LEADER IS MADE AND NOT BORN

Leadership is a skill that anyone, in the right environment and under the right circumstances,
can learn and perfect.  people can become leaders through the process of teaching,
learning and observation

Leadership is an art rather than a science. It is a set of innate traits, refined and perfected over
time with education, training and experience.

The ability to effectively lead, motivate and direct a group of people – whether it is in
business, sport or politics - requires a very complex set of skills, mostly acquired through
experiences, self development as well as access to subsequent training. Leadership learning is
lifetime activity. 

To be a leader in a structured environment, one needs some formal training. Most people can
learn to manage well, start a business, lead a project team since good management is based on
rules - rules that can be learned and mastered.

To expect a person to be born a fully rounded, complete Leader with the ability to influence
and direct their Team just doesn't make sense based on what we know about Group
Dynamics.

To be successful, all leaders – whatever their leadership style, type and so on - must choose
the right action at the right time and “keep a steady eye on the ball”. They must be
courageous, self-aware – and ensure the consistent support of their team of followers.  This is
a skill which needs to be practised.

In the end, one can draw the conclusion that innate characteristics will influence the kind of
leader a person is likely to be; be they a strategic, administrative, or relational leader.

Good leaders seek out development opportunities that will help them learn new skills.

However, it is the development of the person that will, most likely, establish their
effectiveness as a leader.

how someone leads may be due to nature, whilst the effectiveness of that leadership may be
down to experience.
2019 NOBEL PRIZE FOR ECONOMICS

The 2019 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics Sciences was awarded to Abhijit Banerjee,
Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer “for their experimental approach to alleviating global
poverty.” Their experimental work has changed the culture of economics, especially
development economics. It helped change deep assumptions about how individuals make
decisions and about what economic development is. It changed the way many development
economists work, where they work, and the kinds of people they work with.

Despite recent dramatic improvements, one of humanity’s most urgent issues is the reduction
of global poverty, in all its forms. More than 700 million people still subsist on extremely low
incomes. Every year, around five million children under the age of five still die of diseases
that could often have been prevented or cured with inexpensive treatments. Half of the
world’s children still leave school without basic literacy and numeracy skills.

This year’s Laureates have introduced a new approach to obtaining reliable answers about the
best ways to fight global poverty. In brief, it involves dividing this issue into smaller, more
manageable, questions – for example, the most effective interventions for improving
educational outcomes or child health. They have shown that these smaller, more precise,
questions are often best answered via carefully designed experiments among the people who
are most affected.

In the mid-1990s, Michael Kremer and his colleagues demonstrated how powerful this
approach can be, using field experiments to test a range of interventions that could improve
school results in western Kenya.

Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, often with Michael Kremer, soon performed similar
studies of other issues and in other countries. Their experimental research methods now
entirely dominate development economics.

The Laureates’ research findings – and those of the researchers following in their footsteps –
have dramatically improved our ability to fight poverty in practice. As a direct result of one
of their studies, more than five million Indian children have benefitted from effective
programmes of remedial tutoring in schools. Another example is the heavy subsidies for
preventive healthcare that have been introduced in many countries.
 These are just two examples of how this new research has already helped to alleviate global
poverty. It also has great potential to further improve the lives of the worst-off people around
the world.

Abhijit Banerjee, born 1961 in Mumbai, India. Ph.D. 1988 from Harvard University,
Cambridge, USA. Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA.
Esther Duflo, born 1972 in Paris, France. Ph.D. 1999 from Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, USA. Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and
Development Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA.
Michael Kremer, born 1964 in New York, USA. Ph.D. 1992 from Harvard University,
Cambridge, USA. Gates Professor of Developing Societies at Harvard University,
Cambridge, USA.
INTERNET USE IN WORKPLACE AFFECTS PRODUCTIVIY
There is no doubt that browsing at work place goes far enough and it affects the productivity
adversely.
There are many activities employees do that waste time at work. Excessive meetings, co-
worker interactions, office politics, and fixing mistakes are a few. one of the biggest culprits
is surfing the Internet.
 There are many ways companies can combat the effect of wasted employee time
within their organizations. For example short breaks throughout the day can help them
achieve higher levels of productivity.
 As it relates to inappropriate web site browsing, companies can implement a web
filtering tool on company computers to block or track websites not related to work activities,
and if you suspect excessive wasted time, the IT group can install an activity-monitoring
software to follow all computer activity on a particular PC.
 Technology savvy people know how to access their favourite websites through smart
phones or proxy websites. It needs to be tracked. 
It will be good idea if the companies create, publish, and enforce policies on personal Internet
use. It will help the company to achieve higher levels of productivity. Establishing and
enforcing policies should improve productivity and can also increase the security of company
information, the security of company technical assets (computers). This will potentially
reduce the liability associated with issues related to employee job performance.
it is considered that every hour wasted has a direct negative impact on the bottom line

