious
mind we have accepted it. It creates a vicious cycle and takes a shape of insurmountable cell.
There are only two components in this cell: the state machinery and individual of state. Unfortunately,
under these circumstances, the opinion, vision and reaction is confined within this moribund
structure and nothing can be seen beyond. This is the existing perception and its limitations
which has given great impetus to these acts of terrorism. In fact, the motives of a terrorist are not
merely to affect the India-Pakistan relations or the Hindu-Muslim community but it has much
wider ramifications. The terrorists target only the psychology of the people of a country. A person
with a sense of insecurity is the most soft-target for a terrorist.
India’s economic presence has increased and Mumbai is the financial capital of India. When
you grow and prosper, security becomes essential. Attacks are expected and proper protection
has to be ensured. Even during ancient and medieval times, a number of attacks and massacres
were done in the process of loot and plunder. The mass killings of innocent people were done to
indicate that the present political system is defunct and think about a change. In other words,
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killings were guided towards creating political instability so that further attack can be made for
economic gain. When these economic gains are seen from a long-time perspective then this
economic motive has to be transformed into political one. We have seen this in the case of
Ghazni-Ghori, Mughals and even Britishers. Any developing nation with economic prosperity is
bound to be targeted and therefore, a new approach is needed to deal with security concerns. In
this regard, the technology plays a major role. The arms and ammunitions, the communication
networks, the FT equipments used by the terrorist in the recent Taj-Oberoi-CST attack emphasizes
on the need for the Government to immediately give training and equipment to the existing police
forces. There is an urgent need to create multi-layer security forces and a mechanism to ensure
coherent coordination amongst them. They should cybnernatically be related with constant feedback system. This is called process of homeostasis, in which every organ is so closely attached
with each other so that any change in any one part can be felt by the others. The weaknesses
revealed during attack were, lack of proper coordination between the security and the intelligence
agencies.
In short, these measures can only take effective shape when they are properly implemented.
The overall, intention to deliver is lacking. The will of the concerned persons are at their lowest
ebb. The balance between the action and responsibility is severely lacking. The administrators
and formulators lack sense of doing and have taken their position for granted. Their inner abilities
are left unchallenged by system and ultimately they shrink and perish. The system has failed to
demand from its leaders and top executors. The system is not an abstract one; it has a defined
component. In democracy, the system is the people. The ability to do, awareness to think, the
sense of perception to visualize, the will power to sustain - all affect at varying levels, the functioning
of the system. In a period of crisis, character has a lot role to play. Only the character of people
to face the challenges decides the fate of the nation. The writings, sayings, expressions,
articulations, presentations, demonstrations cannot transcend the imperatives of reality. Only
action and purely in a proper direction with purest intention can bring a spirit which can obviate
the perils of terrorism. The time has come to think and act. If we shrug-off our short memory
power and tendency to forget the things, then things can be changed. If we continue to act like
past and go for the blame-game then we cannot change; Mind it, don’t be soft-enough to become
a soft-target. Taj was not built in a day but it should have been rebuilt in a day.
PRESIDENTIAL vs PARLIAMENTARY
A Parliamentary system, unlike the Presidential system, lays emphasis on accountability. The
parliamentary system is to be defined by a fusion rather than by a separation of powers. The
executive is draivnfrom the legislative majority and can count on automatic enactment of its
programmes. No one doubts where responsibility lies for success or failure.
In a parliamentary system there is no strict separation of powers between the Legislature and
the Executive. Indeed, it involves a fusion of Legislative and executive powers than a strict separation
of those powers. The executive is drawn from the legislative-majority and can count on automatic
endorsement of its programmes.
A Parliamentary system, unlike the Presidential system, lays emphasis on accountability.
The parliamentary system is to be defined by a fusion rather than by a separation of powers. The
executive is drawn from the legislative majority and can count on automatic enactment of its
programmes. No one doubts where responsibility lies for success or failure. But while the
parliamentary system formally assumes legislative supremacy, in fact it assures the almost
unassailable dominance of the executive over the legislature. In the parliamentary system, if
there is conflict between accountability on one hand and stability on the other, the latter must
necessarily yield. But accountability and stability need not necessarily and always be mutually
conflicting. Instability produced by personal ambitions in opportunistic politics and unprincipled
defections would need to be provided against. There political stability has to be seen in two
emerging contexts: that in administering any economy in the global context, a reasonable degree
of stability of Government and strong governance is important. Secondly, the economic and
administrative cost of political instability might reach unaffordable levels. The costs of the Indian
economy of short-lived governments and their fall are very high. The uncertain political climate
has a direct bearing on the economic investment: both domestic and Foreign Direct Investment.
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The principles on which any democratic form of government is organised are aimed primarily
to establish a direct link between the government and the government. Both the Parliamentary
and the Presidential form of government are the names of the means through which this final
democratic goals to be achieved. Therefore to understand the debate and the dynamics of these
two forms of governments it is important to encompass both the procedural and the substantive
issues. It is pertinent to understand the system, its application and handling, and the circumstances
in which it has to be implemented. The first logical step in understanding these two forms of
government is to understand the difference between them.
Under Presidential form the two are separate and thus there is separation of power. In
Parliamentary form executive emerges from the legislature and the system is characterized by
fusion of power.
Relationship between council of ministers and legislature: In Parliamentary system the
council of ministers is collectively accountable to the legislature. In Presidential system the
members of Cabinet have no accountability to the legislature.
Location of executive power: In Parliamentary system the head of the government is different
from the head of the state whereas a Presidential system has a single executive authority.
In Parliamentary system the head of the government can remain in office only if he enjoys the
majority of the legislature; no such stipulation is there in Presidential form,
In Parliamentary system the head of the government and his cabinet can be removed by the
legislature through no confidence motion, if they loose majority, but in the Presidential system
the President can only be removed by the legislature through the extreme step of impeachment.
The Parliamentary system ensures better coordination between the legislative and the government.
But under the system of separation of powers in the Presidential system the two institutions
function separately and act as mechanism of control over one another. Such a system may also
create situations of conflict between the legislature and the President. Once elected the
presidential system allows the President to remain in office for the entire term almost undisturbed.
There is no mechanism of popular control on him.
CRIMINALIZATION OF POLITICS
“As per Election Commission estimates 1,500 candidates in the 1996 Parliamentary
election had criminal records and 40 of them got elected to the llth Lok Sabha. In the
State Legislatures, the picture is even more distressing. Out of the 4,072 sitting ML A’s in
all the states, more than 700 have criminal records.”
Criminals enter Politics to become Politicians and then patronise other criminals. The dire
consequences of this unholy alliance between Criminals and Politicians is that at every level from
bottom, Panch at Panchayat level to Chief Minister or Ministers at State and Central level, Criminals
are being elected and appointed to the positions of power.
Politics has now become a shortcut way of earning. Once elected a person can accumulate
money sufficient for his few generations.Neither Gandhiji nor the other freedom fighters who
sacrificed their all luxuries and comfort for the cause of nation would have ever dreamt that a day
would come when India’s governance would pass into the hands of criminals and corrupt antisocial elements.
The reason many criminals enter politics is to gain influence and ensure that cases against
them are dropped or not proceeded with. They are able to make it big in the political arena
because of their financial clout. Political parties tap criminals for funds and in return provide them
with political patronage and protection. As the Times of India pointed out: “Indeed, today, far from
shrinking at the thought of harboring criminal elements, parties seek them out judging the muscle
and money combination they represent to be of enormous value. Rough estimates suggest that
in any State election 20 per cent of candidates are drawn from criminal backgrounds. For the
parties, it means overflowing coffers and unlimited funds to fight elections and for the criminals it
means protection from the law and respect in the eyes of society.”
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Another reason why political parties are not averse to fielding mafia dons is that winability,
not merit or experience, determines who gets to contest elections. And mafia dons and other
powerful gangsters have shown that they can convert their muscle power into votes often at gun
point. Voters in many parts in the country are forced to vote for the local strongman. The reign of
terror that these criminals have spread in their area of operations ensures that they win the seat
for the party.
In the 2000 elections to the Bihar State Assembly, every single one of the underworld dons
and scamsters who contested the polls either from jail or in hiding was elected, with big margins.
Among those who won with huge margins were men accused of offences ranging from extortion
and kidnapping to murder. Some of them were even brought from the jail by police van for the
swearing-in ceremony at the assembly building.
An indomitable Mr. T.N.Sheshan tried his best to cleanse the system, but he failed. Mr.
Sheshan’s successor, Mr. Gill faced the same problem. The Ex. Chief Election Commissioner
Mr. Lingdoh also found himself in such a pitiable position, that he has no concrete remedy to
cleanse the system, but to appeal the voters: Not to vote for the criminals. Mr. T.S. Krishnamurthy,
the Chief Election Commissioner, also faces the same dilemma. Most of the dreaded dacoits of
Chambal or Murena valley were driven to crime as a result of their own victimisation or because
of some social, economic or personal causes. But for the modern criminals turned politician,
crime has become a way of life and most of them thrive with the blessing of the senior Politicians,
Ministers and even the Chief Ministers and Union Ministers. Pity of the parties that have given
tickets to such candidates. During last election, many candidates in Bihar collected illegal guns
and explosives to be used by them to ensure victory. What a shame on the part of our law makers
cannot make a law to ban at least a person for contesting elections who is punished by the law
and sentenced for imprisonment. Thousand of unauthorised arms manufacturing units worked
overtime to meet the increasing demand of fire arms. Tickets were given to the candidates with
criminal records even by National Parties. U.P is not behind Bihar in fielding candidates with
criminal background. The case of Amar Mani Tripathi, Minister in the Mayawati Government,
charged for the murder of Madhumita, a Poet, is a flagrant example of nexus between Criminals
and Politics.
A virtual impression seems to have gained ground that you could commit crime and get away
with it, if you have Political patronage at the proper level. The Police dare not to proceed against
you or if having initiated an action shall drag away their feet to defeat the ends ofjustice. With
politics and crime intertwined, bureaucracy and the Police have also become part of nexus. This
unholy affinity is having a malignant effect over the public life and poses a threat to the democratic
structure of the country. Politics has become such a lucrative and beneficial business, that
whoever can invest or bid both money power and muscle power, can earn through for a few
generations and enjoy unfettered power and respect among the society.
No one wants to vote for a criminal. And yet for years criminals have been using our electoral
system to enter politics with citizens hopelessly looking on. Until recently our laws sanction
Election officials asking candidates for detailed information about their criminal and financial
backgrounds, let alone making this information available to the public before the polls began.
But as India went to her largest election exercise over this year, the balance has perhaps begun
to shift in favour of voters. India’s 2004 elections are the first and the largest national election
exercise that are being fought under the new election disclosure rules instituted in 2003. Candidates
for Parliament and State Assemblies are now required to submit sworn affidavits alongwith
their nomination papers giving information about their criminal, financial and educational
backgrounds.
Nationwide, citizens wanting to know more about their candidates have a better opportunity
before casting their ballot. To the cynics, this is a drop in the ocean and may not lead to much.
This may be the beginning of a new era in Indian democracy; an era of opportunity for citizens’
initiatives to mobilize around publicly available information.
During the current elections cycle, the Election Commission opened the gates for the media
and citizens to collect copies of candidate affidavits from Returning Officers and the District
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Election Officers. Ten States are having some form of election watch campaign, indicating a
broad-based nationwide civil society initiative to give teeth to the EC rules. Some State Election
Commissions have already made candidate disclosures public on their websites and election
watches have been distributing analysis to the media and citizens.
In a nation crying for reforms in our electoral system, process of power and judiciary, this
verdict and people’s right to know must be the starting point of democratic reform. This is also a
moment for us to reflect. Once again the resilience of our democratic system, the inherent
strength of institutions and the constitutional checks and balances stand as testimony to the
maturity and vibrancy of our governance system. We congratulate the advocates who marshalled
the arguments ably on behalf of citizens and helped the court form its conclusions. Millions of
Indians, several organizations and media all have fought this battle for democracy and liberty in
keeping with glorious traditions of citizen assertion and people’ s sovereignty. We salute those
sentinels of freedom.
But there are certain pitfalls we should avoid. This should not be seen as a struggle between
the people and the political parties. Politics is a noble endeavour. There cannot be democracy
without robust politics and strong parties. Parties have a difficult job in our diverse society and
very often the politicians are as much victims of a vicious cycle as they are villains. Revulsion of
politics is dangerous. Very often they are captive in the hands of politics which dominate the
electoral scene in a first-past-the-post system. Our parties are striving hard to sustain our democracy
against great odds. They need our full support in this endeavour.
We are confident, however, that our parties and legislators will exhibit the requisite courage,
wisdom and foresight to accept this verdict of the Supreme Court and use it as a launching pad
for engineering far-reaching and vital electoral and governance reforms.
Neither should this be viewed as a turf battle between Parliament and Judiciary. No democrat
can question the supremacy of elected legislature in lawmaking. Equally the judiciary has the
ultimate responsibility to interpret the constitution and uphold fundamental rights. True, there are
concerns about judicial usurpation of executive and legislative authority and those concerns are
legitimate. But the campaign for electoral reforms is the wrong case to contest judicial role.
This judgment opens up many vistas and the battle for reclaiming our republic for the people
has just begun. We, on behalf of National Campaign for Electoral Reforms, appeal to the political
parties, media, and enlightened citizens to fuii respect this verdict of the Supreme Court and
work for genuine democratic reforms to help us fulfill our potential as a nation and minimise
avoidable suffering.
The Patna High Court’s latest ruling on countermanding of elections in constituencies where
candidates with criminal records were contesting is a positive move to check the criminalization
of politics in India. The Patna High Court has directed the Election Commission to consider
countermanding of elections in constituencies where candidates facing criminal trails were
contesting. The court has also asked the Commission to take a decision to this effect before the
announcement of the results .Though on the appeal filed by the Election Commission the Supreme
Court has stayed the ruling of Patna High Court and said that once the Election Process has
begun such rulings are not feasable.The Apex Court also said that the matter will be looked into
at a later stage. The Patna High Court ruling is a positive step to prevent the entry of criminals
into electoral politics.Some pointed out that the court’s ruling can be misused to prevent an
individual from contesting elections by withholding him on criminal charges through manipulation.
The enormous problem of the nexus between criminals and politicians cannot be ignored any
longer .The submission of affidavit may have some deterrent effect, but seems as it will also
result in a futile exercise as in India, votes are being cast on the basis of caste, creed and
religion.The poor illiterate people of this country still vote to their caste man or to the man of
fellow religionship ,or to the fellow who belongs to their region. Moral values and ethics have long
been vanished from the political arena of our country ,but we cannot have such an indifferent
attitude. We shall have to find a solution to eradicate the menace for which we are ourselves also
responsible to a great extent.
In a democratic country, all the powers lies in the hands of the voters that is the general public.
An awakening among the general mass can only show the right place to such criminal politicians.
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ENVIRONMENT
OUR WILDLIFE HERITAGE
The good news about nature is that it is showing signs of repair and renewal in thousands of
small and large protected areas across India. The bad news is that such successes are proving
temporary as ambitious Indian places their own commercial self-interest above those of nation.
Not so long ago, sparkling productive forest, rich soils and fish on coast lines were the order of
the day. These were gifts that nature had handed over those who occupied the Indian subcontinent
centuries ago.
As recently as the turn of the last century, primary forests clothed perhaps half the subcontinent
if you then caste a hundred seeds about indiscriminately, half of them were likely to take root
because our soils were fertile, our climate moderate and our water resources abundant.
Urban India began to colonize rural India. Dams were constructed without considering whether or
not the nation was profiting from them. Mines were dug indiscriminately pesticides such as DDT
were sprayed in such massive doses that instead of insects, human began to die from the
pesticides. Nuclear reactors were built without worrying about the fact that there was no place to
dump the lethal waste they would continually produce.
As for our forests almost any one with an axe would begin to cut timber for sale to the highest
urban bidder. Tigers, elephants and migrating birds would be shot, trapped and otherwise killed
by free Indians who claimed it was their human right to emulate erstwhile masters. This
monumental damage was not the result by some transient insanity. It is still going on.
This is why the cheetah is extinct, the lions are on the road to extinction and why we still lose a
tiger every single day to poachers. It is also why more forests are being cut on the Indian
subcontinent today than ever before in our recorded history.
Not surprising, galloping soil has overtaken millions of hectares of once fertile farmlands. And
there is not one river in India whose water can safely be drunk. Predictably, landslides and floods
are the order of the day. Our GDP and per capital income have gone marginally. But more Indians
go to bed thirsty than during British rule.
The above tragedies unfolded over decades but politicians and developers berated those who
protested against the destruction of our ecological foundations. “India is too poor a country to
care about out environmental protection.” They said as they trashed Indian ecological foundations
in the name of development.
Today of course, people know better. ? Young persons are asking for the tiger to be saved and
they run campaigns to recycle wastes. Every political party manifesto claims to be championing
the environment.
Paradoxically, the level of environmental awareness has reached dizzy heights even as the
degradation of our surroundings has plummeted to in fathomable depths. Increasingly environmental
rumbles have begun to be heard, from the most unexpected quarters, businessmen, doctors,
tour operators, traders, even some politicians.
Some people question “In a land where people are dying why should we squander time and
money to save wild life and the environment” Particle Physicists are answering that question for
us now, together with geologists, botanists, zoologists, mathematicians and evolutionists. For
all our technological advances, all our giant leap of knowledge, we are still intellectual midgets in
a world of impossibly advanced natural system.
Even the mechanism that causes one solitary flower to bloom, for instance, has not yet been
replicated in a laboratory? We need moths, bees and butterflies to pollinate flower. We need
squirrels, monkeys and birds to disperse seeds. We need termites to recycle the cellulose in
dead plants so those nutrients can be returned to the earth without the Gardener of our fragile
Eden life on earth would be impossible.
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(i)
(ii)
(iii)
ORGANIC FARMING IS ECO-FRIENDLY FARMING
Organic farming is a form of agriculture, which avoids the use of synthetic inputs such as
synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and genetically modified organisms, plant growth
regulators and livestock feed additives.
As far as possible organic farmers rely on crop rotation, crop residues, animal manures, and
mechanical cultivation to maintain soil productivity, supply plant nutrients and to control weeds,
insects and other pests.
In other words the role of organic agriculture whether in farming, processing, and distribution
is to sustain and enhance the health of ecosystems and organisms from the smallest in the soil
to human beings. The British Botanist Sir, Albert Howard is often called “the father of modern
organic agriculture”. He was one of the first to point out advantages of organic farming over
modern techniques in his book, “An Agriculture Testament”.
Organic farming methods combine scientific knowledge and modern technology with traditional
farming practices based on thousands of years of agriculture. Organic farming relies heavily on
the natural break down of organic matter, using techniques like green manure and compositing,
to maintain nutrients taken from the soil by the previous crops.
Organic farming uses a variety of methods to improve soil fertility, including crop rotation,
cover cropping, and application of mulching. In chemical faming a specific insecticides may be
applied to quickly kill off a particular insect pest but he encourages rapid natural selection of
resistant insects, plants and other organisms, necessitating increased use or more powerful
control measures.
In contrast, organic farming tends to tolerate some pest populations while taking a longerterm approach. Organic farming, organic pest control involves techniques like encouraging
predatory beneficial insects and microorganisms, careful crop selection and crop rotation. Each
of these techniques also provides other benefits- soil protection, fertilization, pollination, water
conservation etc. These benefits are both complementary and cumulative in overall effect on farm
health. However, there are various major advantages of organic farming:It increases productivity at lower cost:
There is misconception among the people that organic farming leads to loss in productivity. It is
also proven that after a short period of drop in yields, organic farming is more productive than
chemical farming.
Environmental friendly:
Conventional agriculture based on chemical farming is rapidly depleting natural resources
particularly fresh water, soil, air and fossil fuels. In chemical farming there is also use of large
quantities of pesticides, fertilizer etc. and there is also water wastage through high volume irrigation,
heavy use of petrochemicals for farm machinery and long distance transport etc. but organic
farming curtails all these.
It reduces food contamination and increased food quality:
Conventional agricultural practices based on chemical fertilizer causing greater contamination of
food in absence certification and in the wake of unhygienic handling. But in organic farming there
is such problems: To promote organic farming in India, the Central Government has set up National
Institute of Organic Farming in 2003, in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, the purpose of this institute is
to formulate rules, regulation and certification of organic farm products in conformity with
international standards the institute has appointed Agricultural and Processed Food Products
Exports Development Authority.
The Tea Board, the Spice Board, the Coconut Development Board and the Directorate of
Cashew and Cocoa as certifying agencies for organic farm products. They will be accountable for
confirming that any product sold with the “India organic” logo is in accordance with international
criteria. Organic farming has also been identified as a major thrust area of the 10th Plan of the
central government and for this one billion rupees have been allocated to the National Institute of
Organic Farming alone.
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GLOBAL WARMING
Global Warming effects on the natural balance of environment. The world climate is going a
significant change day by day.
There are many causes of Global Warming. The destruction and burning down of tropical
forests , traffic clogging up the city streets , rapid growth of unplanned industries, the use of
CFCs in packaging and manufacturing products, the use of detergents etc. cause Global Warming.
Besides, overpopulation, deforestation are the causative factors of Global Warming. The setting
up of mills and factories in an unplanned way has a great effect on environment. These mills and
factories produce black smoke which gets mixed with air and increases the amount of CO2.
Burning of Gas such as Methane (CH4) and fuel also increase CO2 in the environment. Killing
animals like birds, big cats, lions, tigers is also alarming cause of Global Warming.
The effects of Global Warming is very dangerous for our existence and survival. The sun’s scorching
heat comes to earth in a direct way. Therefore, the earth’s surface becomes seriously heated.
Agriculture, forestry and fishery is seriously damaged. This can catastrophically reduce mankind’s
ability to grow foods, destroy wildlife. Global Warming also cause sea-water to swell up.
All species are important for maintaining ecological balance. If one is lost, the whole natural
environment changes. To prevent the dangerous effects of Global Warming necessary steps
should immediately be taken.
People should not be allowed to cut off trees which causes deforestation. Rather they should
be advised and suggested to plant more and more trees in accordance with their capability and
convenience. Forests also control the natural balance. People should be made aware of it. Mills,
factories, brick-fields should be set up in a very good planned way. There should be drainage
system to pass away waste materials, wastages and poisonous chemicals.
The world’s alarming climate is very dangerous for mankind and ecological balance. Unless
Global Warming is not controlled, no men, animals will be able to live, grow and thrive. So, we
should try maintain the ecological balance to decrease the effects of Global Warming.
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SOCIAL
THE BENEFITS OF LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE
Have you ever had this thought, “What will look good on my college application?” Most
students have. There is one thing that can influence a college’s or company’s decision for the
better about accepting or hiring a person, and this is by learning a second language. As people
from other countries continue to immigrate into America, it is becoming more important than ever
to learn a second language, even simply to appear more marketable and have something to set
an applicant apart from their competitors. One of these benefits includes how great it looks on
applications for just about anything. Others include the convenience when traveling, making new
friends, improving the fluency of the speaker’s native language, having a type of a secret code
among friends, and preventing Alzheimer’s.
There are many reasons for knowing multiple languages that look good on applications. First,
on college applications, it shows that the applicant is willing to devote time and energy into
learning something. This in turn, will show the reviewer that you would be willing to work hard on
college studies as well. On a job application it makes an employee more marketable because
even if he is an employee at McDonald’s, there is always the possibility that a customer might
not speak English. If you know this other language you would be able to communicate with the
customer. Also focusing on the McDonald’s example, if an applicant and another potential employee
had exactly the same qualifications the company would look for little things to set the two apart.
The fact that you know another language is a huge achievement. That makes the person unique
when compared to other candidates. Another reason is that many companies have sister
companies in other parts of the world or do business with companies in other locations. Knowing
the language of the other company’s country would make someone stand out in the sea of
applicants. By knowing this language the applicant would be able to communicate with people
from the company to solve problems. This could also increase the possibility to travel abroad to
the location.
One major part of learning a language is often being able to travel to a foreign country. Being
able to speak the native language has many benefits in and of itself. When you travel to another
country you are truly representing America. David Barry made this, “Americans who travel abroad
for the first time are often shocked to discover that, despite all the progress that has been made
in the last 30 years, many foreign people still speak in foreign languages.” By putting forth the
effort to speak with people in their own language it shows that the traveler is doing their best to
take care of themself in a different environment. The locals can see their effort and are more
willing to help. It’s also good because this way the traveler can navigate, go to restaurants, and
speak with the locals without the help of a friend or translator. Speaking to the locals is often a
highlight of many people’s trips. It gives insight on a new way of life and can develop new friendships.
It is easy to get to know people with whom we have much in common. These are people with
whom we would most easily bond.. Now, what if these people spoke two entirely different
languages? They may not even meet each other simply because they couldn’t understand each
other. If one or both of them learned the other person’s language, they could create a lifetime
friendship. Especially with social networking at an all-time high, the ability to converse with
people from around the globe becomes easier each time a new website is created. Often times
the creators learn other languages to help their website to appeal to people of other cultures.
Many scholars, authors, artists, poets, and other people of professions that require an excellent
grasp of their own language, study another language as well. This is often because learning
another language helps to improve your English. For most people, the beauty of their own language
is taken for granted because they have nothing to compare it to. When studying a foreign language
students are able to see how the sentence structure differs from their own language as well as
the vocabulary and conversational aspects. Often times, people are taken aback when studying
languages such as French or Spanish due to how melodic the sentences sound. Or, as is the
case with languages such as Chinese or Japanese, people are confused, but intrigued, at how
the simple change in pitch can create a new word. The way that ideas are presented in other
languages are often different than they are presented in English. Learning another language can
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help you to construct your sentences in a way that is more meaningful, creative, and precise
than it would have otherwise been. With this, an author’s writing will become more fluid and will
have an effect on more people.
One fun reason to learn another language is that if the student has studied it with a friend,
both of you can converse without others knowing what you are saying. This is something that can
be immensely helpful when speaking to family about private matters while out in public, or making
important decisions in public. For example, a person may be making a large purchase, such as
a car, and want to discuss some of its issues but you don’t want to have others eavesdropping.
In this situation you could use your other language, especially if it is a language that not many
people study, to talk to whoever came along with you. Eavesdropping is something that everyone
does, but also something that everyone hates. This problem is easily avoided if the student
studies a language that not many people study. Another way to help this is if you can find
someone to study with. That, in and of itself, is encouragement. It keeps you accountable and
learning with a friend is much more enjoyable.
Did you know that there is an effective way to help the minds of you and your loved ones? An
average of 1,252 people per day are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. With the astonishing
numbers such as this one, about a million people are affected indirectly, at least, each day;
Alzheimer’s disease is a real concern to most people. As may develop Alzheimer’s or another
type of cognitive disorder as they age. Many studies have found that bilingual people, who begin
to develop these types of disorders, although their physical condition may be similar, retain
normal mental ability for much longer. Monolingual people begin suffering the effects much sooner.
Although they both suffer, these studies suggest that it can prevent the onset Alzheimer’s for as
long as a few years before it the disease takes its toll on their brain. This is because the part of
your brain that it first affects is protected by the exercise you have provided it with. This “exercise”
is how the brain keeps from meshing the two languages together in your mind. Learning this new
language helps because it creates new neural pathways, the more neural pathways that are
created, the more “backup” the brain has once the disease starts to have an effect. What many
people don’t realize until it’s too late is that prevention is often preferable to the treatment.
With so many benefits at the price of about an hour a day, it is shocking that more people are
not learning new languages. Even those who already know a second language can only be
benefited by the new knowledge of another language. People who live in a larger city, one which
has a community of Chinese, Italian, or Hispanic population along with many others, have the
advantage of being submerged in another language. By showing an interest in learning the language
anyone can gain new friends, a healthier brain, a new secret code against the narrow minded,
and a new skill to create an outstanding résumé. As an added bonus, studies show that the
easiest way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it. As students, increasing the number
of skills to add to applications for college is crucial. It shows that the student is hardworking, well
rounded, and has ambition. As difficult as learning a language can be, it is well worth the time,
money, and energy spent on the endeavor.
USE OF INDIAN TELEVISION FOR DEVELOPMENT PURPOSE
Extensive communication research on the use of Indian Television for development purposes
has been conducted under SITE and KCP, but in-depth studies on impact of television on family
life are few. However, television’s impact on children has been the area of interest for social
scientists.
The effect of television on home and family and particularly on children has become a matter
of concern for behavioural science researchers.
Looking at the influence, it seems television has become like a member of the family. Studies
have shown that it has upset the tone, tenor and stability of household activity and atmosphere,
drew children away from their assigned and imperative tasks and discipline in growing up.
It has strongly affected their attitudes and emotions. Thus it holds dangerous potential for damage
of children’s personalities
Children watch the programmes with undue sex, violence and adult themes and glorified
affluent lifestyles. This raises undue expectations among children and thereby pressures on the
family.
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There are no programmes left on television schedule which could be exclusively called children’s
programmes, except channels like cartoon’s, which again take children in to fantasy world.
Children and even housewives sit glued to TV regardless of time.
Various studies have been conducted regarding the impact of television on children. The
observations of these studies have been:
Television provides children with thrill. The thrill syndrome results in behaviour abnormalities.
Television viewing has led children under exposure to print.
A study by Media Advocacy Group (1980) observed that across all income and sex groups,
parents have a problem with unrestricted viewing by children. They felt helpless in controlling the
TV viewing by children.Inspite of its’ entertaining nature, television violence develops among
viewers the sense of fear, victimization, mistrust, insecurity and dependence.
The study suggested that the violence terror scenario may have several consequences which
include the cultivation of aggressive tendencies, the accommodation to violence, the
personalization and isolation of offenders, the sporadic triggering of violent acts, and the levels
of vulnerability and dependence felt by different groups living with the images of a mean and
dangerous world.
Watching television for extended period of time impacts upon the availability of time for their
other activities such as playing, reading, visiting friends or relatives. It limits the time for homework
and other forms of learning and thus contributes to lower academic performance.
Research has also indicated that children do not distinguish between programs and
advertisements. Children under 8 cannot appreciate commercial’s ‘selling’ intent and they do not
have the defenses against commercial appeals that adults have.
There are also positive effects of television on children. It fosters prosocial behaviour in children,
for example, interaction with family members and friends, mannerisms, ways of greeting people
and so on. TV viewing enhanced children’s selection of materials used in spontaneous play.
There is growing sense of unease at what has been happening in the world of television and the
manner in which ideas conveyed by television.
The television explosion has been experienced by western countries, which has drawn people’s
attention to the fact that:
•
The more TV a child watches, the greater the influence it has on the child.
•
watching TV for long hours adversely affects reading and writing skills.
•
Television as a passive activity takes children away from other, more direct, experiences.
•
The passivity induced by watching TV too much.
•
Television may encourage and influence early sexual activity, drug and alcohol abuse.
It is evident that television has both positive and negative impact on children. The world as TV
represents it is not always true to reality but children who grow up with such representations tend
to believe and know the world as picturised on TV.
This is mainly due to the reason that children specific programmes are hardly telecast by
Doordarshan. Thus, children are left with no alternative but to watch whatever is offered. Parents
have to decide the kinds of controls they will exercise to limit the time and content of their
children’s television viewing.
VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA
“Euthanasia means an action which aims at taking the life of another at the latter’s expressed
request. It concerns an action of which death is the purpose and the result. “This definition
applies only to voluntary euthanasia and excludes the non-voluntary or involuntary euthanasia,
the killing of a patient without the patient’s knowledge or consent. Some call this “life-terminating
treatment.”
Euthanasia can be either active or passive. Passive euthanasia allows one to die by withholding
or withdrawing life supporting means. This is a tricky area because ordinary and extraordinary
means of supporting life come into the picture. Ordinary means such as nutrition and hydration
are never to be withheld since they are one’s basic right in order to survive. However, one is not
obliged to use extraordinary or ‘disproportionate’ means to sustain life. Due to complexity, each
situation needs to be looked at individually when discussing extraordinary means. However, as a
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rule, one can discontinue “medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary,
or disproportionate to the expected outcome.” One cannot intend death by withdrawing or
withholding treatment, but should, however, obey God and let one die a natural death. To withdraw
a treatment as a condition worsens is letting one die and not a direct killing. In this case, it is the
disease that is killing and not the one who withdraws the treatment.
Active euthanasia or’ mercy killing’ pertains to the Dr. Kevorkian’s’ of the day. This is the
direct intentional killing of a patient with either their consent (voluntary), without their consent
when impossible (non-voluntary), or without consent but not sought (involuntary). Advocates of
this murder have covered their ears to the command of the Lord: Thou shall not kill! The goal is to
eliminate or relieve suffering by an evil means of death. Many patients’ are in immense suffering
and may be led to choose death as the answer by these’ doctors’, friends or relatives. The
culpability for the patient, in these cases may be lessened, but, this act of killing can never be
justified.
These patients, whether having an incurable disease, being elderly, or suffering in other ways,
are crying out for help and love. Palliative care, not death, is the answer. Medical personnel,
friends and family must reach out and comfort the afflicted. Suffering and pain is manageable,
especially today, with so many medicines and treatments available. Pain killers can be prescribed
as long as there is no danger or intention of death. Consciousness of the patient is strongly
encouraged, so that if dying, one may prepare to accept to meet God.
We cannot do whatever to our bodies, since they are not our own. God made us and knows
what we need here on earth, so that we, someday, may enter into eternity. If Christ endured
immense suffering, then why do we expect any less? We are called to be imitations of Christ and
to share in His Passion. Is my life really mine? “If we live, we are responsible to the Lord, and
when we die we are responsible to the Lord. Both in life and death we belong to the Lord.” God
has a plan and each human person having an eternal destiny has a dignity. God, being the author
of life, alone has the right to create and destroy life. No human person has this right to take
innocent human life, no matter how one tries to justify it. ‘Thou shall not kill’is still a command
and not a suggestion, as many seem to believe.
There are many reasons why Euthanasia is gravely immoral some of which have already
been discussed. Suffering has many benefits, especially suffering in the last days of one’s life. In
addition to sharing in Christ’s Passion, one may find peace in God, reconciliation with family and
friends and acceptance of death. One also may be undergoing temporal punishment here on
earth through suffering; a sort of ‘purgatory on earth’. There are many benefits and advantages to
suffering. However in a pragmatic society as ours, we tend to look past the positives and see only
the negative side. This type of reasoning has led many to see death as the answer suffering,
regardless of the consequences.
Euthanasia whether active or passive is immoral and contrary to God’s law Within passive
euthanasia, what is considered extraordinary means of sustaining life may not always be clear,
but ordinary means such as hydration and nutrition must be provided. We must look past the
suffering in this world and look towards eternal home with God. As humans we cannot always
see the answers and for that reason, is not we to decide about the death of a human being, God
has not given us ~ authority. We must also ask ourselves concerning euthanasia; where will it
end: we allow the elderly or incurable to be assisted in suicide, what other groups will give this
‘right’. Will the handicapped or mentally retarded be next? Will teenage who are the leading age
group of suicide; also have this ‘right to die’?
The answer rests in our hands. If we continue to disrespect human life and its creator, God,
then will destroy ourselves. A right is a moral claim and since we do not have a claim on death
which itself has a claim on us, we cannot act for the right we don’t have. Perilt Mother Teresa was
right when she said that “if a mother can kill her own child, “is there anyone to stop you and me
from killing each other?” There is no way to stop culture of death, unless, we get back to God’s
law and speak out, boldly, against horrors and injustices of the day!
“We must be wary of those who are too willing to end the lives of the elderly and the ill. If we
ever decide that a poor quality of life justifies ending that life has taken a step down a slippery
slope that places all of us in danger. There is difference between allowing nature to take its
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course and actively assisting. The call for euthanasia surfaces in our society periodically, as it is
doing now the guise of “death with dignity” or assisted suicide.
RACISM IS IN YOUR FACE, NOT UNDER YOUR SKIN
Racism is defined as being “the belief that race accounts for differences in human character
or ability and that a particular race is superior to others”. Racism is one of the world’s major
issues today. Many people are not aware of how much racism still exists in our schools workforces,
and anywhere else where social lives are occurring. It is obvious that racism is bad as it was
many decades ago but it sure has not gone away. Racism very much exists and it is about time
that people need to start thinking about the instigations and solutions to this matter. Many people
believe that it depends on if a person was brought into the world as a racist or not but that is not
the case at all. In fact, an individual cannot be born a racist but only learn to become one as they
grow from child to adulthood.
Racism is a form of discrimination. It is the intolerance of another being solely based on the
colour of their skin. One can be discriminated against due to their race, sexuality, religion, or
gender. Both psychology and sociology views proposed interesting theories to why prejudices
and discrimination exist. Intolerance has been occurring since the beginning of mankind. It could
be seen as the acts of slavery, genocides and sexism. This begs a question: Where does
humanities prejudices derive from? Sociologists do not believe prejudices are the internal state of
human beings. It is the factors outside of individuals that cause them to grow to be racially or
sexually prejudiced. The functionalist theory, conflict theory, and the symbolic interaction theory
all propose societies portrayals of discrimination pressure and manipulate individuals to deem
their social class, sexual category, race, and sexuality superior over others. Prejudice is caused
by psychological and sociological influence, where individuals are manipulated by their surroundings
to hate another solemnly based on their disparity.
Unfairness originates from ones psychological and sociological influence, where individuals
are manipulated by their surroundings to hate another solemnly based on their disparity. Individuals
will always be judged by their colour or sex. Society has formed standards for each being. Our
world will continue to practice intolerance, since the ones who are privileged benefit from this
unfairness, making them inconsiderate to those who do not. Human nature as always been
attached to discrimination, and with discrimination comes a world of inequality, difference, and
war.
Racism is not an ability that people are born with but it is based on how an individual is raised
and what they learn when they are younger. There are many solutions in the world to prevent
racism. However, this does not mean that such attempts would put an end to racism because
racism will always exist as long as we live. But what the government and institutions and rest of
the public can do is help minimize racism. It is a shame that many people feel such hate towards
a group but maybe if they try to deal with the change and personal frustrations maturely, they can
be able to get more comfortable around the minority groups. People are people and if one can be
broader minded, and does not base other individuals on their skin color and accept them for who
they are, it would be a significant step towards minimizing racism.
THE RESERVATION POLICY IN INDIA
The concept of reservation was enshrined in the Constitution to allow the so-called deprived
classes to come at par with the so-called privileged ones. The Constitution of India allows this
kind of positive discrimination in order to bring about equality of opportunity and status in the
society. The founding fathers had never intended Reservation to be a temporary phenomenon.
Reservations to the underprivileged were to be extended until they were uplifted socially and
stabilized economically. Reservations with the view of helping the deprived classes to gain a
better footing and avail equal benefits of an independent and free nation was introduced in the
system.
Yet, the various governments till now have failed to truly uplift the backward sections of the
society and failed to provide them with equal opportunities even after 60 years of independence.
Freedom and application of a reservation policy, has changed nothing. In reality, reservation has
failed at all fronts. Not only has it failed to achieve the desired aim of bringing the non-privileged
classes into mainstream, it has marginalised them all the more and deepened the caste system
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even more. Moreover, reservations is now used not as an effective means of eliminating
discrimination but as a vile instrument of increasing the vote-bank.