the primary reason for slacking at work was that they don’t feel challenged enough in their
job. Other reasons include,

 They work too many hours,

 The company doesn't give sufficient incentive to work harder,
 They are unsatisfied with their career, and
 They're just bored.

There is a fine line between healthy use and problematic use of internet surfing, which is
getting blurred these days. Internet addiction of often comorbid with mental disorders such as
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, excessive daytime sleepiness,  problematic alcohol
use, injury and depression. Although Internet addiction is currently not included in the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, it is regarded as disorder of concern
and cognitive dysfunctions (impaired working memory) which is associated with internet
addiction related to substance and behavioral addiction. The behavioral addictions among net
surfing includes varied themes such as shopping, exercise, online video gaming , socializing
through social media and unacceptable online behavior.

DO WE LACK QUALITY CONSCIOUSNESS

When it concerns quality, Indians as a community and a society are way behind the global
standards of excellence in nearly all spheres from education to health, industry, services,
sports or any other sphere. Consider the high rejection rate of Indian goods for export for
failure to meet quality standards. Taking shortcuts and adulteration are a way of life in India.
As long as the mindset does not change, low quality standards will remain
In a country ridden by poverty and unequal development, where slum dwellers live in the
same city as millionaires, cost considerations become more important than quality. This
explains the success of Chinese goods in India. India has a larger proportion of Chinese
imported goods well known for their cheap prices and poor quality. The growing popularity
of these goods point to a mindset which values cost over quality.

A chief indicator of a nation’s success is the quality of its retail products. In India, food is
adulterated, oil is mixed and milk is contaminated. Lack of quality consciousness is a way of
life in India. This is why even foreign companies selling in India don’t offer goods
conforming to international standards of excellence. Try purchasing foreign wine in India for
example. You will find the blends and taste are far inferior to a bottle purchased in the French
Rivera or even the United States.

Even fruits and vegetables are grown using chemicals and are hazardous to health in India.
Lack of standards of quality regulation take a toll on the health of Indian consumers too.

Various street food chains, weekly markets or vendors on the roadside doing brisk businesses
points to the fact that Indians as a nation do not value quality. This tendency is apparent in
not just food or retail, but health and infrastructure as well.

Global comparisons show Indian athletes seldom make it to the top, barring few sports like
cricket and badminton. In India, awareness about quality performance is missing. Leaders are
also not aware about the needs of the people. Rather than selecting quality leaders, vote bank
politics prevails. Even in the entertainment sector, movies are banal and copies of their more
successful foreign counterparts.

Even when it comes to skilled manpower offering quality services, there is an acute shortage
further accentuating that quality consciousness is something India still needs to cultivate.

The rise of awareness programmes such as Jaago Grahak Jaago and the recent ASCI bar on
misleading ads points to a changing trend among consumers. Indians are no longer willing to
compromise on quality and have become more aware of the tricks of traders.

Quality standards such as ISI mark, AGMARK, BIS or even the move by FSSAI to ban
Maggi and Nestle products on account of contaminants points to the changing view regarding
quality. GoI has taken on various marks of standardization or hallmarks to ensure quality of
products in daily use such as ghee, agricultural produce or even precious commodities like
gold and silver.
Many subsidies are being provided to sectors such as agriculture and the wider industry to
improve productivity and yield and further enhance the quality of products. For example,
regulatory pharma bodies are emphasising the need for Indian medical companies to produce
quality drugs that are US FDA compliant.

The local handyman or kirana store is no longer good enough for quality conscious Indians.
Numerous BPOs and call centres are being set up by domestic and international companies to
provide 24/7 support and quality services. National enterprises in retail such as Reliance
Fresh and Big Bazaar are improvising on quality of products and services to a massive extent.

Since 1992, in the post liberalisation era, various economic and political reforms and
constitutional amendments have been introduced to enhance the quality of governance and
civil administration for public or national good. Introduction of BPL schemes, support for
farmers and marginalised or poorer sections of society and steps to improve the condition of
government schools, colleges and hospitals have been taken.

EVM VS PAPER BALLOTS

Elections in India by using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) started more than 30 years
after getting independence. Till then only paper ballots were used. Finding that there were
many malpractices like Vote rigging, forged voting, booth capturing with muscle power, too
much time consumed in getting the paper ballots packed and to avoid the wastage of tons of
paper during election process, Election Commission of India thought of alternate and better
way of using voting rights by citizens.   

Elections have always been a matter of controversy in India. Be it Electronic Voting

Machines (EVMs) or paper ballots, both have had their fair share of doubts and
shortcomings. During the reign of paper ballots, a party’s win in the elections was attributed
to booth capturing, in today’s time, it is blamed on EVM tampering.

some Indian parties are also putting forward requests to shift back to paper ballot voting in
lieu of possibility of EVM tampering.
 Merits & Demerits of Paper Ballot
 
Merits
1. No Chance of Hacking
The best thing about paper ballot is that it cannot be hacked. No matter the complexity of the
activity it is used for, it cannot be pre-processed to give a certain outcome. There is no
algorithm or electronic wiring that can be tampered with by an individual or a group of
experts for that matter to give a favourable result.
 
2. Paper Ballot Still Used Internationally
In October 2006, the Netherlands banned the use of EVMs. In the year 2009, the Republic of
Ireland banned its use which is followed by the Italy in the same year. In March 2009, the
Supreme Court of Germany ruled that voting through EVM was unconstitutional. The Court
believed that transparency in elections is the constitutional right of the people, but
"efficiency" is not constitutionally protected value.
 
Amidst these countries adopting paper ballots apart from developed nations like USA and
England already using it, Indian political parties are putting forward the notion why it cannot
be done in India. But, what’s good for their country might not necessarily be good for our
country. With different systems of democracy in these countries it is only natural for us to
have different election methods as well.
 
Demerits
1. Paper Ballot: Wastage of Paper
Reverting back to paper from electronic means is the same as turning back to primitive raw
meat even after the discovery of fire. When even the most polluting industries are trying to
become greener and reduce their carbon footprints, using paper on such a huge scale despite
more eco-friendly options being available is a direct neglect of the environment.
2. Time Consuming Manual Ballot Counting
The votes cast are counted manually and is a tiresome and error prone task. There were
approximately 80 crore registered voters in India during the 2014 General Elections and this
figure is expected to increase in the 2019 elections. Counting of 80 crore votes manually is
quite difficult and it takes many more man days to count the votes and arrive at the result.
This results in miscounting of votes and adds to the already huge time taken to count. In
 Panchayat Elections in Odisha, conducted using ballot papers, there was a scene of
miscounting wherein candidates won according to the second counting. However, there is no
way of knowing whether the first count was correct or the second. One can never be sure.
3. Booth Capturing: Show of Muscle Power
Use of muscle power has been a tool of the political parties to get election outcomes in their
favour. During the 2017 elections in Odisha, a video of booth capture went viral in the media.
Apart from this, booth capture instances by CPM party in West Bengal are not hidden from
anyone. In an interview with The Economic Times on 1 February 2019, the Chief Election
Commissioner, Sunil Arora said regarding shifting back to paper ballots, “Political parties
have a right to make their feedback known and their apprehensions because they're the
biggest stakeholders after the voters. But we're not going to go back to ballot-paper days.
We're not going to the days of ballot papers being snatched, muscle powers being used for
that (and) inordinate delays in counting.”
4. Methods of Vote Manipulation in Ballot Paper
Aside from booth capturing, other methods of vote manipulation have come into play in the
past elections. This includes the difference in inks during vote casting. A video from the
Rajya Sabha Elections in Haryana showed how the vote casting times were different for BJP
MLAs and for Congress MLAs and that later the votes cast by Congress MLAs were not
taken into consideration due to change in the pen used for casting votes. Sometimes, even
some papers where votes are cast can be changed voluntarily or under forced circumstances
thus, making the voting scenario quite unsafe for both voters and members of the election
commission.
 