The 93rd amendment and the recent declaration of the government for reservation in institutions
of higher education has once again stirred the anger of the youth in general all over the country.
The moral ground in favour of reservations still holds good. What is needed is to formulate a wellbalanced policy of reservation, which opens equal doors of opportunity to all. Development of one
section of the society should not be at the cost of the other section. Development of the society
can be possible only if all the sections of the society are given equal opportunities. Opportunity
for development should be judiciously distributed among all the sections of society. Opportunity
in education, jobs and other fields of life should be equally distributed.
The present decision of the government regarding the reservation policy has angered the youth
because it triggers the development of one section of the society while pushing another into
oblivion. Moreover, as the Supreme Court has put a stay on the implementation, the controversy
has deepened. The country seems to be divided into two bi-polar thought streams— one supporting
reservations and another dead against it.
If one takes a look at the issue objectively one will realize that the intention behind reservations
is not faulty at all but it is the implication and the application of it that has proved ineffective. The
way reservation has been implemented all these years has deepened and aggravated the caste
distinctions in the society, marginalised the poor and the needy and has benefitted only the
topmost layer of the so called Backward classes. The benefit of reservation has failed to trickle
down to the lowest section of the society. Moreover, it has killed the spirit of brotherhood and
healthy competition, the desire to surge forward and to work hard. Reservations based on the
narrow concept of caste is thus, fundamentally wrong and hence has proved to be a failure.
Thus, it is time to introspect, while keeping aside the greed of political mileage and think objectively
about where things have gone wrong. It seems that nobody really cares about the welfare of the
underdog but wants to gain a bit of the large chunk of political boost for the next elections.
Reservation should not be forsaken because, in fact, every one wants that society should develop
as a whole and everyone should reap the benefits of development. But reservations instead of
being caste-based to meet the political needs of our power hungry politicians, should be based
on a more acceptable criteria through which every section of the society is benefited. For instance,
it can be based on economic status or anything else that can work truly for our society and state.
We should take a lesson from the United States in this regard. It is the most market-oriented
country and has a policy of affirmative action. US universities and the government give preference
to Black and Hispanic applicants in admission as well as jobs. Yet the US economy remains
among the most competitive in the world. The trick lies in undertaking affirmative action by
providing incentives rather than quota-based restrictions.
The US has long abandoned the quota system for affirmative action. They have put in place a
point system under which candidates from among the Blacks, backward regions, immigrants,
etc., are given a few extra points in admission and appointment procedures. This leads to nominal
increase in the cost of production. The additional points only lead to nominal lowering of standards.
In contrast, the quota system can lead to a heavy lowering of standards. Similar, is the case in
South Africa where the new constitution envisages a programme of affirmative action.
We need to identify the ones who are really needy, downtrodden and under privileged. Then,
we need to provide them with proper incentives such as education, opportunities and financial
backing. After that real talent and hard-work should be awarded and accepted instead of blindly
guaranteeing anyone a secure future merely on the basis of caste even though he/she is least
deserving. Merit should be the criteria because the country needs the best of its people in order
to develop and not those who are harnessing the unmerited and undeserved benefits just because
they belong to a section of society which has been luckily marked in the Constitution as underdeveloped. It is so disheartening to see a well deserving candidate with a promising future to lose
out to another less deserving candidate because he happens to be from a reserved section of the
society-fortunately or unfortunately. Why should a deserving individual suffer only because he
happens to be a part of the so-called privileged class of society-unfortunately or merely because
of the faulty policy of the state?
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Nothing much has changed since the past 60 years proving that we have misdirected our
energies in the wrong direction. We have failed utterly in bringing the under-privileged at an equal
footing with the rest of the society. Rather, many a times, it seems that the reservation policy
tries to avenge the wrong done to the non-privileged all these years. We have successfully
paralysed a section of the society permanently and blocked their upward mobility by killing their
zeal to work hard and be rewarded. Who will want to work hard if one gets an opportunity and
other incentives without burning the midnight oil? Instead of encouraging this kind of lethargy, the
policy should be formulated in such a way as to harness the real cream of every section of the
society regardless of their caste or community for the betterment of the society.
In view of the present scenario, it is needed to keep aside the narrow vote bank politics and think
truly for the betterment of the under-privileged and honestly pursue policies and programmes for
their upliftment.
KHAP PANCHAYATS: REQUIRES REORIENTATION
Khap Panchayats have been in the news for wrong reasons in the last five years after they
started annulling the marriages of young couples, saying that they are ‘brothers and sisters’
being from the same ‘gotra’.
Khap is a term for a social-political grouping and used in a geographical sense. Khap has
started during the Rig Veda period and political unit of Khap was defined as a group of 84 villages.
The sarv khap panchayat represented all the khaps. It was a political organisation, composed of
all the clans, communities, and castes in the region. Even today, states such as Uttar Pradesh,
Haryana and Rajasthan are still governed by the rules of gotras or ancestral lineage. Under this
system, the villagers in these states still swear by the gotra system of marriage and consider ingotra marriage a taboo. Originally, there were seven gotras - Vishvamitra, Jamadagni, Bharadvaja,
Gautama, Atri, Vasishtha, and Kashyapa - and Agasthya was later included in the list. The main
reason was to avoid in breeding and birth of children with defects it caused. Khap Panchayats
have been in the news for wrong reasons in the last five years after they started annulling the
marriages of young couples, saying that they are ‘brothers and sisters’ being from the same
‘gotra’.
Legal status of Khap Panchayats:
Under the provisions of Indian Constitution or any other statutory laws, the khap panchayats
do not enjoy any legitimacy. Khaps are traditional, area-based community groups. Their rulings
have no legal validity and bindings on the individuals. The tradition dictates that those living in
khaps are not allowed to marry in the same gotra; they are not even allowed to marry a member
in any gotra from the same village or the neighbouring villages. Considering the latest incidents,
Haryana’s khap panchayats have decided to draw ‘recommendations’ to make ‘necessary’
amendments (at the state-level) to the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 so that their ‘rulings’ get legal
sanction. To the khaps, the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 is basically ‘non-scientific’.
Khap should remain:
Arguments:
The social life and moral dignity are not legal matters, they are domestic issues, which are best
resolved by elders, and khap panchayats are more effective as a means of social control.
The law is meant to protect society. How can it be superior to social norms and traditions? From
Manu smriti to the latest medical findings, it is said, children born of in-gotra marriages are
deformed or mentally weak. Therefore, the scientific tradition has to be maintained.
It has been argued that the caste honour was bigger than law and the recent court rulings are a
conspiracy to curb panchayat rule.
The Khaps have been called unconstitutional, but the preamble starts by saying-we the peopleand we are the people, who firmly believe that a colonial rule cannot be given social sanction. The
law should abide by the traditional norms and hence be amended accordingly, immediately.
The courts of law have failed to resolve the divorce cases and have negative impact on the present
family set up as the modern courts give more emphasis to rights than duties.
They are having a jury from common person, which have thorough knowledge of issue, both
parties and implication of the crime and its verdict. On the contrary,, the modern judicial system
only see the instance with the help of written and solid proofs and that also is the interpretation
of the single so called meritorious person. There is a greater possibility of manipulation by the
lawyers and vicious and frivolous arguments.
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At the same time, the matter is resolved free and speedily. In the modern law system, the justice
is delayed and therefore, it is denied.
The codified laws cannot be enough to give practical solutions to a problem and in this regard, the
verdicts delivered by the khaps are not based on written book, therefore, they are much more
practical.
It should be banned:
Arguments:
It has been accused that the khap panchayats in the absence of norms, a playing havoc with the
lives of young couples by issuing diktats at will.
The khap panchayats are biased against the females and in some Haryana villages, young girls
are routinely threatened, abused and killed under khap verdicts. The entire onus of protecting the
village honour rests on the shoulders of young girls and any violation by the girls are taken as
deep disrespect for the entire village and the community. This grossly violates the fundamental
rights of the females.
The caste and other equations of the local area tend to undermine the fairness of the verdict of the
khap panchayats. The powerful persons of the area definitely get the benefit of the traditional
system of justice.
This will create a parallel system of justice administration in India, the local traditions would be
strengthened, and common people would be delinked from the national mainstream.
The speedy trials without proper arguments create a sense of insecurity amongst the victims.
As a result of the functioning of the khap panchayat, Haryana remains completely feudal and
patriarchal in terms of attitudes to labour marriage, inheritance, caste and gender relations and
has one of the lowest sex ratio in India.
The influence of the khaps can be assessed from the fact that almost all the political parties of
Haryana have favoured the khap system of parallel judicial system.
Criticism:
NHRC criticism:
The National Human Rights Commission has criticized the approach and the functioning of
the ‘Khap panchayats’ or self-styled caste councils. The NHRC has warned them against taking
the law in their hands in the name of tradition and said the issue of banning marriages in the
same subcaste was a subject of wider debate. NHRC has received as many as eight complaints
regarding alleged interference of these councils in criminal justice system from different Khap
panchayats in Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh which are indulging in acts of violence against
Hindu couples marrying in the same subcaste or ‘gotra’.
In the ultimate analysis, the role of khaps cannot be underestimated as an institution. But
there is an urgent need to reorient their role and function in the modern perspective. The khaps
should be given proper guidelines of do’s and don’ts by the Government. The laws formulated
after independence must be communicated to these panchayats so that they can understand to
respect the fundamental rights of the individuals in general and right to liberty in particular.
OPENING HIGHER EDUCATION TO FOREIGN INSTITUTIONS
The bill has a provision under which the government can reject an application of a university if
it feels that the venture will have an adverse impact on national security.
Provisions of the Foreign Education Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010:
A foreign-university aspiring to set up a campus will have to deposit Rs 50 crore as corpus fund
and cannot take back the surplus generated from education activities here.
Moreover, a foreign education provider shall, out of the income received from the corpus fund,
utilize not more than 75 per cent of it for the development of its institutions in India. The remaining
income will be deposited in the corpus fund.
The Bill states that a foreign institution “shall not impart education in India unless it is recognized
and notified by the central government as a foreign education provider under the proposed legislation”
and offers education in conformity with the standards laid down by the statutory authority, and of
comparable quality.
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It prescribes a time-bound format to grant approval to foreign educational institutions to set up
campuses in India. They would be registered with UGC or any other regulatory body, which will
scrutinize proposals of aspiring institutions as per India’s priorities and advice the government
whether to allow the institute to operate in the country.
The bill has a provision under which the government can reject an application of a university if it
feels that the venture will have an adverse impact on national security.
The central govemment may refuse to recognize and notify a foreign educational institution as
foreign education provider if it is not in the interest of sovereignty, integrity of India, and the
security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality or
sensitivity of location of the foreign educational institutions.
Positive Impact:
The foreign education providers Bill was about collaboration and joint ventures of different kinds
with foreign universities and not just about setting up campuses.
The proposed Bill has many clauses to check its potential misuse. The bill is part of the
government’s continued focus on education reform.
It is expected to facilitate quality education in India itself and reduce the flow of Indian students
abroad. Thousands of Indian students annually go to the US, Britain and Australia among other
countries to study in foreign universities.
The enactment of a legislation regulating entry and operation of all the foreign educational institutions
is necessary to maintain the standards of higher education within the country as well as to
protect the interest of the students and in public interest.
A number of foreign educational institutions had been operating in the country and some of them
may be resorting to various malpractices to allure and attract students, and there is no
comprehensive and effective policy for regulation on the operations of all the foreign educational
institutions in the country.
Due to lack of policy or regulatory regime, it has been very difficult to make meaningful assessment
of the operations of the foreign educational institutions and absence of such meaningful
assessment has given rise to chances of adoption of various unfair practices besides
commercialisation.
It will ensure better atmosphere for competition and enhance the level of higher education in
India. Among the foreign universities likely to set up shop in India are Boston University, Harvard
and Yale University from the US.
Educational Tribunals Bill, 2010
The Educational Tribunals Bill, 2010 provides for the establishment of the State Educational
Tribunals and the National Education Tribunal.
Provisions:
The formal tribunals would exercise power and authority on service matters of any teacher or any
other employee of a higher educational institution, on matters relating to affiliation of any higher
educational institution (not being a University) with the affiliating University, on matters relating to
unfair practices by any higher educational institution and matters that might be assigned to it by
any other law for the time being in force.
The National Education Tribunal would exercise power and authority over any dispute between a
higher educational institution and any appropriate statutory regulatory body and all other matters
pertaining to higher education.
The chairperson or members of a State Educational Tribunal and the National Educational Tribunal
ineligible for a period of five years from the date they cease to hold office for further employment
in any higher educational institution.
It also provides for imprisonment for a term, which might extend to three years or with fine, which
might extend to Rs 10 lakh or with both in case of failure to comply with any order made by any
State Educational Tribunal or the National Educational Tribunal.
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National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions
Bill, 2010
The National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, 2010
postulates that every higher educational institution and every programme conducted by it should
require accreditation in the manner provided in the proposed legislation.
The authority is to promote the development and regulate the process of accreditation of higher
educational institutions and to register and regulate the working of accreditation agencies with
only registered accreditation agencies undertaking accreditation of any higher educational
institution or any programme of it.
NUCLEAR LIABILITY BILL
It is important to mention that US companies have yet to benefit from the agreement while
Russian and French rivals have been making headway in the atomic energy market estimated
by the US-India Business Council to reach 150 billion dollars over the next 30 years.
The government has introduced the contentious civil nuclear liability bill in the Lok Sabha.
The bill prescribes the liability of an operator in a nuclear accident and relief to the victims in such
mishaps. The Civil Liability fcr Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, which provides for payment of
compensation in the event of a nuclear accident, is a pre-requisite for U.S. nuclear companies to
enter India, and an enabling condition for their French and Russian counterparts. It is important to
mention that US companies have yet to benefit from the agreement while Russian and French
rivals have been making headway in the atomic energy market estimated by the US-India Business
Council to reach 150 billion dollars over the next 30 years. The US government has been keen
that the bill be passed, as it will facilitate the entry of American vendors who would otherwise not
be able to get insurance cover for their projects in India. Currently, only the State-run Nuclear
Power Corporation of India Ltd. under the existing Atomic Energy Act can operate nuclear power
plants. The Bill, which has been under consideration for long as the Public Liability Insurance Act
of 1991 (enacted in the aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984), is not applicable to nuclear
incidents. The Atomic Energy Act, 1962, does not allow private parties to enter nuclear power
generation. Only government-owned entities like the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL)
or, say, NTPC can do so.
Provisions of the Bill:
The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, provides maximum liability in respect of each
nuclear incident at a rupee equivalent of 300 million Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). The liability
of an operator for each nuclear incident has been pegged at Rs 500 crore. However, the draft bill
also has provisions that would enable the government to either increase or decrease the amount
of liability of any operator.
The operator would not be liable for any nuclear damage if the incident was caused by “grave
national disaster of exceptional character”, armed conflict or act of terrorism and suffered by
person on account of his own negligence.
The bill also provides for establishment of Nuclear Damage Claims Commission, which will have
one, or more claims commissioners for a specified area.
The claims commissioner shall have all powers of a civil court for the purpose of taking evidence
on oath, enforcing attendance of witnesses, compelling the discovery and production of documents
and other material objects.
The bill envisages that 10 years is long enough for a victim of nuclear accident to file a claim. But
this could be further extended to 15 years or so though it would not be easy to establish a casual
link.
HUMAN CLONING- A DANGEROUS INVENTION
“Cloning is an advance technological invention for producing a genetic twin of a living thing, an
organism that starts life with the same genes as its parents. In mammals, DNA is taken from an
adult animal and then it is inserted into an egg cell from another animal. This egg then divides
into an embryo. The embryo is then transplanted into a surrogate mother and grown to term. This
process has worked in animals like cows, sheep, goats, mice, pigs, while such attempts could
not succeed in rabbits, rat, cat, dog, monkey and horse.”
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In 1997, researchers at Scotland’s Rosline Institute, led by embryologist lan Wilmat reported
that they had successfully cloned a sheep—named Dolly, from the cell of an adult ewe. In 1998,
scientists at the University of Hawaii, cloned a mouse, creating not only dozens of copies, but
three generations of cloned clones. In the same year two research teams succeeded in growing
embryonic stem cells.
In November 2001, the scientists were able to clone the first human embryo. From pure
scientific analysis, it was unprecedented milestone in the field of genetic engineering technology,
but the news created a fetter among the moralists, governments. US president Mr. George W.
Bush condemned human cloning as “morally wrong” “We should not as a society grow life to
destroy it,:” said the President “The use of embryos to clone is wrong “.
Many US states, including California, have banned cloning and Congress is also considering
to impose such a ban. The company Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) in Worcester Massachusetts
USA, which claimed to clone the first human embryo, said, “This corporation(ACT) is creating
human embryos for the sole purpose of killing them and harvesting their cells”. This announcement
of ACT, provoked angry reactions across Italy and inside the Vatican. The Vatican Archbishop
said that the church opposes any form of human conception that was not born from an act of love
between husband and wife.
Scientists at ACT said that the experiments were aimed at aiding stems cells research to
treat a wide range of diseases providing hope for people with spinal injuries, heart diseases, and
other ailments, according to Dr. Robert P. Langa, one of the scientists at ACT, this latest experiment
“sets the pace for human therapeutic cloning as a potentially limitless source of immune compatible
cells for tissue engineering and transplantation medicine.” The company claimed that it has no
intention of transplanting embryos into a woman’s womb to give birth to a cloned human being.
According to scientists, the stem cells could provide replacements for various body tissues and
organs such as heart, pancreas and the nervous system. Indeed stem cells research holds out
the promise of a bonanza in tackling a wide range of diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s,
diabetes, leukaemia, lymphoma and other blood disorders.
When stem cell research could be so beneficial in curing various diseases in human being,
then why human cloning is being condemned. The crux of the matter is human cloning shall not
be stopped at stem cell research ; its potential for gross abuse will make it a virtual Frankenstein.
The opponents of human cloning say that an embryo at any stage of development is a human life,
worthy of protection and any kind of research that entails destroying an embryo is immoral,
unethical, no matter how worthy the intent may be. It involves using human being as means, it
turns human life into a commodity and fosters a culture of dehumanization. Another group of anti
moralists find, such making of fuss against cloning is unreasonable and illogical they ask point
blank, why do we permit abortion ? We permit in vitrofertilisation which creates nine or ten
embryos, of which all but one will be destroyed. Worse things are happening in our country where
lacs of female foetuses are destroyed by parents, eager to have a male child, with the connivance
of doctors.
The scientists have now started talking of designer babies, which make it theoretically possible
to genetically engineer our children, with added height or intelligence and removing defective
genes or disabilities such as crystic fibrosis or alcoholism.The advocates of human cloning gave
number of arguments as to how cloning could take modern society forward, it could prove a
panacea for several diseases.
Every such invention has merits and demerits. Human cloning could be misused to destroy
the existing humanity and civilisation. We have seen the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction and the spectrum of germs and chemical warfare. Scientists, philosophers, thinkers,
philanthropists from all over the world spoke out against human cloning, prompted by fears that
the world has taken a step further towards nightmare of humans replicated in the lab. The human
cloning can tear the society to pieces, it can endanger the very existence of human being in this
world.
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BANKING
INTERNET BANKING- MERITS AND DEMERITS
What is Internet Banking
Internet Banking refers to the banking services provided by the banks over the internet. Some
of these services include paying of bills, funds transfer, viewing account statement, etc. Banks
also deliver their latest products and services over the internet. Internet banking is performed
through a computer system or similar devices that can connect to the banking site via the
internet. Nowadays, you can also use internet banking on your mobile phones using a Wi-Fi or
3G connection. With the ease of availability of cyber cafes in the cities, internet banking has
become quite popular.
Banking is now no more limited in going and visiting the bank in person for various purposes
like depositing and withdrawing money, requesting for account statement, stop a payment, etc.
You can do all these tasks and many more using the internet banking services offered by the
banks. You can also keep a track of your account transactions and balance all the time. Now
getting passbooks updated to know the total account balance is a matter of past.
The common internet banking services offered by banks are:
Transactional activities like funds transfer, bill payment, loan applications and transactions.
Non-transactional activities like request for cheque book, stop payment, online statements,
updating your contact information.
Advantages of Internet Banking
Internet Banking has several advantages over traditional banking which makes operating a bank
account simple and convenient. Internet banking allows you to conduct various transactions
using the bank’s website and offers several advantages. Some of theadvantages of internet
banking are:
Internet banking account is simple to open and easy to operate.
Internet banking is quite convenient as you can easily pay your bills, can transfer funds between
accounts, etc. Now you do not have to stand in a queue to pay off your bills; also you do not have
to keep receipts of all the bills as you can now easily view your transactions.
Internet banking is available all the time, i.e. 24x7. You can perform your tasks from anywhere
and at any time; even in night when the bank is closed or on holidays. The only thing you need to
have is an internet connection.
Disadvantages of internet banking
Though there are many advantages of internet banking, but nothing comes without disadvantages
and everything has its pros and cons; same is with internet banking. It also has some disadvantages
which must be taken care of. The disadvantages of internet banking include the following:
Understanding the usage of internet banking might be difficult for a beginner at the first go.
Though there are some sites which offer a demo on how to use internet banking, but all does not
offer this facility. So, a person who is new to internet banking might face some difficulty.
You cannot have access to internet banking if you don’t have an internet connection; thus without
the availability of internet access, internet banking may not be useful.
Security of transactions is a big issue. Your account information might get hacked by unauthorized
people over internet.
FINANCIAL INCLUSION
Financial inclusion is the availability of banking services at an affordable cost to disadvantaged
and low-income groups. In India the basic concept of financial inclusion is having a saving or
current account with any bank. In reality it includes loans, insurance services and much more.
The first-ever Index of Financial Inclusion to find out the extent of reach of banking services
among 100 countries, India has been ranked 50. Only 34% of Indian individuals have access to or
receive banking services. In order to increase this number the Reserve Bank of India had the
Government of India take innovative steps. One of the reasons for opening new branches of
Regional Rural Banks was to make sure that the banking service is accessible to the poor. With
the directive from RBI, the banks are now offering “No Frill” Accounts to low income groups.
These accounts either have a low minimum or nil balance with some restriction in transactions.
The individual bank has the authority to decide whether the account should have zero or minimum
balance. With the combined effort of financial institutions, six million new ‘No Frill’ accounts were
opened in the period between March 2006-2007. Banks are now considering FI as a business
opportunity in an overall environment that facilitates growth.
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The main reason for financial exclusion is the lack of a regular or substantial income. In most
of the cases people with low income do not qualify for a loan. The proximity of the financial
service is another fact. The loss is not only the transportation cost but also the loss of daily
wages for a low income individual. Most of the excluded consumers are not aware of the bank’s
products, which are beneficial for them. Getting money for their financial requirements from a
local money lender is easier than getting a loan from the bank. Most of the banks need collateral
for their loans. It is very difficult for a low income individual to find collateral for a bank loan.
Moreover, banks give more importance to meeting their financial targets. So they focus on larger
accounts. It is not profitable for banks to provide small loans and make a profit.
Financial inclusion mainly focuses on the poor who do not have formal financial institutional
support and getting them out of the clutches of local money lenders. As a first step towards this,
some of our banks have now come forward with general purpose credit cards and artisan credit
cards which offer collateral-free small loans. The RBI has simplified the KYC (Know your customer)
norms for opening a ‘No frill’ account. This will help the low income individual to open a ‘No Frill’
account without identity proof and address proof.
In such cases banks can take the individual’s introduction from an existing customer whose
full KYC norm procedure has been completed. And the introducer must have a satisfactory
transaction with the bank for at least 6 months. This simplified procedure is available to those
who intend to keep a balance not exceeding Rs.50,000 in all accounts taken together. With this
facility we can channel the untapped, considerable amount of money from the low income group
to the formal economy. Banks are now permitted to utilize the service of NGOs, SHGs and other
civil society organizations as intermediaries in providing financial and banking services through
the use of business facilitator and business correspondent models.
Self Help Groups are playing a very important role in the process of financial inclusion. SHGs
are usually groups of women who get together and pool money from their savings and lend
money among them. Usually they are working with the support of an NGO. The SHG is given
loans against the group members’ guarantee. Peer pressure within the group helps in improving
recoveries. Through SHGs nearly 40 million households are linking with the banks. Micro finance
is another tool which links low income groups to the banks.
Yet, banks are fighting to fulfill the Financial Inclusion dream. The main reason is that the
products designed by the banks are not satisfying the low income families. The provision of
uncomplicated, small, affordable products will help to bring the low income families into the
formal financial sector. Banks have limitations to reach directly to the low income consumers.
Correspondents can be considered to be an excellent channel which banks can use to distribute
their product information. Educating the consumers about the financial benefits and products of
banks which are beneficial to low income groups will be a great step to tap their potential.
Banks are now using new technologies like mobile phones to reach low income consumers.
It is possible that the telephone providers themselves will start basic banking services like savings
and payments. Indian telecom consumers have few links to financial institutions. So without
much difficulty telecom providers can win the battle with banks. Banks should therefore be proactive
about transferring this technology into an opportunity.
The Indian Government has a long history of working to expand financial inclusion.
Nationalization of the major private sector banks in 1969 was a big step. In 1975 GOI established
RRBs with the same aim. It encouraged branch expansion of bank branches especially in rural
areas. The RBI guidelines to banks shows that 40% of their net bank credit should be lent to the
priority sector. This mainly consists of agriculture, small scale industries, retail trade etc. More
than 80% of our population depends directly or indirectly on agriculture. So 18% of net bank
credit should go to agriculture lending. Recent simplification of KYC norms are another milestone.
Financial inclusion is a great step to alleviate poverty in India. But to achieve this, the
government should provide a less perspective environment in which banks are free to pursue the
innovations necessary to reach low income consumers and still make a profit. Financial service
providers should learn more about the consumers and new business models to reach them.
In India Financial inclusion will be good business ground in which the majority of her people will
decide the winners and losers.
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CULTURE
DESCRIBE THE WAYS MUSIC AFFECTS YOUR LIFE
Have you considered how music affects you in your daily lives? The choices we make reflect
they way we think and feel. It shows our personality and the way we feel about life. Music makes
us laugh and lightens our mind. In many ways music is presented, from the old songs to the new,
can be utilized to give us the best compiled list that will help enjoy life a little more.
No longer do we have to buy a full CD just to get the one song we like. IPods and the internet are
allowing for a more mixed collection of the music most important to us. The many downloads on
the internet and sites strictly dedicated to giving us a huge selection of music. We can pick and
choose the songs that mean the most to us.
Music can make us happier when we are happy and uplifts our mood when we are not. A true
music lover understands the transformation that music does to us. Not all out there utilize the
calming affects of music and should launch into the life changing effects that music can do.
Inspiration, understanding and acceptance can all be pulled out of music hence we are open to
the idea that music can change us. Music can be used to increase productivity, decrease anxiety
and allow us a new outlook on life. People need to embrace this and pay more attention to the
effects of the music they listen to in their lives.
Good music can change our outlook and affect our soul. It is said that a positive outlook on
life can change the happiness you feel. Believing in the changes music can have on emotion and
behavior can lead to a more productive positive outlook on life. Music is essential and everyone
should reap the positive affects and desire it invokes.
EFFECTS OF GREEN TEA
There have been more than 5000 years history of drinking tea in China, and drinking tea had
become a part of the traditional Chinese culture .A long time ago, Chinese herbalist doctors had
found the benefits of tea for human body. Nowadays, more and more people enjoy the tea across
the world. According to recent research, drinking tea, especially green tea can not only refresh
your energy, and calm your temper, but also can prevent cancer, heart disease, and rheumatoid
arthritis.
Most tea researchers focus on the benefits of green tea to prevent cancer. Two Purdue
professors, D. James Morre, and Dorothy Morre found that NOX proteins are on the surface of
cancer cells to increase the size of cancer cells and finally cause cancer cells to divide. However,
epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which are found in green tea can fight against NOX proteins and
sequentially inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Fortunately enough, the EGCG doesn’t harm the
healthy tissue when it kills cancer cells.
In addition, green tea has good effects on curing heart disease. A number of researchers have
found that flavonoids in green tea can lower the risk of heart disease and decrease the number of
people death from heart disease, because flavonoids prohibit the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein
which causes atherosclerosis and inhibits the formation of blood clots. They recruited 1900
patients who have heart disease and divided them into three groups: non-drinker, moderate drinker
(less than 14 cups per week), and heavy drinker (14 or more cups per week). During the next 3.8
years, 313 patients died, among whom 75 percent were from heart disease. After conducting
some statistics, researchers concluded that the death rate in moderate tea drinker group was 28
percent lower than in non-drinker group, and death rate in heavy tea drinker group was 44 percent
lower than in non-drinker group.
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Furthermore, green tea can help prevent rheumatoid arthritis because tea comprises plenty
of polyphenols that have antioxidant properties, and the antioxidant activities can weaken the
severity of rheumatoid arthritis. According to a study from CWRU’s School of Medicine Study,
mice which were injected with the virus of arthritis were used; such arthritis was similar to
rheumatoid arthritis in human. Eight (44 percent) out of the 18 mice that were given green tea
developed arthritis; in contrast, 17 (94 percent) out of the 18 mice that weren’t given green tea
developed arthritis.
In addition to preventing cancer, heart disease, and rheumatoid arthritis, green tea also has
other health benefits, such as remedying inflammation and decreasing the aging process of
brain. Green tea is also cheap beverage which everyone can afford. Researchers suggest that
people should drink tea frequently for their health and they have been trying to make some green
tea food in order to let more people gain the healthy elements from green tea.
BENEFITS OF BOOK READING HABIT
The real benefit of book reading comes not from what you read but rather from the habit of
reading. When you read a new book every week, you condition your mind to keep taking in new
knowledge. Your thinking remains fresh and sharp. Your brain is always churning on new ideas,
looking for new distinctions it can make. Every day you pour in more ideas, which your brain
must find a way to integrate into your existing knowledge base. Frequent reading fires up your
neural activity, even during the periods when you aren’t reading.
The attraction books offer has virtually gone down among the present generation because of
the fast increasing net surfing habits being developed among the youth. The cyber surfers do not
know what they are missing. The books have always been irreplaceable and will always remain
so. The best companion that you have in your leisure time and when you are lonely- be it while
going to bed or during travel.
Books have existed from the early years of human history and have survived the onslaught of
time. Books are facing a stiff competition from WWW (World Wide Web). Fiction and Non-fiction
tales all abound the Net. Surfing such sites offers hours of enjoyable companionship. If you have
an active imagination you can just enter the doorway to different worlds through books. Want
more information about your favourite book and having trouble finding it? Just click and join the
world of Net crusaders. That is the trend today.
Research on subjects related to your favourite books through the Net, meet the authors
online, know the history of the books of interest and give your opinions. You can join clubs that
can keep you well-informed by providing timely updates on recent and newly published books.
Studies have shown that children that are read to on a consistent basis begin to develop both
communication and thinking skills at a much younger age than children that aren’t read to on a
consistent basis. In addition, those skills continue to progress and develop much more rapidly in
children that are read to consistently. This progression of skills will continue as long as you
spend quality time reading with them.
The habit of book reading leads us to acquire a great deal of knowledge about the field of
personal development too. That did happen, but it also expanded the ignorance of a person.
Imagine your knowledge of any field as a circle. Within the circle lies what you know. Outside the
circle is what you don’t know. The edge of the circle represents your awareness of what you don’t
know. As the circle grows in size, its area increases, but so does its circumference. So the more
you learn, the more you become aware of what you have yet to learn.
Book reading is such an activity that is both fun and enlightening. It helps us in being more
knowledgeable and successful. In my opinion, book reading has immense benefits from getting
knowledge to getting success in all walks of life.
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Write an essay on any one of the following topics.
Women Entrepreneurs in India
Modern times have witnessed an array of changes in societal activities. Among them the most
significant and pertinent is woman liberation and empowerment. Modern women have traded into
almost all spheres and have proved themselves which were previously the exclusive domain of
their male counterparts. Endowed with famous female institution that helps them make the right
choices even in situations where experience and logic fail, women have innate flair for
entrepreneurship. They are natural networks and relationship builders, forging powerful bonds
and nurturing relationship with clients and employees alike. They are more inclined to seek out
mentors and develop supportive teams. Women entrepreneurs need to be landed for their increased
utilization of modern technologies increased investment, finding a niche in the export market
creating a sizable employment for others and setting the trend for other entrepreneurs in the
organized sector.
Gender equality and economic development go hand in hand. The emergence of women
entrepreneurs and their contribution be national economy is quite visible in India. They now
constitute around 10% of the total number of entrepreneurs with a rapidly increasing trend. The
growing recognition that the women have unique talents which could be harnessed for development,
and for creating employment opportunities for others who are not suited to an entrepreneurial
career, developing women as entrepreneur has become an important and integral part of national
development planning and strategies. With corporate eager to associate and work with women
owned business and a host of bands and NGOs keen to help them get going, there has rarely
been a better time for women with zeal and creativity to start their own business
Everywhere you look, there is an Indian woman in the pursuit of the entrepreneurial dream.
Women have always been involved in small, usually home-based businesses but this is different.
We are more visible, we are more ambitious and we hear more women talking about building
businesses, not just earning an income. What is driving so many women to start businesses?
What challenges do they face? What helps them succeed? Does gender enter the entrepreneur’s
mind at all? These were only some of the questions we had, and out of that emerged the Women’s
Web Women & Entrepreneurship in India 2012 Study. The study was conducted online between
June 1st and 20th and we received responses from 114 women entrepreneurs across the country.
Below are the results, which will be of interest to entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs-in-the-making,
mentors, advisors, funding firms and anyone with an interest in the story of women and
entrepreneurship in India.
Women entrepreneurs in India: Who, where, how big?
A significant chunk (58%) of the entrepreneurs we surveyed had started their businesses between
the ages of 20 and 30; interestingly, 25% had started up even before turning 25. It raises the
possibility of at least some women starting up businesses without first holding a job, right after
their education. As expected, most were either graduates or post-graduates.
Which cities lead in having India’s women entrepreneurs?
Bangalore leads all other cities head and shoulders in the presence of women entrepreneurs.
Kolkata is the only absentee large metro (tucked away under ‘others’), with all the others such as
Chennai, the National Capital Region (NCR), Pune, Mumbai and Hyderabad figuring in the list. As
for industry type, Professional services, IT/ITES, Apparel/accessories and Food & Beverages are
the four major sectors in which women own businesses (59% of those surveyed).
(B)
Role of Banks In Our Daily Lives/ Banking and A Common Man
‘Banking’ is one of the most essential and important factor in one’s life as it deals with cash and
cash transactions. Financial needs are equally important in life for enjoying a comfortable economic
status and hence banking sector plays a vital role for all of us. In order days, people were not well
aware of the banking facilities and used to stay away out of ignorance and fear. However, with the
advancement of banking industry, common man began to develop interest and started using
these facilities. He began to realise the benefits of banking as it minimized his botheration of
safety and security of his valuables and money,.
Q.1.
(A)
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Class banking to Mass Banking
Few decades earlier, banking was available to classes only i.e. the elite section of the society
was getting banking facilities as banks were limited in numbers and mostly accumulated in
urban areas and metro sectors. With view of taking up the banking facilities, the government
nationalized the banks for the first time on 19th July 1969 and making thereby easier to implement
government policies on common man. Thus the nationalization of banks played a key role in the
needy lower strata’s life. Thus class banking was changed into mass banking.
Innovation of various services
Due to Introduction and adoption of computers in the banking sectors, the nature of the traditional
banking substantially changed. The issues of ATM facilities, credit cards, debit cards etc. were
the banking services from which we could take money from our account without even approaching
the bank. Money can now be transferred in a much faster and easier way. The core banking
facility allows us to operate our account by any branch of the same bank. With the help of credit
cards, we can purchase anything without carrying money in our pockets. Without computation,
this Telebanking facility could not be available.
Services of Banks
The bank provides us with many services viz:1. Safe custody to our money and valuables.
2. Financial help by the way of loans like’ Personal Loans, housing loans, vehicle loans etc.
3. Insurance – Life and Non-life etc.
Customer Services
The introduction to foreign banks, private banks have a huge competition between them as they
provide similar facilities. Hence, in this background, the only differentiating factor is the customer
service. Hence, all banks are service conscious for attracting more customers towards them.
Conclusion
Though much has been done, vast has to be done. The development of rural sectors is still
awaiting for their upliftment. Fortunately, some banks are developing huge projects for a total
change in this area. Banking plays very important role in everyone’s life. We can not think of our
world without banks. We realise this when banks are closed consecutively of a few days. Thus
banking has acquired a prominent place in our life.
Q.2.
Write a short paragraph on any one of the following topics.
(A)
Importance of Investment
History
Investing can be as simple as putting some money in a bank savings account or interest bearing
checking account. They pay a small amount of interest, so grow over time. Unfortunately, this is
usually such a small amount that it doesn’t keep ahead with the rate of inflation. This is the
percentage that prices rise. It varies over time but historically averages about 3% per year. It is
therefore important to put a portion of your money in more aggressive investments that produce
a return that beats inflation.
Prevention/Solution
Everyone needs an emergency fund that can be tapped into at times of crisis. An unexpected
expense, illness or loss of job can bankrupt you if you don’t have an emergency fund to fall back
on. Financial planners recommend having an emergency fund of three to six months worth of
expenses. This money should be invested so that it grows over time but is safe from loss of
principle. Money market funds and certificates of deposits are investments that pay higher interest
but have no risk of losing the original investment.
Effects
Investing is also a way to help save money for a major purchase. This can be for a home, car or
vacation. The more your money grows while it is invested, the faster you will reach your investing
goal. Like the emergency fund, the investment should have as high a growth potential as possible
without having too much risk. However, if the savings goal will take you several years to achieve,
it is worth considering a little more risk in exchange for a little better return. Bonds or conservative
stocks can suit this purpose.
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Time Frame
Investing is especially important for long term savings goals. The best example of this is college
savings for children. The time horizon for this is usually ten to twenty years. Investors can afford
to take more risks for the promise of greater returns. Aggressive mutual funds will fluctuate in
price more, but historically grow more than conservative investments. As the child gets closer to
college age, a greater proportion of the college fund should be shifted to safer investments.
Investors should also take advantage of tax sheltered accounts like 529’s. They can save you
thousands of dollars in taxes over the years.
Considerations
The most important reason to invest is for retirement. When your working days are over you will
need money to survive. Retirement investing has the longest time horizon of all. As a result, you
can afford to take chances while you are young. As with college savings, you should shift to more
conservative investments as you approach retirement age. Tax sheltered retirement accounts
like 401k’s and IRA’s are valuable ways to save money for retirement. If you don’t start investing
now, expect to be in the poor house later.
Importance of Energy Conservation
We talk about several aspects in our day-to-day life like cost of living going up, inflation rates,
sports, in fact even about the stock market at times. However, have you ever given a thought on
energy conservation? Energy conservation is definitely not an issue that will take a significant
place in our day to day lives; however it is one of the most important topics that need to be
discussed. Each one of us uses energy in some form or the other all day long, throughout the
year. Almost every small thing we do requires energy right from cooking to transportation to
lighting, cooling and even entertainment.