EVM: Merits & Demerits
 
Merits
1. Increased Efficiency
With the shift from manual to technological resources, the election system has inadvertently
become more efficient. Be it in terms of faster result announcement, elimination of
miscounting of votes or the simplicity of the vote casting method, the system has become
faster and more trustworthy than the paper ballots. Where in paper ballots instances of
miscounting led to questions regarding the winning of candidates, EVM puts that dilemma to
a rest.
2. Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT)
 The VVPAT was introduced in EVMs by Supreme Court order in 2013. This is essentially a
printout of the vote that a voter has cast. This system was developed to make sure that voters
were satisfied that their votes were being cast to the candidates chosen by them and not to
any other party or candidate. The VVPAT is a separate unit attached to the main EVM unit
and provides a paper printout of the vote cast by the voter.
3. Continuous Advancement
Where the paper ballot system is fixed in time, with almost no scope of improvement in the
future, the EVM technology can be further improved to remove the glitches seen in the
various machines and perfect it to be a fool proof system in the future. The Election
Commission of India has introduced a new model of the EVM known as the M3 Model to be
used in the 2019 General elections and it has claimed that this new model will eliminate the
instances of faulty machines that were seen in the past.
4. Hacking Challenge: ECI Says Not Possible
The Election Commission threw an open hacking challenge in June 2017 for whoever
claimed that the EVMs could be tampered with. This challenge came amidst various claims
by cyber experts that they could be hacked and pre-programmed. Among the most prominent
cases was the cyber expert Syed Shuja who claimed via a Skype Interview from London that
he was among the developers of the machine and could hack EVM. However, his claims
were proven invalid when he could not hack the machine.
Demerits:
1. Malfunction
More often than not, EVM malfunctioning during the election process has been reported in
the past as a result of some inherent defects in a particular machine. Although the machine is
replaced on receipt of the malfunction report, voting process remains hampered for the time
being and sometime a repoll has to be done.
However, any machine in the world can malfunction despite all the checks. Besides, the
second machine arrives within no time and the votes stored in both the EVMs are taken into
account. 
2. Tempering of EVM
EVM tampering is intentional and is not backed by any evidence so far of being possible.
Tampering is when an individual or a group of individuals hack the machine so as to register
all the votes on the particular EVM to a certain favoured party.
3. EVM Hacking in Future
Let’s consider the possibility that EVM can be hacked, if not right now, maybe in the future
as we have seen with all electronic gadgets and machines, be it smartphone, TV, computer;
anything can be hacked. The EVM used in India consists of a control unit, a ballot unit and a
VVPAT. Each EVM unit is separate and is not connected to any other device. So, even if
tampering was possible, each EVM would have to be tampered with separately which would
require extensive preparation on part of the hacker and a whole network of cyber experts
along with help from the Election Commission itself. This is quite a far-fetched theory to be
possible.
EVM or Paper Ballot - Which is Better?
Even though quite a few controversies surround EVMs, it all revolves around whether the
EVMs can be hacked or tampered with, which has not been proven so far. These
controversies by far are nothing compared to the unfair practices that were witnessed when
the paper ballots were being used to cast votes during elections. Unless there is proof of
tampering with EVMs, they are definitely the better option, but if they are in fact hackable, it
might lead to catastrophe during elections which will be pre-determined.
 
Thus, research and development should not be stopped to make the EVMs tamper proof and
make the elections safe and fair for everybody. But reverting to paper ballots is definitely a
retrograde step that must be avoided on accounts of the more unfair practices itself.
 
CHANDRAYAN
Chandrayaan-1 was India's first lunar probe. It was launched by the Indian Space Research
Organisation in October 2008, and operated until August 2009. The mission included a lunar
orbiter and an impactor. It was launched  from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, by
the PSLV C-11 on 22 October 2008. The spacecraft was orbiting around the Moon at a height
of 100 km from the lunar surface for chemical, mineralogical and photo-geologic mapping of
the Moon. The spacecraft carries 11 scientific instruments built in India, USA, UK, Germany,
Sweden and Bulgaria.

After the successful completion of all the major mission objectives, the orbit was raised to
200 km in May 2009.

handrayaan-2 is the second lunar exploration mission developed by the Indian Space

Research Organisation (ISRO),[17][18] after Chandrayaan-1.[19][20] It currently consists of
a lunar orbiter, and also included the Vikram lander, and the Pragyan lunar rover, all of which
were developed in India.[21] The main scientific objective is to map and study the variations
in lunar surface composition, as well as the location and abundance of lunar water.[22][23]

The primary objectives of the Chandrayaan-2 lander were to demonstrate the ability to soft-
land on the lunar surface and operate a robotic rover on the surface. Scientific goals include
orbital studies of lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, the lunar exosphere,
and signatures of hydroxyl and water ice.

The spacecraft was launched on its mission to the Moon from the second launch pad at
the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 22 July 2019 at 2.43 PM IST (09:13 UTC) by a GSLV
Mark III.[9][10][24] The craft reached the Moon's orbit on 20 August 2019 and began orbital
positioning manoeuvres for the landing of the Vikram lander.[25] Vikram and the rover were
scheduled to land on the near side of the Moon, in the south polar region[26] at a latitude of
about 70° south on 6 September 2019 and conduct scientific experiments for one lunar day,
which approximates two Earth weeks. A successful soft landing would have made India
fourth country after USSR, US and PRC to do so.

However, the lander deviated from its intended trajectory starting at 2.1 kilometres (1.3 mi)
altitude,[27] and had lost communication when touchdown confirmation was expected.[

STAGFLATION

Stagflation is the extreme economic situation, a peculiar combination of stagnant growth and
rising inflation leading to high unemployment. Generally, rising inflation is a sign of a fast-
growing economy as people have more money to spend higher amounts on the same quality
of goods. Similarly, when the economic growth stalls, inflation is supposed to go down. And
as a result of this stalled economic growth unemployment tends to go up.

The situation is dangerous mainly because in normal low growth situation the government or
the central bank can provide economic stimulus via higher public spending and cut interest
rates. But the catch is that when inflation is already running high, fiscal and monetary
stimulus can make it worse as that puts more money in the hands of the consumer.

ndia may not have yet entered stagflationary phase as of now. The US economic growth
between 1973-75 saw five quarters of negative growth and tripling of inflation to be regarded
as stagflationary. We may not be in a stagflationary scenario but slowing growth which is a
far cry from what India's potential is will pose a risk to government's $5 trillion goal. Come
February 1, all eyes will be on the Union Budget as an opportunity to turn the tide for the
economy.

Inflation plus stagnation equals stagflation. This devastating economic condition can affect
all industries. Stagflation can send the economy into a tailspin from combined situations of:

·        Slowed growth or no growth at all.

·        High unemployment.

·        High prices or inflation.

Stagflation is caused by conflicting contractionary and expansionary fiscal policies. These

can be accompanied by unforeseen sudden sharp increases in prices of essential commodities.
Examples of such conditions are:

·        An oil price shock

·        Government printing too much money within a short period of time

·        Stringent regulations on businesses combined with high taxes

Stagflation occurs when the government or central banks expand the money supply at the
same time they constrain supply. The most common culprit is when the government prints
currency. It can also occur when a central bank's monetary policies create credit. Both
increase the money supply and create inflation. 

At the same time, other policies slow growth. That happens if the government increases
taxes. It can also occur when the central bank raises interest rates. Both prevent companies
from producing more. When conflicting expansionary and contractionary policies occur, it
can slow growth while creating inflation. That's stagflation.