What is energy conservation?
Everyone seems to be talking about energy conservation. But what do we mean by energy
conservation? Energy conservation means making an effort to reduce the consumption of natural
energy sources like electricity, water and so on.
Why is energy conservation important?
We depend on energy for almost everything in our lives. We wish to make our lives comfortable,
productive and enjoyable. Hence even if the outside temperature rises a little, we immediately
switch on the air conditioner to keep our house cool. This is again using up of energy. Unfortunately,
what we do not realize is that we have starting taking things for granted and we have started
wasting energy unnecessarily. Most of us forget that energy is available in abundance but it is
limited and hence to maintain the quality of life, it is important that we use our energy resources
wisely. If we do not conserve energy, the energy will exhaust and we will have nothing to use.
Also, energy conservation is also important when it comes to climate change. Currently, erratic
climates and climatic changes are the greatest threats that we are facing today. Hence it is
important to conserve energy.
Ways to conserve energy
There are many ways to conserve energy. It depends on the kind of choices we make to help us
save our environment and also help our future generations. There are many things that will use
less energy and by using such things you will conserve energy in a sensible way. Instead of
normal tube lights, you can choose energy efficient bulbs. Energy efficient bulbs require less
energy to perform the same function that normal tube lights do. Turning off all electronic devices
when not in use is also a good way of conserving energy. Replacing or repairing leaky faucets
help in saving lot of water. Use air conditioner only when required. Instead, you can keep the
doors and vents closed to keep your room. Also, you can save lot of energy by switching off the
lights and using natural lighting during day time. Embracing an energy efficient lifestyle today will
help you get a better life tomorrow. So let us slow down the demand for energy and give a better
future for our coming generation.
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(C)
Role and Importance of Small Scale Industry in India
In a developing country like India, the role and importance of small-scale industries is very significant
towards poverty eradication, employment generation, rural development and creating regional
balance in promotion and growth of various development activities. It is estimated that this sector
has been contributing about 40% of the gross value of output produced in the manufacturing
sector and the generation of employment by the small-scale sector is more than five times to that
of the large-scale sector. This clearly shows the importance of small-scale industries in the
economic development of the country. The small-scale industry have been playing an important
role in the growth process of Indian economy since independence in spite of stiff competition
from the large sector and not very encouraging support from the government.
The following are some of the important role played by small- scale industries in India.
1. Employment generation:
The basic problem that is confronting the Indian economy is increasing pressure of population on
the land and the need to create massive employment opportunities. This problem is solved to
larger extent by small-scale industries because small- scale industries are labour intensive in
character. They generate huge number of employment opportunities. Employment generation by
this sector has shown a phenomenal growth. It is a powerful tool of job creation.
2. Mobilisation of resources and entrepreneurial skill:
Small-scale industries can mobilize a good amount of savings and entrepreneurial skill from rural
and semi-urban areas remain untouched from the clutches of large industries and put them into
productive use by investing in small-scale units. Small entrepreneurs also improve social welfare
of a country by harnessing dormant, previously overlooked talent.
Thus, a huge amount of latent resources ;re being mobilised by the small-scale sector for the
development of the economy.
3. Equitable distribution of income:
Small entrepreneurs stimulate a redistribution of wealth, income and political power within societies
in ways that are economically positive and without being politically disruptive.
Thus small-scale industries ensures equitable distribution of income and wealth in the Indian
society which is largely characterised by more concentration of income and wealth in the organised
section keeping unorganised sector undeveloped. This is mainly due to the fact that small industries
are widespread as compared to large industries and are having large employment potential.
4. Regional dispersal of industries:
There has been massive concentration of industries m a few large cities of different states of
Indian union. People migrate from rural and semi urban areas to these highly developed centres
in search of employment and sometimes to earn a better living which ultimately leads to many
evil consequences of over-crowding, pollution, creation of slums, etc. This problem of Indian
economy is better solved by small- scale industries which utilise local resources and brings
about dispersion of industries in the various parts of the country thus promotes balanced regional
development.
5. Provides opportunities for development of technology:
Small-scale industries have tremendous capacity to generate or absorb innovations. They provide
ample opportunities for the development of technology and technology in return, creates an
environment conducive to the development of small units. The entrepreneurs of small units play a
strategic role in commercialising new inventions and products. It also facilitates the transfer of
technology from one to the other. As a result, the economy reaps the benefit of improved technology.
6. Indigenisation:
Small-scale industries make better use of indigenous organisational and management capabilities
by drawing on a pool of entrepreneurial talent that is limited in the early stages of economic
development. They provide productive outlets for the enterprising independent people. They also
provide a seed bed for entrepreneurial talent and a testing round for new ventures.
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7. Promotes exports:
Small-scale industries have registered a phenomenal growth in export over the years. The value
of exports of products of small-scale industries has increased to Rs. 393 crores in 1973-74 to Rs.
71, 244 crores in 2002-03. This contributes about 35% India’s total export. Thus they help in
increasing the country’s foreign exchange reserves thereby reduces the pressure on country’s
balance of payment.
8. Supports the growth of large industries:
The small-scale industries play an important role in assisting bigger industries and projects so
that the planned activity of development work is timely attended. They support the growth of large
industries by providing, components, accessories and semi finished goods required by them. In
fact, small industries can breath vitality into the life of large industries.
9. Better industrial relations:
Better industrial relations between the employer and employees helps in increasing the efficiency
of employees and reducing the frequency of industrial disputes. The loss of production and mandays are comparatively less in small- scale industries. There is hardly any strikes and lock out in
these industries due to good employee-employer relationship.
Of course, increase in number of units, production, employment and exports of small- scale
industries over the years are considered essential for the economic growth and development of
the country. It is encouraging to mention that the small-scale enterprises accounts for 35% of the
gross value of the output in the manufacturing sector, about 80% of the total industrial employment
and about 40% of total export of the country.
Write a letter on any one of the following.
Write a letter to a bank manager for opening an account.
Sheila Khan,
Lecturer in English,
Govt. Rajendra College,
Faridpur.
12 th January 2014
The Manager,
Bank of Baroda,
Faridpur branch.
Sub: Opening a bank account
Sir,
I would like to open a savings account in your branch. If needed, my principal could be my
guarantor.
I, therefore, hope that you would do the needful in this regard. I would be highly obliged.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully
Sheila Khan.
Write a letter to your friend telling him why you prefer the Career of a Business Executive.
Jay Prakash,
31 GT Road,
Kanpur.
3 rd March 2014.
Dear Rupesh,
It was a pleasure to receive your affectionate letter a few days ago and to know your welfare. You
have asked me what career I would like to take up after I taken the B.A. degree. In my opinion the
best career for me would be the career of a business executive. There are various reasons
executive to other careers. I am convinced that business managers have played a vital role in the
economic development and reconstruction of the country. In the past, emphasis was laid on
capital and labor, as the two factors necessary for the successful running of any industry. However,
now it is a third factor also, that of management or organization. As a business executive, I will
get an opportunity to synthesize or combine the other factors necessary for production, such as
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capital, labor, technical knowledge, etc., and thus show my resourcefulness. The post of the
manager of an industry will provide me with matchless opportunities to display my natural talents.
For the successful discharge of his duties, a business executive must be a man of great in born
gifts and general education, a man of intelligence and initiative. In addition to this, He must also
have a sound knowledge of the technical details of the business. He has to manage, and so to
take into account the market conditions relevant to it. Therefore, the career of an executive will
enable me to show my intelligence, resourcefulness and capacity for taking initiative which I am
sure would be further developed by the practical training which I will have to undergo.
As business executive, I will also have to achieve the harmonization of the technologist and the
professionals with the generalist, of the theoretician with the pragmatist, of the sociologist, and
above all, of the economist with the management itself, thought my dealing with all the factors of
productions at all levels. The post of a business executive will develop my natural abilities, for an
ideal manager must be capable of innovation, of thinking along new lines, as well as adapting the
technical knowledge and skill acquired in other countries to the circumstances and atmosphere
which he finds prevailing in his own country. He must have qualities of leadership, so that he may
inspire the workers with enthusiasm for their work, and get their co-operation and goodwill. In
short, the career would enable me to serve my motherland, and contribute my little bit to the
urgent economic problems which face the country. I am also adding that India’s crisis today is as
much moral as economic. Men of honesty and integrity needed, if the country is to surmount her
present troubles. I may humbly state that my family background and the education I have received
at home will surely enable me to work sincerely and honestly, if I become a business executive.
C)
Yours sincerely,
Jay.
Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper about noise pollution in your city.
Manish Jain,
HDFC Bank,
Pune.
19 th Feb 2014.
The Editor,
The Times of India,
New Delhi-110 001.
Sub: Noise pollution in the city
Sir,
I would like to draw the kind attention of the concerned authorities towards increasing problem of
noise pollution. It is causing great damage to the health problem of the city. It leads to irritation,
loss of sleep, rest and peace. It is harmful to physical and mental health of people. Frequent loud
noise affects the working efficiency of the people. Persistent noise pollution causes a loss of
sense of hearing.
Increasing noise pollution is a big threat to the health and fitness of the people, if the noise
pollution is allowed to go unchecked it may rob the people of their hearing capacity, creasing
number of vehicles on the roads, rising growth of factories, construction work, loudspeakers used
on various occasions, rock and pop music, etc. are various factors responsible for causing noise
pollution. Noise control laws are openly violated. It is the time that the authorities should awake
against the danger of noise pollution. They should strictly enforce the noise control laws. The
noise producing factories located in the residential areas should be shifted to far-off places without
any delay. The use of loudspeaker should be stopped after specific time. Above all, public needs
to be aware and cooperative against the danger of noise pollution because without public
cooperation authorities cannot make much difference.
It is earnestly hoped that concerned authorities will take immediate and urgent necessary action
against those responsible for noise pollution to relieve the people from the harmful effects of
noise pollution.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully,
Manish Jain.
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PRACTICE
SETS
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SET-I
Q.1.
Write a précis in 60 words for the following paragraph.
English education and English language have done immense good to India, inspite of their
glaring drawbacks. The notions of democracy and self-government are born of English education.
Those who fought and died for mother India’s freedom were nursed in the cradle of English
thought and culture. The West has made contribution to the East. The history of Europe has fired
the hearts of our leaders. Our struggle for freedom has been inspired by the struggles for freedom
in England, America and France. If our leaders were ignorant of English and if they had not
studied this language, how could they have been inspired by these heroic struggles for freedom
in other lands? English, therefore, did us great good in the past and if properly studied will do
immense good in future.English is spoken throughout the world. For international contact our
commerce and trade, for the development of our practical ideas, for the scientific studies, Englishis indispensable “English is very rich in literature,” our own literature has been made richer by
this foreign language. It will really be a fatal day if we altogether forget Shakespeare, Milton,
Keats and Shaw.
Word Count = 189
Q.2.
(a) Write a letter to bank manager to issue a loan to you as you are going for higher studies to
the USA and you require financial assistance from them.
OR
(b) Write a letter to your brother explaining him the importance of right to education act and
motivate him to participate in his school campaign of educating village people.
OR
(c) Write a letter to a high profile newspaper in your city explaining about the problem of street
lights during the night while explaining its bad effects and its repercussions. Request the
newspaper to publish an article related to it to bring the problem to the notice of authorities.
Q.3.
(a) Write a short note on Goods and Service Tax.
OR
(b) Role of Insurance Sector in Economic Development.
OR
(c) Express your views on the causes of increasing number of scams in India in the past decade.
Also write the remedies for them.
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SET-II
Q.1.
Write a précis in 150 words for the following paragraphs.
In the competition of life he wins who can do the largest amount of work in the shortest space
of time. That is why men use tools which make one pair of hands do the work of five or ten. The
savage who scratches the earth with his bare hands has to give way to the man who drives the
plough. It is not his physical strength but the tools that have enabled man to get the best out of
cultivation, transport, and such activities as weaving, extracting oil, and making sugar. The plough,
the loom, the bullock cart, the horse drawn vehicle, and the oil press have all reduced time and
increased output. They have made progress possible : otherwise there would have been little to
distinguish man from the ape. Man worked with his tools until the advent of machinery driven by
steam and electricity. The small tool gave way to the big machine, as bare hands had given way
to hands equipped with tools.
If this country is to survive, the time has come for our cultivators to be taught these facts. But
it will not help to theorize only ; the right answer must be found through actual practice. In Europe
and America they have moved far in that direction. They plough and reap, bind the sheaves, and
store the crops in granaries, all by means of machines. Adopted in this country, the process
would have several advantages. Before cultivation can start, one has often to wait for the rains to
come. If there is a brief shower one day, a small plot can be lightly scratched with the ploughshare.
If however, there is no rain in the weeks that follow, the sowing will be late, and the unripe corn
may become covered with water in the late monsoon. There may be trouble at harvest, too ; extra
hands are scarce in the village and men from outside have to be hired. Should there be a heavy
downpour when the reaped crop is still lying in the fields, great losses will result. On the other
hand, with a mechanical plough and harvester, full advantage could be taken of every favorable
turn in the weather : cultivation would be completed and the ripened grain gathered with great
speed.
These machines, it is true, can be put to work only over large tracts of land, and considerable
funds are required for their procurement and use. But to deny ourselves their benefit on the
ground that our peasantry cannot afford them is simply to invite ruin. Quadruped have four feet but
no arms, and must do what they can for a subsistence. Man, however, is provided with two
hands, which add vastly to his efficiency, and give him mastery over all other living beings. When
he further increased his efficiency with the help of machines, he made another step forward. In
this age of mechanization the cultivators as well as the artisans of our country must learn to
accept the machine, or we shall give way to countries which are already skilled in its employment,
even as the beasts had to give way to man.
Word Count = 526
Q.2.
(a)
Write a letter to bank manager explaining a plausible reason because of which you have to
close an account in the bank and assuring him that the services of the bank were extremely
public-friendly.
OR
(b)
Write a letter to congratulate your cousin on his success in Punjab Civil Services examination.
OR
Q.3.
(c)
Write a letter to the Health Officer of your city complaining about the insanitary conditions in
your locality.
(a)
Write a short note on White Label ATMs (WLA).
OR
(b)
Write an essay on safe usage of uranium, its production and importance In Indian economy.
OR
(c)
The Government of India has decided to set up a Council for Senior Citizen. Express your
views on the topic.
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SET-III
Q.1.
Write a précis in 100 words for the following paragraph.
Political parties are indispensable for the working of a democratic government. A political party
comprises members who hold similar views on national, political and economic problems. India is
multi religious country and there is diversity of culture among the people. Therefore, there is a
multi party democracy in India. In advanced democratic countries there are usually two parties
and there is discipline and smooth control of the leaders over the network of a political party. It is
impossible to think of democracy without political parties having their own agenda for the betterment
of the people. However, the political parties in India are not formed on any political or economic
programmes. Unfortunately they do not play constructive role for the betterment of the people.
Here political parties are formed on caste, communal and religious basis which give rise to unethical
politics in the country. Their primary interest is to promote the interest of their own communities
and regions which is definitely harmful to the integrity of the country. Their aim is to win election at
any cost and form the government. Inspite of anti defection law, defections are the order of the day.
They are in an advantageous stage when there are coalition governments in the centre as well as
in the states. They blackmail the largest party by extracting maximum benefits without sharing
responsibility. They are not bothered about the national consequences of their misdeeds. Today
most of the political parties are trying to grab power by fair or foul means. A common citizen is
taken for a ride. The granddaughter of Ex-Prime Minister is allotted a house at the cost of poor
citizens. The more leaders, the more expenditure. An Ex-Prime Minister, V.P. Singh undergoes
treatment abroad and the security of the country accompanies him. The poor children die for lack
of treatment but the leaders travel abroad for medical treatment. Politicians involved in scandals
get bailed while a common man with a charge of theft of a bi-cycle is languishing in jail. The
ministers get Five star treatment in jails while the common man is defied even the basic facilities.
One can definetly say that political parties in India have not played a healthy role for the development
of democracy.
Word Count = 372
Q.2.
(a)
Write a letter to the Inspector of Police Station, Thane about the disappearance of your
younger brother.
OR
(b)
Write a letter to your father expressing your opinions and views and corrective measure (if
required) on a current political topic.
OR
Q.3.
(c)
Write a letter to the bank in which you have an account, but you usually face problems in
dispensing money. Request them to increase the number of ATM’s in your city.
(a)
India is the largest importer of arms and ammunitions as per a recent report, replacing
China. Express your views.
OR
(b)
Comment on the impact of rising inflation on Indian economy.
OR
(c)
Write a short note on the concept of Honour Killing.
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SET-IV
Q.1.
Write a précis in 150 words for the following paragraphs.
The Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands have a very long coastline. In fact the islands have
one third of the entire coast line of the country. According to International Law, the legal jurisdiction
of the country extends up to 200 miles of territorial waters. In this region, the entire area is very
rich in marine wealth, but in the absence of proper utilization, this precious wealth, which could
have injected new blood into the ailing economy of the country is in danger of being lost. This
area has now become the hunting ground for poachers from some other countries, who carry
away their catch of fish, shells, sea food etc., in their fast moving mechanised boats equipped
with modern fishing aids. Prior to the introduction of the coastal guard the administration did not
possess boats fast enough to catch these intruders. According to experts, some 24 vareities of
fish are found in the ocean within the territorial jurisdiction of these islands, which include Sardine,
Tuna, Mackerel, Pronje, Pomfret, Cat fish etc. In the sweet water, Rohu and some other varieties
are also available, though in smaller quantity.
Sharks in large numbers are found in the sea surrounding Andaman and Nicobar Islands and
the local people call it “Badmash Machhai” which means ‘a rough fish’ as it eats human flesh. It
has a strange system of getting signals of some one swimming in deep sea. It is just like a radar
system, one has to be careful of them while having a swim. Sharks have a great commercial
value. Oil can be extracted from them which can bring in good foreign exchange. The Tuna fish
belt in the warm water of the sea around Great Nicobar is considered to be one of the richest
belts in the world. But its exploitation is still at the planning stage.
When the ships reach Port Blair, the visitors are greatly entertained by the Dolphins. It is believed
that during cyclones, Dolphins guide the wandering ships to safe places and in case of ship wreck save the drowning persons. There is an international ban on the killing of this mammal. The
ocean houses both good and evil and the visitions can see it in the presence of both Sharks and
Dolphins in the oceans. On the one hand is the dangerous Shark ever ready to attack humans
with its saw like teeth and on the other we have the Dolphin helping people in crisis. A number of
crocodiles are found in these islands. In middle Andaman, one can find large number of crocodile
eggs just scattered on the shores.
Word Count = 435
Q.2.
(a)
Write a letter to your sister telling her how technology is helpful for banking sector and how
it has brought about a change in the present day workings of banks.
OR
(b)
Write a letter to the railway authorities bringing to their attention the danger posed by
unmanned railway crossing citing the example of recent tragic accidents.
OR
Q.3.
(c)
Write a letter to the bank in which you have an account requesting them to activate the
facility of Internet Banking on your account as soon as possible.
(a)
India starts with ‘I’. What should be your role in its overall development?
OR
(b)
Comment on the role of Small Scale Industries.
OR
(c)
Should India’s youth participate in politics? Express your views for or against the topic.
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SET-V
Q.1.
Write a précis in 100 words for the following paragraphs.
Though the U.S. prides itself on being a leader in the world community, a recent report shows
that it lags far behind other industrialized countries in meeting the needs of its youngest and
most vulnerable citizens. The U.S. has a higher infant mortality rate, a higher proportion of low
birth-weight babies, a smaller proportion of babies immunized against childhood diseases and a
much higher rate of adolescent pregnancies. These findings, described as a “quiet crisis” requiring
immediate and far-reaching action, appeared in a report prepared by a task force of educators,
doctors, politicians and business people. According to the report, a fourth of the nation’s 12
million infants and toddlers live in poverty. As many as half confront risk factors that could harm
their ability to develop intellectually, physically and socially. Child immunizations are too low,
more children are born into poverty, more are in substandard care while their parents work and
more are being raised by single parents. When taken together, these and other risk factors can
lead to educational and health problems that are much harder and more costly to reverse.
The crisis begins in the womb with unplanned parenthood. Women with unplanned pregnancies
are less likely to seek pre-natal care. In the U.S. 80% of teenage pregnancies and 56% of all
pregnancies are unplanned. The problems continue after birth where unplanned pregnancies and
unstable partnerships often go hand in hand. Since 1950, the number of single parent families
has nearly tripled. More than 25 per cent of all births today are to unmarried mothers. As the
number of single parent families grows and more women enter the work force, infants and toddlers
are increasingly in the care of people other than their parents.
Most disturbingly, recent statistics show that American parents are increasingly neglecting
or abusing their children. In only four years from 1987-1991, the number of children in foster care
increased by over 50 per cent. Babies under the age of one are the fastest growing category of
children entering foster care. The crisis affects children under the age of three most severely, the
report says. Yet, it is this period—from infancy through pre school years—that sets the stage for
a child’s future.
Word Count = 369
Q.2.
(a)
Write a letter to the Editor of a newspaper to look into the prospect of preserving the historical
monuments in your town.
OR
(b)
Write a letter to your friend inviting him to spend a few days with you at Shimla.
OR
(c)
Write a letter to The Managing Director complaining about discrimination in promotion policy
towards women.
Q.3.
(a)
Economy depends on us or we depend on economy. Comment.
OR
(b)
Write a short note on Special Economic Zones.
OR
(c)
Terrorism. Is it essentially Ideological?
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Q1.
Q.2.
SET-VI
Write a précis in 150 words for the following paragraphs.
Heredity and environment play a vital role in the development of the personality of an individual.
We can not separate them into water-tight compartments. Both are interrelated and interconnected.
From time immemorial people have debated which is more important for personality: heredity or
environment. Earlier the emphasis was on heredity expressed very often through the proverb “A
chip off the old block”. Later, with the spread of the Freudian point of view concerning the growth
of personality disorders as resulting from unhealthy environmental conditions, the pendulum
swung to the opposite direction and major emphasis was placed on the role played by environment.
However, modern researches have shown that every trait of the individual and his every reaction
depends both on the joint impact of heredity and environment. In no way can the environment and
hereditary factors be sorted out in two exclusive categories.
In short both are potent factors in the development of the child.
As in most aspects of development, there is always a question, which is more important for
personality—heredity or environment. According to traditional views, the personality of the individual
is believed to be a direct result of his heredity. This is expressed in the saying ‘A chip off the old
block’ because people were so certain that the child was born with a personality trait. The child
was permitted to grow up with such traits becoming stronger—effort on the part of his parents
being directed towards trying to discover which side of the family was responsible for these traits;
instead of putting the same energy into an attempt to correct them.
Today, a middle-of-the-road interpretation is being accepted in place of the extreme views,
which placed the whole emphasis either on heredity or on environment. It is now rather generally
believed that the foundation of personality comes from the maturation of heredity traits, but that
these are influenced, partly through learning in connection with direct social contacts and partly,
through conditioning.
Considering the bulk of evidence available, it may be stated that there is a definite operation
between heredity and environment. There is a constant interaction between the hereditary and
environmental forces on an individual and they operate in an integrated and collective manner.
Although the importance of the two may be relative only, it cannot be said that their operation is
seclusive. Hereditary factor may operate differentially but this differentiation is determined by the
environment. All said and done, the relative importance of the contribution of hereditary and
environmental forces in the development of an individual depends on many factors and it would
contain an infinite number of possible answers.
(a)
(b)
(a)
Write a letter to your friend describing the famine conditions prevailing in one of the regions
of MP.
OR
Write a letter to the land lord requesting him to undertake some of the repair works at you
accommodation.
Role of banking sector in Indian economy.
(b)
OR
Write a short note on Freedom of Press.
(c)
Q.3.
Word Count = 437
Write a letter to the Editor of newspapers complaining about the irregular and inadequate
bus services in your area.
OR
(c)
OR
Express your views on Lokpal Bill, its implementation and how far do you agree with the
strategies used by the social activist Anna Hazare.
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SET-VII
Q.1.
Write a précis in 100 words for the following paragraphs.
From ancient times, children were required to do sonic work either at home or in the field
along with their parents. The problem of child labour was identified as a major problem in the 19th
century when the first factory was started in mid 19th century and legislative measures were first
adopted as early as 1881. It is an unfortunate manifestation of economic compulsions as well as
socio-cultural perceptions.
With India way behind much of the Third World in its effort to abolish child labour, the official
figures reveal little letup in the situation. Myron Weiner’s study, “The Child and State in India”
attempts to provide an explanation for why India’s policies toward children and employment are
different from others. More importantly, this write up focuses on why legislative action that the
Indian Constitution calls for on child labour and education has not been implemented.
Child labour cannot be totally eradicated unless it is supplemented by comprehensive socioeconomic programmes and educational uplift of the under privileged sections of the society and
by a total change in the attitude of the society towards child labour. In short, the general
improvement in socio-economic conditions of people will result in gradual elimination of child
labour.
The governments of all developed countries and many developing countries have removed
children from the labour force and required that they attend school. They believe that employers
should not be permitted to employ child labour and that parents, no matter how poor, should not
he allowed to keep their children out of school. Modern states regard education as a legal duty,
nor merely a right; parents are required to send their children to school, children are required to
attend school, and the state is obliged to enforce compulsory education. Compulsory primary
education is that policy instrument by which the state effectively removes children from the
labour force. The state thus stands as the ultimate guardian of children, protecting them against
both parents and would’ be employer.
Word Count = 328
Q.2.
(a)
Write a letter to the Editor of news paper complaining about water shortage .
OR
(b)
Write a letter to your friend encouraging him to attend a seminar organized in your locality
on the advantages of Netbanking.
OR
(c)
Write a letter to one of your customers requesting him to make the pending payments as
soon as possible.
Q.3.
(a)
Write a short note on Secrecy of banking information.
OR
(b)
Comment on the hype created for division of state in India. How far do you agree with it?
OR
(c)
Write a short note on Food Security Bill in India.
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SET-VIII
Write a précis in 150 words for the following paragraphs.
The issue of reservations has ignored one vital aspect—the impact it would have on the development
of the Indian economy.
During pre-independence period India went on economic recess as the technological gap
between it and the core, capitalist countries went on widening The entire post-independence
development strategy in India was based on the reduction of this technological gap and thus
structurally transforming Indian economy. To cope with the new economic situation, to develop
our economy to give a reasonable standard of life to our people, it is of course necessary to make
institutional and organizational changes in our economy and society. Reservation policy will
boost all these efforts and also push ahead the economic development; it can only lead to
development of all sections of the country. The answer lies in reforming the present education
system and effective implementation of the policy of uplifting the socially and economically drown
trodden sections of society.
It is not the conspiracy of the forward castes but rather the lack of proper educational
environment and economic constraints, that is responsible for educational backwardness. The
solution therefore is to create a more equitable and just democratic social order.
The long-range and far-reaching results that the reservation policy has inflicted on Indian economy
in the present world setting is being missed by both ‘reservationists’ and ‘anti-reservationists’.
It is axiomatic that India has been trying hard for the last 60 years to overcome the historical
backwardness bequeathed to it by 200 years of colonialism.
According to the 19th and 20th century Indian critics of colonialism, the basic aspect of the
colonialization or peripheralization of India was its reduction to a producer of raw materials and
importer of manufactured goods. This meant that India as a periphery of the world economy was
assigned a specific role in the international division of labour: it was to produce low-technology,
low-productivity, low-wage and low-profit products while the developed or core countries were to
produce high-technology, high-productivity, high-wage and high-profit products. This international
division of labour inevitably led to an unequal relation between India and other colonies and
peripheral countries on the one side and the ‘developed, core countries on the other and to the
inevitable underdevelopment of the former’.
What has happened in India in the last 200 years? The first Industrial Revolution was based
on revolution in agriculture and on basically artisenal innovations in textile production and Watt’s
steam engine and a few other products. We missed this revolution. The second Industrial Revolution
during the first half of the 19th century was based on capital goods industry when machines to
manufacture machines and locomotives were developed. We failed to be a part of this change.
During the last quarter of the 19th century, in the third phase, science was joined with technology.
The result was that steel, the internal combustion engine, electricity, and petroleum became the
engines of economic growth. These engines of growth played little role in Indian economy.
Petrochemicals electronics and nuclear energy developed after the First World War, ushering in
the fourth phase. Throughout these four phases India remained under-developed as the
technological gap between it and the core, capitalist countries went on widening.
Word Count = 528
Q.2.
(a) Write a letter to your friend explaining him what is financial inclusion and its impact on
Indian Economy. Include relevant government programmes related to it too.
OR
(b) Write a letter to the Editor of a leading daily newspaper of India, drawing attention of the
authorities concerned to the serious nuisance of cattle let loose daily by the neighboring
villagers to graze in your newly developed colony.
OR
(c) Write a letter to the Editor of National daily bringing out the plight of the residents of a colony
developed by a builder in your city.
Q.3.
(a) Write a short note on Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
OR
(b) Crisis Management
OR
(c) Comment on the Development of Rural Economic Zones to promote a self-reliant economy.
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SET-IX
Write a précis in 100 words for the following paragraphs.
The Indian economy has developed to the extent that public investment is to be considered
as the last option when other alternatives are unavailable. But Privatization may not be feasible or
practical in all areas and its viability needs to be studied on a case by case basis Privatization has become a fashionable subject. Privatization has plenty of scope to grow but it
may not be feasible to do away with public enterprises completely. Various studies show that
privatization may not be feasible in organizations such as STC and Coal India Ltd. Privatization
also would entail many problems in actual practice. The very magnitude of public enterprises that
need to be privatized will require some kind of selective approach.
Ultimately, what is needed is privatization in the style of functioning of public enterprises;
this is even more important than attempts to privatize ownership in certain cases.
In the last few years the entrepreneurial base in the country has considerably widened
and the professional management capabilities have expanded to a significant extent. It is no
longer true that the private sector will fight shy of investments involving large magnitudes or long
gestation periods.
However, such acceptance of an enlarged role for the private sector is based on the
assumption that the investment would be genuinely private.
The term privatization is normally used in the context of existing public enterprises, and we shall
now consider the scope for privatization in that context.
Q.2.
There are some organizations in the public sector whose activities have a strong public
policy content. This would be true, for instance, of organizations established essentially for
acting as an agency of the government in undertaking market interventions for bringing about
stabilization of prices or supplies. The Food Corporation of India, the Cotton Corporation of India,
and the National Dairy Development Board (in so far as it is concerned with edible oils), are
examples. State trading organizations like the STC and MMTC have the objectives of promoting
exports, bulking imports for obtaining better terms, exploring counter trade possibilities and the
stabilisation of supplies and prices in the case of certain commodities. It is difficult to think in
terms of privatization of such organisations. We can go into the need for the State to intervene in
the interest of some of the objectives mentioned above, and may well come to the conclusion
that in a particular case, here is no such need and that the operations can be abandoned; or even
that an entire organization can be wound up. Theoretically, it may be possible to think of a private
organization undertaking such market intervention operations as an agency of the government on
an agreed remuneration; however, in practical terms this seems very doubtful. The scope for
privatization here seems to be very limited.
Word Count = 463
(a)
Write a letter to your pen-friend in Paris describing how talks between India and Pakistan
are important for both the countries.
(b)
(c)
Q.3.
OR
Write a letter to the bank manager requesting him to allow you to pay your EMI of your
house a bit later.
OR
(a)
Write a letter to the Director, adult education about your plan in organizing adult literacy
programme.
Election today has nothing to do with good governance.
(b)
OR
The education system in India has replaced knowledge by information.
OR
(c)
Democracy is the worst form of government.
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Q.2.
Q.3.
SET-X
Write a précis in 150 words for the following paragraphs.
Parliamentary form of government has been the key feature of the Indian political system.
It became an explicit announced policy under the Government of India Act, 1919 and subsequent
enactments. When India emerged as an independent nation in 1947, it already had the experience
of operating parliamentary institutions. The political reality appears to be that the Indian psyche
has found itself in harmony with the parliamentary form of government. But now the future of
parliamentary system in India seems to be bleak. So, a lot of efforts are required in order to
ensure the successful functioning of the parliamentary system in India.
Questions regarding the future of parliamentary democracy in India were asked as early
as the fifties, soon after the Constitution of India was adopted. ln fact, two national seminars on
the theme were organised in 1956 and 1957. Some of the most eminent national leaders and
parliamentarians including the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, participated. Nehru, as the
chief artificer of the system, himself raised doubts about its ability to deliver the goods. “The
problems of Government”, he said, “have grown so enormously that sometimes one begins to
doubt whether the normal Parliamentary processes are adequate to deal with them.” He added:
“The business of Government and the business of parliament become more and more complicated
and it becomes a little doubtful how far parliamentary democracy can carry on its work and solve
such problems.’The major failures of the parliamentary democracy are—decline in quality of our
representatives, decline in quality of debates, defections, criminalisation of politics, deterioration
of the law and order, lack of strong opposition, corruption and the parallel economy.
Nevertheless our parliamentary democracy is a highly developed system with a long and
glorious history and sophisticated operational mechanics. In fact, the conception of its basic
structure is absolutely sound. The Constitution has created certain institutions and endowed
them with certain powers. These powers are not unlimited. But the men and women who run
these institutions forget that they are limited personalities. On the whole our constitution does
not need any fundamental transformation.
We can conclude with Herman Finer that “If the power holders exercise self-restraint, the written
constitution is unnecessary, and if they do not, then no written constitution will check them.” We
can paraphrase finer by saying that if the public authorities and the people do not have the will
and the motivation to work under the parliamentary Constitution then no system can substitute it.
Parliamentary form of Government has been the key feature of the Indian political system; its
inception having taken place under the British Rule itself. It became an explicit announced policy
under the Government of India Act, 1919 and subsequent enactments. When India emerged as
an independent nation in 1947, it already had the experience of operating parliamentary institutions,
and thus, in a sense, the decision of the Constituent Assembly of India may be said to have been
pre-empted by the British. By planting institutions and processes of parliamentary democracy in
India, the British rulers had trained the Indians in parliamentarism. When the Indian leaders were
called to choose a form of government, they naturally chose that form with which they were
familiar, namely, the Westminister model of democracy. The political reality appears to be that
the Indian psyche has found tiself in harmony with the parliamentary form of Government.
Word Count = 560
(a)
You were travelling from Delhi to Lucknow by Duronto Express. Four bogies of the train
caught fire. You were a witness to the tragedy. Despite your traumatic experience to your mother.
OR
(b)
Write a letter about introducing a new product in the market.
OR
(c)
Write a letter to the concerned authorities about power cuts in your area during this
summer season.
(a)
Joint family vs Nuclear family
OR
(b)
Should Indian Railways be privatized?
OR
(c)
Eco-sensitivity can be increased by practice rather by mere speaking.
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PRACTICE
SETS
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PRACTICE SET -1
1.
2.
PRECIS
India has always been benefitted by the English Language. The people who brought India
her independence were also nursed by English traditions. Even the idea of struggling for freedom
was derived from freedom obtained by England, America and France. If our freedom fighters had
not known this language they couldn’t have attempted at India’s freedom.All international trade
and commerce is conducted in this language only.
Word Count = 65
(a) Neha Gulati,
Flat no-34,
Konkan Apartments,
New Delhi.
20 th February,2012.
The Branch Manager,
Canara Bank,
Netaji Subhash Chandra Marg,
New Delhi.
Sub: Application for loan.
Sir,
Recently I came to know that your bank gives loan to deserving students for further studies
abroad. I would, therefore, like to place my case before you and request you to consider it
for the grant of loan as I financially need an assistance to fulfill my dreams.
I have completed my graduation from Bangalore University this year and secured second
position in the list of successful candidates. I intend to complete M.Com but my circumstances do not permit me to continue my studies further. Therefore, kindly sanction me a
loan for further studies and and also inform me about the terms and conditions regarding it.
I assure you that I shall abide by these terms and conditions.
Thanking you,
Yours truly,
Neha Gulati.
(b)
The City School,
Tilak Marg,
Greater Noida.
23 rd October 2011.
Dear Abhinay,
I hope your studies are going on perfectly fine. How were your semester exams? I am pretty
sure that you will acquire good percentage of marks in it. I heard from mother and father that
your school is organizing a campaign for educating village people. I would like to motivate
you to actively participate in it as it is a brilliant opportunity given to you to contribute your
part to this nation.
Education is the basis for development and empowerment for every nation. It plays a vital
role in understanding and participating in day to day activities of today’s world. It builds
one’s character and plays a significant role in transmitting one’s culture, beliefs and values
to others in society. It helps in creating innovations and meeting the growing needs of every
nation. It is the key which takes a country to remarkable heights.
Therefore, I would request you to participate in the campaign and report about it back to us
soon.
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Yours lovingly,
Medha.
(c)
Meera Kapoor,
The University Road,
Cantt,
Mumbai.
31 st August, 2012.
The Mumbai Mirror,
Kolaba,
Mumbai East.
Sub: Complaint against streetlights in our locality.
Sir,
I am a resident of The University road from silver jublee gate , cantt and I would like to bring
to your kind notice the situation of streets in our locality drawn in darkness at night as there
are no lights to take away that dangerous darkness to provide safety to the citizen to pass
through the road.
The funny thing is that, there are streetlight poles but they haven’t been switched on in a
year. Due to this, it remains dark entire night providing criminals a free hand to commit
crime without any difficulty. The switched-off streets lights are like a blessing of concerned
authorities to the criminals.
I myself have been robbed under the shroud of darkness that falls on the regular basis over
the university road. Moreover the chances of road accidents have also been increased. The
concerned authorities have to take this matter seriously because it is their duty, and if they
have failed to fulfill their responsibilities, how could they expect the citizens to co-operate
with them.
We, the poor citizens just want the concerned authorities to pay heed to our request and
look into the matter as soon as possible.
Thank you,
Yours truly,
Meera Kapoor.
3. (a)
GOODS AND SERVICE TAX
What is GST?
Goods and Services Tax — GST — is a comprehensive tax levied on manufacture, sale and
consumption of goods and services at a national level. Through a tax credit mechanism, this tax
is collected on value-added goods and services at each stage of sale or purchase in the supply
chain. The system allows the set-off of GST paid on the procurement of goods and services
against the GST which is payable on the supply of goods or services. However, the end consumer bears this tax as he is the last person in the supply chain. Experts say that GST is likely
to improve tax collections and boost India’s economic development by breaking tax barriers
between States and integrating India through a uniform tax rate.
What are the benefits of GST?
Under GST, the taxation burden will be divided equitably between manufacturing and services, through a lower tax rate by increasing the tax base and minimizing exemptions. It is
expected to help build a transparent and corruption-free tax administration. GST will be is levied
only at the destination point, and not at various points (from manufacturing to retail outlets).
Currently, a manufacturer needs to pay tax when a finished product moves out from a
factory, and it is again taxed at the retail outlet when sold.
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How will it benefit the Centre and the States ?
It is estimated that India will gain $15 billion a year by implementing the Goods and Services Tax as it would promote exports, raise employment and boost growth. It will divide the tax
burden equitably between manufacturing and services.
What are the benefits of GST for individuals and companies?