BETI BACHAO BETI PADAO

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) was launched by the Prime Minister on 22nd January, 2015
at Panipat, Haryana. BBBP addresses the declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and related issues
of women empowerment over a life-cycle continuum. It is a tri-ministerial effort of Ministries
of Women and Child Development, Health & Family Welfare and Human Resource
Development.
The key elements of the scheme include Enforcement of PC & PNDT Act, nation-wide
awareness and advocacy campaign and multi-sectoral action in select 100 districts (low on
CSR) in the first phase. There is a strong emphasis on mindset change through training,
sensitization, awareness raising and community mobilization on ground.
The NDA Government is trying to bring about a transformational shift in the way our society
looks at the girl child. PM Modi in his Mann Ki Baat lauded the Sarpanch from Bibipur in
Haryana who started a ‘Selfie With Daughter’ initiative. PM also urged people to share their
selfies with daughters and it soon became a world-wide hit. People from across India and the
world shared their selfies with daughters and this became a proud occasion for all those who
have daughters.
Since the launch of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao , the multi-sectoral District Action Plans have
been operationalized in almost all states. Capacity-buiding programmes and Trainings have
been imparted to Trainers to further strengthen capacities of district level officials and
frontline workers. Nine set of such trainings have been organized covering all States/UTs the
Ministry of Women & Child Development from April-October, 2015.

The Census (2011) data showed a significant declining trend in the Child Sex Ratio1(CSR)
between 0-6 years with an all time low of 918. The issue of decline in the CSR is a major
indicator of women disempowerment as it reflects both, pre-birth discrimination manifested
through gender biased sex selection, and post birth discrimination against girls (in form of
their health, nutrition, educational needs). The principal factor behind the Child Sex Ratio
being so adverse is the low Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB). Social construct discriminating girls on
the one hand, easy availability, affordability and subsequent misuse of diagnostic tools on the
other hand, have been critical in declining CSR. The strong socio-cultural and religious
biases, preference for sons and discrimination towards daughters has accentuated the
problem. .
Since coordinated and convergent efforts are needed to ensure survival, protection and
empowerment of the girl child, Government launched the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
(BBBP) on 22nd January, 2015 at Panipat in Haryana. It is a tri-ministerial effort of Ministries
of Women and Child Development, Health & Family Welfare and Human Resource
Development.
The objectives of the Scheme are as under:
 To prevent gender biased sex selective elimination
 To ensure survival and protection of the girl child
 To ensure education and participation of the girl child

1. Primary : Young and newly married couples; Pregnant and Lactating mothers;
parents
2. Secondary : Youth, adolescents (girls and boys), in-laws, medical doctors/
practitioners, private hospitals, nursing homes and diagnostic centres
3. Tertiary : Officials, PRIs; frontline workers, women SHGs/Collectives, religious
leaders, voluntary organizations, media, medical associations, industry associations, general
public as a whole .

Air pollution in delhi

Delhi declared a health emergency on November 2, 2019, due to severe air pollution.

On November 3, levels of PM 2.5--polluting particles 30 times finer than one human hair,
that can enter the bloodstream and sicken or kill people--in Delhi’s air were recorded at a 24-
hour average of 625 microgram per cubic metre (µg/m3) of air, the season’s worst. This is 24
times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO)-prescribed safe levels of 25
µg/m3 (24-hour average) and nine times higher than the laxer Indian standard of 60
µg/m3 (24-hour average).

The Delhi government launched the ‘odd-even’ scheme, on November 4, 2019, to reduce
vehicular pollution--odd- or even-numbered private cars would be allowed to run on alternate
days. Will this scheme reduce pollution? No, says Sagnik Dey, who studied this exercise
when it was implemented for the first time in January 2016. (It was implemented again in
April 2016). Dey is an associate professor at the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences and
coordinator of the Centre of Excellence for Research on Clean Air at the Indian Institute of
Technology, Delhi.