In the GST system, both Central and State taxes will be collected at the point of sale. Both
components (the Central and State GST) will be charged on the manufacturing cost. This will
benefit individuals as prices are likely to come down. Lower prices will lead to more consumption,
thereby helping companies.
What type of GST is proposed for India?
India is planning to implement a dual GST system. Under dual GST, a Central Goods and
Services Tax (CGST) and a State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) will be levied on the taxable
value of a transaction.
All goods and services, barring a few exceptions, will be brought into the GST base. There
will be no distinction between goods and services.
Will this be an extra tax?
It will not be an additional tax. CGST will include central excise duty (Cenvat), service
tax, and additional duties of customs at the central level; and value-added tax, central sales
tax, entertainment tax, luxury tax, octroi, lottery taxes, electricity duty, state surcharges
related to supply of goods and services and purchase tax at the State level
(b)
ROLE OF INSURANCE SECTOR IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Insurance serves a number of valuable economic functions that are largely distinct from
other types of financial intermediaries. In order to highlight specifically the unique attributes of
insurance, it is worth focusing on those services that are not provided by other financial services
providers, excluding for instance the contractual savings features of whole or universal life products. The indemnification and risk pooling properties of insurance facilitate commercial transactions and the provision of credit by mitigating losses as well as the measurement and management of non diversifiable risk more generally. Typically insurance contracts involve small periodic
payments in return for protection against uncertain, but potentially severe losses. Among other
things, this income smoothing effect helps to avoid excessive and costly bankruptcies and facilitates lending to businesses. Most fundamentally, the availability of insurance enables risk averse
individuals and entrepreneurs to undertake higher risk, higher return activities than they would do
in the absence of insurance, promoting higher productivity and growth. The management of risk
is a fundamental aspect of entrepreneurial activity.
Entrepreneurs manage the risk of accidental loss by weighing the costs and benefits of
each alternative. In a structured risk management process, this involves:
(1) identifying the exposures to accidental loss;
(2) evaluating alternative techniques for treating each loss exposure;
(3) choosing the best alternative; and
(4) monitoring the results to refine the choices.
Those who do not apply a structured process still make decisions about risk, although
sometimes by default rather than design. The scope of an economy’s insurance market affects
both the range of available alternatives and the quality of information to support decisions. For
example, a manufacturer might produce only for the local market, forgoing more lucrative opportunities in distant markets in order to avoid the risk of losing goods in shipment. Transport
insurance can mitigate this loss exposure and enable the manufacturer to expand. Similarly, to
avoid the risk of total loss from drought, a commercial farmer may keep half of his seed in
reserve. Crop insurance can protect against drought and permit all of the seed to be planted for a
smaller premium than the cost of holding half in reserve. Thus public policies that encourage
insurance operations improve the economy’s productivity by broadening the range of investments. Insurers also contribute specialized expertise in the identification and measurement of
risk. This expertise enables them to accept carefully specified risks at lower prices than nonspecialists. They also have an incentive to collect and analyze information about loss exposures,
since the more precisely they measure the cost of risk, the more they can expand. As a result,
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the insurance market generates price signals to the entire economy, helping to allocate resources to more productive uses. Insurers also have an incentive to control losses, which is a
significant social benefit. By offering discounts for seat belts, smoke detectors, or other measures that reduce the frequency or severity of losses, they lower their eventual claims costs, in
the process saving lives and reducing injuries. On the investment side, due to the long term
nature of their liabilities, sizeable reserves, and predictable premiums, life insurance providers
can serve an important function as institutional investors providing capital to infrastructure and
other long term investments as well as professional oversight to these investments. Of course,
these benefits are fully realized only in markets where insurance providers invest a substantial
portion of their portfolios domestically. The net result of well functioning insurance markets should
be better pricing of risk, greater efficiency in the overall allocation of capital and mix of economic
activities, and higher productivity. Importantly, these unique functions of insurance should be
complementary to banking and financial sector deepening more broadly. For instance, insurance
facilitates credit transactions such as the purchase of homes and cars and business operations,
while depending in turn on well functioning payment systems and robust investment opportunities.
c)
WHY DO SCAMS OCCUR IN INDIA?
In the last two decades or so, several scandals or financial irregularities, including the
paying of massive commissions, pay-offs and kickbacks, have been reported in our country.
Mostly it is chief ministers, central and state ministers, and leaders of political parties who are
reported to be involved in these scams. But hardly anything has been done to uncover, trace,
apprehend, prosecute, and punish the culprits on the plea of ‘lack of evidence’.
From among the more notorious scandals like Hawala, Bofors, stock market securities,
sugar, fodder scam, etc. mentioned below, we will analyse only a few more recent ones involving
political corruption and pertaining to years 1985 and 1996.
Bofors Pay-off Scandal in 1987 involved a total amount of Rs. 1,750 crore in the purchase of
guns from the Swedish firm for the armed forces. High-ranking politicians, including the former
prime minister were alleged to be involved in some of the scandals.
The Hawala Scandal, which surfaced in 1991, not only rocked political circles but also the
whole country. It was a case of a person (Surendra Kumar Jain) influencing the country’s top
politicians and bureaucrats by paying money to them.
In fact, this was the only case in which the Supreme Court of India directed the CBI, on a
public interest litigation filed by two journalists in October 1993, to unravel the scandal sincerely.
In this case, the leaders of all political parties except the left party were accused of receiving
money from Jain brothers.
The nefarious activities of the Hawala racket came to light in March 1991 following the arrest
of two persons which led to a search of S.K. Jain’s house and the discovery of a diary which
contained names of 111 politicians, bureaucrats, public servants, and others having received
payments from the Jain brothers between April 1988 and March 1990. The money was paid for
various favours received. The Jains had received 241 contracts during the period 1988 and 1993
mainly in the fields of power, steel, and coal.
The total amount of the Hawala transactions by the Jain group was estimated at 65 crore
rupees. Some recipients of money from the Jains have lost political power, some have died and
some are said to have fled the country.
The case against the politicians involved was tried by the especially designated CBI court of
Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi, which ultimately discharged all cases for want of evidence in
1999.
The Animal Husbandry Scam involved a large number of public officials of animal husbandry
department and politicians in South Bihar. They were accused of purchasing fodder beyond the
sanctioned amount and of illegally withdrawing about 600 crore rupees from government treasuries in South Bihar between 1990 and 1995.
It is said that many bureaucrats and several political leaders in power were aware of these
withdrawals but consciously covered up the misappropriation by misusing the civil deposit and
public ledger accounts in order to balance state finances from time to time.
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It is alleged that many government officials were in league with the animal husbandry mafia
in siphoning off money. The allegation was that the state government did not spend much on
‘centrally aided’ projects against which the state government was expected to put up matching
grants.
The money to be contributed by the state government was shown as ‘released’ by a government order but was superseded by another immediate directive to the concerned departments to
surrender the ‘released’ amount in its entirety in the state chest or the civil deposit account. In
this way, funds for the project were actually deposited in the state chest till central funds were
again released on the basis of work stated to have been expedited.
While in many departments, a proper check was maintained on such ‘orders’ and ‘deposits’, in the animal husbandry department, the ‘expenditure’ was allowed to be shown as ‘genuine
expenditure’.
There were huge withdrawals from treasuries and the ‘loot’ was shared by the officials. The
finance officials consciously misquoted the actual expenditure from grant-in-aid for development
projects. The officials of the state government thus misinformed the central government with the
backing of bureaucrats and some political brokers.
The financial officials denied being a party to such misappropriation and fraudulent transactions. They only described the ‘order’ for diverting the money to the civil deposit or public ledger
account to save state funds from the ‘March loot’ when during the closing stages of the financial
year, excess withdrawals are regularly noted.
Probably, this is the reason why in spite of the Patna High Court’s directive to the CBI to
investigate the whole case, and the Supreme Court’s rejection of the state government’s appeal,
the state government continued to resist CBI inquiry and insisted on an inquiry by a judicial
commission to be set up by the state government. The case started in the court in 1998 and the
former CM has been sent to jail twice for a short period. At present he is on bail.
The Pay-off Scandal involved the former Congress Prime Minister who was alleged to have
received a suitcase containing one crore rupees from a share-broker who was the main accused
in the securities scandal in 1992.
This former Prime Minister was also declared as co-accused along with Chandra Swami in
July 1996 by the chief metropolitan magistrate, New Delhi, in one Lakhubhai Pathak cheating
case involving one lakh dollars.
The former Prime Minister has been accused and chargesheeted in another case in the
matter relating to the bribing of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MPs. He was also named by one Jain
brother (of Hawala case) as one of the largest beneficiaries of receiving several crore rupees.
The CBI officer who obtained this confession from Jain brother was moved out by the CBI
Director who was alleged to be very close to the former Prime Minister. No wonder that Bureau’s
conduct is now described by the Indian media as a national scandal.
The Urea Scam is the scam of the century. It is a scandal that makes Bofors scam look like
a teddy bear’s picnic; a deal that makes the sugar scam seem puny in comparison; and a deal
in which the corruption is of a magnitude that is unprecedented in the history of Independent
India. The urea scandal is different not because of the size of the kickbacks (Rs. 133 crore) but
because the transaction was essentially fraudulent.
The deal was made in October 1995 by National Fertilizers Limited (NFL), a public sector
undertaking operating under the Fertilizer Ministry with an unknown small Turkish firm to purchase two lakh metric tonnes of urea-a raw material used for the manufacture of fertiliser. The
entire amount was to be paid in advance to the firm.
Though the total amount was paid to the firm within a week of signing the deed but the urea
which was to be supplied by March 1996 was not supplied till August 1996.
The kickbacks of US dollars 4 million are alleged to have been paid by the Turkish company’s
agent to the son of former Prime Minister, son of former Central Fertiliser Minister, Managing and
Executive Directors of NFL, and a person related to former Prime Minister’s son. The judgment of
the case is likely to be announced in May, 2000.
The Rice Scam in Madhya Pradesh was reported in the media in February 1996. According
to the state’s levy scheme, 40 per cent rice produced was to be sold to district administration
and the remaining produce can be exported.
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But in most cases, almost 100 per cent of the total produce was palmed off by the traders
to rice-buying companies that existed only on paper. The fictitious companies were issued levypaid certificates for as many as six lakh tonnes of rice in the last few years when only two lakh
tonnes were actually sold. The top politicians were alleged to be involved in the fraudulent dealings involving fifty crore rupees.
In the Balarpur Scam, the former chief minister of Orissa is alleged to have abused his
official position by granting concessions on bamboo royalty in 1992 to the Thapar-group (owned)
Ballarpur Paper Mills in which the chief minister’s son and wife had business interests. The state
incurred a loss of seven crore rupees.
In the Textile or Dhoti-Sari Scam of Tamil Nadu, detected in mid-February, 1996, public
officials of the Handloom Department, Handloom and Social Welfare Minister, her private secretary and his brother, and an AIADMK activist were alleged to be involved.
This was when the Tansi and the Coal-Import Scams in which the chief minister was alleged
to be involved remained unsolved upto May, 2000.
In the textile scam, the strategy was to effect purchase of yarn (from non-existing firms) by
Tamil Nadu Textiles Corporation (TNTC) and then show it as consumed by supplying it to government handloom cooperatives (which did not even own looms).
These cooperatives were supposed to be weaving saris and dhotis from the yarn so received
and then to distribute these to the poor under the government “clothing for the poor” scheme in
operation from 1978.
In the year 1994-95 alone, close to 200 lakh bundles of yarn were shown to have been
bought. The saris, dhotis and children’s dresses actually distributed on the Pongal day were
bought from the open market in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and sold to the Handloom
Department at highly-inflated prices.
The bungling by the state’s Social Welfare Department was not a major embarrassment for
the chief minister who was alleged to have spent about Rs. 70 crore in her adopted son’s marriage in 1995.
It will not be out of place to recall here the public reaction to corruption amongst politicians
and the failing standards of integrity in public life on the basis of a survey commissioned by India
Today (magazine) and conducted by MARG. The survey was conducted in ten constituencies of
ten politicians involved in the Hawala scam.
In all, 3,901 registered voters scattered in 630 localities (i.e., rural and urban areas) in six
different states (Nandiyad in Andhra Pradesh, Gandhinagar in Gujarat, Satna, Gwalior and Raipur
in Madhya Pradesh, Ghosi and Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh, Ranchi and Madhepara in Bihar, and
Sikar in Rajasthan) were interviewed. The survey was carried out in the second and third weeks
of February 1996.
In 9 out of 10 cases of politicians involved in the Hawala case, 35 to 80 per cent of the
respondents believed that their leaders had taken the money (from Jain brothers) and 45 to 75 per
cent voters said that they were unwilling to re-elect the politicians involved from their constituencies in April 1996 elections (though surprisingly a good number of these accused politicians were
actually elected). All this points out the premium placed by people on honesty in politics today.
An average politician spends Rs. 10 lakh on contesting a Vidhan Sabha seat (against the
permissible amount of Rs. 1.5 lakh) and Rs. 30-40 lakh on a Lok Sabha seat (against the
permissible figure of Rs. 4 lakh in big cities). Without accepting pay-offs, it is impossible for
politicians to arrange for such huge amounts.
One Prime Minister (Indira Gandhi) had banned corporate contributions to political parties in
1983 but another Prime Minister (Rajiv Gandhi) reversed that policy in 1985. Politicians now
receive cash contributions from fat cats.
Consequently, politicians remain obliged to businessmen because of whom the prices of
sugar, oil, cement, and many other commodities suddenly rise during/after elections. Who supports the politicians who are not in power but continue to travel by planes for addressing rallies
and attending meetings of their supporters?
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The money is probably dished out by business concerns who consider it an ‘investment’
with an eye on future profits. Such a thing happened in Gujarat in October 1995 when fifty lakh
rupees were supposed to have been spent merely on transporting and accommodating, in a fivestar hotel for one week in Khajuraho, about 60 dissident legislators of one faction of the ruling
political party.
All this analysis demonstrates not only the nature and extent of corruption within our political system but also how it has become embedded in the national consciousness.
If we take only mega scams in a period of ten years between 1986 and 1996, the country
lost about Rs. 15,000 crore, or Rs. 1,500 crore a year. If we take various other ‘questionable
deals’ in which colossal sums of money were received by the politicians and bureaucrats, India
has been losing about twenty crore rupees every single day. This is surely a big threat to the very
survival of democracy in our country.
Different scholars have pointed out different causes of political corruption. My contention is
that the main factor is the emergence of political elite who believe in self-oriented rather than
nation-oriented programmes and policies. Not surprisingly, the post-British Raj (rule) has been
described as the “Raj of Ministers and Bureaucrats”.
The political elite in the first two decades after independence were honest, dedicated and
nation-oriented to the extent that they always worked for the country’s progress. In the fourth
general elections in 1967, such persons came to hold political power both at the centre and in the
states who worked only on the basis of some vested interest, say interest of self, family, region,
party, and so forth.
Their policies and programmes incidentally might have been nation-oriented but mainly they
were self interest-based. They encouraged bureaucrats too to follow suit. A majority of bureaucrats (sub elites in politics) in our country are ‘ritualists’ and remain concerned more with perks
and privileges than with development-oriented policies for society.
The politicians and bureaucrats thus started using their power and position for illegal benefits. The emergence of new business leaders who wanted to make quick profits, and who did not
mind sharing them with people in power, was equally responsible for growing political corruption.
Political corruption also ensues from the vast powers enjoyed by position-holders and having no sense of accountability to people.
Politicians have powers of taking decisions, say, issuing licenses, sanctioning contracts for
projects, enacting laws for the chosen minorities who can give them votes for winning elections,
and so forth. It is not the rules but the interpretation of the rules which enables power-holders to
receive kickbacks and pocket bribes.
The point is that political corruption exists in our country it is all-pervasive and this fact is
undeniable. This is so not because we are a congenitally corrupt people, but because we are
living in a system that is flawed. How do we set about tackling it?
Is simply reporting cases in the newspapers or filing charge sheets in the courts or appointing commissions of enquiry enough? Has any politician in India ever been punished?
So many commissions have been appointed against so many chief ministers and ministers, and on occasions even the charges leveled against them were proved but what action were
taken against them?
They were asked to resign from their political posts. We may not expect our rulers to be too
honest but we surely expect them to work for the development of the community and society.
Let the amount of money transferred to politicians by industrialists be accepted as a corporate payment a donation that is accounted for. Let not unreasonable limits be placed on the
amount of money a campaigner needs to spend on elections. Let there be fewer rules. At the
moment, numerous rules achieve nothing except their violation.
What we expect from our politicians is honesty in their dealings, not the amassing of wealth.
People expect them to think only of the country’s development. Political corruption, let it be
emphatically stated, will only ruin our country.
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PRACTICE SET - 2
1.
PRECIS
In today’s competitive era, the person who finishes his work in less amount of time is the
winner. There are tools to do the work of many men singlehandedly. This tool and not the physical
strength of a man counts for his successful completion of the work.the machines like bullock
carts, oil press have reduced the time and enhanced the production quantity. In this similar
manner the big machines have given way to tools used by man to perform his work in old days.
It is the only method to succeed if this country has to survive. Countries like America, Europe do
not depend on nature like rains to accomplish their purpose but have developed mechanical
devices to reach ends. Though such tools require heavy investments yet to deny the use of these
devices on grounds of financial curtailments is not advisable and will hamper the success of our
nation.
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2.
(a)
Himadri Saxena,
Area Manager,
TCS,
Bengaluru.
12 th November 2011.
Indian Overseas Bank,
Vittal Mallya Road,
Bengaluru.
Sub: Request for closing account
Sir,
I request that you close the following accounts I have at your branch:
TYPE ACCOUNT = Saving Account
ACCOUNT NUMBER = Savings 2342342-234
Checking 2343433-432
I have withdrawn all the funds from all my accounts and have no outstanding checks.
Should you have any questions, I can be reached at my above address or by e-mail at
himadri@myaddress.com.
Thank you very much for your cooperation.
Yours truly,
Himadri Saxena.
(b)
BMS College,
Rajpura,
Punjab.
26th May, 2012
Dear Rakesh,
I just received your letter. I am very glad to learn about your selection in the Punjab Civil
Services examination. Please accept my hearty congratulations on your selection. I thank
God that all your efforts have reaped you such a prosperous future. You must have worked
laboriously to achieve such heights and you deserve all the credit.
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Once again accept my hearty congratulations on this success and may god bestow many
more happy occassion and you succeed in your life.
Yours lovingly,
Mohit.
(c)
Rohit Kumar,
University of Lucknow,
Lucknow.
25 th May 2012.
The Times of India,
Rana Pratap Marg,
Lucknow.
Sub: Insanitary conditions in the locality leading to halth hazards.
Sir,
This letter is written to you with respect to the garbage. I stay in Indira Khand where there
is a huge construction site which is not being inhabited by anyone at present. But the
people around are busy throwing garbage here. This has been going on for past 5 years.
We tried to talk to the LNN.
The LNN people also helped us by writing that whoever throws garbage will have to shellout
Rs.500 , but the people here do not care and they are busy with other things. This garbage
is creating allergy and all other environmental problems for those who are staying here. We
even tried to find out to whom this land belongs, but the people here give different, different
stories. In this site, there are snakes, at night many dogs will be there, and after 7 it makes
us really afraid to come out of house.
I hereby request you to please help us and bring this issue in notice of the concerned
authorities.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
Rohit Kumar
3.
(a)
WHITE LABEL ATMs
Reserve Bank of India has permitted Independent ATM Deployers (IADs) to set up and
operate white label ATMs, earn revenue through acquiring fee (no free transactions, unlike in
case of bank’s own ATMs, where 1st five transactions are to be free) and by offering value added
services, along with the permission to do 3rd party advertising, to help recover cost of operations.
It is expected that the banks will bring in another 45-50,000 ATMs in next 3 years but that
will still be a drop in the ocean. The cost of ATM operations still continues to be high for most of
the banks and further deployment will depend on how banks retail base increases, how financial
inclusion takes shape, how the total cost of ATM operations decreases, how the cost of currency
moves and how government and RBI, together, push for electronic transactions. The smaller and
mid size banks continue to look for joining the existing shared networks and/or outsource their
ATM deployment end to end to keep costs low, while continuing to look for their ATMs for branding or customer service perspective or to lower cost of transactions at branches .
From a customer angle, there are many reasons for an ATM to be adopted as a preferred
channel for cash withdrawal.
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Availability - To be able to withdraw/deposit cash, customers need a bank branch and branches
are not everywhere and not available all the time. Cash transactions are now getting charged by
some and the modalities of cash withdrawal/deposit at PoS/franchise are still being finalized.
Therefore, the need for the ATMs will be more important than ever. When there is a need for cash,
the availability of the ATMs at the desired place, becomes very important, as more often than not,
the need for cash, is urgent. Given a very low ATM density, the ATMs are not really available at all
the places where customers want them to be, therefore, customers may be willing to pay for an
ATM to be where they want it to be.
Convenience – The ease of transaction is profound and ATM by virtue of providing a simple way
of transacting, providing relative privacy and being highly accurate and risk free (no counterfeit
notes), provides a great convenience. Branches still want a cash withdrawal slip and bearer
Cheques need someone to visit teller counters to withdraw money, where signature matching
and long queues, are still the order of the day, with limits or condition on higher cash withdrawal
amounts, not to mention charges.
Lower or no fee - With RBI making up to 5 transactions free and clarity now emerging on it, the
number of ATM transaction per card have increased slightly and the overall volume is getting
supported by growth in card issuance. Many banks are not charging their premium customers
and for other customers, they are applying the charges beyond 5 transactions, selectively.
Growth of Banking Transaction set on ATMs and Value added services – Many banks and
shared networks have increased the transaction set available at ATMs (e.g. Time Deposit renewal) as well as are introducing value added services to ATM menu e.g. prepaid mobile top up,
bill payments, dynamic currency conversion, Interbank fund transfer in real time (IMPS) etc.,
which is driving customer to ATMs and improving overall transactions volume.
Growth of Banked Population and Debit cards – The banked population though, still very low,
compared to developed countries, is growing at a very fast pace and the issuance of cards is also
increasing at a very fast pace. It’s estimated that there are 280 million debit cards already issued
and growing at the rate of 38% per annum. This is helping in driving the ATM usage and bringing
down overall cost of operations as threshold transaction levels are breached at ATMs.
The point now is, can this potential be exploited better by banks or IADs, what can be the
factors for successful ATM deployment strategy, what kind of business model would be making
sense, what would be the cost and revenue drivers and finally, is white label ATM, a glittering gold
mine or a solid silver proposition!
Banks or IADs
The banks have traditionally used ATM channels for customer service. They moved on to
ATM channels as an alternate channel strategy to divert traffic from branches to ATMs to lower
cost of teller transactions, then used ATMs as a customer acquisition strategy and now are
looking to use ATM channel to win customer mindshare to have a sustainable long team advantage. The Private Sector banks have deployed ATMs for all these reasons and also have started
looking at ATMs as a significant interchange income earner. The Public sector banks are possibly deploying ATMs for customer service and channel migration and in the process are also
earning interchange income, which is helping them to lower, total cost of operations. The smaller
and mid sized banks, are into selective ATM deployment, with switching being outsourced to
shared networks and they are also joining shared ATM networks to expand the reach of ATMs for
their customers at a lower cost, relative to what it would have cost them, had they gone for mass
deployment on their own.
The banks are also experimenting with end to end outsourcing of their ATM networks, where
ATM deployment and managed services is outsourced end to end (assets are lease financed)
and bank pays to manages services provider a fixed or fixed plus variable cost. This avoids
capital expenditure and staff cost and gives bank flexibility to expand network as business grows.
In the bargain Bank may pick some quality issues with the network, unless deliverables are
clearly defined and recourses are built in and quantified to the extent possible with Service Level
Agreement and Relationship properly managed.
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They have also experimented with cost sharing models, where the ATM service providers,
have come up with cost and revenue sharing formula, called Brown Label ATMs. The banks
extend license to managed service providers or OEM/Managed services provider combine and
provide for cash and settlement services but keep branding with them. The managed service
providers or IADs build, own and operate the network and get transaction fee and acquiring
interchange. The sponsoring banks get some benefit in terms of lower transaction cost for Bank’s
on-us customers and cut of acquiring interchange for Bank’s off-us customers.
In some cases, banks have outsourced their existing owned ATM network to a managed
service provider, who then, operates the network with branding of bank and charges the bank per
transaction at a given rate lower than prevailing interchange for. This helps banks to lower their
cost of operations and pay on a per transaction basis and still own ATMs, from a brand perspective.
Many banks are realizing that expanding networks on their own or through partnerships with
managed services provider is not something they would look at as core business as upper limits
are capped by regulator or through shared networks members themselves. But they would still
need their customer to be serviced and that is where IADs are going to step in.
Having derived experience, existing managed services providers/IADs are shifting gears and
are looking at owning and operating the networks themselves (in the mean time, acquiring initial
scale, by getting into arrangements as described above) to maximize revenue opportunities for
themselves.
IADs are going to fill the gap in ATM demand and they would have the freedom to price the
transactions basis what market is willing to pay and they would also have the advantage of
accumulated experience, specialized work force and the economies of scale to run a White
Label ATM profitably as their core business. In this sense, going forward, banks would continue
to deploy ATMs, albeit more selectively, though, some may go for higher pace, given, they still
lack the network needed to service their customers. The IADs will be much more aggressive, as
they have the opportunity to set up a network, which has the potential to grow exponentially and
this is going to attract many a players, both existing ones and the new entities
Factors for successful white label ATM deployment
A successful white label ATM will derive its strategy from a fast food chain or a specialty
restaurant chain business model.
USP - The ATMs will need to have a USP to not only utilize availability and convenience as the
prime factors but in the long run also have sustainable advantage over competitor’s network and
Bank’s owned network. It will need to decide on its core function - cash dispensation and balance
inquiry and on what it will have, what others won’t offer or can’t replicate easily in short or medium
term. In terms of peripheral proposition, a high demand, easy operation and a quick fulfillment
transaction can be integrated around core proposition. E.g. a mobile recharge or a one time bill
payment facility or education fee (school) or insurance premium or a card to card transfer can
work, not that it can not be replicated. A fast food chain offers a core product for what it is known
and also integrates a few other things, which a customer needs but which don’t tax the chain too
much e.g. beverages.
Location The second most important parameter is going to be location. It will need to be
deployed at places, where others (bank or competition) don’t have a presence, where there is a
big need for ATMs and where customers live, shop and work. It has to be deployed, where high
foot falls exist, which can lead to to a number of transactions, being acquired by the ATM.
Example could be, staying away form already crowded ATM places to avoid low volumes, going
onto tier 3-5 cities, high end residential and commercial locations, SEZs, Popular café’s, petrol
pumps, motels, hospitals, tourist locations, multiplexes, shopping malls, bus station, metro
stations, etc having potential to generate transaction by virtue of great latent need being already
present or a captive footfall already guaranteed. The ease of accessing ATMs and the visibility of
the ATMs needs to be accounted for, in deciding the location strategy.
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Differentiation, Standardization and Brand Building -Then, to build a presence in the mind
of customer, the white label ATMs need to be differentiated, in terms of look and feel too and
consistency needs to be highly present, be it drive-in ATMs, through the wall ATMs, free standing
Kiosk ATMs or in some cases semi-enclosed or full function lobby ATMs.
Standardization will help in rapidly building presence and achieve economies of scale before
others can, so as to keep costs low and also erect significant entry barriers, before others can
react significantly.
A consistent approach will help build a great brand recall and pull customers, as they would
know, where to look for, if needed, if ATM is already not present, where they are. From a trust and
pull perspective, IADs will need to build on brand or work on successful brand extension, if they
already have a strong brand name.
Network Optimization - A clear review strategy, in terms of defined performance parameters,
needs to be evolved to optimally utilize the ATM network and maximize the returns. The review
strategy will help in rapid learning and will assist in re-deploying non performing ATMs or in
getting rid of them altogether, to focus, where maximum advantage is.
Quality control - The other factor would be quality control and that means highly reliable and
24X7 available ATM network just like mobile networks are. If you are there, but not available,
others will exploit and this will also have a direct revenue loss, in terms of lost transactions, not
to mention, losing on customer goodwill.
Margin or Volume - The while label ATM will need to be a high volume, average margin game
rather than high margin, average volume game, given that Indian customer is a value customer
and clearly understands the benefits of tradeoff and will be willing to go extra miles at times, if
needed. The perception that people will pay anything for convenience needs to be corrected, else
in the long run, alternative payment channels like NFC, USSD or smart client based P2P application, with rapidly evolving infrastructure, may make a dent in the money, the ATMs will make.
An example would be travel ticket agents, who have perished, because the alternatives brought
down volumes and also reduced margins.
Fraud Control and Management - Finally, the money is involved and accuracy of transaction
and a quick resolution of any dispute relative to others, competitors or banks, are going to be the
key to build customer trust in white label ATMs as traditionally people trust banks much more
with their money than any other entity. The fraud control and management will need to be of the
highest order as the trust level initially will be lower and any bad experience can quickly snowball
and send customer back to bank owned ATMs.
Business Model - There are two business models which can evolve.
Augmenting the ATM networks, where banks find it difficult either to catch up with pace of
deployment to meet demand or find it beyond their service or acquisition area to set up ATMs but
still want their customers to have access to cash all the time and, in turn, charging banks
(acquiring interchange) rather than the customers for each cash withdrawal or balance transaction and thus earning interchange apart from revenue from value added services and advertising.
Here the pricing power will depend on negotiations with banks and will also get capped by the
interchange set by banks, shared networks, VISA/Master or NPCI or even by regulator in extreme cases to benefit small and medium sized banks. This is a model, which is not highly
recommended, though, it has the advantage of captive customer base, higher productivity (read
cost control, economies of scale and high availability) and banks owned networks not directly
competing, as banks may not mind their customers transacting at ATMs other than their own,
due to lower cost of transaction expected at white label ATMs.
The second model would be to charge customers a convenience fee, like Acquiring banks
or IADS abroad do (this is still fuzzy, given Regulation clarity from RBI on charging customers
directly), in addition to interchange earned from banks, for the transactions undertaken, earn
money from value added services and advertising and have some arrangement with commercial
entities e.g. retailers, who need an ATM at their premises to improve customers spends. The
advantage would be pricing power, freedom to offer desired product/service mix and opportunity
to earn, need based incremental revenue, from commercial entities. The cons will be that pricing
power may get determined by customer acceptance of ATMs and price they are willing to pay,
market dynamics and clear demonstration of used cases to sell ATMs to commercial entities,
beforehand, in many cases.
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Revenue and Cost Drivers – The white label ATMs will be able to earn from bank transactions (cash withdrawal, balance inquiry, fund transfer) fee, Value added services like mobile top
up, one time bill payment etc, Display advertising opportunity at ATMs, interactive advertising
and lead generation (if permitted) at ATMs, rental or percentage commission from commercial
establishments like retailers where they have placed ATM on demand and by offering some
unique services like coupon dispensation etc. The opportunity sizing will depend on the facilities
offered at ATMs and that will depend on business strategy of going with “the in demand transaction set” or a “researched bouquet of services” offered.
The cost drivers can be; one time cost of switching infrastructure, ATM hardware - core and
peripheral devices, air conditioning if needed, civil and legal work and set up cost. The variable
cost will be technology and maintenance cost – ATM and peripheral devices, connectivity, power,
air-conditioning if needed, NOC operations etc, managed services/operations cost – Network
monitoring and management, First level maintenance, Cash operations, consumables etc, Facilities management cost if applicable – security, housekeeping etc.
The revenue drivers will determine the top line and the cost drivers will determine how
competitively and profitably the business can be run.
In my view, white Label ATM is going to be a capital intensive business, at least initially, but
once deployment model is perfected, the need for capital investment will come down to some
extent, as cash flows generated by the network will start coming in from day one only, given cost
control and quality control will be watertight. The business, if managed well, has the potential to
become a cash cow in years to come and then the time will tell, given demand sustains, how
good an opportunity waiting-in- the-wings, the white label ATM business, was.
Having written all, what is written above, how good a strategy is, how market dynamics
functions, how competitive and regulatory environment evolve, how good the placement, positioning and marketing is and how well the business is managed, will determine, if the white label ATM
business turns out to be – A glittering gold mine or a solid silver proposition.
(b)
URANIUM IN INDIA
Uranium is a very heavy dense metal. It is also radioactive. Uranium metal has a very high
density. Uranium can react with cold water when it is finely divided. It can form solids solutions
and intermetallic compounds with many of the metals. Uranium is used to make nuclear weapons, and nuclear power plants. More than half of the uranium people mine for is to make nuclear
weapons. After the people get the uranium out of the Earth, there are very bad environmental
effects, and even has effects on humans.
Natural uranium is found in the earth’s crust as a large mixture of two isotopes, which is
uranium-238, accounting for 99.3% and U-235 about 0.7%. The first thing that happens in mining
uranium is that people fly over areas and see which spot gives off radiation. After they find a spot,
they drill holes into the earth and test it for uranium by geologists. In either open pits or underground mines the ore is dug out of the ground mainly by drilling and blasting. After they get the
ore out, they need to make it into fine fragments to treat it. Then they make it into a powder and
that is when it is ready for treatment. The next step is precipitation and drying then after that they
do the tailing waste step, next is storage and shipping.
After the people that mined for uranium leaves a lot of radioactive minerals behind. Uranium
can travel through water and it is air borne, that means wherever the people mine for uranium, the
ore can travel through water and air, with a radius of forty miles away. The most radiation that is
released is at mines. Mining areas will have long-term damage on the environment. While uranium itself is not really dangerous, some of it decays products do pose a threat, especially
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radon, which can build up confined spaces such as basements. Uranium can seep into the earth
and ruin the soil and that will contaminate the plants that grow on the soil. The plants can also be
contaminated by uranium in the air. Uranium can also travel through the water, which can contaminate the marine life.
Uranium can cause all kinds of health problems to the human body. It causes toxic damage
to the kidneys. Exposure to uranium increases your risk of getting cancer due to radioactivity.
Since uranium tends to concentrate in specific locations in the body, risk of cancer in the bone,
liver cancer, and blood diseases, such as leukemia, are increased. Inhaling uranium increases
the risk of lung cancer. Uranium even causes birth defects. Women that get or are pregnant and
hang around uranium or get the uranium radiation have babies that are deformed in some way.
The babies either have no arms and just hands, a very big belly, deformed head, and some babies
have big eyes along with black eyes.
There are a lot of environmental effects and a lot of health problems when people take
uranium ore out of the ground. By far the greatest long-term radiation damage to our planet is
cased by uranium mining. Mining uranium gives off a lot of radiation, way more than nuclear
weapons, and nuclear power plants. When people get in contact with uranium ore for a long
enough time for it to get into your body, it causes a lot of health problems. What would you do if
a uranium company were trying to mine at least 30 miles away from your hometown, where you
grew up and where you are going to stay and raise a family?
(c)
COUNCIL FOR SENIOR CITIZENS
According to 2001 census, the number of senior citizens (60 years and above) in India were
7.9 crore and the number is growing because of advancement of medical services at least in
urban areas. A study by the National Commission on Population projects that senior citizens will
comprise 9.3 per cent by 2016, 10.7 per cent by 2021 and 12.40 per cent by 2026. According to
the UN, by 2050 about 20 per cent of India’s population is likely to be over 60 years.
Thus in an attempt at improving social sector reforms, PM Manmohan Singh has approved
the constitution of a National Council for Senior Citizens to advise the Central and state governments on issues related to the welfare of senior citizens and enhancement of their quality of life.
The setting up of such a council was one of the recommendations made by an experts
committee headed by Mohini Giri in the Draft National Policy on Senior Citizens.
The Council will specially refer to policies, programmes and legislative measures, promotion of physical and financial security, health, independent, productive living and awareness generation and community mobilisation.
It will be chaired by the Social Justice and Empowerment Minister and will include the
Minister of State in the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry, oldest members of the Lok
Sabha and Rajya Sabha, representatives of five state governments (one each from the North,
South, East, West and North-Eastern regions) and one union territory by rotation, five representatives each from senior citizens’ associations. Other members include pensioners’ association,
NGOs working for senior citizens and experts, and five senior citizens who have distinguished
themselves in various fields.
The Council will be anchored in the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry.
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PRACTICE SET- 3
1.
PRECIS
India is a country of vast diversity and therefore political parties form the backbone of democracy.
There exists a multi party democracy in India. These parties are not formed on the basis of
economic or political programmes but on caste and communal basis. Thereby, they do not work
for the betterment of the nation but to fulfill their personal goals. Anti-defection laws no more form
a part of our political structure. Mostly foul means are adopted just to win the elections and later
politician derive immense benefits in forms of scandals and corruption. It could easily be said that
political parties have not played a constructive role in development of the country.
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2.
(a) Meenal Mishra,
Meira Road
Mumbai.
25 th May 2012.
The Station Officer,
Diva Gaon,
Bhiwandi,
Thane.
Sub: FIR for the disappearance of my brother
Sir,
This is to inform you that my brother has been missing since yesterday afternoon. He went
to his college as usual and after that he was supposed to come back home and head
towards his coaching classes.
But he did not come home so we assumed that he might have gone straight for his classes.
We were alarmed when he did not return home even after 8’o clock in the evening. We tried
calling him and we also called all his friends but to no avail.
I would request you to please look into the matter and find him as soon as possible as my
parents are too worried for him.
Thanking you,
Sincerely yours,
Meenal Mishra.
(b) Manish Arora
The Hindu College,
New Delhi.
19th March 2012.
Dear Father,
I hope this letter finds you in proper health and happiness. I have been missing my home
lately and is trying to arrange for leave of few days to come and visit you and mother.
Meanwhile I would like to discuss the current trend of hike in oil prices. Nowadays, the fuel
hike has become a very common thing if you are aware of last one year’s progreesion in
prices. Our Indian government has increased the price 5 times which has really become a
burden to middle-class families. But it is not only the government who is the culprit, we as
citizens of this country should be responsible to handle it by lessening the usage of vehicles
when not required. India is not rich in oil production. We are the primary reason for the petrol
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hike. Because year by year number of vehicles are increasing gradually. Some of the measures
we could adopt to control this hike are
Use private vehicle like bus, train.
Use renewable source of energy like cng.
Turn the engine off at the red light.
Do research so that we also become the petrol rich country.
Automobile engineer manufactures the vehicle that is high on average.
So as we know that team work always gives a positive result, we should follow and pull on
our further life instead of blaming somebody.
Hope you agree with me. I would meet you soon and we’ll further discuss it. Pass on my
reagrdsto mother and sister.
Your loving son,
Manish Arora.
(c) Sheila Gaur,
Marketing Manager,
TCS,
Pune.
7 th January, 2012.
IDBI Bank,
Koregaon park,
Pune.
Sub: Request to increase number of ATM’s machines in the locality.
Sir,
This letter is being addressed to you in concern to the issue of dispensing money from your
bank ATMs in various areas in the city. I would like to bring to your kind notice that I as a
customer of your esteemed bank is satisfied and pleased with the services that your bank
provides to me. But I face troubles at times while dispensing cash from the ATMs of your
bank as there is a shortage of machines.
The ATMs of your bank are located widespread and usually people find difficulty in locating
one in closer proximity.
I would, thereby, like to request you to please look into the matter and increase the number
of ATMs in our city to avoid such troubles in future.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
Sheila Gaur.
3.
(a) INDIA- LARGEST IMPORTER OF WEAPONS?/ NUCLEAR POLICY OF INDIA
Obduracy of nuclear powers of the world compelled India to go nuclear. Legitimization of
nuclear weapons by the international community also contributed towards India going nuclear.
Rising trend of intervention by the industrialized nations in the domestic affairs of developing
nations, among which India is also one, also compelled India to divert its nuclear resources
towards nuclear weapons. It was necessary for India to protect the autonomy of decision making
in the developmental process and in strategic matter which are inalienable democratic rights of
one sixth of the global population residing in India.
It is believed that in recent time’s nuclear weapons have played major roles in the strategic
considerations of both major and regional powers. The frequency with which nuclear weapons
have been brought into play to manage strategic interests is a pointer to a dangerous and disturbing
trend. South East Asia has witnessed a military crisis since 1999. The Kargil conflict occurred
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within months of the two countries going overtly nuclear. India’s strategy was to limit its operation
to recapture its which Pakistan had occupied and India’s restrain in the scale of its military
operations obtained international support and put Pakistan on notice about taking recourse to
military means against India. According to some defense analysts Pakistan leadership assessed
that nuclear weapons had deterred India from widening the Kargil conflict.
After the December 13, 2001 terrorist futile attack on India’s parliament, India lunched “Operation
Pakistan” and moved the army to the borders with Pakistan. The air force and navy were also
moved into a state of operational readiness. There were statements from the military leadership
of Pakistan indicating their readiness to use nuclear weapons if necessary. The threat of war from
India made the major powers to pressurize Pakistan to end its terrorism policy against India. It is
believed that threat of nuclear war was the main reason behind the involvement of the major
powers. But India’s stand on the role of nuclear weapons is quite clear.
India has its own nuclear doctrine which affirms its commitment to no-first-use of nuclear
weapons and not using these weapons against non-nuclear weapon states. The defensive nuclear
doctrine has a command and control system under certain political authority. Land marks of
India’s nuclear doctrine are Building and maintaining a credible minimum deterrent.
·
A posture of no-first-use: nuclear weapons will only be used in retaliation against a
nuclear attack on Indian Territory or on Indian forces elsewhere. Nuclear retaliation to a first strike
will be massive and designed to inflict unacceptable damage. Nuclear retaliatory attack can be
authorized by a certain political leadership only through NCA. No-use of nuclear weapons against
non-nuclear weapon state.
·
In the event of a major attack against India or Indian forces anywhere by biological or chemical
weapons. India will retain the option of retaliating with nuclear weapons.
·
Continuance of strict control on export of nuclear and missile related materials and technology,
participation in the fissile material cut off treaty negotiations and continued observance of the
moratorium on nuclear tests.
·
Continued commitment to the goal of a nuclear-free world through global verifiable and no
discriminatory nuclear disarmament.
Then the three pillars of India’s nuclear doctrine are:
1. No first use.
2. Credible minimum deterrent.
3. Civilian control (NCA).
All other components of the doctrine survivability strategic trend, punitive retaliation in rapid
response and shift from peace time deployment to fully employable forces in the shortest possible
time are all strict mathematical derivations of the above three basic principles.
1. No-first–use
The nuclear doctrine states that India is committed to a no-first-use of nuclear weapons. The
theory of deterrence and no-first-use go together. The first aggressive use of a nuclear weapon
will be a confession that deterrence has failed and use of nuclear weapons was the only recourse
left. It is globally recognized that nuclear war between two nuclear powers would not lead to any
meaningful military decision beyond appalling losses to both sides. In these circumstances nofirst-use is the most appropriate policy.
2. Credible minimum deterrent
The concept of minimum nuclear deterrent will include sufficient survivable and operationally
prepared nuclear forces, a robust command and control system, effective intelligence and early
warning capability and comprehensive planning and training for operations in line with the strategy
and the will to employ nuclear forces and weapons. The nuclear doctrine envisages a deterrent
that has the capability of inflicting destruction and punishment to the aggressor. The principles of
credibility, effectiveness and survivability will be central to India’s nuclear deterrent. The nuclear
doctrine does not quantify the minimum deterrent. It calls for highly effective military capability.
The nuclear doctrine stresses upon effective, enduring diverse forces which are based upon a
nuclear tread of air-craft, mobile land-based missiles and sea-based assets.
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3.
Nuclear command authority (NCA)
On January 4, 2003 India revealed a three tire nuclear command authority (NCA) to manage
its nuclear weapons. This board frame work was approved on the nuclear doctrine prepared by
the national security board set up after the may 1998 nuclear tests. The NCA comprises of (a)
political council, (b) executive council and (c) strategic forces command.
Indian’s nuclear doctrine is the most responsible doctrine which aims at providing minimum
credible deterrent. It is a consensus document which does not limit the country in any way in
exercising its nuclear weapon options. It provides complete elasticity in deciding; the number of
nuclear weapons India should possess and classifies the emphasis on the survivability of the
deterrent. Establishment of the NCA will add credibility to India’s nuclear posture. The NCA
stands out in its firm commitment to deterrent stability through civilian control over nuclear weapons.
Most significant aspect of India’s nuclear doctrine is that it is intimately tied up with continued
commitment to total nuclear disarmament. The five major nuclear powers are reluctant to give up
their monopoly over production and deployment of nuclear weapons while denying a similar
privilege to other countries.
In contrast with India’s nuclear doctrine there are ambiguous, questions about nuclear
capability, precise doctrine and delivery systems of Pakistan. There is a fundamental difference
between the nuclear policies of India and Pakistan. Whereas no-first-use of nuclear weapons
remains the key element of India’s nuclear policy Pakistan maintains the first strike option in its
nuclear doctrine and has refused to sign an agreement no-first-use. With India’s over-whelming
superiority over Pakistan in conventional forces, Pakistan looks towards nuclear weapons as a
Safe bet to overcome its disadvantages in a conventional view.
In its first ever meeting the nuclear command authority under the chairmanship of the prime
minister reviewed the arrangements in place for the strategic forces programmed. In a significant
departure from the earlier stand the government warned that India would retain the option of
retaliating with nuclear weapons if attacked with chemical or biological weapons by even nonnuclear adversaries. It also said that WMD attack on Indian forces outside Indian Territory would
result in a nuclear response.
(b)
IMPACT OF RISING INFLATION ON INDIAN ECONOMY
India is faced today with one of the most critical economic situations. At no other time did
Indians witness the horrible phenomenon of spiraling prices as they do today, prices are soaring
like rackets and each day one finds a rise in prices of more or less all essential commodities.
Inflationary pressures are doing plenty of mischief and the people of middle class families are
finding it a Himalayan task to make both ends meet.
In a developing economy, prices usually display an upward trend. But if prices keep rising
persistently, they cause great hardship to the people. They spare neither the rich nor the poor,
neither the producers nor the consumer. They make a economic activities uncertain and unstable,
causing great unrest in the minds of the people.
Prices are expressed in terms of money. When the rupee or any other currency buys much
less than what it used to, and more is to be paid for practically every item, then the problem of
rising prices comes into being. In economic terminology it is known as ‘Inflation’. Where the
balance between money supply on the one hand and goods and services on the other is disturbed,
a critical problem arises. If money supply increases more than goods and services available
prices will rise.
The fixed-income groups like salaried people, wage-earners and pensioners are the most
helpless victims of inflation. As prices rise, their real income gets eroded. The additional dearness
allowance which the government sanctions from time to time proves of no use to them, because
their purchasing power actually goes down. Inflation induces businessmen to invest their money
in nonproductive assets like gold and land whose real worth is not affected by rising-prices. High
prices also adversely affect the exports of the country and distort the balance of foreign trade.
In a developing economy a certain rise in prices in inevitable for at least three major reasons.
First, the programmes of economic development generate larger employment and money incomes
and these increase the demand for basic consumer goods and services. The new incomes are
not proportionately reflected in saving because a majority of the beneficiaries have to spend most
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of the additional money they get on satisfying unfulfilled needs. Secondly, the same programmes
of economic development as generate the new money incomes push-up the demand for certain
goods wanted also by the consumer, such as agricultural products, fuel, housing materials and
the like. A third reason, of which the first two may be looked upon as special cases, is the large
increase in currency in emulation and the operation of the law of supply and demand. Unless the
production of basic consumer goods keeps pace with the increase in currency that is rendered
inevitable by large scale, long term planning, prices are bound to rise even of the production of
consumer goods is maintained at the old level.
Numerous factors can be cited to explain price rise in India First, our economic planning has
suffered from serious drawback, right from the beginning. During the various Five-Year Plans,
while the public expenditure persistently increased, the production targets were never realized.
Secondly, this forced the Government to resort to deficit financing. The resulting imbalance
inevitably led to inflation. The Third, major factor responsible for price rise is that due to great
emphasis laid on heavy industries in our Five-Year-Plans, agriculture and consumer goods
industries, which produce the items required by the people, have received insufficient attention.
Consequently, agricultural production has not kept pace with consumption. Fourthly, in an
underdeveloped economy like ours, the first increases in income always tend to be expended on
food articles. In other words, the level of consumption tends to increase with increases in income.
The cumulative effect is a growing pressure on prices. Fifthly, there is a tremendous increase
in population. About ten million new mouths are to be fed every year. Sixthly, there are psychological
factors that push up the prices. Continually rising prices give rise to rising expectations, with the
result that farmers and stockiest tend to hoard more and more stocks, anticipating further increase
in prices. Seventhly, there has been very heavy taxation on the public—both direct and indirect.
In an underdeveloped country like ours, this adds to the inflationary pressure for number of
reasons. Heavy taxes on industries are ultimately passed on to the consumers, thus increasing
their cost of living. Heavy taxation also discourages greater production. Defective tax-structure
has encouraged tax-evasion and accumulation of black money and smuggling. Eighthly, majority
of Indians have no community consciousness. There is no organized consumer resistance to
price rise. The Ninth factor is the faulty distribution and marketing system. Last, but not the
least, was the international factor, increase of oil prices in the international market.
In order to solve this difficult problem, some drastic steps must be taken. First, the entire
strategy of planning should be changed. There should be equal attention on heavy industries and
agriculture and consumer goods. Secondly, the mounting governmental administrative expenditure
should be drastically curtailed as it is mostly wasteful and non-development expenditure. Thirdly,
tax burdens on the public should be reduced. And finally, no hoarder, profiteer or black marketer
should be left with impunity. Unless they are crushed with a heavy hand, the common man is
bound to suffer.
Our government is quite conscious of the magnitude and implications of the problem. It has
already initiated a number of steps to check inflationary tendencies. What we now need is a
strict enforcement of these steps. Apart from accelerating growth and imposing curbs on money
supply, we need an effective distribution system. We also need the support of the social workers
and other public minded citizens to keep a watch on the unethical practices of shopkeepers.. But
nothing can mitigate the situation unless the growth of our population is checked.
(c)
HONOUR KILLINGS IN INDIA
An honor killing or honour killing (also called a customary killing) is the murder of a member
of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief of the perpetrators (and potentially
the wider community) that the victim has brought dishonour upon the family or community. Honour
killings are directed mostly against women and girls. The perceived dishonor is normally the
result of one of the following behaviors, or the suspicion of such behaviors:
a. dressing in a manner unacceptable to the family or community,
b. wanting to terminate or prevent an arranged marriage or desiring to marry by own choice,
c. engaging in heterosexual sexual acts outside marriage, or even due to a non-sexual
relationship perceived as inappropriate, and
d. engaging in homosexual acts. Women and girls are killed at a much higher rate than men.
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Recently, there has been a spate of honor killings in the country and this has led the
government to decide what laws should be put in place to stop this heinous crime. Also whether
the Hindu Marriage Act should be reformed or not is being debated. So what is the definition of
honour killing and what leads families to commit this heinous crime so that they can protect their
family honour? Is this practice prevalent only in India or is it prevalent in other parts of the world
also? What are the misconceptions regarding honour killing and what are the solutions to stop
this crime from spreading? These are the questions that society find the answer…
Honour killing is defined as a death that is awarded to a woman of the family for marrying
against the parent’s wishes, having extramarital and premarital relationships, marrying within the
same gotra or outside one’s caste or marrying a cousin from a different caste. Honour killing is
different from the dowry deaths that are also a very common practice in India as, in the case of
dowry deaths, the perpetrators of that action claim that they have not been given enough material
rewards for accepting the woman into the family. In that case there is a lot of harassment from the
in-laws and more times than one, it has been noted that the wife commits suicide rather than
being killed by the in-laws, though it has to be said that she has been mentally killed, if not
physically. We have had a tradition of honour killing. This tradition was first viewed in its most
horrible form during the Partition of the country in between the years 1947 and 1950 when many
women were forcefully killed so that family honour could be preserved.
Now, there are various reasons why people or family members decide to kill the daughter in
the name of preserving their family honour. The most obvious reason for this practice to continue
in India, albeit, at a much faster and almost daily basis, is because of the fact that the caste
system continues to be at its rigid best and also because people from the rural areas refuse to
change their attitude to marriage. According to them, if any daughter dares to disobey her parents
on the issue of marriage and decides to marry a man of her wishes but from another gotra or
outside her caste, it would bring disrepute to the family honour and hence they decide to give the
ultimate sentence, that is death, to the daughter. Now as has become the norm, the son-in-law
is killed as well. Sociologists believe that the reason why honour killings continue to take place
is because of the continued rigidity of the caste system. Hence the fear of losing their caste
status through which they gain many benefits makes them commit this heinous crime. The other
reason why honour killings are taking place is because the mentality of people has not changed
and they just cannot accept that marriages can take place in the same gotra or outside one’s
caste. The root of the cause for the increase in the number of honour killings is because the
formal governance has not been able to reach the rural areas and as a result. Thus, this practices
continues though it should have been removed by now.
There are various misconceptions regarding the practice of honor killing. The first misconception
about honor killing is that this is a practice that is limited to the rural areas. The truth is that it is
spread over such a large geographical area that we cannot isolate honor killings to rural areas
only, though one has to admit that majority of the killings take place in the rural areas. But it has
also been seen recently that even the metropolitan cities like Delhi and Tamil Nadu are not safe
from this crime because 5 honor killings were reported from Delhi and in Tamil Nadu; a daughter
and son in law were killed due to marriage into the same gotra. So it can be seen clearly that
honor killing is not isolated to rural areas but also to urban areas and as already pointed out, it
has a very wide geographical spread. The second misconception regarding honor killing is that it
has religious roots. Even if a woman commits adultery, there have to be four male witnesses with
good behavior and reputation to validate the charge. Furthermore only the State can carry out
judicial punishments, but never an individual vigilante. So, we can clearly see that there is no
religious backing or religious roots for this heinous crime.
What can we do to prevent such a thing from happening? Firstly, the mentality of the people
has to change. And when we say that the mentality has to change, we mean to say that parents
should accept their children’s wishes regarding marriage as it is they who have to lead a life with
their life partners and if they are not satisfied with their life partner then they will lead a horrible
married life which might even end in suicide. Secondly, we need to have stricter laws to tackle
these kinds of killings as this is a crime which cannot be pardoned because. Humans do not
have the right to write down death sentences of innocent fellow humans.
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PRACTICE SET - 4
1.
PRECIS
Andaman and Nicobar islands have a very long coastline due to which the area is rich in
marine life but for underutilization such species is in danger of being lost. Now the coastline is
assisting poachers in hunting down the varieties of fish available. Experts say that nearly 24
varieties exist but the costal guards do not possess essential equipments to catch the poachers.
Tuna fish belt around the Great Nicobar is one of the richest belts in the world. Sharks, also
known as “ rough fish”, and are harmful to human life, are also found here and they serve a great
commercial value as oil can be extracted from them. Dolphins at Port Blair serve as a source of
entertainment and they also guide the wandering ships to safe places, thereby banning its killing.
Crocodiles too are found in these areas and their eggs are found dispersed on the shores.
Word count = 151
2.
(a)
Smriti Chauhan,
Miranda House,
Patel Chest Marg
New Delhi.
12 th May 2012.
Dear Mona,
I hope this letter finds you in good health. How are your studies going on?
I hope you are through with your exams and is still waiting for your results. What are your
plans as far as your career is concerned? Let me suggest you few good avenues. One of
them is the banking sector. This sector at present is offering tremendous opportunities to
young generation and what with the latest advent in technology, the sector is gradually
moving towards globalization.
Indian banking industry, today is in the midst of an IT revolution. A combination of regulatory
and competitive reasons have led to increasing importance of total banking automation in the
Indian Banking Industry. In view of this, technology has changed the contours of three major
functions performed by banks, i.e., access to liquidity, transformation of assets and monitoring of risks. Further, Information technology and the communication networking systems have
a crucial bearing on the efficiency of money, capital and foreign exchange markets.
I am wishing you all the best for your future endeavors and hope that my letter has served
its purpose of motivating you.
Yours loving sister,
Smriti.
(b)
Ashish Mehra 10,
Govind Puri, Hapur.
July 10, 2002
The General Manager Northern Railways Delhi.
Sub.: UNMANNED RAILWAY CROSSING
Sir,
There are numberless unmanned railway crossings in the country. But some of them are
prone to serious accidents. You must have read about the recent two tragic accidents
involving a truck and a Maruti gypsy with in a span, of one month. No doubt, in both the
cases the drivers of these vehicles were responsible. Yet the railway authorities cannot
absolve themselves from their responsibility.
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On 1st April a truck collided with Sangam express at Hapur Garh Road railway crossing. It
was 7 p.m. and driver should have been well aware of the coming of the train. He took the
risk of speeding past the train. Unfortunately the truck banged into the railway engine and
was reduced to splinters in no time. Both the truck driver and the conductor lost their lives.
Their bodies were mutilated beyond recognition.
In a similar accident, on 25th April, there was a collision involving Maruti. This time the car
struck against Nauchandi Express killing its driver. It was about 8 p.m. and the lights must
be blazing. Obviously the driver was aware of the approaching train. He committed the
similar folly of thinking that he would speed ahead of the coming train. This time Maruti was
thrown up in the air and fell with a loud bang. The driver was crushed to death in an instant.
Such accidents are very common. When contacted the Station Master told the reporter that
the responsibility for constructing motorable roads lies with the Public Works Department.
They should have consulted the railway authorities before making roads that cross the
railway lines. This did not appear to be convincing answer. However, unmanned crossings
are hazardous even for pedestrians. The govt. must take concrete steps to help check the
avoidable loss of life and material.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully,
Ashish Mehra
(c)
Sandeep Bakshi,
21 st Century Education private Limited,
Millenium Business Park,
Navi Mumbai.
23 rd April 2012
Punjab National Bank,
Marve Road, Malad,
Mumbai.
Sub: Application for activating internet banking facility on my account.
Sir,
This is to inform you that I have an account in your prestigious bank at your Malad Branch
in Mumbai.I would like to bring to your kind notice the fact that I have been a customer of
your esteemed bank for past 20 years and has always been a satisfied customer.
I would like to make a request to you to kindly provide me the facility of internet banking on
my account no- 35452434 as it has become a bit difficult for me to personally visit the
branch for every transaction due to time constraint.
Please consdider the matter and oblige.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
Sandeep Bakshi.
3.
(a)
ROLE OF YOUTH IN NATION BUILDING
India is a big country with a large population. It is estimated that India’s present population
is about 65 crores. Those between the age of 15 to 35 form more than 50 percent ‘of the total
population. For our purposes we count them all as the youth. These comprise students,
employees, workers, farmers and persons from various professions including the unemployed—
educated or otherwise. These young people constitute a large force. They are energetic,
enthusiastic and full of zeal. Unfortunately a large number of them are without any direction. It
is dangerous to allow them to remain idle, as it would increase their frustation. A large number
of them are capable, devoted, dedicated idealists and are fond of work. Their frustation is a result
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of their being without any worthwhile job. It is a great national wastage if these energetic hands
and brains are not provided with some srot of work to meet the needs of the nation. No country
can permit sueh wastage. What is needed is that they should be taken into confidence and
given a direction—some constructive work. This massive manpower can do wonders provided its
enthusiasm is harnessed for development work. Indian youth have . never lagged behind when
called upon to meet a challenge. It is for the national leaders to play their part by mobilising their
abilities and providing them with a direction.
Let there be no doubt about their strength, power and capability. Their counterparts have
changed the governments in their own countries. It was the youth of Indonesia who overthrew
President Soekarno. The massive youth movement in Czechoslovakia succeeded againt the
military invasion on their country. The recent history of Cambodia, Cuba, France and Pakistan
provide evidences of their invincible force. Even in our own country before partition the youth
played a very inspiring role in the freedom movement. After independence too their power has
changed the fate of several state governments in the recent past. The Gujarat and Bihar agitations
are examples of the youth power.
If we exclude the youth, the rest of the population of India will comprise old people and
children. They cannot be called the real manpower of the nation. So we may say that if the youth
of the country are not enthused to devote their energies to the task of national reconstruction, the
whole manpower of the nation is being wasted.
The task of nation building is enormous and can be divided into many phases and
compartments. It has some work for everybody. All the young people may be involved in this
work. They may be assigned jobs according to their capacity and capability. First of all they
should be made to understand a specific project and its importance to the society and also the
part they are expected to play to make it a success. They are sure to work hard for its fulfilment.
They have the resources, guts and imagination to explain it to the people in detail and make it a
success, They will feel more than satisfied by the realisation that they have been assigned a role
in the nation-building efforts. This realisation will encourage them to put their best into it.
There is another factor : whatever is done by the government for nation-building affects the
whole society—the young and the old alike. At least the former think that they are being denied
the right of their participation in that task. It would be prudent to associate them with all such
programmes as concern them. Such a step would satisfy their ego.
It is not very difficult to mobilise the youth for nation-building. Once these programmes have
succeeded in firing their imagination, more than enough resources of energy will be forth-coming
to achieve the targets. And once they are genuinely involved, and their interest in these programmes
is aroused, they would be prepared to give their best to their quick implementation.
There can be a large number of schemes, projects and programmes wherein their total
involvement will bring quicker and better results. They can play a pivotal role in the socio-economic
regeneration of the society. There are many evil practices in our society. If the youth is associated
in a drive against these practices, the results may be much more satisfactory. There may be
schemes connected with the raising of the level of production in agriculture. The youth may be
assigned the job of dissemination of knowledge for better farming, new techniques and proper
use of fertilisers and pesticides. What is required is that they may be given adequate training in
these tasks. In a drive against economic offences, their energy may be used in moulding public
opinion in favour of eradication and prevention of such offences. The youth may work successfully
as an arm of the administration in the implementation of governmental programmes aimed at
fighting against these and other maladies. Another field wherein their energy may be gainfully
employed is the task of adult education and universalisation of education. Being given a little
dose of incentive encouragement and support, they may take over the great responsibility of
fulfilling the targets fixed by the government. Their services may similarly be utilised for preventing
and fighting offences like smuggling, black-marketing and hoarding. They can at least create
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public opinion against those who indulge in such unfair practices. Cooperatives may be encouraged,
through them for creating parallel marketing facilities to render the antisocial practices ineffective.
What is needed is that we repose faith in their capacity and capability.
By enlisting the cooperation and involvement of the massive youth army, the government
will on the one hand be successful in mobilising idle man-power, and on the other hand these
young people will be saved from falling a prey to such elements, as utilise them for their own
narrow selfish ends. By employing these persons in some socially useful work, the possibilities
of demonstrations, violence, unrest and turmoil will be largley minimised. It is therefore, in the
national interest that these young men are attracted towards some sort of developmental activities.
Such involvement of the young people would generate a sense of pride and self-confidence
in them, provided it is accorded adequate appreciation. It would raise tfieir morale as well. At the
same time the sense of patriotism and of being useful to the society would inhibit them from
going astray. It would also help develop in them a nationalist outlook. Such a step would speed
up the process of socio-economic regeneration and democratic decentralisation.
Our government spends a large amount of money on a number of organisations that are
given charge of implementation of various schemes and programmes concerning national development. Involvement of the youth and their organisations would cost less in terms of money as
well.
The young people may be inspired and encouraged to adopt villages or other suitable units
of operation, where they may cancentrate on the improvement of physical and social environment. This will lead to socio-economic progress and help to channelise the energies, enthusiasm and idealism of the youth in the task of nation-building. It is certain that the youth will make
full use of the diverse opportunities offered to them. If would make the task of nation-building
easier and quicker.
(b)
1.
2.
3.
ROLE OF SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES IN INDIA
In a developing country like India, the role and importance of small-scale industries is very
significant towards poverty eradication, employment generation, rural development and creating
regional balance in promotion and growth of various development activities.
It is estimated that this sector has been contributing about 40% of the gross value of output
produced in the manufacturing sector and the generation of employment by the small-scale
sector is more than five times to that of the large-scale sector.
This clearly shows the importance of small-scale industries in the economic development
of the country. The small-scale industry have been playing an important role in the growth process of Indian economy since independence in spite of stiff competition from the large sector and
not very encouraging support from the government.
The following are some of the important role played by small- scale industries in India.
Employment generation:
The basic problem that is confronting the Indian economy is increasing pressure of population on the land and the need to create massive employment opportunities. This problem is
solved to larger extent by small-scale industries because small- scale industries are labour
intensive in character. They generate huge number of employment opportunities. Employment
generation by this sector has shown a phenomenal growth. It is a powerful tool of job creation.
Mobilisation of resources and entrepreneurial skill:
Small-scale industries can mobilize a good amount of savings and entrepreneurial skill
from rural and semi-urban areas remain untouched from the clutches of large industries and put
them into productive use by investing in small-scale units. Small entrepreneurs also improve
social welfare of a country by harnessing dormant, previously overlooked talent.
Thus, a huge amount of latent resources ;re being mobilised by the small-scale sector for
the development of the economy.
Equitable distribution of income:
Small entrepreneurs stimulate a redistribution of wealth, income and political power within
societies in ways that are economically positive and without being politically disruptive.
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Thus small-scale industries ensures equitable distribution of income and wealth in the
Indian society which is largely characterised by more concentration of income and wealth in the
organised section keeping unorganised sector undeveloped. This is mainly due to the fact that
small industries are widespread as compared to large industries and are having large employment
potential.
4.
Regional dispersal of industries:
There has been massive concentration of industries m a few large cities of different states
of Indian union. People migrate from rural and semi urban areas to these highly developed centres
in search of employment and sometimes to earn a better living which ultimately leads to many
evil consequences of over-crowding, pollution, creation of slums, etc. This problem of Indian
economy is better solved by small- scale industries which utilise local resources and brings
about dispersion of industries in the various parts of the country thus promotes balanced regional
development.
5.
Provides opportunities for development of technology:
Small-scale industries have tremendous capacity to generate or absorb innovations. They
provide ample opportunities for the development of technology and technology in return, creates
an environment conducive to the development of small units. The entrepreneurs of small units
play a strategic role in commercialising new inventions and products. It also facilitates the transfer
of technology from one to the other. As a result, the economy reaps the benefit of improved
technology.
6.
Indigenisation:
Small-scale industries make better use of indigenous organisational and management
capabilities by drawing on a pool of entrepreneurial talent that is limited in the early stages of
economic development. They provide productive outlets for the enterprising independent people.
They also provide a seed bed for entrepreneurial talent and a testing round for new ventures.
7.
Promotes exports:
Small-scale industries have registered a phenomenal growth in export over the years. The
value of exports of products of small-scale industries has increased to Rs. 393 crores in 1973-74
to Rs. 71, 244 crores in 2002-03. This contributes about 35% India’s total export. Thus they help
in increasing the country’s foreign exchange reserves thereby reduces the pressure on country’s
balance of payment.
8.
Supports the growth of large industries:
The small-scale industries play an important role in assisting bigger industries and projects
so that the planned activity of development work is timely attended. They support the growth of
large industries by providing, components, accessories and semi finished goods required by
them. In fact, small industries can breath vitality into the life of large industries.
9.
Better industrial relations:
Better industrial relations between the employer and employees helps in increasing the
efficiency of employees and reducing the frequency of industrial disputes. The loss of production
and man-days are comparatively less in small- scale industries. There is hardly any strikes and
lock out in these industries due to good employee-employer relationship.
Of course, increase in number of units, production, employment and exports of smallscale industries over the years are considered essential for the economic growth and development
of the country. It is encouraging to mention that the small-scale enterprises accounts for 35% of
the gross value of the output in the manufacturing sector, about 80% of the total industrial
employment and about 40% of total export of the country.
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SHOULD INDIA’S YOUTH PARTICIPATE IN POLITICS?/ YOUTH AND POLITICS IN INDIA
People between the age of 15 and 35 constitute youth. Those in their teens among the
youth are said to be of tender age. They are not considered experienced and knowledgeable
enough to understand the complex world of politics. That is why some people believe that the
youth should not take part in politics. But when the government reduced the age of eligibility for
casting vote from 21 to 18, the message was quite clear: that the youth should actively take part
in the process of elections whereby the candidates are elected to form governments at the state
as well as centre.
India is the biggest democracy in the world. The real power lies in the hands of the people
who elect the people who rule the country. The basic principle of democracy is that it should have
a wide participation by the people. The more is the percentage of voters out of the total population
of the country, the stronger is the base of the democracy because the mandate given in the
elections would have a popular sport. By making the age of casting of vote as 18, the government
brought crores of people within the ambit of active participation in elections thus giving a broad
base to the democratic processes.
It also gave the message that our youth is mature and wise enough to understand their
responsibility and they would give their mandate after carefully considering candidates’ capabilities.
Being young, they are not swayed by the old systems of caste, creed and other orthodoxy which
had been the bane of Indian politics for quite some time in the post-independence era. The
government also seemed to have realised that it was important for India’s future to induct the
youth in the democratic process at an early age. After all it is the youth who ultimately will
become the stalwarts in politics and one day will hold the reins in their hands. There has been
much debate and discussion in various circles across the country on whether the youth should
take part in politics.
Many people believed that the youngsters being of a tender age do not fully comprehend
the intrigues connected with politics for which it is often called a dirty game. If the youth get
entangled in political activities, they will lose direction and purpose. Another fear was that the
politics is dominated by middle-aged and old people. If the youth also enter the arena, there will
be an atmosphere of rivalry. Belonging to different generations, there is a possibility of generation
gap, misunderstanding and even rejection of one age group of the other those who of the opinion
that those among the youngsters who are students and at the threshold of some career will suffer
immensely if they go astray. If they start missing their classes and take part in meetings and
rallies, they will be left behind in their career. Being immature and inexperienced about the
demands of life they may put to a great loss in their life at a later stage after having lost valuable
time as students.
It is necessary to have a look at the situation prevailing in colleges and universities where
elections are held every year for the posts of President, Secretary, Treasurer and other office
bearers. The atmosphere is full of political rivalries and intrigues near the elections. There is
canvassing campaign among the students presenting the qualities and plans of the respective
candidates. The university elections have assumed huge importance as national parties like
Congress, BJP and others have started taking active part in these elections and fielding their
candidates, rather giving their party label to the candidates.
The people who not like these elections to be given such a huge dimension have based
their views on the fact that several times these elections have turned ugly with incidents of
violence. The colleges and the universities become battlefields with rival groups of students
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attacking each other. Heavy police deployment at times is unable to stop them because the
police hesitate to use force against the tender-aged students. But the problem is that many bad
elements are always ready to take advantage of such volatile situations. They abet innocent
youth to use violent methods to achieve their ends. The students often are not aware that they
are being taken advantage of. Some idlers also join the election campaign to get some name and
fame and also some money.
It becomes difficult for the authorities to distinguish between the genuine campaigners and
goonda elements. If some action is taken against anyone, the students go on strike whereby the
cause of education and their own career is greatly harmed. That is why people say that the
students should stay away from politics. Their duty is to acquire knowledge, get education and
seek some good career to become self-dependent and a support for their parents.
Apart from the college and university campuses, other places in towns and cities, especially
the public places become centres of discussion on politics. Many idlers gather there and make
various kinds of strategies and plans. India is a place where some kind of election or the other is
always nearby-from Parliament elections to Panchayat elections. Therefore these idlers are never
short of material for discussion. Some of them have access to local heads, MLAs, village chief,
block presidents and members of Zila Parishad. These politicians use these idle youths to grind
their political axe.
They are often paid to become their informers and act according to their advice. As such
the atmosphere in villages, towns and small cities is always soaked in what is known as local
politics. Few people think about doing some productive work for the benefit of society and country.
Politics teaches the youth to steal the limelight by hook or crook and encash it in some forthcoming
election.
The youth also include people who are not students, but are engaged in some job or
enterprise. For them to take part in politics is more of a matter of interest rather than getting
some position in a political party. Only a small number among them ever give a serious thought
of becoming a party worker, attending meetings and taking part in campaigns. However, in our
country there is a cult of succession in politics. In Nehru family, the youth have been inducted in
active politics-from Indira Gandhi to Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. Some people oppose this cult
while others hail it.
There can be a long discussion on whether the politicians should be allowed to sustain this
cult. But we can say with a considerable degree of consensus that the young, adults or old and
established politicians should not be stopped from taking part in active politics until they do not
take undue advantage of their parentage and position. Being the citizens of a democratic nation
they have every right to become active politicians.
They better understand the political atmosphere in the country and are well aware of the
demands of politics. The youth inducted into politics have matured into great leaders. Young
people are not only enthusiastic and energetic but are also full of new ideas. They are able to
instil freshness in the political affairs of their respective region as well as the nation.
We can conclude by saying that today’s youth are highly intelligent and educated. They have a
high awareness level. If they take part in politics, they will enrich it with their new ideas.
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PRACTICE SET - 5
1.
PRECIS
Though US prides on being a leader in world community yet it lags behind in providing basic
needs of its younger generation. The findings of a report known a “quiet crisis” describes its poor
infant mortality rate, poverty ratio, child immunization which is too low also emphasizing on the
substandard care of children whose parents are working as well as single parenthood. The report
says that all these factors combined may result into educational and health problems which will
be difficult to reverse. The problem is gradually becoming acute due to unplanned parenthood or
unwanted pregnancies which in the long run result in children being taken care of by people other
than their parents as the parents when singly handling the upbringing focus on earning livelihood.
The crisis is affecting the children of age group 1-3 as the recent statistics show that more
children are now being subjected to abuse to the extent of entering them to foster care.
Word count= 159
2. (a) The Heritage Society of India,
Meerut.
March 27, 2003
The Editor,
The Statesman,
New Delhi.
SUB.: THE PRESERVATION OF HISTORICAL MONUMENTS
Sir,
May I, through your esteemed daily, appeal to the Archeological Department of India to look
after the heritage of India represented by historical monuments in our district.
Meerut is a historical region. Historical places like Parikshat Garh, Hastinapur, Barnawa
belong to the epoch of Mahabharta. In recent excavations many relics,of Indus valley civilization have been discovered in Alamgir. Sardhana & Meerut are historically important in the
context of the British rule in India. As I know, Hastinapur, Parikshat Garh, and Barnawa
conjure up in our minds he memories of the days of our ancient glory. All these places are
associated with the dynasties of Pandavas and Kauravas. There are numberless monuments dating from that epoch.
Sardhna and Meerut are associated with modern British era and the first revolt against the
British rule. In Meerut itself there are historical places related to freedom struggle. Sardhana
was founded by Begum Samru. She built a grand Church there when she embraced Christianity. In Meerut itself she built a great palace in Begum Bagh named after her. Few years
back it was in dilapidated conditions. Later on it was demolished by Meerut Development
Authority for building Apartments. If happened through neglect of the Archeological department and district authorities. If preserved, the palace of Begum Samru would, have added to
the glory of Meerut.
Similarly many ancient monuments are facing extinction. It would be better if government of
India took over these monuments and took care of them under its direct supervision.
Thanking you,
Yours truly,
for Heritage Society of India , Secretary.
(b)
119, Sanjauli,
Shimla.
Nov. 14, 2001 :
Dear Mohit,
I am pleased to learn that you have fared well in your final exams. I appreciate your desire
to pass a few days with me. Two years have elapsed snice we met last at the wedding of
your sister. I have also just completed my examination schedule and am free. There is no
question of my leaving Shimla during summer for reasons obvious to you.
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I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to Shimla to pass a few days with us. My
mother would be very happy. Last year she was disappointed when you could not come
because of the accident of your father. Please do make a programme otherwise you will
miss a golden chance to enjoy the scenic beauty of nature. My father is likely to be transferred this winter to some other station.
I have made elaborate plans to visit surrounding hill resorts in your company. There are
many places around Shimla which I have myself not visited. I am much interested in visiting
these places lest I should feel sorry for later on. Shimla is really a sprawling hill station.
Unlike other hill stations in the North it is calm and quiet. Tranquility reigns all over the hill
station. The life runs at easy and quiet pace.
So I look forward to your visit. Please do not forget to bring some light woollen clothes.
With best wishes,
Yours sincerely, XYZ
(c)
The President,
Women’s Equality Forum,
5, SafcJarjung Enclave,
New Delhi.
Feb. 25, 2001
The Chief Personnel Officer,
M/s Bharat Petroleum Company,
New Delhi.
SUB. : GENDER BIAS IN PROMOTION POLICY
Sir,
Let me assure you at the outset that we have no intention to interfere in the official policy of
promotion. Promotion is such a sensitive subject that promotion to higher posts cannot be
taken for granted. Promotions are based on merits and many other considerations that go
a long way in determining the performance of any organisation in the long run. We are
writing to you because many instances have been brought to our notice, where gender bias
is quite evident.
You don’t, we feel, consider women fit for supervisory posts or in your views men are more
capable of management of the company. At every cost the promotion policy for the last five
years reflect your thinking that women are capable of only working at subordinate jobs.
Gender bias is self evident in your recent promotion list issued by your organisation. There
is hardly any name of woman in the list. Your policy goes against all norms of equality
among sexes. It is a pity that you think that women are not capable of devoting full time to
their jobs on account of their domestic obligations.
In view of the foregoing impressions, we request you to change your promotion policy and
give chance of promotion to women. They have proved their worth in every field. Why not in
your organisation?
Thanking you and looking forward to an early reply,
Yours faithfully,
for Women’s Equality Forum
XYZ
President.
3.
(a)
ECONOMY DEPENDS ON US OR WE DEPEND ON ECONOMY
OR
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Economic growth has been used with other terms such as development, modernization,
westernization and industrialization. It is, in other words, a transition from a simple, low-income
economy to a modern, high- income economy. Its scope includes the process and policies by
which a nation improves the economic, political, and social well-being of its people. Though it is
often measured by rate of change of gross domestic product, it is generally understood in terms
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of increase in per capita income, and attainment of a standard of living equivalent to that of
industrialized countries.
Economic growth implies a change in the way goods and services are produced, not merely
an increase in production achieved using the old methods of production on a wider scale. It also
involves improvements in a variety of indicators such as literacy rates, life expectancy, and
poverty rates. In addition to increasing private incomes, economic growth also generates additional resources that can be used to improve social services such as healthcare, safe drinking
water etc.