Transportation is the largest source of air pollution in Delhi, contributing 18-39% to the city’s
pollution, according to an April 2019 analysis by the Council on Energy, Environment and
Water (CEEW), a Delhi-based think-tank. But without including two wheelers, which form
the largest chunk of transport emissions, the ‘odd-even’ scheme may not succeed, Dey said. 

Road dust is the second largest source of air pollution in Delhi (18-38%), followed by
industries (2-29%). Power plants, which are going to miss their second extended deadline for
curbing air pollution in December 2019, having missed the first in December 2017--
contribute about 3-11% of Delhi’s pollution. The fifth largest source is construction (8%).

Air pollution is not only a winter problem. “Year-round, the level (of air pollution) remains
three times higher than the national standard. Unless we bring down the annual concentration
significantly, health burden will not reduce,” Dey told IndiaSpend. To fight air pollution,
governments need not only emergency measures when pollution spikes, but year-round air
pollution reduction drives across sectors.

But year-round, the level (of PM 2.5) remains three times higher than the national standard.
Unless we bring down the annual concentration significantly, health burden will not reduce.
Indian standard is surely very high, but that is the first target. This needs to be kept in mind.
This is why AQI gives a false sense of security. As per the current AQI, good is anything
below 50, which is actually not good as per WHO and numerous studies. This is why, when
pollution levels drop to moderate (100-200), people think it's better, but it's not. We need
more awareness, and that too outside Delhi.

Non performing assets

Definition: A non performing asset (NPA) is a loan or advance for which the principal or
interest payment remained overdue for a period of 90 days.

Description: Banks are required to classify NPAs further into Substandard, Doubtful and
Loss assets.

1. Substandard assets: Assets which has remained NPA for a period less than or equal to 12
months.

2. Doubtful assets: An asset would be classified as doubtful if it has remained in the

substandard category for a period of 12 months.

3. Loss assets: As per RBI, “Loss asset is considered uncollectible and of such little value that
its continuance as a bankable asset is not warranted, although there may be some salvage or
recovery value.”

The higher is the amount of non-performing assets (NPAs), the weaker will be the
bank’s revenue stream.

In the short-term, many banks have the ability to handle an increase in nonperforming assets
— they might have strong reserves or other capital that can be used to offset the losses. But
after a while, if that capital is used up, nonperforming loans will imperil a bank’s health.
Think of nonperforming assets as dead weight on the balance sheet.

Here is the impact of the NPAs:

 As the NPA of the banks will rise, it will bring a scarcity of funds in the Indian
security markets. Few banks will be willing to lend if they are not sure of the recovery
of their money.

 The shareholders of the banks will lose a lot of money as banks themselves will find it
tough to survive in the market. 

 This will lead to a crisis of confidence in the market. The price of loans, i.e. the
interest rates will shoot up badly. Shooting of interest rates will directly impact the
investors who wish to take loans for setting up infrastructural, industrial projects etc. 

 It will also impact the retail consumers like us, who will have to shell out a higher
interest rate for a loan. 

 All of this will lead to a situation of low off take of funds from the security market.
This will hurt the overall demand in the Indian economy. And, finally it will lead to
lower growth rates and of course higher inflation because of the higher cost of capital.
  This trend may continue in a vicious circle and deepen the crisis.

 Total NPAs have touched figures close to the size of UP budget. Imagine if all the
NPA was recovered, how well it can augur for the Indian economy.

The rising incidence of NPAs has been generally attributed to the domestic economic
slowdown. It is believed that with economic growth slowing down and rate of interest going
up sharply, corporates have been finding it difficult to repay loans, and it has added up to
rising NPAs. Even finance minister P Chidambaram stated that bad loans are a function of the
economy and hence, having bad loans during distressed times is very natural.

Youth and politics

With population over a billion people, Republic India is the worlds largest Democracy. And
for all obvious reasons it is a cumbersome task to govern a Country like India. India, the
packet of Diversified cultures, ethnicities, languages and mindsets has always been a
mysterious country when it comes to its integrity. It has been 56 years that India was declared
a free country. Since then the country is undergoing major changes in terms of Social,
Economical, Political and Technological aspects. But, there is one key function of that drives
the remaining three. That is nothing but The Political system of India.