However, the conflict between economic growth and sustainable development is not always
necessary. Economic growth does not always contribute to environmental degradation. In the
early stages of growth, quality of environment generally deteriorates but at higher levels of per
capita income, it improves. The link between income and pollution arises because the composition of output changes with growth in favor of newer, cleaner technologies. Thus, sustained economic growth is the key to sustainable development.
Pollution tends to be related to population, and population growth is inversely related to
income growth. Higher average income and output levels are only good for the environment when
associated with policies that lessen demographic pressures by reducing personal risk and the
need for large families. Also, improvements in the security of employment, education and training, pension policies, social security and the employment of women are especially important in
this respect.
Trade is something which leaves an impact on both growth and environment. If trade is
distorted by subsidizing fuels that pollute, it would result in environmental pollution. On the other
hand, trade liberalization offers a particularly powerful impetus to growth and is entirely compatible with sustainable development. In fact, Sustainable development encompasses growth along
dynamically efficient development patterns.
Sustainable development aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so
that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for future generations. The Brundtland
Commission, which coined the term ‘sustainable development’, defines it as development that
“meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.”
Sustainable development does not focus solely on environmental issues and it can be
conceptually broken into three constituent parts: environmental sustainability, economic
sustainability and sociopolitical sustainability. The United Nations 2005 World Summit Outcome
Document refers to the “interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars” of sustainable development as economic development, social development, and environmental protection. Indigenous
peoples have argued that it has a fourth pillar of cultural diversity.
Then there is a concept of ‘economic sustainability’. Agenda 21 emphasizes that broad
public participation in decision making is a fundamental prerequisite for achieving sustainable
development. Thus sustainability is a process of resolving the conflict between the various competing goals. It involves the simultaneous pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental quality and
social equity famously known as three dimensions (triple bottom line) with is the resultant vector
being technology, hence it is a continually evolving process.
A relatively new term is ‘Green development’, which is generally differentiated from sustainable development in that Green development prioritizes environmental sustainability over economic and cultural considerations. There are other views that consider environmental and social
challenges as opportunities for development action. This is particularly true in the concept of
sustainable enterprise that frames these global needs as opportunities for private enterprise to
provide innovative and entrepreneurial solutions. This view is now being taught at many business
schools in the West.
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Sustainable development is said to set limits on the developing world. It is being argued,
while current first world countries polluted significantly during their development, the same countries encourage third world countries to reduce pollution, which sometimes impedes growth.
Sustainability requires that human activity only uses nature’s resources at a rate at which they
can be replenished naturally. Theoretically, the long-term result of environmental degradation is
the inability to sustain human life. Such degradation on a global scale could imply extinction for
humanity.
In the Indian context, infrastructure development is critical for sustainable growth. It is often
noted that poor infrastructure—a lack of water and sanitation, shoddy roads, and unpredictable
energy supply- constrains foreign direct investment and overall economic potential. A key issue
is of attracting private investors willing to participate in infrastructure projects given their complex
and risky nature.
Cases of corruption and political and economic risk make investors hesitate. In such a
situation, infrastructure financing with transparency and efficiency in mind may do more for India
than would be obvious. Hence, a new approach is needed in financing infrastructure to properly
cultivate this form of social investment which yields more benefits beyond the infrastructure
project itself.
There is a need for government to re-think how infrastructure’s role interacts with other
areas that impact firms’ decisions to invest such as bureaucracy, corruption, and macroeconomic stability. There arises the need to reconcile existing infrastructure financing approaches
with India’s desire for better governance and a more attractive business climate for private investment.
Given the vast infrastructure needs in India, a progressive approach is needed that levels the
playing field, deters political and policy risk, and develops more efficient, transparent market
mechanisms. If there is to be real progress toward development goals and reduced poverty, this
modernization of approaches offers a way forward.
In addition to physical infrastructure, India has a solid foundation in “soft” infrastructure. A
reliable banking system, functional capital markets, a well-developed legal system, and educational opportunities underpins India’s political and economic life. The appearance of many diverse
stakeholders’ foreign investors, governments, and domestic investors and consumers can further
catalyze the reforms needed to infuse additional private sector activity.
Individual and institutional investors alike can have new choices available in social investment. Parts of the vicious cycle of infrastructure project finance can be turned more virtuous,
supporting ends beyond simply funding the infrastructure project itself. Thus, infrastructure challenged India represents a fertile opportunity for a new approach that would attract needed financial resources for sustainable development and allow even greater participation in the global
economy.
(b)
SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES- BOON OR BANE
Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are specifically delineated duty¬free enclaves and are
deemed to be foreign territories for the purpose of trade operations, duties and tariffs. A scheme
of setting up the SEZs in India was announced in the Export and Import (EXIM) Policy in March
2000. But the implementation of this policy and the task of setting up SEZs on a large scale has
gathered momentum only recently after the rules and regulations were clearly laid and amendments wherever required, duly made.
The main objective of SEZs is to develop an integrated world-class infrastructure for exports, including carrying out of manufacture of goods and rendering of services in connection
therewith. The component of an SEZ shall include roads, airports, ports, generation, and distribution of power, telecom, hotels, hospitals, educational institutions, leisure and entertainment units,
industrial and commercial complexes, water supply, and any other facility required for the development of the zone.
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The SEZ enclaves are meant to showcase the country’s manufacturing prowess and its fast
developing services sector-especially its world class enterprises in the area of Information
Technology (IT), Computer Software and Hardware skills. However, SEZs go beyond the concepts
of industrial concentrations as they have a mix of both industrial and human settlements.
Conceptually, they are akin to Free Trade Zones (FTZs) which also offer similar incentives and
benefits of trade and commerce within the regions.
The Special Economic Zones are considered to be a part of former Chinese Premier Deng
Xiaoping’s economic modernisation programme. China’s highly successful four SEZs are located
at Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamen and are based on the four principles: (i) construction
primarily relies on attracting and utilizing foreign capital; (ii) primary economic firms are sinoforeign joint ventures, partnerships as well as wholly foreign enterprises; (iii) products are primarily
export-oriented; and (iv) economic activities are primarily driven by market.
Encouraged by the grand success of China’s SEZs, the Indian Government has envisaged
the SEZs to be the new mantra for the country’s export-oriented economic activity. Thus, the
Special Economic Zones Act was brought in the year 2005 with a view to providing an internationally
competitive and hassle- free environment for exports.
If we consider the benefits of setting up SEZs we will certainly say they are a boon. The
Foreign Trade Policy clearly states that SEZs are growth engines that can boost manufacturing,
increase exports and generate sizeable employment. The SEZ Policy also gives an impetus to
private sector to overcome the country’s infrastructure problems which are considered to be a
roadblock to attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). While foreign investors are attracted
towards India’s low-cost labour and strong domestic market, they are apprehensive about moving
their products through the country’s poor network of roads, overburdened airports and clogged
ports.
Power cuts can force business to a grinding halt or at least waste sizeable number of
working hours each month. The SEZ developers are likely to create necessary infrastructure
which would facilitate manufacturing, transportation, distribution and shipments to importing
countries.
Manufacturing in the industrial units set up within the SEZs will give a tremendous boost to
various types of industries. There will be adoption of latest technologies in all the industries
covered under the SEZs. The Foreign Direct Investment will be received in large amounts in
various sectors because of tax and tariff exemptions to be given to the SEZs under the policy.
The shortage of capital will be more than met by the FDI inflow. The big names in Private Sector
like Reliance, Tata, Infosys, and Wipro are likely to participate actively in setting up and operating
SEZs. The tremendous impetus given to exports shall make the balance of payment favourable
to India. The valuable
Foreign exchange will be earned by millions through SEZ exports, with which the country
can import modern technology, machinery in various sectors including services, transportation,
health care, heavy industries. There is a proposal to convert the Agriculture Export Zone (AEZs)
into SEZs, so that the agriculture sector can benefit from the concessions for export. The export
of agricultural products is a part of our EXIM Policy.
India is a vast country with a large population. Despite rapid economic development during
the last five years or so, there is persistent poverty and rampant unemployment. The setting up
of Special Economic Zones would result in the creation of lakhs of new jobs for skilled and
unskilled workers. The number of managerial jobs would increase tremendously. The Information
Technology Parks and Computer Software as well as Hardware Parks being created through
SEZs shall firmly establish India as an IT and ITES giant.
There are, however, several disadvantages of setting up the SEZs. In fact, the policy has
received scathing criticism from various quarters across many states. The Finance Minister has
pointed towards the revenue loss to the exchequer to the tune of rupees seventy thousand crore
through tax sops offered to the SEZ units-which will get 100 per cent tax holiday for the first five
years and 50 per cent tax break for five years more.
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The Commerce Minister, however, is of the opinion that such hypothetical calculations do
not constitute actual loss. Even if there is a revenue loss to the exchequer, it is much less,
because many units are already enjoying the benefits outside the SEZs. Moreover, the benefits
in terms of growth and increase in exports will more than compensate the revenue loss, if any.
The biggest concern about the SEZs policy relates to the acquisition of land for the purpose
of establishing the SEZs. The problem is many-fold in this regard. Most of land being acquired is
fertile agricultural land whether at Nandigram, Gurgaon, Dadri or elsewhere. The question is
whether it makes sense to take away agricultural land for setting up industries and jeopardise the
country’s food security.
Agriculture is the only sector which has not been doing well for the last many years. And
now it will lose valuable, fertile land. For the farmers whose land is being acquired, raising crops
is the only source of livelihood. Losing land would mean losing their livelihoods for ever. Adding
insult to injury is the fact that these farmers are not being offered adequate amount of compensation for their lands. Seizing the opportunity offered by the SEZ Policy, an active land mafia has
appeared.
These land-brokers are already making a huge amount of money by buying land from poor
landowners at cheap rates and selling the same to SEZ developers at much higher rates. In
conditions of poverty and dire need and against the organised land-brokers, these landowners
hardly have any bargaining power.
Then there is the problem of rehabilitation. The Central as well as the State Governments
have been talking about rehabilitation of the uprooted families whose land has been acquired, but
nothing concrete has been done in this regard. People’s past experience in case of various
projects wherein several people were promised adequate compensation and rehabilitation packages, has not been particularly good.
Then there are environmental concerns. The SEZs which are to be hubs of manufacturing
are likely to cause huge amount of air pollution and water pollution. The experience of China in
this regard has also been very bad, where the areas around the SEZs are always covered with
thick smoke. Our own SEZs are likely to do the same. The chemicals released from the SEZs
will pollute the nearby water sources creating acute shortage of clean water. All these factors
point towards the dark side of the SEZs and these Zones can be called a bane.
SEZs have been established in many countries as testing grounds for implementation of
liberal market economy principles. They can bring about a great transformation through opening
up of the economy in the globalised world. Considering the enormous success of China’s SEZs,
and given the fact that both India and China have a similar socio-economic set up and are evenly
matched in human and other resources, the SEZ model of development can lead to higher growth
in India too. But we need to remove the bottlenecks and address the key issues that are closely
connected with this model of development.
(c)
TERRORISM: IS IT ESSENTIALLY IDEOLOGICAL
Terrorism is just a word in English, but it is a hazard for mankind. India faces the problems
of poverty, population, hunger and literacy. But spread of terrorism is the most frightening of all.
Be it in the small countries like Ireland and Israel, or in the big ones life Russia and USA,
terrorism has become the main challenge to most of the governments today.
Terrorism has been described as ‘the use of international violence by group or individuals to
achieve political goals’, by the experts in U.S.A. In simple words, it is the spread of terror. It has
to be remembered that if destruction of people is taken by the behalf of an established government against another country, then it is known as war, not terrorism. It consists of a series of act
planned to spread pressure, panic and destruction in a population.
Terrorism is not unthinking violence. Terrorist are very specific for what they want. Terrorist
poses the greatest threats to mankind. They know no friends and recognize no rules. Although
explosions and stray shooting are terrorist acts, flight hijacking has come to be their most
preferred target of spreading terror among the masses of the countries. Previously it was assumed that terrorism in India would be limited to Kashmir only. But this belief has been proved
baseless as terrorism has nearly spread all over India. There are many types of terrorist groups
depending on what their objectives are.
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Terrorism is usually of two kinds: political terrorism which creates panic on a large scale
and criminal terrorism which deals in kidnapping to take ransom. Political terrorism is much
more dangerous than criminal terrorism as they are well-trained and it’s become difficult for law
enforcing agencies to arrest them in time. For example- hundreds of terrorist are being trained at
the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK). And in Punjab, there is no doubt that the terrorist are
receiving training and weapons from Pakistan. Assam has been the most unstable state in the
last few decades. Assam remains the only state in the northeast where terrorism is a major
issue. Terrorism is also spread at national level. But the Regional terrorism is the most violent of
all. This is because the terrorist think that dying in a terrorist act is sacred and holy, so they are
willing to do anything. All the terrorist groups are made with different purposes.
Terrorism is a world-wide problem. By now, the governments throughout the world are realizing that terrorism is a serious threat to dealt with. They believe in the power of bombs and guns
over dialogue. Terrorist acts are well-planned. Every terrorist acts usually takes days and even
months of preparation. Terrorist are usually young, but the brain behind them are old, seasoned
politicians. Terrorists mostly recruit younger people in their group as it is easy to brainwash
them. Freedom is the right to every individual. Our freedom is taken from us when terrorism
strikes.
In the recent years, the most powerful country, the USA was shocked when Afghanistanbased based terrorist organizations attacked on it. On September 21, 2011 a disaster took place
in the New York City when two hijacked planes were flown straight into the World Trade Centre.
6000 people were killed. The bombing of the World Trade Centre is one of the most deadly
terrorist episodes in the world. This violent act of terrorism was mastermind by Al-Qaida leader
Osama Bin Laden. After this attack, many challenges took place in front of us. Like- the old
security systems were replaced by new and more complicated (also costly) security systems in
airports. And in India, government developed many security measures like making more strict
laws (like POTA – Prevention of Terrorist activity Act), cracking down on their centres and keeping
an eye from where terrorist receive money. POTA is an anti-terrorism legislation enacted by
the Parliament of India in 2002. This act replaced the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO)
of 2001. There measures hardy had any effect. These security measures had no effect on political terrorism but they had decreased criminal terrorism by ten percent. Due to these risks from
terrorism, the security at various places like airports, railway stations and government offices are
kept tightenen.
One of the deadliest terrorist attacks in India was the 1993 Bombay Bombings. It was a
series of thirteen bombs that took place in Mumbai. The attacks were the most destructive bomb
explosions in the history of India. It is believed that the explosions were in coordinate of Dawood
Ibrahim, the leader of a terrorist group which stood in opposition of India.
It takes months and sometimes years for the government to demolish a terrorist group. The
best example for this can be the operation Neptune Sphere. It took months of planning and
investigation for the U.S.A. to kill Osama. Finally on May 2, 2011 at night in Pakistan he was
dead shot. The plan of this operation was not shared with Pakistan’s government. The saddest
thing is that India not only faces terrorism from outside but also from within. In many cases, the
leader of a terrorist group was once in favour of that country. For example- Osama Bin Laden who
was once promoted by the U.S.A. against Russia later became the greatest threat to the U.S.A.
Terrorism is like a war, which is neither openly fought nor in a fair manner.
Terrorism has become a global threat and needs to be controlled from the grass root level to
the international level. It is also called that ‘One person’s terrorist, another person’s freedom
fighter’. This can be explained with the example of Osama Bin Laden. Terrorism cannot be
controlled by the law enforcing agencies alone. The world has to unite in order to face this
growing threat of terrorism. Let us hope that the world would be free from this hazard very soon.
Without terrorism, the world would become a better place to live in.
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PRACTICE SET - 6
1.
PRECIS
The two main traits that play a vital role in personality development of an individual are
heredity and environment. It has always been deabated which of the two is more important.
Earlier the emphasis was laid on the fact that heredity is of greater importance but in reality both
these factors cannot be sorted out into two exclusive categories. Modern researches show that
both these factors are responsible for individual’s every reaction. As per the traditional views the
personality is a direct result of heredity. But today, instead of extreme views a middle of the path
is accepted claiming that personality comes from a combination of both theses factors. Theres is
a continuous interaction between them. The evidences also display that both these factors work
in an integrated and collective manner and if argued, the answer to the question- which is of
realtive importance out of these two?- can have infinite answers.
Word count= 152
2. (a)
Santosh Kumar,
Knowledge Park II,
Greater Noida, UP.
3 rd May 2012.
The Hindustan Times,
J T Road, Churchgate,
Mumbai.
Sub: Complaint about inadequate bus services in the locality.
Sir,
Having visited Mumbai recently, it appears to me that some of the factors leading to attracting tourists have been overlooked by the tourism industry. The bus service schedule needs
looking at, especially when visiting places like Mira Road, Dahisar, Bhayandar, Borivali. I
actually waited nearly 40 minutes for a bus from Borivali into Dahisar. On reading the timetable I should have a choice of a bus every 30 minutes or a bus from the scheduled place
every 15 minutes during the day. When boarding a bus back from the bus depot in Mira
Road, it was annoying to find an extremely haphazard situation. Who looks at these schedules? A week later there were no buses on two mornings as the staff were called to meetings so everything drew to a halt I love Mumbai and its people, but surely on the above
points at least there could be improvements.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
Santosh Kumar.
(b)
10, Samrat Hotel,
Morena.
June 28th, 2002
Ajay,
The famine conditions in the drought affected region of Chambal are horrifying. Though I am
on a marketing tour in this area, I can not help observing the plight of the inhabitants of the
region on account of famine conditions prevailing. Lakhs of people living in the inhospitable
ravines are facing the question of survival. They earn their living by selling wood, making
baskets and seasonal migration to places where food is easy to come by. I am shocked to
see the hamlets in remote settlements situated in a desolate valley of Shivpuri District. As
we travelled from Gwalior to Shivpuri in the company of our distributor, the poverty and
hunger scenario grew darker. Rampant unemployment, dry wells and dead cattle were a
common sight.
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Our dealer, Mr. Arjun Singh informed us that according to newspaper reports 52 starvation
deaths have already occured in this area in recent months. He gave objective account of the
level of hunger and hunger related misery of the people. The chronic poverty in the area is
aggravated by the worst famine in living memory. Crops have completely withered and other
traditional sources of livelihood have disappeared. The collection of Mahua and Tendu has
virtually come to a stand still. Emaciated children, semi-clad women and wrinkled faces of
men tell the story of miseries of the inhabitants.
Inhabitants seem to have accepted hunger as their fate while they see cattle and men dying
around them. Some residents stated stoically that they had not eaten food for days. Some
of them lived on wild berries but an over dose of these berries appears to cause stomach
ailments.
As I returned in the evening to my hotel, I felt disgusted with life. I was at a loss to understand how these people were alive at all. Although Annapurna Cards have been issued to
the peop’e, this card entitles a person to ten kg. of grain per month for four. This quantity is
hardly adequate to sustain life of a person. It is strange that Government and political
leaders can be so callous of the conditions that can rend the heart of any common man. We
have made mockery of our democracy. Freedom from British rule seems to have lost significance. Freedom from hunger and poverty has not been achieved even after 55 years of
independence. The hypocrisy of the politicians is very much evident. What more can I
write?
With good wishes,
Yours sincerely, XYZ
(c)
Akhilesh Verma,
23/667,
Vasundhara Enclave,
Mayur Vihar,
New Delhi.
6 th June, 2012.
Madhav Lal Singh,
Lajpat Nagar,
New Delhi.
Sir,
I wanted to come and see you personally in regard to certain urgent repairs needed in your
flat, now occupied by me, but because of want of time, I cannot do so. There is seepage in
the walls of the drawing room, and therefore the room remains damp and unpleasant. The
flat also requires a white wash, besides painting of the doors and the windows.
There are some other minor repairs as well, which I would show you if you kindly pay us a
personal visit. You know, since my occupation of your flat, I have not requested for any
repairs at all. And I have been in the flat for the last five years. It is also in the interest of your
flat that these repairs are carried out immediately, because soon the rainy season would
set in and then things would get worse.
I hope you will see the urgency of the matter in view of the fact that in August my eldest son
is to be married. It would be really absurd to receive the guests in the damp and leaking
drawing room. I would feel obliged if the matter is given immediate attention and repairs
done at the earliest. In case you are not free, I can get the repairs done and debit the costs
towards your rent account.
Please reply immediately and let me know how you want the repairs to be done. I want
these repairs done latest by the end of this month.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
Akhilesh Verma
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3.
(a)
ROLE OF BANKING SECTOR IN INDIAN ECONOMY
Money lending in one form or the other has evolved along with the history of the mankind. Even in the ancient times there are references to the moneylenders. Shakespeare also
referred to ‘Shylocks’ who made unreasonable demands in case the loans were not repaid in
time along with interest. Indian history is also replete with the instances referring to indigenous
money lenders, Sahukars and Zamindars involved in the business of money lending by mortgaging the landed property of the borrowers.
Towards the beginning of the twentieth century, with the onset of modern industry in the
country, the need for government regulated banking system was felt. The British government
began to pay attention towards the need for an organised banking sector in the country and
Reserve Bank of India was set up to regulate the formal banking sector in the country. But the
growth of modern banking remained slow mainly due to lack of surplus capital in the Indian
economic system at that point of time. Modern banking institutions came up only in big cities
and industrial centres. The rural areas, representing vast majority of Indian society, remained
dependent on the indigenous money lenders for their credit needs.
Independence of the country heralded a new era in the growth of modern banking. Many
new commercial banks came up in various parts of the country. As the modern banking network
grew, the government began to realise that the banking sector was catering only to the needs of
the well-to-do and the capitalists. The interests of the poorer sections as well as those of the
common man were being ignored.
In 1969, Indian government took a historic decision to nationalise 14 biggest private commercial banks. A few more were nationalised after a couple of years. This resulted in transferring
the ownership of these banks to the State and the Reserve Bank of India could then issue
directions to these banks to fund the national programmes, the rural sector, the plan priorities
and the priority sector at differential rate of interest. This resulted in providing fillip the banking
facilities to the rural areas, to the under-privileged and the downtrodden. It also resulted in financial inclusion of all categories of people in almost all the regions of the country.
However, after almost two decades of bank nationalisation some new issues became contextual. The service standards of the public sector banks began to decline. Their profitability
came down and the efficiency of the staff became suspect. Non-performing assets of these
banks began to rise. The wheel of time had turned a full circle by early nineties and the government after the introduction of structural and economic reforms in the financial sector, allowed the
setting up of new banks in the private sector.
The new generation private banks have now established themselves in the system and have
set new standards of service and efficiency. These banks have also given tough but healthy
competition to the public sector banks.
Modern Day Role
Banking system and the Financial Institutions play very significant role in the economy.
First and foremost is in the form of catering to the need of credit for all the sections of society.
The modern economies in the world have developed primarily by making best use of the credit
availability in their systems. An efficient banking system must cater to the needs of high end
investors by making available high amounts of capital for big projects in the industrial, infrastructure and service sectors. At the same time, the medium and small ventures must also have credit
available to them for new investment and expansion of the existing units. Rural sector in a
country like India can grow only if cheaper credit is available to the farmers for their short and
medium term needs.
Credit availability for infrastructure sector is also extremely important. The success of any
financial system can be fathomed by finding out the availability of reliable and adequate credit for
infrastructure projects. Fortunately, during the past about one decade there has been increased
participation of the private sector in infrastructure projects.
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The banks and the financial institutions also cater to another important need of the society
i.e. mopping up small savings at reasonable rates with several options. The common man has
the option to park his savings under a few alternatives, including the small savings schemes
introduced by the government from time to time and in bank deposits in the form of savings
accounts, recurring deposits and time deposits. Another option is to invest in the stocks or
mutual funds.
In addition to the above traditional role, the banks and the financial institutions also perform
certain new-age functions which could not be thought of a couple of decades ago. The facility of
internet banking enables a consumer to access and operate his bank account without actually
visiting the bank premises. The facility of ATMs and the credit/debit cards has revolutionised the
choices available with the customers. The banks also serve as alternative gateways for making
payments on account of income tax and online payment of various bills like the telephone,
electricity and tax. The bank customers can also invest their funds in various stocks or mutual
funds straight from their bank accounts. In the modern day economy, where people have no time
to make these payments by standing in queue, the service provided by the banks is commendable.
While the commercial banks cater to the banking needs of the people in the cities and
towns, there is another category of banks that looks after the credit and banking needs of the
people living in the rural areas, particularly the farmers. Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) have been
sponsored by many commercial banks in several States. These banks, along with the cooperative banks, take care of the farmer-specific needs of credit and other banking facilities.
Future
Till a few years ago, the government largely patro-nized the small savings schemes in which
not only the interest rates were higher, but the income tax rebates and incentives were also in
plenty. The bank deposits, on the other hand, did not entail such benefits. As a result, the small
savings were the first choice of the investors. But for the last few years the trend has been
reversed. The small savings, the bank deposits and the mutual funds have been brought at par for
the purpose of incentives under the income tax. Moreover, the interest rates in the small savings
schemes are no longer higher than those offered by the banks.
Banks today are free to determine their interest rates within the given limits prescribed by
the RBI. It is now easier for the banks to open new branches. But the banking sector reforms are
still not complete. A lot more is required to be done to revamp the public sector banks. Mergers
and amalgamation is the next measure on the agenda of the government. The government is also
preparing to disinvest some of its equity from the PSU banks. The option of allowing foreign direct
investment beyond 50 per cent in the Indian banking sector has also been under consideration.
Banks and financial intuitions have played major role in the economic development of the
country and most of the credit- related schemes of the government to uplift the poorer and the
under-privileged sections have been implemented through the banking sector. The role of the
banks has been important, but it is going to be even more important in the future.
(b)
FREEDOM OF PRESS
The Press, as identified with Newspapers, wields immense power in a democratic society.
Dickens has called the Press “the mighty engine”. So great is its influence that some have called
it the Fourth Estate. Napoleon used to say— “Your hostile newspapers are more to be feared
than a thousand bayonets.” For, the press forms opinions, shapes movements and controls
policies through well-informed criticism.
The most powerful autocrat is forced to take note of public opinion as reflected in a free
press. That is why a regimented press is the instrument of autocracy, and a dictator deprives the
press of its freedom.
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A free press is the symbol of a free people. An independent, well-informed press is a powerful check on arbitrary governments and irresponsible administrators. For newspapers are agents
of the public, which bring to the notice of the people acts of injustice or oppression, or maladministration that would otherwise have remained hidden away from public knowledge. They
augur misgovernment at a distance and sniff the approach of tyranny in every tainted breeze’
(Burke). They exercise a constant vigilance on the rulers, which is salutary for all.
Nowadays it is difficult for the press to be free. Either a newspaper is controlled by some financial magnates entirely and it has to voice their views or it is the mouthpiece of a party, and it must
think as the party might direct; or it is under the thumb of the government and in that case its
usefulness is reduced and independence compromised.
For whoever controls it, necessarily limits its freedom by his own interests, i.e. calls the
tune. In America, the great newspapers are in the bands of powerful financial syndicates; in
England, they are in the hands of capitalists; in Russia they are mostly controlled by the government. But freedom of the press in each case depends on the way it reflects the will, the purpose
of the people as a whole, in preference to that of any class or community or individual.
The illusory or unrealistic character of the freedom of the press was seen during Great War.
It is in such times of crisis that the voice of the people should be most clearly heard and not
muffled. Yet it is then that newspapers are completely gagged. Most of these abuses might be
checked to the advantage of all concerned, if the newspapers have freedom to criticise authorities and ventilate grievances. Indeed, no government can stifle the voice of the people but at its
own peril.
The problem, therefore, is—how to ensure freedom of the newspaper. Legislation, of course,
should guarantee the press against interference by the government; this goes without sayingBut something more is necessary. The press under no circumstances should be forced to disclose the source of information or will be subservient to the government.
But enjoins enjoys a corresponding duty on the part of the Press—that it should maintain strictly
honest journalism and should not give any garbled report or prejudicial account. Independentminded editors should have the right to ft free expression of opinions and unhampered publication
of news, subject only to the limitation that they do not publish abuse and keep within the bounds
of decorum.
But real freedom of the press can exist only where a free people can function freely as in
true democracy. It may be asked, why do we say there is no freedom of the press in England or
America or India. The reason is that in these countries, the common people are in economic
bondage. Governments are ruled by the power of money and the press is controlled by owners in
the interests of Big Business.
In is, therefore, rightly claimed that in a Socialist country as the people become economically free, the government acquires an increasingly representative character. The journalists then
can write freely and fearlessly. The best way to ensure freedom of the press is to publish all news
from accredited sources, to allow free ventilation of opinion, to do away with all controls except in
the interest of public safety or welfare.
Freedom of the press should be a valued privilege and has to be safeguarded. It is a sacred
right, which should be zealously promoted. Governments owe it to themselves to guarantee it
from all arbitrary interference. Editors owe it to the public to maintain an honest and fearless
attitude in favour of the people, against party or class interests. And the people owe it to their
country to demand and defend such freedom as a priceless heritage.
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(c)
JAN LOKPAL BILL
The word Lokpal has been derived from the Sanskrit words “Lok” meaning People and “pala”
meaning caretaker. Therefore, the word Lokpal means “caretaker of people”.
Mr. Shanti Bhushan proposed the first Lokpal Bill in 1968 and got it passed in 4th Loksabha
but failed in Rajya Sabha in the year 1969. Thereafter, Lokpal Bill was introduced in 1971, 1977,
1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, and 2005 and in 2008 but was never passed and is still pending in
Parliament.
Under the Lokpal Bill there is a provision for filing complaints with the Ombudsman against
the Prime minister, other ministers and Member of Parliament. This was for removing the sense
of injustice from the minds of citizens and to install public confidence in the efficiency of the
administrative machinery by completing the investigations regarding corruption within a year.
Whenever the Lokpal bill was introduced to the House, it was referred to a joint committee
of Parliament or a departmental standing committee of the Home ministry for further improvements and every time before the Government could take a final stand on the bill, the house was
dissolved.
Anna Hazare, a social activist alongwith his team fought for this bill to get passed and did it
on December 27, 2011. However, his team and other political parties claimed that the bill is weak
and would not serve its intended purpose. Therefore, the proposed bill by the ruling Congress
Party is yet to get acceptance from the Rajya Sabha. On December 29, 2011, the Parliament of
India saw a lot of drama and disruption by various political parties like LJP, RJD and SP.
Features of Jan Lokpal Bill:
1.
An institution called Lokpal at the centre and Lokayukta in each state will be set up.
2.
The Lokpal shall work independently like the Judiciary and no minister or bureaucrat will be
able to influence their investigations.
3.
The corruption cases shall not linger for years and the investigations shall be completed
within one year and the corrupt officer or judge shall be sent to jail within two years.
4.
The loss caused to the government shall be recovered from the offender at the time of
conviction.
5.
If any work of a citizen is not completed within the prescribed time limit in any government
office, Lokpal shall impose financial penalty on the guilty officer and the same shall be
remitted to the complainant as compensation.
6.
The people can approach the Lokpal if his or her ration card or passport or voter card is not
being made by the concerned officials within the prescribed time limit. People can also
approach the Lokpal in case the roads are made of poor quality or siphoning of funds in any
Panchayat takes place. Lokpal will have to complete its investigations within a period of one
year, the trial will be over in next one year and the guilty shall go to jail within two years.
7.
Any complaint against any officer of the Lokpal shall be investigated and the officer dismissed within two months.
8.
The CVC, departmental vigilance and anti corruption branch of CBI shall be merged into
Lokpal. The Lokpal shall have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate
and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.
It shall be the duty of the Lokpal to provide protection to whistle blower in case of any corruption
and those who are being victimized for raising their voice against corruption.
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PRACTICE SET - 7
1.
PRECIS
Child labour has ever since posed a problem what with first factory starting in the 19th
century while legislative measures were adopted in 1881. India has been struggling to abolish
child labour but it is still way behind Third World. A study reveals why legislative actions constituted by Indian Constitution has not been successful in implementing its child labour and education laws. This problem can be eradicated by various socio-economic programmes and educational uplift. Various countries are making efforts to eliminate this problem by removing children
from labour force and putting them in schools meanwhile emphasizing on importance of primary
education, protecting them from parents as well as employers.
Word count= 109
2. (a)
322, Begum Bagh,
Meerut.
May 10, 2002
The Editor
The Indian Times,
Meerut.
SUB.: WATER SHORTAGE
Sir,
Through the columns of your esteemed daily, we, the residents of Begum Bagh, wish to
draw the attention of the authorities concerned to the severe water shortage that we have
been experiencing.
Since the summer has set in, as usual we get water just for 30 minutes in the morning and
20 minutes in the evening. The amount of water barely comes to 100 litres a day. How can
one cope with the supply so miserably low in quantity?
The civic authorities often send tankers in order to provide temporary relief. But the supply
of water by tankers is so inadequate that the residents often resort to capturing tankers
forcibly. Such a situation has led to violence many a time resulting in loss of life on one
occasion. The police have to be often summoned to quell the riotous situation. There is
animosity among the residents who ironically belong to educated and elite class of the city.
The residents of the area have been clamouring for some permanent solution. Summer or
winter, the problem is always there. Though in summer it gets more acute. In view of the
above we would urge the administration to offer proper infrastructural planning to solve the
problem.
The D.M. had promised last week that five thousand litre tanks will be set up all over the
city. The tanks will be filled up at night by Municipal Corporation tanker to avoid wastage
through spillage. The idea is laudable but no action has been taken so far. Though fortnight
has passed and the summer is at its peak, there is no sign of construction of water tanks
anywhere in the city. Water shortage is acute and is likely to worsen in the coming days.
Thanking you,
Yours truly,
XYZ
(b)
Nidhi Tiwari,
Galgotia Institute of Technology,
Knowledge Park 1,
Greater Noida.
4 th April 2012.
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Dear Kiran,
How are you? How are uncle and aunt? Hope this letter finds you in good shape. Recently,
I have been doing some research work on the benefits of Net Banking and would like to
share the same with you.
Firstly, online banking is environmentally friendly. Using the Internet perform all of your
banking operations, cuts down on paper waste due to checks, statements and other mail
and paperwork. Secondly, Net banking allows you to pay all of your bills automatically. With
a one-time set up, funds can be deducted from your bank account on a preset date and
used to pay all of your recurring bills, saving you several hours each month. Automatic bill
payment also allows you to save money on postage, envelopes and checks. And last but
not the least, Mobile banking is a convenient part of online banking that allows you to
access your accounts from your cell phone. By using your phone’s browser or by sending
a text message, you can transfer funds from one account to another while you’re out and
about. Another convenient aspect of online banking is that the bank never closes. You’ll
never have to worry about making it to the bank before 5 p.m. again.
I hope you find it as useful as I think it is. I am planning to visit your town soon and will let
you know the exact dates so that we could meet up sometime.
Your loving friend,
Nidhi.
(c)
Sampson’s Stationary
30, Joggers Park,
Paharganj,
New Delhi.
21 st February, 2012
Mr. Kishore Kumar
City Montessori School
Alambagh,
Lucknow.
Sub: Outstanding payments
Sir,
Our records show that you have an outstanding balance dating back to January, 2012. Your
January invoice was for Rs. 40445.00 and we have yet to receive this payment. Please find
a copy of the invoice enclosed.
If this amount has already been paid, please disregard this notice. Otherwise, please forward us the amount owed in full by March 1st, 2012. As our contract indicates, we begin
charging 5% interest for any outstanding balances after 30 days.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation. We hope to continue doing business with you in
the future.
Yours sincerely,
Mary Phillipe
Accountant
Enclosure: Invoice #223
3.
(a)
DIVISION OF STATES IN INDIA
The idea of difference or strangeness dominates the human psyche. We, as a species,
believe that we are ‘different’ from animals. Even as individuals, we believe that we are different
from the ‘others’. Such a belief, which is the outcome of social, cultural and religious moorings
shapes our identity. It also develops our perspective, shapes our attitude and defines our understanding of the world around us.
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In a multi-cultural and multi-religious country like India, the interests of various groups tend
to diverge. A society fears its identity and culture being swapped whether within the state or the
country; smaller groups within a state or province have legitimate fears of being overridden by
larger or more powerful groups. This happens when we adopt a solitarist approach to human
identity, which sees human beings as members of only one group. The idea of a distinct identity
is not about being good or bad. It is simply an idea. However, this idea of exclusivity which is
emerging in India is worrisome.
The last few years have seen a constant tug of war between the champions of smaller
states and larger states. Today, there are demands in many parts of the country for creation of
new states. There have been persistent demands for the creation of separate states of Telangana
in Andhra Pradesh and Vidharba out of eastern Maharashtra.
In 1953, Jawaharlal Nehru had appointed a Commission for the preparation of creation of
states on linguistic lines. The first and the only State Reorganisation Commission gave its recommendations to the Jawaharlal Nehru government in 1955. The SRC recommended that states
be organised along linguistic lines. Hence, the first states like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and
Tamil Nadu were created with language as the prime organising factor. Being united by language
and a common linguistic culture was considered to be a good basis for creating states to help
development. When Punjab was partitioned, not only a separate Punjabi-speaking region was
formed, but even the Hindi-speaking region was split into Haryana and Himachal Pradesh because it was believed that hill people have little in common with people living in the plains.
However, the linguistic scheme failed in the Northeastern regions, where states have been created on the basis of ethnicity. The creation of Chattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand means
that a state can be created for being a distinct territory within a large province.
The advocates of smaller states point out that large states breed deep alienation among
vast sections of people. For instance, in Maharashtra, a relatively prosperous state, development
has been limited to the areas in and around the Mumbai-Pune industrial belt. On the other hand,
the status quo proponents point out that regional imbalance is a short term phenomena and that
in the long term, development spreads evenly across all parts of the state. The supporters of the
smaller states often voice their fears that large states tend to dominate economically and politically over smaller ones. This calls for the creation of smaller states. However, the proponents of
larger states argue that such fears could be taken care of by greater devolution of political power
to the masses and by creation of economic opportunities. Conversely, the supporters of smaller
states feel that such states are easier to administer. They argue that small states make it easier
for people to reach their governments. Grants and development funds are easier to distribute and
development is more even in various regions. Also due to smaller size and population, governments are more responsive to people’s needs. Rebutting this, status quo champions point out
that in such case the states should have seen greater economic development. They argue that
smaller states, apart from being economically unviable, are often wracked by deep fractures
between various social and ethnic groups. They cite the example of Manipur, where a simmering
ethnic conflict between the Kukis and Nagas has spawned a culture of mass killings and ethnic
cleansing.
The creation of a state is the prerogative of only the central government. Under our constitution, it is possible for the Parliament to reorganise the states or to alter their boundaries. The
makers of the constitution have, through articles 3-4, empowered the parliament to reorganise
the states by a simple procedure, a process about which the affected states, although being free
to express their views, cannot stop. This is to say that the affected states cannot resist the will
of the parliament if it embarks on the creation of a new state. The boundaries of state may be
altered or redistributed if the union executive and the legislature so desire. A few examples are
the Assam Act which altered the boundaries of Assam by ceding a strip of territory from India to
Bhutan, the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh Act which transferred certain territories from
Rajasthan to Madhya Pradesh and the Bombay Reorganisation Act which partitioned the state to
form Gujarat and Maharashtra.
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The edifice of political democracy is built on the foundation of social democracy. Equality in
social, economic and political spheres lies at the core of social democracy. It is equally important that political democracy obtains economic contentment and even more so that it gives a
sense of involvement and belonging as well as empowerment to all Indians. Appropriate management of the aspirations of distinct groups is critical to ensure stability, good governance and
maintenance of law and order in the country. The major challenge that we face is how to absorb
and resolve the clashes that may arise between contending interests while ensuring freedom,
security and prosperity of all Indians. We need to ensure that inner political movements do not
affect the territorial integrity of our country. We must accommodate the aspirations of all different
groups in the national dream.
(c)
FOOD SECURITY IN INDIA
Food security means the easy availability and access of food at all times in sufficient
quantity in a safe and nutritious form to meet the dietary requirements and food preferences for
an active, healthy and productive life.
In fact, food security is the imperative prerequisite for the economic and social stability of
any nation. Again sustainable food security requires a stable supply of good and properly functioning agricultural markets.
To encourage the food security, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
celebrates World Food Day every year on 16th October, the day on which the Organization was
founded in 1945. “World Food Security and the challenges of climate change and bio-energy”
was the theme for the World Food Day for the year 2008.
The theme is quite relevant at this
hour when changes in agriculture production and cultivation pattern is being observed in different
parts of the world due to drastic changes in the climatic pattern. Increase in demand for fuel,
food, diversion of good crops to fuel, inflationary peak particularly observed in food items can have
a detrimental effect on the gap between demand and supply of food products and food security of
the nations as a whole. The worst affected, under such circumstances will undoubtedly be the
people residing in the developing and the underdeveloped nations of the world.
Poor people of these countries are largely dependant on agriculture which is most vulnerable to
climate change. Increase in the instances of crop failures and livestock deaths have already
resulted in huge economic losses undermining food security in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.
global warming and increase in the green house gas emission, deforestation for urbanization and
injudicious use of natural resources are the major causes for climate change and they will directly or indirectly hamper agriculture production and productivity. This will in turn result in food
insecurity and finally result in riots and unrest in different parts of the world. Thus, at present, the
world is not even on track to achieve the 1996 World Food Summit target of reducing the number
of hungry people from 800 million to 400 million by 2015. Moreover, the world prices have risen 45
percent in the last nine months.
Although India had long back achieved self-sufficiency in food, the Government of India has
launched the new National Food Security Mission 2007 with the basic objective of grappling with
the persistent yield storage in the country. The mission will increase the production of rice by 10
million tones, wheat by 8 million tones and pulses by 2 million tones in five years by the end of
11th Five Year Plan (2011-2012)
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The desired target does not look difficult. The primary reason of this optimism is that there
happens to be a substantial gap between the current average yields and the potential yields
which can be bridged with the help of available technologies. The basic objectives can be achieved
by bridging this current yield-potential yield gap or even by narrowing it appreciably. However, for
this purpose, the newly launched mission will have to successfully deal with the factors which
have kept the output static for the past many years. It is in recognizing and grappling with these
factors that the real challenge lies. Another significant task is boosting the productivity of pulses
where even the potential yields are not too high.
In remote areas, even in the agriculturally progressive ones, the production and productivity
of rice and wheat have shown the tendency to stagnate primarily because of the fatigue nature of
the soil. The intensive farming practiced in these areas without adequate use of organic manures
has led to the deterioration of soil health. Also lack of replenishment of depleted plant nutrients,
especially the vital micronutrients, has impaired the fertility of the agricultural land. Therefore, to
bring about an increase in the yields, high doses of some costly imputes will have to be brought
in. However, the farmers are frequently denied remunerative returns on their produces, hence
they usually find it difficult to afford those costly inputs.
The fund-starved farmers have not been replacing the old seeds with fresh ones of superior
varieties. Besides, the agriculture extension machinery responsible for known-how and technology transfer has remained idle in most States for a long time. Consequently even simple measures like timely seed planting, critical for a crop like wheat, have not been communicated to the
farmers effectively.
The new Mission, therefore, aims at addressing all these issues with a view to be able to
tackle yield stagnation and working in those areas which have so far remained laggards in agricultural production. Thus, it has scope for productivity improvement.
The Mission has taken up largely those districts in the selected 16 States where the crop
productivity is lower than the state or the national average. It also seems to have taken care to
some other areas of concern by including units plan aspects like integrated nutrient and pest
management, timely imputes supply and promotion of new technologies.
On the whole, the Mission plans to operate in 305 districts of 16 states with a total 11th Five
Year Plan outlay of Rs. 4882.5 crore. Of these, 133 districts in 12 States have been selected for
enhancing rice yields, 138 districts in nine States for wheat and 168 districts in 14 States for
pulses. The participating States include Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka,
Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and
Rajasthan.
What sets this mission apart from many of the other existing technology missions is that it
proposes to function through designated state agencies and dispenses with the usual treasury
route for the transfer of funds, opting, instead, for direct fund transfer. Besides it has evolved a
three-tier co-ordination structure for facilitating convergence of interventions from various departments and schemes concerning rural development, fertilizers, water resources and Panchayati
Raj bodies.
The Mission, in all regards, appears to be a noteworthy step in the direction of minimizing
the current yield-potential yield gap.
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PRACTICE SET - 8
1.
PRECIS
Reservation policy in India was adopted after the independence to develop our economy and
give the deserving standard of living to its people. But the policy forgot about its impact on the
economy in the form of discrimination in the society. The policy aims at providing adequate
educational facilities to the socially and economically downtrodden by uplifting them at par with
the upper strata. But the problem lies in various economic constraints exercised and a more
equitable democratic order should be created. During colonialism India was reduced to mere
producer of raw materials and it had to import all the manufactured goods. A lot many reasons
like division of labour lead to disputes between India and other colonies. The first and the second
industrial revolution in India failed to bring about the desired changes and throughout various
phases of technological development post industrialization, India remained under-developed and
the gap kept on widening.
Word count = 152
2. (a) Karan Mehta,
Flat no-34,
Ashok Nagar,
Pune.
20 th March 2012.
Mahesh Kumar,
Dange Chowk,
Pune.
Dear friend,
I hope this letter finds you in good shape. How is everything with you? How are uncle and
aunt? I am writing this letter to discuss the current initiative taken by our government to
provide banking facilities to the people in remote areas. Financial inclusion is a brilliant
campaign to deliver financial services at affordable costs to sections of disadvantaged and
low income segments of society.
The broad strategy for financial inclusion in India in recent years comprises the following elements:
(i) encouraging penetration into unbanked and backward areas and encouraging agents and
intermediaries such as NGOs, MFIs, CSOs and business correspondents ; (ii) focusing on a
decentralized strategy by using existing arrangements such as State Level Bankers’ Committee
(SLBC) and district consultative committee (DCC) and strengthening local institutions such as
cooperatives and RRBs; (iii) using technology for furthering financial inclusion; (iv) advising banks
to open a basic banking ‘no frills’ account; (vi) emphasis on financial literacy and credit counseling;
and (vii) creating synergies between the formal and informal segments.
The objective of financial inclusion is to extend the scope of activities of the organized
financial system to include within its ambit people with low incomes. Through graduated
credit, the attempt must be to lift the poor from one level to another so that they come out
of poverty. There is a need for coordinated action between the banks, the Government and
others to facilitate access to bank accounts amongst the financially excluded.
I am also planning to visit Pune in the near future. I will let you know the dates so that you
could manage to take out some time to meet me.
Your loving friend,
Karan Mehta.
(b)
Excise Inspector
1984 The Residents Welfare Society,
Kamal enclave,
New Delhi.
Jan. 5, 2002
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The Editor
The News Times
New Delhi.
SUB. : STRAY ANIMALS
Sir,
Through the columns of your esteemed daily, I would like to express the difficulties caused
by stray animals in our locality. Ours is a newly developed colony situated oh the outskirts
of the city.
Stray animals are a great threat to pedestrians and vehicle drivers even in the heart of the
city. In the city area the dairy owners let loose their domestic animals to graze on the
domestic waste and garbage. Many a time the life of citizens is endangered on account of
accidents caused by these animals. Stray animals are ubiquitous in every street and colony
of the city. The rabid dogs are a major source of threat to the children playing in the streets
and parks. Our colony faces the same problem in a different manner. The villagers let loose
their animals to wander about the streets and colonies of the city. Although there should not
be any shortage of fodder in the country side, yet the animals stray into residential colonies.
The small kitchen gardens & the parks are damaged. In the evening the cows move straight
to their owners for being milched.
In the city one may report matter to the municipal authorities but in this case the residents
are in a fix about whom they should approach with complaint about the menace of stray
animals. The roads are defiled by their dung. Some times the animals fight with each other
and rush into homes. When villagers are approached they are not concerned at all. On the
contrary they collectively threaten the residents.
We hope that the authorities concerned would look into the matter and take immediate
steps to solve the problems of the residents.
Thanking you,
Yours truly,
for Residents Welfare Society
Secretary
(c)
10/A,
Prem Nagar,
Bhopal.
March 23, 2002
The Editor
The Times of India,
New Delhi.
SUB.: THE PROBLEMS OF THE RESIDENTS OF A COLONY
Sir,
Prem Nagar is a residential colony for single unit houses. It was developed by Vichal Brothers,
the renowned builder in the country in late 90’s. It was an attractive alternative for those who
preferred spacious living and pollution free environment. But the dream of the residents has
turned sour. Prem Nagar roads are broad. Its drainage system is better than that of the
other newly developed colonies. It has large parks and a spacious community centre.
To a casual visitor it might be an ideal residential colony. Residents, however have a different
story to tell. Even after 12 years of habitation, residents complain about the lack of basic
amenities like power and water. Lack of proper approach roads and absence of faultless
sewerage system have made the colony uninhabitable. Scores of the roads are full of
depressions. The rain water is collected in them where mosquitoes breed. These depressions
are a potential danger to the scooterists and motorists. The erratic electricity supply makes
the conditions worse. No doubt, the roads are quite wide but the enroachments by the
residents themselves have disfigured the look of the colony. Since the residents in the posh
colony are well connected, Bhopal Development Authority is helpless in demolishing the
unauthorised constructions which have almost choked the roads.
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Another problem with Prem Nagar is that of the scarcity of water supply. During summer
season there is a supply of water hardly for two hours at dawn. After that not a drop of water
trickles from the taps. Besides, the parks are not well maintained. They have become the
haunts of anti social elements and pavement dwellers at night. In a sum, Prem Nagar
residents pay for comforts with bad roads, scarcity of water supply and sense of insecurity.
Bhopal Development Authority should take over the colony and maintain it as we are paying
house tax to them like other residents of the city.
Thanking you,
Yours truly, XYZ
(a)
ARMED FORCES SPECIAL POWERS ACT
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958 (AFSPA) is one of the most draconian
legislations used by the Indian rulers to enslave and oppress people under the garb of fighting
separatism. For the past sixty years, the North East states, and for almost two decades, Kashmir,
have been virtually under army rule. This rule by the army has had a drastic effect on the daily life
of the average citizen residing in the North East and Kashmir.
In addition to a de-facto state of abrogation of fundamental rights in the above mentioned
areas, the misery of citizens of these regions is further compounded by the large scale
encroachment by the army on their lands and resources. AFSPA violates the fundamental
constitutional rights of right to life, liberty, freedom of speech and expression, peaceful assembly,
free movement, practice of any profession, and protection against arbitrary arrest and freedom of
religion, as enshrined in Articles 21, 14, 19, 22 and 25 of the Constitution.
AFSPA has been used in these regions to inflict thousands of deaths, custodial deaths and
rape, torture, encirclement of the civilian population, sadistic combing operations, looting of private
citizen’s property etc. Thousands of youth have simply disappeared.
Draconian laws are antithetical to modern democracy since they overturn the fundamental
tenets of modern jurisprudence on which democracy rests - a person is presumed to be innocent
till proven guilty. Draconian laws thereby makes it difficult for persons booked under it to redress
their grievances and get relief, such as bail. It grants extraordinary power to the investigating
agencies to elicit confessions. Thus the Act empowers the investigating agencies to easily frame
a person whom they suspect to be guilty.
The provisions of the Act provide special powers to state Governors, whereby they can, on
their own discretion, and without informing the elected political representatives, by notification in
the official Gazette, declare the whole or part of the state or union territory to be a disturbed area.
Bypassing duly elected and representative political authority is tantamount to de facto imposition
of emergency.
More disturbingly, even while it provides the armed forces with such absolute powers, it also
provides them with immunity from any legal accountability. Even though the Act is in operation in
the states and union territories of the country, the elected bodies cannot initiate legal proceedings
let alone administrative action against armed forces without prior sanction of the Central Government
(License to Kill, INSAF, 2005).
Manipur: Irom Sharmilla’s struggle and her body as site of contestation
While there were other instances of ‘Merger Agreements’, being signed in situations of
stress and duress (Jammu and Kashmir) as well as of military intervention (the police action that
ended Nijam’s rule in Hyderabad in 1948), what makes the Manipur situation unique is the
stream-rolling of democratic institutions that the merger represented, the irony of a state (India)
which at that time aspired to be a democratic republic, but was not one yet. Effectively undermining
the foundations of an existing democratic state through what is basically a military manoeuvre
makes the case of Manipur quite exceptional. That all this was justified not by reference to the
‘will of the people’ of the territories concerned (as was the case with Hyderabad) or by a response
to internal aggression (as is said to be the case with Jammu and Kashmir), but by a ’strategic
necessity’ is all the more revealing. The reason cited for the decision to annex Manipur: Manipur
is a ‘border state’ and ‘backward’ therefore its takeover is a ’strategic’ necessity. These were the
expressions used by V.P. Menon. The fact that he uses the expression ‘takeover’ to mean
‘integration’ speaks for itself.
“Indian army rape us” read the banner which the women were holding when they protested
against the murder and death of Manorama devi in front of Army Headquarters in Imphal, Manipur
in year 2004. Thangiam Manorama, a Manipuri woman, was raped and murdered by jawans of
Rastriya rifles in July 2004. She became of symbol of atrocities faced by the people North East
for the past 60 years. If the abduction and cold-blooded murder of Manorama devi showed the
brutal face of Indian occupation, the indomitable courage of Irom Sharmila signifies the strength
of peaceful resistance of a beleaguered people.
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The 39 year old Manipuri is about to complete 11 years of a hunger strike in protest against
AFSPA that gives security forces powers to kill with impunity. The UPA promised as far back as
2004 to replace the act with a ‘more humane’ law but has shown little interest in taking up the
task in the face of opposition from the internal security establishment. Union Home Minister P
Chidambaram recently admitted there was no consensus within the Government on the issue.
Ms Sharmila’s fast began on November 3, 2000, a day after security personnel shot down 10
people at a bus stand just outside Imphal.
Within days, she was detained by the police, since then, she has been nasally force-fed a
liquid concoction of nutrients in a hospital, which serves as her prison. After every year in detention,
she is released for a day and rearrested for attempting to commit suicide, because she refuses
to call off her fast until the government repeals the legislation, which is in force in Manipur,
Assam, Nagaland and parts of Arunachal Pradesh besides, Jammu and Kashmir. Hers may be
the longest hunger strike in recorded history but it has generated little or no interest outside
Manipur. In recent days, the attention Ms Sharmilla has received in the wake of Anna Hazare’s
anti corruption hunger strike has served to highlight her personal life.
Conclusion
By legitimizing the use of military force in the internal affairs of the state beyond what is
already provided in the Criminal Procedure Code and the provisions of emergency in the
constitution, AFSPA seeks to supplant rather than supplement civil authority with military authority
in the administration of everyday life. To convert such an ordinance into a regular law that stays
in place for almost half a century is to entrench a military structure and ethos in the polity and
structure of the state. It sets into motion the process of reproduction and appropriation of the
military structure and ethos by other instruments of the State (the paramilitary and police) as well
as civil society itself. Ultimately, it leads to a complete subversion of the basic foundation of
society and polity. It blurs the necessary distinctions between the police and the military, between
the civilian and the combatant, and between ‘domestic’ and ‘alien’ space. This is what has
happened in Manipur.
As Bimol Akoijam says: the single Act AFSPA has given rise to a plethora of Acts of horrors,
like the thousands of murders, rapes, custodial deaths, disappearances, tortures, combing
operations and genocide. Recently discovered unmarked graves in Kashmir are a chilling testimony
to these hard realities of everyday life in Kashmir and the Northeast.
The lists of such acts of horror in the Northeast is long, but to name a few well known cases,
from 1980, onwards they include: the massacres of civilians at Heirangoi thong (Manipur) in
1984, at RIMS Manipur in 1995, at Malom (Manipur) in 2000; the horror of army torture and
violence on civilians during operation Blue bird (Manipur) in 1987 and operation Rhino (Assam) in
1991. Indiscriminate firing on civilians by armed forces personnel when their own vehicle burst in
the town of Kohina (Nagaland) in March 1995, the shelling and destruction of the town of Makokchung
(Nagaland) in 1994, the enforced disappearances of Loken and Lokendro (Manipur) in 1996, and
the rape of Miss N Sanjita (who subsequently committed suicide) (Manipur) in 2003.
(b)
CRISIS MANAGEMENT
With the coming of the Gujarat Earthquake on 26th January, a new buzzword is taking the
rounds - and that is, Crisis Management. The idea of this sort of management is that, we should
have some sort of an infrastructure to face the eventuality of any crisis that may befall the
country, at any point of time.
Yes, it is all too well to think and imagine such a set up, however, let us just ponder to think
as to, how a crisis management infrastructure can be maintained when; the normal infrastructures
of daily performances cannot be maintained.
When and where the daily routine works are mismanaged what good can be expected to
come out of a crisis management system.
In considering the establishment of a crisis management cell, the one thing we have to
remember is that, a crisis almost always comes without giving a due warning.
Experience shows us that, the annual crisis of floods in certain areas has not been able to
come under control then how can we control an unprecedented crisis?
The floods in Assam for example are an annual feature and in the last 50 and odd years we
have not been able to have any action against the destruction expected then, how can we ever
expect to be prepared for some such unexpected calamity.
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These floods are a sure occurrence, the Government knows it, the people know about it yet,
the calamity comes annually, and we just put up with it and forget it. With this attitude I personally
don’t think that we can ever hope to make any dent in establishing any sort of crisis management
cell, to work for crisis warding off or to stand up as soon as the crisis hits. This makes it so clear
that, when a crisis is sure to come we are not able to handle it or plan for it then how can we ever
plan an unforeseen crisis.
To my mind all crisis can be managed if the Government authorities and machinery remain
functioning smoothly in all weathers. A routinely non-functioning Government, people, and other
organizations can hardly ever expect to plan a crisis management.
If our routine management is efficient and meticulous, I think any crisis can be dealt with
without any special cell for crisis management. Over here, to lay stress on this point, I would like
to give an example of our extreme inefficiency. At the Prime Minister’s residence, during Indira
Gandhi’s regime there was always kept an ambulance for any emergency that might occur.
However, when Indira Gandhi was shot at her own home, this same ambulance could not
move and her dying body had to be dumped in an ambassador car and taken to the hospital.
When this is the way we maintain crisis items for the Prime Minister, what better will we do for
the poor public of India is beyond any one’s imagination.
Thus with this one example we can ascertain how our crisis management can be expected
to work. As experience tells us if a crisis management cell is to be taken up by a special task
force, it will only imply a new avenue of bureaucratic high-handedness, and a new source for
breeding corruption.
Let us gear up our daily routines and activities and we will always find ourselves sufficiently
alert to manage any crisis. A lethargic set up in the name of crisis management cell will be of no
use to manage any crisis of any magnitude. The ambulance story of Indira Gandhi is an eye
opener for us to understand what happens to our crisis occurrences.
(c)
RURAL ECONOMIC ZONE
‘Rural Economic Zone ’ denotes a cluster of rural panchayats with the potential of emerging
as a self-reliant community. The population of this cluster is limited to about 50,000- since this is
considered to be an economically viable size for sharing not only amenities for quality living but
also for providing infrastructure needed for industries to survive.
The resulting communities could be called ‘a bio-regional community ’ not only from the
point of view of the ‘resource-shed’ that supports them but also as ‘cycle- commute region’ (as
opposed to the ‘face to face’ community in a hamlet).
The economy of such regions has to be built on the local (agricultural) resources or local
ethnic resources. Presently these are primary sector resources -the “mining” of which is done
by intermediaries and “big sharks” partly because the secondary and tertiary sector (-industry
and services) resources are all concentrated in favour of urban sector.
A deep observation reveals that if we concentrate on those industries based on agri-produce
as raw materials (- cotton, soya, milk, silk, fish, mango, apple.... ) they are all in rural / hill /
costal sector and if at least one stage of value addition could be attempted at this level it will not
only make agriculture more viable and prevent farmer’s death but also create an environment for
lakhs of SHGs, to be engaged in the rural economy. This will be a model opposite to the present
Chinese style and will be a demonstration of production by masses. Current schemes of the
government under the PMEGP etc. are favourable to such SHG based and micro enterprise
based sectors.
But this revolution can take place only if suitable mechanism of technology delivery is
identified which indeed is in favour of these community- scale organizations. In fact a “communityscaling of technology and community -friendly delivery system” (in 3 tiers namely at the house,
in the village-cluster and in “zone” ) is developed. The MGIRI is engaged with such a task. If we
take Khadi-sector as an example, the solar charkha will be the ‘house-level technology’ the
scale-reduced pre-spinning stage machine will be an example of regional level infrastructure.
For the movement of REZ to succeed the first step has to be identification of such potential
clusters across the country on the basis of the “agrindus” concept (besides craft).
Technologies related to first level value addition have to documented, disseminated and
integrated into Government schemes. For example a Micro Industries cluster situated in the
middle of an REZ can help consolidate supporting system – be it energy, quality control, advanced
facilities like packaging or other linkages. Since in rural areas energy is a constraint it has to be
provided (vide MGIRI’s scheme MICWEB); and also waste disposal, market etc. Global models
like OTOP and NGO efforts like the ‘Koothambakkam experiment’ are already proving such
cases under special circumstances.
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PRACTICE SET - 9
1.
PRECIS
Privatization is the fast-catching idea in Indian economy to boost investment and facilitate
functioning of the organization but it should be applied suiting the need the need and type of the
industry. The term privatization is normally used in the context of existing public enterprises and
we shall now consider the scope for privatization in that context. Privatization is a complex
process and is generally understood in the context of public enterprises but private sector also
welcomes it provided the investment remains private as private sector companies and their scope
have considerably increased over the time. Privatization serves different purposes depending on
the organization it is applied to, which limits its scope.
Word count=112
2. (a)
Kim Wesley,
Boulevard du Temple,
75011, Paris,
FRANCE.
4 th November 2011.
Pranay Bharti,
Nizamuddin East,
Flat no 345,
New Delhi.
Dear friend,
How have you been? I have been receiving your letters for the past 2 months and I owe you
an apology on the pretext that I have not responded to any of your letters in the recent past.
I found that from your letters that you are keen to know about the Indo-Pak situation and
how far the talks between the two nations have been successful in the past. On this I myself
have been doing some research and I feel glad to share it with you.
Ties between India and Pakistan are in poor shape. India’s economy booms, yet hardly
anything is traded with next door. A mere handful of direct flights each week connect the
world’s second and sixth most populous countries; and even these planes are only half-full.
The long and disputed border still bristles with military men and hardware.
Optimists can tick off reasons to hope for progress. Since a terrorist blast a year ago in
Pune, India has suffered no big attack. India chose not to blame Pakistan last year when
unrest flared in Indian-run Kashmir. It said, too, in January that it would pull some of its
many soldiers from the territory. India has also dropped its condition that bilateral talks
could only proceed if Pakistan authorities put the alleged masterminds of the Mumbai attack
in court—which they are unlikely to do.
In turn, Pakistan’s civilian leaders acknowledge India’s growing economic and diplomatic
heft. They note how outsiders, notably America, are courting the emerging power. Pakistan’s
relative strength is bound to decline, so engaging now rather than waiting makes sense. It
may even help that the new White House envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman,
is a low-profile former diplomat. The United States is unlikely to repeat the clunking efforts
by his late, press-hungry predecessor, Richard Holbrooke, to tie resolution of the war in
Afghanistan to the conflict in Kashmir.
India has good reasons to seek peace. It is alarmed by the growing influence of radical
Islamists in Pakistan, and the weakening influence of liberals. Any prospect that its nucleararmed neighbour might lurch towards becoming a failed state would pose an enormous
threat to India. The Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, has a record of seeking peace.
He met his Pakistani counterpart, Yusuf Raza Gilani, at a summit in Egypt only a few
months after the Mumbai attack. Opponents called him soft for issuing a joint statement
which noted how both countries suffer from terrorism, and for airing Pakistan’s anxiety over
separatism in Balochistan, where India is accused of giving militants explosives, weapons
and cash.
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I hope this information provides you sufficient understanding of the present situation and I
would continue sharing my work with you in the near future too.
Your loving friend,
Pranay Bharti.
(b)
Shekhar Malhotra,
Vodafone South Limited,
Mathura Road,
New Delhi.
26 th August 2011.
Branch Manager,
Central Bank of India,
347, Main Road,
Kashmiri Gate,
New Delhi.
Sub: Late payment of EMI on house loan.
Sir,
This is to inform me that I have taken a loan from your esteemed bank last year on June 10,
2010 and have duly been submitting the EMI on it since then. Due to acute financial crisis
in our family as I am self employed and my business is going down I was unable to pay last
month’s EMI. I, therefore, would like to request you to plesae grant me some more time to
arrange for the same My earnest request to waive out the interest accrued thereof so that I
can get relief from the mental agony.
Kindly consider the matter of utmost importance and oblige.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
Shekhar Malhotra.
(c)
Arvind Singh
Village Balwal.
Tehasil Shripul,
District Churu
May 17, 2002
The Director Adult Education,
Delhi.
SUB. : ORGANISATION OF ADULT LITERACY PROGRAMME
Sir,
I am a retired Reader from Hindi Department, RajastharvUniversity. Having dented my life to
material pursuits and success to a great extent I am now desirous of contributing a bit7 to
the social service. I have decided to settle in my native village Balwal, Tehsil Shripul, District
Churu. Therefore, I have planned to organize adult literacy programme in the Tehsil that will
cater to the needs of nearby villages.
In view of this Ihope you will help me in organising the programme by sending me the
guidelines for conducting the programme. The SDM has already allowed to conduct classes
from’4 to 7p.m. in the Tehsil Block office. He has promised to provide all the infrastructure
needed for the purpose. I don’t need any financial help in this regard. In case there is
financial assistance granted to the participants in the programme, it is for you to look into
the matter. As for me, I need only lesson plans and other guidelines. I have contacted the
Pradhans of the area and they are very much excited about the programme. They have
assured me of motivating the adult villagers to participate in the programme.
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Assuring you of my earnest dedication to the literacy programme and thanking you,
3.
(a)
Yours truly,
Arvind Singh
ELECTION TODAY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH GOOD GOVERNANCE
OR
NEGLECTED BASICS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
In law, even the President of India, a Governor, the Prime Minister or a Chief Minister can
neither arrest any person nor officially direct a police officer to arrest any one. This can be done
only by a police officer based on his own subjective judgment. The scrupulous observance of
this one simple rule would restore the rule of law in our country substantially.
IT IS said that the British ruled India with the help of just two laws, the Revenue Recovery
Act and Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, whereas the present governments in India,
with hundreds of laws on the statute book, are unable to either recover their revenues or control
law and order! It is true that the British Government’s strength was its unfaltering commitment to
the collection of revenues and enforcement of the law. It is not, however, my case that the country
should now be run the way it was run by the British or that governments should do nothing but
collect revenues and maintain law and order. But does one build a house without any mason to
lay the foundation and by concentrating only on plans for interior decoration?
In post-Independence Indian public administration, there has always been a controversy, if not a
conflict, relating to the roles of specialists and generalists. The former feel that the latter are cornering
jobs for which they are not suitable and the latter feel that the former do not have breadth of perception
and are blinkered by their narrow specialist knowledge. The IAS, especially, has been in the eye of
this storm, so to say. I have heard my colleagues in functional departments say that the IAS was fit
only for collecting revenues and maintain law and order. The implication was that, apart from being
unglamorous and pedestrian, these jobs were only for the unintelligent or the unscrupulous!
In the post-Independence era, the IAS too, presented with opportunities in the economic
development sector and with the vanishing of land revenue as an important source of revenue for
the States, began to regard tax collection and law and order jobs as not being promising enough
from the job satisfaction or career points of view. With greater politicisation of the people and the
spread of the populist cult, these activities came to be regarded as not merely non-developmental
and feudal but almost as anti-people. No wonder that, while premier civil servants distanced
themselves more and more from taking them seriously, the politicians seized the opportunity to
undermine their importance and effectiveness.
Complacent view
An oversimplified, naïve and misunderstood version of development economics that public
finance has nothing in common with private finance and that for a sovereign, especially democratic,
government, expenditure and income could be independent of each other has contributed to a
dangerously complacent view of poor tax recovery. A government’s sovereignty, alas, does not
extend to the laws of arithmetic! A divine faith in the seductive comfort of the Laffer Curve and the
emerging philosophy of privatisation and liberalisation have made strict enforcement of any rule
or law appear not merely rigid and bureaucratic but almost retrograde and reactionary. (At the
same time the government is accused of not enforcing the law strictly against one’s competitors!)
Today, immunity from payment and prosecution and the impunity with which both can be
evaded — even defied — are the most coveted symbols of political importance, and the prime
goal of coming to power is to do this on a scale of ever-increasing magnitude and frequency.
Immunity from law and impunity of violation have become the modern political equivalents of the
ancient sceptre and the crown. Kaleidoscopic coalitions in which the constant goal is to stay in
power but the members keep changing almost randomly have made every politician with at least
one other member in his party a potential MLA/MP/Minister! This has made the tax collection
and law enforcing agencies diffident and unwilling to stick their necks out. Political scientists
who wax eloquent over how the emergence of the concept of coalition is a sign of the maturing of
Indian democracy have completely missed, or slurred over, its adverse impact on administration
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(which includes tax enforcement as well as law and order) and how a coalition is a convenient,
indirect and legal way of defection — defecting from principles without defecting from party !
Profitable business
Evasion, both of taxes and the law, has become a highly profitable business in which both
the evaders and the enforcers share the benefits. Once the net benefits to government become
unduly low, this gives the enforcee a chance to argue that there is a case for abolishing the law
itself. It could be argued that we have far too many, as well as complicated, laws, and that this
makes both compliance and enforcement difficult leading to corruption-based evasion (or is it the
other way, or both?) Laws could be few, clear and simple, but once they are decided upon, there
has to be strict and total enforcement. Otherwise, governance will cease to exist and only rhetoric
will remain. Unfortunately, what the government is doing is: If the tax potential is 100 crores and
there is a leakage of 40 per cent, then in order to get 100 crores, it increases the total tax
coverage to 160 crores. This is welcome to the enforcers whose share goes up proportionately!
As far as the rule of law is concerned, the prime responsibility is in the hands of the police
headed by IPS officers. As far as taxes are concerned, in the States the main taxes are excise
on liquor and commercial taxes which are usually under the charge of IAS officers, and at the
Centre, the taxes are excise, customs and income tax which are in the hands of the functional
services like the IRS. It is, therefore, the main and undeniable responsibility of these services to
ensure the strict and lawful enforcement of the respective laws under their charge. It is their duty
to be internally and laterally united and to be fanatically intolerant of black sheep in their midst.
It is idle and irresponsible to pretend that it is for the politicians or Parliament to take the initiative
to clean up things and prevent or avoid political interference, and that there is nothing the services
can do in the matter till this happens.
The failure of external law and order is but a reflection of the failure of internal law and order
in government. By this, I mean the legitimate control and discipline that a superior normally is
entitled to exercise over his subordinates as well as the protection and guidance that he is bound
to give them. Direct political interference at the cutting edge aided by spinelessness on the part
of, or abetted by, superiors has virtually abolished the concept of a boss (in the good and legitimate
sense) in government. Subordinates are directly influenced by the powers that be bypassing the
superior who is either kept in the dark or ignored or bullied into acquiescence if he does not
cooperate or at least acquiesce. The subordinates are, in turn, happy to be able to oblige the
political bosses as this can be encashed whenever necessary for personal benefit. Hierarchy,
though dysfunctional in some respects, serves, especially in government, the useful purpose of
providing a buffer against direct undue influences on the lower levels. In the past, in the uniformed
services subordinates used to be more disciplined than in the general civil services and in fact
sometimes the discipline used to appear to be too rigid. Now the situation seems to be the other
way round. The superiors in the uniformed services seem to be more helpless than the general
services and more vulnerable to being let down by their subordinates.
The role of the IPS
In today’s situation, the role of the IPS is what holds the key to the restoration of the rule of
law. The IAS can only give moral and administrative support to the IPS and other services and
also ensure efficiency and integrity while dealing with politicians and citizens directly (this is not
to absolve the IAS from all guilt or responsibility for the present state of affairs. They certainly
have a lot to answer and atone for in this regard). Unlike in earlier days when honest and unbending
officers were merely transferred out, today they are facing physical threats in which the police are
either directly involved (as in the case of arrests) or may be able to help promptly and effectively
(as in the case of complaints). The IAS cannot do much to help in such cases as they may
neither be involved in these matters nor do they have, like the police, the legal, legitimate power
to strike back. If only the IPS refuses to allow itself to be used as the cat’s-paw of politicians and
also acts as alert, active guardians of their honest service colleagues against physical political
vendetta, the whole atmosphere in administration will change dramatically from one of fear,
helplessness and cynicism to one of upright firmness. (For example, in law, even the President
of India, a Governor, the Prime Minister or a Chief Minister can neither arrest any person nor
officially direct a police officer to arrest any one. This can be done only by a police officer based
on his own subjective judgment. The scrupulous observance of this one simple rule would restore
the rule of law in our country substantially). Black sheep will still remain but can be marginalised
and contained if not eliminated instead of their being the prime movers in the game dictating to
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others as at present. Thus the IPS has a great, almost dramatic, transformational opportunity
today.
There is one more area in which initiative can be taken without dependence on the political
executive. This is at the level of some of the constitutionally protected authorities like the Chief
Justices, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Chief Vigilance Commissioner and the
Chief Election Commissioner who should form an alliance for the protection of the rule of law and
state revenues by constantly having a general interaction among themselves (and not on individual
cases) on how their functioning can synergise instead of being isolated and ineffective or only
partially effective. This can certainly be done at the level of broad policy and approach without
any of these agencies having to dilute their legitimate autonomy or discretion while dealing with
individual cases. The mere formation of such an alliance would deter law-breakers and infuse
morale in honest public servants.
Every so-called developmental or democratic activity unsupported by sound finance or the
rule of law will merely be a make-believe and a mockery if not a misdeed — like a flyover built at
an inflated cost at an unwanted place or an election in which the polling officer has to hand over
the booth to a mob and flee for his life. As long as finances and the rule of law are sound, safe and
stable, the country can afford experimentation on the social, political and economic fronts and
hope to bounce back even after any failure. But if the former are themselves operating in the
failure mode, the latter have no chance of success whatsoever. The world is yet to see any
bankrupt, lawless nation experience a development surge of any kind.
(b)
EDUCATION SYSTEM IN INDIA
Education is a co-current state level subjects and under the Indian Constitution education is
made a Fundamental Right and Directive Principles of State Policy further needed free education
and other facilities to children. There is no discrimination among the people on the basis of
religion, caste or creed/faith etc. However, the minorities are given right to run their own educational
institutions with financial aid from Government and they are free to introduce their religion, language
in their institution. Education is compulsory and free upto primary standard.
Indian education system has a wide structure and the educational institutions can introduce
the education or learning pattern as below VA years in pre-nursery schools, in the primary schools
upto V class or so. Education is further upgraded upto 10+2 system where the examinations are
conducted by the Board at 10 and 12. Thereafter, students are free to choose the courses of their
own at any stage, i.e. primary, secondary, senior secondary level.
Schools are of different levels. Local Boards run the schools upto Primary, V standard, both
in mother tongue and English medium. Thereafter the schools may upgrade themselves upto X
known as Secondary schools. They can also be upgraded upto 12, called Senior Secondary
schools. The education is a co-current (state level) subject and the Central Government cannot
interfere in their functioning. As such schools are pre- primary, pre-nursery, then primary, secondary
and senior secondary run both by the private bodies as well as by Government.
Indian schools are not as well organised as they are expected. Private/Public school charge
high fee and have control on their institution. They only need the registration by the Centre/State
Government or their Bodies and Management. While the Education Department has a loose
control over these Private/ Public Schools government has its own schools where the normal fee
is charged and the students belong with poor section of society. Overall the condition of government
schools is pathetic.
At state level School Education has its own organisational set up. Under this democratic
set up Education Deptt is supported by the Minister of Education who has a Secretary of Education
to supervise the Department with the help of Director Education who belongs to I.A.S. cadre of
service. The Department is further divided into districts Deputy, Joint Directors to look after the
working of schools.
Under the educational system Central Board Secondary Education (C.B.S.E) is set up to
maintain, the quality in Education and provide minimum qualification of the teaching staff and
other necessary requirement for the school and conduct the Exams 10 and 12 standard. It has a
control over both Public Private and Government Schools. After the exam; issues certificates of
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10th and 12th class/standard this student who passed the Examination. C B.S.E. has its office
in New Delhi.
Under the Education system to keep the hi standard of Education and to maintain to quality
Education an independent body is set up known N.C.E.R.T. that is National Council of Education
Research and Training with its Headquarters at N Delhi. This institution published textbooks for
t school on all subjects and has a panel of specialists its list. The books are to be taught at
schools in t country. It also conducts the competitive examination at all India level for the talent
search from primary lei upto graduation and provides stipend or sponsors to that highly talented
students.
Teachers are the backbone of the educational system in India. Government has set up a
permanent body for the selection of the teachers known as N.C.T. i.e. National Council of Teachers
Education. It conducts the training and selection of the teachers and provides certificate/degree
for the teachers which are an essential qualification for the teachers who seek the employment in
teaching schools known as B.Ed, or Shastri education.
MIEPA in set up by the Government to look after the administration and planning of education
in the country the body is known as National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration.
It looks ail the work of the educational /teaching/administration under the ministry of HRD an
autonomous body.
Kendriya Vidyalay Organisation (KVO) was set up under the Education Ministry, Government
of India, New Delhi. It established 10+2 system in schools all over the country for the Government
employees who use to effect posted or transferred in the country. It is good for the Central
Government employees and schools are run on the medium of English from primary to twelfth
standard.
State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) are set up in all the states to
look after the training and research work on the lines of NCERT which is at all India level. Its
refresher courses, even modifies the curriculum of the schools and textbooks arc written for the
secondary level standard in the state. It also arranges seminars, discusses and refresher courses
for the teaching staff.
There are a number of educational institutions at the District level. A Distt. Officer/ Inspector
of schools looks after the educational institutions in his/her district. He/She also coordinates the
different activities upto the Commissioner, State level in each district. Under this scheme, a
college (Inter) 10+2 on the Government expenses is to be spent in each District and other
schools are under his observation. Besides, a training centre for Primary teachers, or other
refresher courses also opened in the district. The recruitment institute for the teachers,
examination centers and the Boards offices are also on the line, such as Minorities schools.
Local educational institutions play an important role in the area of education. As our country
is poor and cannot afford the heavy expenses of Educational institutions, local education body’s
arc allowed opening their schools and Government recognizes these institutions at par with the
Government institutions. Minority institutions have their own schools with their own expenses or
Government grants in-aid. But they fill the gap and help the Government to reduce its burden.
(c)
DEMOCRACY IS THE WORST FORM OF GOVERNMENT
In the words of Oscar Wilde, “Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by
the people for the people”. True, democracy is a form of government wherein the supreme power
is in the hands of the people. The word ‘democracy’ hails from the Greek word meaning ‘popular
government’. Let us look at the definition of democracy and its advantages and disadvantages.
Definition : Democracy, by definition, is a political system in which the supreme power lies in
a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them. It can also be defined as the political
orientation of those who favor government by the people or by their elected representatives.
Demerits of Democracy
Following arguments have been given against Democracy:
(i) More emphasis on quantity than on quality:
It is not based upon the quality but on quantity. Majority party holds the reigns of government.
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Inefficient and corrupt persons get themselves elected. They have neither intelligence, nor vision,
nor strength of character to steer through the ship of the state to its destinations.
(ii) Rule of the incompetent:
Democracies are run by incompetent persons. It is government by amateurs. In it, every
citizen is allowed to take part, whereas everybody is not fit for it. Locke calls it the act of running
administration by the ignorant. He says that history records the fact that a few are intelligent.
Universal adult franchise grants right to vote to everybody.
Thus, “a few manipulators who can collect votes with the greatest success get democratic
power.” The result is that democracy run by the ignorant and incompetent becomes totally unfit
for intellectual progress and search for scientific truths.
(iii) Based on unnatural equality:
The concept of equality is enshrined in democracy. It is against the law of nature. Nature
has not endowed every individual with intelligence and wisdom. Men’s talents differ. Some are
courageous, other are cowards. Some healthy, others not so healthy. Some are intelligent, others
are not. Critics are of opinion that “it is against the law of nature to grant equal status to everybody.”
(iv) Voters do not take interest in election:
Voters do not cast their vote in a spirit of duty as democracy requires them to do. Contestants
of election persuade them. Even then, it is generally found that turn out comes to 50 to 60
percent only. This forefeits the very tall claim of holding elections.
(v) Lowers the moral standard:
The only aim of the candidates becomes to win election. They often employ under-hand
practices, foul means to get elected. Character assassination is openly practised, unethical
ways are generally adopted. Muscle power and money power work hand-in-hand to ensure success
to him. Thus, morality is the first casualty in election. It is a big loss for ‘when character is lost,
everything is lost’ becomes explicit in due course.
(vi) Democracy is a government of the rich:
Modern democracy is, in fact, capitalistic. It is rule of the capitalists. Electioneering is
carried out with money. The rich candidates purchase votes. Might of economic power rules over
the whole process. The net result is that we get plutocracy under the garb of democracy-democracy
in name and form, plutocracy in reality.
It cares a fig for the common man. The rich hold the media and use it for their own benefit.
Big business houses influence dailies and use these dailies for creating public opinion to their
favour. Influence of moneyed people over politics is probably clear in England, America and India.
Consequently, communists don’t accept it democracy at all. According to them, Socialist
democracy is democracy in the right sense of the term because the welfare of the labour class
and farming community can be safeguarded properly only under socialist democracy.
(vii) Misuse of public funds and time:
Democracy is a huge waste of time and resources. It takes much time in the formulation of
laws. A lot of money is spent during the elections. Ministers are proving white elephants. They
are a heavy burden on public exchequer as they waste public money on their tours and recreations.
(viii) No stable government:
When no party gets absolute majority, coalition governments are formed. The coalition of
political parties with a view of sharing power is only a marriage of convenience.
Whenever there occurs clash of interests, the coalition is lost and governments crumble
down. Thus, stable governments under democracy generally don’t exist. France lost the World
War II because there was no stable government in the country at that time. We, in India, have
been experiencing the same thing for the present.
(ix) Dictatorship of majority:
Democracy is criticised because it establishes dictatorship of majority. The majority is
required to safeguard the interests of minority but in actual practice it does not. Majority after
gaining success at the polls forms its ministry and conducts the affairs of the state by its own
sweet will. It ignores the minority altogether; the minority is oppressed.
(x) Bad influence of political parties :
Political parties are the basis of democracy. A political party aims at capturing power. Its
members are to safeguard the interests of the party. Sometimes, they overlook the overall interest
of the state for the sake of their party.
They try to win election by hook or by crook. Practising the immoral methods, empty
ideals, inciting hatred, spreading caste feelings, communalism has become a common practice.
It lowers the national character.
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PRACTICE SET - 10
1.
PRECIS
Since British era, Indian political system is characterized by Parliamentary form of Government. The Britishers have trained India in Parliamentarian system so when India gained Independence it adopted the same and named it Westminister model. But now its future seems grim
which is even questioned by eminent national leaders, since fifties. Its major failures are decline
in quality of representatives and debates, criminalization of politics, deterioration of law and
order, corruption and parallel economy.
Inspite of these drawbacks this system is highly developed with glorious history and sound
basics. Our Constitution has created certain Institutions and endowed them with limited powers,
its persons who run them who misuse it. Concluding, our Constitution does not need any fundamental transformation; if Public Authorities doesn’t have will to work under such system nothing
can substitute it. If power holders exercise self restraint, the written constitution is unnecessary
and if they don’t then no written constitution can check them.
Word count=155
2. (a) 36, Lawrence Road,
Lucknow
May 16, 2003
My dear mother,
I telephoned you from Lucknow at 5 a.m. to inform you that I was safe and sound. Now in
the letter I want to tell you how. I had to go through trauma of fire and death that I witnessed
with my own eyes.
At 4.00 in the morning the train suddenly came to a halt around 10 kms. ahead of delhi. We
heard heart-rending cries of the passengers. I, alongwith other passengers, rushed down
the train. It was a horrible sight to see the four compartments burning and people struggling
to come out. The passages of the four compartments were blocked by the luggage of the
unauthorised passengers travelling in the compartment without reservations. It was because of the agility of the military personnel travelling by that train that saved the rest of the
train from catching fire. Army-men pulled the chain and separated the compartments on fire
from the rest of the train.
Meanwhile the villagers, the passengers and the railway staff from Delhi began rescue
operations with lightning speed. By that time huge loss of life and material had been caused.
I went into the coach on fire and helped a number of people escape. It was in the fit of horror
that I flung the children to the crowd standing on the track. Most of the deaths were caused
because the exit of the compartments were blocked. It was difficult to believe that children,
women and the old were charred to death. Passengers were searching for their relatives by
examining each and every limb among the charred remains. The fire was so intense that the
bodies were burnt beyond recognition. Even relations were finding it difficult to identify the
bodies.
Many theories are afloat about the cause of the fire. But it is too early to say anything. One
fact is still hurting me. Many lives could have been saved. But Indian trains are without
extinguishers and emergency exits. Heat expanded the doors which got stuck. Secondly,
railway authorities do not impose the rules strictly about carrying stoves, cylinders, fuel etc.
I feel that this tragedy is just caused by man’s indifference to the safety of others.
The role of army and the villagers was commendable which kept the number of casualties to
the minimum. It is estimated that 40 passengers died in the devastating fire. The dead
bodies wrapped in white sheets were horrible sight to look at.
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There are many heart-rending stories of the individual passengers that I will not be able to
forget throughout my life. The cause of fire has not been ascertained so far. But how does it
matter to those who have suffered irreparable loss in the tragedy?
With love,
Yours affectionately, Gautam
(b) Mrs. Mahima Sinha,
20/9, 5 th cross, 7th block,
Jayanagar, Bangalore.
10-Sep-2010
Subject: Product introduction
Ma’am,
We are proud and happy to present our latest range of Anti aging creams to you. The range
is inspired by the spirit of flowers and has found to be getting good reviews from everywhere.
The creams contain vitamin C and wheat germ oil extracts which exhibit anti aging properties. Along with this, there are extracts of flowers which nourish the skin, reduce blemishes
and give a smooth texture. The range contains four kinds of creams and you can choose as
per your skin type.
As an introductory offer, we have enclosed a coupon with this letter which when given in the
supermarket, will allow you to pick a cream from this range free of cost. Your feedback is
important to us. So, please fill the feedback form after you have used the product and send
it across to us.
Yours Sincerely,
Mr. Sharath Sharma,
Head – Sales
Beauty One Products
(c)
Rakesh Raman,
89/12
Gomti Nagar,
Lucknow.
3 rd May, 2012.
The Editor,
The Times of India,
Butler Palace Road,
Lucknow
Sub: Shortage of Electricity
Sir,
I would like to focus the issue to the higher authorities and would like to draw their attention
towards certain problem that we are facing a lot of difficulties due to shortage of electricity
in Lucknow as well as whole country.
Electricity is the basic need of people and also important in every walk of life especially in
domestic use because, at homes, it is necessary for number of electrical appliances like
grinding machine, washing machine, refrigerator, computer , fan and light etc.
Electricity is the essential factor for industries, factories, banks, markets etc. Industries are
the wheel of any country, if industries will not run, then country can’t progress and shall face
economic crisis.
All the people are facing load shedding and especially students. Students are badly affected by load shedding during the days of examination when they need electricity for
prepration of exams.
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In summer season, when we already face intense heat and further addition of shortfall of
electricity, life becomes unbearable & we can’t do anyting in this severe situation.
We pay all the taxes and also huge amount of monthly bills properly in time. In spite of this,
Government never fullfils our basic requirements of electricity and also, they icrease our
monthly electricity bills after every two or three months. Is this the real justice of us?
I would request to our government to pay attention at this serious issue of increasing percentage of loadshedding as soon as possible.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
XYZ.
3.
(a)
PRIVATISATION OF INDIAN RAILWAYS
Railways are an essential feature and integral component of transport systems within vast
and populous countries such as India. The affordable passenger fare and its omnipresence make
Indian Railways a popular choice amongst travellers across the country. One of the enduring
legacies of the British Era, the railways in India now cover around 64,099 km and a passenger
base of 30 million, and is the fourth largest network in the world just after the United
States, Russia and China. Not just in terms of passenger service, but as transporter of freight
services, which equates to around 2.8 million tons a day, the rail networks of India have made
stupendous progress. Employing approximately 1.6 million people, Indian Railways has also
emerged as one of the largest commercial employers in the world.
Although credited as the life line of the country, the railways of India have time and time
again been criticised on various grounds. Financial debts have been the major worries and in
2001 Indian Railways almost headed towards bankruptcy. Thanks to Lalu Prasad Yadav, there
was a dramatic turn over, and the railway company was transformed into a profit-making
organisation. However, the need for greater revenues to reduce government spending and the
need to limit national debts still exist, leading to more cries for the privatisation of Indian
railways – the most commonly adopted way to rescue any ailing public sector enterprise.
The state of affairs for railways can be described as being in an appalling condition. The
railways in India has been plagued with persistent delays, trails of accidents, bad hygienic
maintenance and as result, corporatisation seems to be the mantra of the day. But the question
is whether the privatisation of railways will prove to be the right solution or not? The next big
question is what will this mean to the users?
Well, it will most certainly mean an increase in passenger fares. Indian Railways are not
just a means of transport for passengers as the enterprise fulfils social responsibilities as well.
Concessions on tickets are provided to senior citizens, students, disabled users and to the
economically backward segments of population. Again trains like Garib Rath give superior facilities at subsidized rates. In fact, the fares of Indian railways have not been increased in the last
couple of rail budgets. The ordinary second-class fare is as low as 14.9 INR / per km and
suburban travel is even lower at around 12.9 INR / per km.
The profit made from freight transport, has largely subsidised passenger fares. All of this is
very likely to change with the attempt at privatisation and the odds are privatisation of Indian
Railways will indeed mean higher prices. Railways currently provide connections across the
whole country linking even the not-so-profitable areas and represent the true backbone of the
Indian economy; people living in less affluent areas are most likely going to be affected by fare
hikes when private players come on board with the aim to increase company profits.
In the rail budget of 2010-11, the then railway minister Mamata Banerjee resisted the call for
privatisation, just like her predecessors had, and called for a “Public Private Partnership (PPP) in
Railways”. However, one cannot disagree with the fact that privatisation of Indian Railways
will definitely help with technological innovations that are required to address safety concerns of
the passengers, as well improve accountability and efficiency. Modernisation, technological upgrades will also result in better operational facilities enabling the railways in India to better
cope with the needs of society, especially in emergency situations.
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However, considering the fact that Indian Railways caters for all segments of society and
that privatisation will most certainly equal to increases in prices, a balance between profitmaking and government recommendations would be an ideal way to lead the railways moving
forward.
(b)
JOINT FAMILY vs NUCLEAR FAMILY SYSTEM
A joint family comprises members of the family that are related one another and share a common
ancestry, religion, and property. All the working members of the family pool together what they
earn and ha them over to the head who is usually the eldest.
The family head takes care of the entire family. Any member who brings in extra money has
equal status. Hence, the joint family puts into practice the concept: ‘To each according to his
needs, from each accord to his abilities.” The idea is socialistic in character.
The joint family system is a feature of agricultural societies. These are in existence in countries
as China and India whose economy is based on agricultural produce. Collective living, collective
fanning and collective share in family wealth are the traditional features of the joint.
The joint family preserves the tradition, customs and mariners handed down to it. Traditional
culture and skill in art and craft are safeguarded from generation to generation. There is division
of labour where the members attend to different work and contribute to the welfare of the family as
a unit.
A joint family provides an ideal setting for culture of virtues. The foundation of joint family is based
on cooperation and unselfishness and tolerance. Children are taught from young age the virtues
of patience, respect for elders, discipline, good habits. Each thing has to be shared. The congenial atmosphere becomes a nursery for the cultivation of virtues.
For persons living in nuclear families there is a feeling of insecurity. This feeling of insecurity is
not there in a joint family where the unemployed, the sick, the aged and the handicapped are well
taken care of. There is a sense of social security, and old age and illness are not looked upon
with fear.
In a nuclear family, a working mother tries her best to strike a balance between service and
household chores. At the same time she tries to be a good mother and a good wife. However, the
joint system may at times prove a hindrance to individual enterprise and initiative.
The joint family has a number of advantages. However, it does not always work. When many
people of different mentality and disposition live under one common roof, negative human traits
are bound to crop up. Members then have a tendency to stress on their rights and ignore their
duties. When this kind of attitude prevails, the atmosphere is not conducive to peace and harmony.
With many changes in the political, social and economic spheres, the Hindu joint family appears to be outmoded for present times. Joint property goes hand in hand with the joint family.
When the joint family property is divided, the joint family gets dismembered.
Today technical skill is acquired in professional fields by training in technical institutions. It
need not be passed on from generation to generation.
Modern means of communication and the trend of urbanising rural areas have brought new
ideas and a new society has evolved which is in close touch with cities that offer all the comforts
and joys of modern life. Thus, the joint family system is lessening.
Also, the feeling of social security present in a joint family often makes the members idle and
lazy. Hard work is rarely rewarded and laziness seldom punished. Thus members lose initiative.
There is also lack of dynamism.
There could be resistance to new customs and progressive ideas of young people by the elder
generation. Old customs and traditions are enforced without finding out the views of the young.
Lack of privacy may adversely affect freedom of couples or individualism in a joint.
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There are advantages and disadvantages. Much depends on the nature of individual members. In
rural areas, nature of people is always) simple and cooperative. In the final, much depends on the
degree of adaptability of the members comprising the joint whether they are refined personalities
or otherwise whether they would cherish the blessings of a joint or whether they would prefer to
stay separate.
(c)
DOWRY SYSTEM IN INDIA
Our country India, the land of Gods, is respected in the world for her mythological culture.
The mythological thinking, the deep belief in almighty and religious nature has made the Indians
well cultured. But, sadly there are some of the stained systems in our country which are the
black spots in our image.
Dowry system is one of those much discussed systems. Although it is one of the most
hated systems surprisingly it is growing day by day. Now- a-days this problem has created a lot
of hue and cry in our country. This increasing system is a growing injustice to our society and
morals. It should be immediately stopped.
Marriage is one of the most sacred and holy ceremonies in our society. But the horror of the
dowry system has made this ceremony one of the feared institutions. In ancient Indian society
there was no question of the dowry in marriages. It was considered to be a sin.
The bride-groom was voluntarily presented with some useful gifts which were not demanded
at all. In some cases bride’s father was offered money to allow her to marry a young man.
Because the bride was considered to be a virtuous arid the suitable one. But the whole situation
has altered.
Nobody bothers to approach a girl’s parents for her marriage. The parents of the girl desperately move in search of a suitable groom for her now. They persuade the groom’s parents and
show them the temptation of money and dowry. Through these unfair means they get the consent
of the groom’s parents for his marriage.
Thus begins the clandestine atmosphere of dowry. The groom’s father continues to place a
series of demands before the bride’s father. He strongly asserts that these demands must be
fulfilled before marriage. Otherwise he can never consent to his son’s marriage. The demands
include refrigerator, colour television, motor cycle or car, ornaments of pure gold of sizeable
quantity, money and plots of land in the capital area. In some case bride grooms are demanding
money for their education and for constructing buildings. Bride grooms are purchased, to some
extent, like marketable commodity.
Dowry system is an insult to our society. It reduces the position of both man and woman.
Many educated men are demanding dowry. Thus dowry system is also an insult to our education
and culture. Poor people cannot afford dowry. Many handsome and brilliant girls remain unmarried because they are poor.
Even after marriage, some brides are tortured and forced to bring more and more dowry from
their parents’ house. If they fail, they are tortured and finally killed. The problem of dowry has
reached the climax. There is no attempt for matching beauty with beauty, or brain for brain.
Strict laws have been prescribed to check dowry system. But nobody looks at it. Rich
people are giving heavy dowry to their daughters. They do not feel unhappy at such crime. Dowry
system continues in spite of all steps to check it. However, it can be completely checked if the
awareness against this system is created among the girls. If they vow not to marry greedy men,
if they become economically self-dependent, then this ugly system will automatically disappear.
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SOME TOPICS PREDICTED FOR THIS YEAR’S EXAM
ESSAYS
Examinations Are A Necessary Evils
Examinations are an age – old practice of evaluating students’ performance. Dronacharya had
also held examinations for his students. God had tested the devotion of Ibrahim. But the modern
system of examination is the gift of the British rule.
Form of examination today:
Prior notice regarding the date and programme of examination; many students curse it; the
examination sects the students’ heart pounding; however, students concentrate on studies with
longer hours; date approaches; question – papers distributed by the invigilators; certain number
of questions to be done in allotted hours; answer – books given to examiners; evaluation and
allotment of marks; results published…
Why examination taken:
To test student’s mental ability and knowledge.
Why examinations are necessary:
To make students work – fear of failure and humiliation; to know the comparative merit of students
and place them accordingly in their careers…
Why examinations are evil:
Examinations encourage cramming rather than true and applicable knowledge; a game of chance
and skill; standard of making not uniform; personal moods and approach of the examiners may
affect objectivity; one year’s efforts tested in just two – three hours (?)…. Etc.
Suggestions for reform:
A series of practical tests, weekly tests, objective – plus –subjective tests; counseling for
examinations to help students to take the examinations in a sporting spirit; progressive idea is to
allow text-books in examination halls….
Conclusion:
The analysis shows that despite the evil nature of examinations we are bound to go along with
them. This is because we have not hitherto evolved any effective alternatives to them. However,
the tests and evaluation systems should be so designed that they make a real test of a student’s
mental ability, originality and faculty of critical thinking.
Women’s Reservation Bill
Women’s Reservation Bill or The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, is a pending bill in India
which proposes to reserve thirty three per cent of all seats in the Lok Sabha, the Lower House of
Parliament of India, and state legislative assemblies. The Bill says the seats to be reserved in
rotation will be determined by draw of lots in such a way that a seat shall be reserved only once
in three consecutive general elections. This Bill has been passed by the Rajya Sabha, the Upper
House of the Parliament in March 2010. It needs to be passed by the Lok Sabha and at least fifty
per cent of all state legislative assemblies, before it is put before the President of India for her
approval.
Women already enjoy 33 per cent reservation in gram panchayats and municipal elections. In
addition, women in India get reservation or preferential treatments in education and jobs. For
instance, several law schools in India have a 30 per cent reservation for females. The political
opinion behind providing such reservations to women is to create a level playing field for all of its
citizens. The argument is that social norms strongly favor men and therefore, reservation for
women would create equal opportunity for men and women. Among the other benefits that the Bill
is expected to provide is an increased participation of women in politics and society. Due to
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female foeticide and issues related to women’s health, sex ratio in India is alarming at 1.06
males per female. It is expected the Bill will change the society to give equal status to women.
Women are supposedly more resistant to corruption, so this bill might prove to be a factor
restraining the growth of corruption.
On the other hand, the passing of the Women’ Reservation Bill may cause bias in the democratic
process. It may hurt the self-respect of women who have come up on their own ability, and may
result in lesser respect for women in the society. It may also bring down the quality of leaders. It
may create a new kind of hatred between genders as males may feel deprived of certain privileges,
which in turn may create more social issues. Another issue will be for the political parties, which
will be forced to find women whether or not the women identify with the overall party agenda and
the rest of the issues concerning all citizens, as opposed to just women’s issues. There are no
provisions to prevent discrimination against men because of finding women who are inclined
towards women’s issues alone, or, in other words, biased against men. Further, powerful male
members of parties will be tempted to find female relatives to ‘reserve’ the seat for themselves.
So, it is feared that reservation would only help women of the elitist groups to gain seats, therefore
causing further discrimination and under-representation to the poor and backward classes. Some
leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Sharad Yadav have vehemently opposed
the Bill in its current form. They are demanding a reservation for backward class’s women with
the 33 per cent, i.e. they are asking for a reservation within a reservation.
Irrespective of whether the Bill comes into effect or not, the fact is that women are as ever
underrepresented in the election fray and in party structures. Very little has changed at one level
since Independence. The candidates fielded by the various political parties are still dominantly
male: women account for only five to ten per cent of all candidates across parties and regions.
This is the same broad pattern that has been observed in virtually all the general elections in the
country. This is the case despite the hullabaloo made over the Constitution (84th Amendment)
Bill relating to women’s reservation even last year. The very parties that are most explicitly in
favor of pushing for women’s reservation put up the same proportion of women as always in
elections, and certainly not more than other parties that oppose the Bill. What may be more
significant in terms of political power than the proportion of women fighting the Lok Sabha polls is
the importance of women in inner party structures. Here women are by and large even less
represented, in all parties. Only in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)
there has been a conscious move to bring many more women into decision-making levels and
posts within the party.
In most parties, the women members are by and large thin on the ground if not invisible in the
actual decision-making bodies and rarely influence the more significant party policies. Most
often, indeed, they are relegated to the ‘women’s wing’ of the party, and made to concentrate on
what are seen as specifically ‘women’s issues’ such as dowry and rape cases, and occasionally
on more general concerns like price rise which are seen to affect housewives. Despite all this,
women are playing an important part in Indian politics today. This is most evident in the proliferation
of women leaders and in the fact that, even though some of them may head parties that are
relatively small in the national context, they simply cannot be ignored. What is even more significant
is that in many cases these women leaders have not emerged through the familiar South Asian
paradigm of dynastic advantage. Sonia Gandhi, obviously, is a clear example of a dynastic
leader, with an almost iconic relevance. Jayalalitha and Mayawati may have originally based their
rise in politics on their proximity to particular male leaders, but they are now significant leaders
in their own right, who can influence not only the decisions of their own parties but even the
course of national politics. Mamata Banerjee, despite or indeed because of her controversial
nature, is the leader of a party who can claim to have got where she is on her own, without male
assistance in any of the more obvious ways.
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Of course, one myth that is easily exploded by the role played by such women leaders is that
political leadership by women is dramatically different from that by men. Indeed, the truth is that
most of our women political leaders are no better or worse than men. What all this suggests,
therefore, is that the political empowerment of women not only still has a long way to go, but it
also may not have all that much to do with the periodic carnivals of Indian electoral democracy.
This is not to say that the electoral representation of women is unimportant, but rather that it
needs to be both deeper and wider than its current manifestation in the form of the prominence of
a few conspicuous women leaders. It is too early to say whether the Women’s Reservation Bill
will serve the purpose.
COALITION GOVERNMENT
India is a land of the largest democracy. There is a multi party system of governance. As per the
constitutional provision the party with the highest majority through a general election is entitled
to form the government and its leader will be the Prime Minister of India. After getting Independence
in 1947 the Congress Party which played the leading role in the struggle for freedom emerged as
the ruling party in India. This party continued to rule till 1977 continuously. In due course India
was over crowded with so many political parties that the people were largely confused. In 1977
the Janata Party-a unified power of opposition parties replaced the long ruling party i.e. the
Congress but only for a few years.
For the first time in 1989 the politics of coalition took a new form in Indian political system.
Coalition means an alliance of different political parties which come together at a single platform
to run a government with a common agenda. The first coalition government headed by V.P.Singh
was a great failure. Again the congress came to rule. The 1989-91 period of coalition saw nothing
like happy consensuses emerge. Instead we had the Mandal Commission and the Rath Yatra.
Far from becoming united India tore itself apart. Even so liberal commentators continued to sing
the praises of coalition politics. When the NDA coalition took office, we were assured that the
BJP’s latent communalism had now been checked and those giants of secularism as George
Fernandes would restrain the Hindu fanatics. But nothing of this sort could be seen.
Such experiences prove that coalitions tend to work against India’s interest. The big advantage
claimed for coalition politics- that it leads to moderation and consensus-is entirely illusory. And
all the obivous disadvantages-the squabbling for births, the slow pace of decision making, the
absence of a clear ideology etc.- far out way any possible advantages. Much worse, these days
is the nature of the parties that any coalition will have to contain. The sad truth is that nearly any
party in India today is built not around ideology but around the personality of a single leader or a
family dynasty. In some cases the leader’s charisma is reinforced by caste calculation.
Every party is based on charisma and family. Few, if any, of these parties actually believe in any
thing. A nearly every case there is no inner party democracy. No new leaders will ever emerge
from their ranks. Success and succession are decided only by birth. When we talk of coalition
politics of the centre we are not really talking about a coalition of such parties as the Congress,
the BJP or the CPM. To reach the majority figure, every coalition must include M.P.’s from several
of these parties, many of whom will have to be made minister. Thus it does not matter how much
one party hates another, how much one support the other’s ideologies. The only concern for them
is that how many MPs the party has. None of this can be good for India. As our polity fractures
into regional dynasty and caste-based parties, all Central Governments have to bow to the demands
of these regional dictators, their sons, their cronies and their criminal friends.
When these parties get to send ministers to Delhi, all they care about state concern and regional
issues. None of them have any vision of India or any commitment to the well being of the entire
country. Hence coalition is not a healthy diet for the India masses.
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MICROFINANCE IN INDIA AND ROLE OF IT
Microfinance has proved to be extremely effective as a means of improving the economic condition
and empowering the rural poor through participatory credit lending schemes. In an award winning
student essay, Rahul Bhattacharya explains that microfinance helps the poor in various ways,
not only by improving their economic condition, but also by means of the attendant benefits that
a higher income level has on factors like health, education, economic and social status of women,
and the general standard of living. The basic institutions involved are self-help groups (SHGs) and
micro finance institutions (MFIs). SIDBI and NABARD are prominent Indian apex organisations
through which the government is funneling its investments in micro finance. NABARD and SIDBI
follow different models for making credit available to MFIs. Commercial banks, regional rural
banks and cooperatives have also ventured into this field because of the high rates of repayment
(above 85%) in micro credit activities. With the growing effectiveness and popularity of micro
credit, MFIs have spread their networks far and wide in an effort to service more people. This
results in the present Management Information Systems (MIS) coming under pressure. MIS
used at present in MFIs are either manual or relatively primitive software. Presently, there is no
standardised software developed specifically for microfinance activities in India. Through field
visits and telephone calls, Rahul identified the needs and expectations of MFIs. The study revealed
that what MFIs really need is an inexpensive, user friendly, customisable and rugged software
system, which can record social parameters for further analysis at the macro level. The aspect of
security is extremely important. Other vital requirements are that the system should be upgradable,
adaptable to portable systems like smart cards and hand-held devices, and networked for transfer
of data over the Internet or telephone to a central server. Once the pressing IT needs of the
microfinance sector are met, it can extend its reach and range of activities and improve its
functioning, thus playing a major role in poverty alleviation.
The Reasons For Rupee Depreciation Economics
The on-going rupee boredom is basically due to the Western problems in addition to problems in
household economic system. Due to the high popular problems in Western countries, large
banks, traders and banking institutions started selling European and buying money, thus money
valued against all major foreign exchange including rupee. Domestic economic system contributes
further fuel to this problems due to a standstill economic changes and highly increasing current
and financial failures.
1. Persistent inflation: Inflation in India has remained around 9-10% for almost two years now.
Qualitatively speaking, inflation still remains high with core inflation itself around 8% levels. It is
important to recall that the episode of 2007-08 when despite high inflation and high interest rates,
capital inflows were abundant. This was because markets believed this inflation is temporary.
Even this time, investors felt the same as capital inflows resumed quickly as India recovered from
the global crisis. However, as inflation remained persistent and became a more structural issue
investors reversed their expectations on Indian economy.
2. Persistent fiscal deficits: The fiscal deficits continue to remain high. The government projected
a fiscal deficit target of 4.6% for 2011-12 but is likely to be much higher on account of higher
subsidies. The markets questioned the fiscal deficit numbers just after the budget and projected
the numbers could be much higher. This indeed has become the case. As highlighted above,
persistent fiscal deficits play a role in shaping expectations over the currency rate as well.
3. Lack of reforms: There have been very few meaningful reforms in the last few years in Indian
economy. The government wanted to reverse this perception and announced FDI in retail but had
to hold back amidst huge furore from both opposition and allies. This has further made investors
negative over the Indian economy. As FII inflows are going to be difficult given the uncertain global
conditions, the focus has to be on FDI.
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Positives of rupee depreciation
1. Higher profits to Exporters: When a currency declines, the exporters make more money
because they get more of the local money for every unit of Forex though the quality of business
continues to be the same. The depreciating rupee will be positive for the Indian IT sector which
generates more than 85 per cent of their income from the offshore marketplaces and this kind of
admiration in Forex will improve their real realisation of revenue in dollar terms.
2. Benefits to Indian Expatriates from US and Arab countries: Expatriates living outside
India in US and Arab countries also gain by rupee depreciation. Since rupee depreciated from 43
to 55 against dollars, remittance of $100 now makes Rs.1200 more for an Indian residing in US.
NEGATIVES OF RUPEE DEPRECIATION
1. Inflation and Fiscal deficit to rise further: India is being affected by approaching two number
inflationary pressures. A devaluation rupee will add petrol to this. It results in great blowing up, as
Indian imports around 70 % of its raw oil need and the Govt. will have to pay more for it in rupee
conditions. Due to the management on oil costs, the Govt. may not quickly complete the improved
costs to the customers. Further, this higher import bill will lead to rise in fiscal deficit for the
government and will push the inflation.
2. Reduction in profit margin for Importers: Indian import industry will also have to pay more
in rupee terms for obtaining their raw components, despite fall in international investment prices,
only because of a minimizing rupee against dollar. Organizations with international debts on their
guides are poorly affected. With the rupee minimizing against the dollar, these firms will need
more rupees to pay back their loans in money. This will increase their debts problem and lower
their earnings. Obviously, traders would do better to stay away from companies with high international
debts.
Negative impact on FII flows to Indian market
Rupee depreciation is a huge risk for FIIs who are planning to invest in India. If an FII invest
$10000, it can buy stock worth Rs 550000 @ current market price. Consider a scenario where
after 1 year, the stock of FII made no loss, no profit and rupee depreciated to 60 against dollar.
On stock sale the FII would get Rs 550000, but while converting to dollars, it ends up in loss.
Devaluation of Indian Rupee in 1966
Despite government attempts to obtain a positive trade balance, India suffered a severe balance
of payments deficits since the 1950s. Inflation had caused Indian prices to become much higher
than world prices at the pre-devaluation exchange rate. When the exchange rate is fixed and a
country experiences high inflation relative to other countries, that country’s goods become more
expensive and foreign goods become cheaper. Therefore, inflation tends to increase imports and
decrease exports. Since 1950, India ran continued trade deficits that increased in magnitude in
the 1960s. Another additional factor which played a role in the 1966 devaluation was India’s war
with Pakistan in late 1965. The US and other countries friendly towards Pakistan, withdrew
foreign aid to India, which further necessitated devaluation. Because of all these reasons,
Government of India devalued Rupee by 36.5% against Dollar.
Devaluation of Indian Rupee in 1991
In 1991, India still had a fixed exchange rate system, where the rupee was pegged to the value of
a basket of currencies of major trading partners. At the end of 1990, the Government of India
found itself in serious economic trouble. The government was close to default and its foreign
exchange reserves had dried up to the point that India could barely finance three weeks’ worth of
imports. In July of 1991 the Indian government devalued the rupee by between 18 and 19 per cent.
The government also changed its trade policy from its highly restrictive form to a system of freely
tradable EXIM scrips which allowed exporters to import 30% of the value of their exports.
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Devaluation of Indian Rupee in 2011-12
The rupee slumped to a record closing low of 55.47 on 24 June 2012 against the dollar as the US
currency strengthened after rating company Fitch downgraded Japan’s sovereign credit rating,
citing rising public debt.
RBI has been selling dollars in the market to arrest the depreciating rupee. Between September
and March, RBI had sold more than $20 billion in the spot market and close to $3.5 billion in the
forwards market, according to RBI data.
SOME MORE ESSAY TOPICS TO PREPARE
1.
Women security at Workplace
2.
The impact of interest rate changes on the economy
3.
Right to education
4.
Right to Food
5.
Right to education
6.
Fast food is tasty but not healthy
7.
Direct Benefit Transfer
8.
Bank license will boost economic development in the country
9.
Black Money
10.
Measures to curb Inflation
11.
Implications of Genetic Modifications of Plants for the Environment
12.
History and culture cannot be divorced
13.
Business and Ethics
14.
The pen is mightier than Sword
15.
The place of Indian Universities in Global Education
16.
Climate Change and the responsibilities of developed countries.
17.
Climate Change is the result of human misdeeds
18.
The major causes of crime in Today’s would are not poverty and Ignorance.
19.
Are Our Explorations into space a waste of national resources?
20.
Growth of Banking Sector in India
21.
Role of Big Business Houses towards green initiatives
22.
Non-stop downfall of the Indian Rupee and the measures to control it
23.
Banks and NPAs
24.
Banks and Marketing
25.
Banks and Inflation
26.
Banks and Marketing
28.
Banks and their latest Trends
29.
PSU Banks and their Challenges
30.
Reducing NPAs is the main concern for banks
31.
Rupee Depreciation as against US Dollar
32.
Recession
33.
Demand of separate States
34.
Indian Agriculture and its challenges
35.
IT-revolution
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Letters
A letter to Your Younger brother giving him career prospect in the Banking Sector.
Payal Sharma,
Miranda House,
New Delhi.
4 th Feb 2013
Dear Ravi,
Congratulations to you on the grand success in Graduation! Now, it is high time that you poured
your heart fully into the preparation for some competitive examination. Now-a-days, the banking
sector is offering better and vast scope. A flood of vacancies in the sector can secure you fully.
Moreover, you have had interest in the sector since your first visit to a bank along with me, where
you expressed your willingness to join a bank. Keeping it in view, you opted Accounts as your
honours paper, which is greatly relating to banks which are commercial organizations. The paper
suits the banking sector more as it has taught youMoney and Banking as one of the sections of
the paper. As far as other subjects viz. Maths, Reasoning, English, General Awareness, Socioeconomic terms and Computer Awareness are concerned, better join some reputed Coaching
Centre in the locality. Never delay in doing it. The six-months’ preparation wholeheartedly can
bring you results. Never forget joining some studious group for solving practice sets.
My best wishes and Mammy and Papa’s blessings are always with you.
With love,
Payal.
A letter to Your your friend inviting him to the Marriage Ceremony for your sister.
Deepika Mishra,
Gomti Nagar,
Lucknow.
2 nd December 2013.
My Dearest Rohit,
You will be glad to know that Ranjana (my sister) whom we lovingly call Ranju is going to be tied
with the nuptial knot on June 3, 2012. The marriage will take place in the town itself. You are
cordially invited to attend the marriage festivities. This is just advance information; the detailed
programme will be conveyed through the marriage card which will be sent shortly.
All arrangements would be made to make your stay comfortable. It would be our pleasure to have
you all Uncle, Aunt and Rucha with us.
My regards to everyone in the family
Sincerely yours,
Deepika.
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A letter to the Branch Manager to State Bank of India, Dhanbad Brach requesting him to
cancel the cheque giving due reasons for this.
Deepak Verma,
Wazir Hasan Road,
Lucknow.
25the October 2013.
The Branch Manager
State Bank of India
Dhanbad Branch
Sub: About cancellation of a Cheque
Sir,
A bearer cheque fo Rs. 20,000/- with MICR .......... to be drawn from the A/C ........... and to be
paid to Mr........... dated ........../12 is lost.
I therefore, request you to cancel it without delay so that it may not be encashed by a wrong
person.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
Deepak Verma
Name:...........
A/C No........... –
Letter Writing Topics to Prepare:
Letter to your sibling advising him/her to prepare for a competitive exam
Writing a job offer acceptance letter for the post of Assistant Manager
Complaint to CEO regarding the extra work in office
Letter to sibling for telling benefits for future of money saving
Letter to bank manager requesting to extend the joining period as you have received the offer
letter for the bank job.
Write a letter to the bank manager for closing of your savings account.
Write a letter to invite a friend to attend a seminar on net banking.
Write a letter to you bank for a loan to have higher studies in USA.
Write a letter to your Siblings mentioning how to prepare for Competitive Exams.
Write a letter to the company for accepting the job offer of an assistant manager in the company
Write a letter on behalf of your department to the CEO of your company for working in late hours
and not appreciated by management members.
Write a letter to your friend condoling him on his grandmother’s death. You are Saroj living at
Sankhari Tola Street, Kolkata- 7,000014.
Write a litter to your friend inviting your Uncle to your Grandmother’s birthday.
Suppose you have received a litter from your father complaining about the idleness and extravagant
habits of your younger brother. Write a letter to the younger brother, expressing your disapproval
of his conduct and urging him to mend his ways.
Write a letter to your landlord, asking him to carry out certain urgent repairs to your house, and
to have the whole building whitewashed
Paragraph Writing Topics to Prepare:
Write a paragraph in not more than 130 word:
Rural development in India.
Banking marketing is highly competitive & enjoying autonomous state
Technological development affecting Banking Industry
Elections 2014
Cricket/ IPL/ World T20
How can Awards be motivating?
RBI policy for future developments in India
Advantages and drawbacks of Beauty Pageants in India
Recent Mergers and Acquisitions in India likely to affect the economy
Low Cost Airlines
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