Indian Politics have been interesting since its inception. Some people often say ” Many things
have changed , but Politics in India have been the same”. Is it really so ? We need to think
about this. Governments change over a period of time, Power slips from one political party to
another. But the so called properties of the political system have often seemed to be the same.
The parties which we have are nothing but a set of aged intellectuals that were distributed
among different groups following their own doctrines.

The majority of Indian population is under the age of 35, but its politicians are largely a
gerontocracy. The political parties are filled with aged, old men and women who often look
like members of exclusive pensioners’ club. The question that now arises is that “Is this
generational rift between the citizens and the political setup desirable?”

No, definitely NO. This setup has resulted in a system that is very redundant in its decision
making. Now the scenario has changed drastically. The prevailing problems of the country
are continuously hampering the growth of the country. In the dark mist of never ending
poverty, illiteracy and many other disadvantages there is a need of a new Dawn.
A dawn that brings prosperity, that brings hope, that brings a new beginning, and that brings
a new system altogether. Our political system certainly requires Re-structuring in order take
the country forward with the pace that can match with the other developing countries.

Given the kind of electoral make-up India has, the dearth of young politicians on the front
benches is purely implausible. They are patronised, suspected, demoted to the background
and constrained by a environment that encourages an uncritical reverence. The kernels of
pessimism are thus slowly sown in them.

In recent past we have seen that the emergence of youth into politics have brought in new
spirit of enthusiasm and confidence among people. The skepticism that leaders are born is no
more valid these days. As we know that ‘leaders need not do different things, it would be
sufficient if they can do things differently’. And this is what we need now. We need young
fresh minds to come into politics who strive to make the country better.

Till now we have only seen most of the young leaders especially of high profile have taken
up the inheritance of their predecessors and joined the politics. But then there is one thing in
common of the young leaders today, they influence the youth of the country. Their
personality influences people who often look up to them as role models. It is not so long that
Rahul Gandhi stepped in to politics, but we have seen a fresh wave of thoughts which have
come along with him. Same is the case with Jyotiraditya Scindia and Omar Abdulah. They
have been crucial for the parties they work for. And consequently we see more and more
youth joining into politics which is a good sign.

The people of the nation also seek some new leadership which they can trust upon. The time
has come for the youth to step forward and take up the responsibility from the octogenarian
politicians. Now that we know, that the impact of young leaders on the growth of a Country
is crucial it is not to be ignored that there has to be right balance between the experienced and
youth. Hence increasing number of young politicians is certainly a new dawn.

Merger of nationalised banks

History of Mergers in Indian Banking

Mergers of banks began in India in the 1960s in order to bail out the weaker banks and
protect the customer interests. After that in post liberalization period the quest to create an
Indian bank that would be in the league of global giants had been continuing since 1990.
Moving on the path of creating one of the largest global banks, the government had approved
the merger of five associate banks with SBI in February 2017. Later in March, the Cabinet
approved merger of BMB also.
 
Merger & Nationalization during the period from 1961-1969: The period is called pre-
nationalization period because in 1969 the government nationalized 14 private banks. As
many as 46 mergers took place mostly of private sector banks in order to revive the poorly
performing banks which proved to be quite a successful move for the underperforming banks.
 
The period from 1969-1991: The period was called post-nationalization period. It saw six
private banks being nationalized in 1980. In this period 13 mergers took place mostly
between public and private sector banks.
 
The post liberalization period, which stretches from 1991-2015, saw major economic
reforms initiated by Government of India. Many new policies were framed. Greater FDI and
foreign investment was allowed which saw resurgence in Indian Banking. As many as 22
mergers took place - some to save weaker banks and some for the sake of synergic business
growth.
 
Bank Mergers (1993-2004): The merger of Oriental Bank of Commerce with Global Trust
bank in 2004 saved the latter after its net worth had wiped off and also handed OBC a million
depositors and a decent market in South India. Mergers of Punjab National Bank (PNB) with
the then eroded New Bank of India (NBI) in 1993-94 and that of Benaras State bank Ltd with
Bank of Baroda in 2002 also proved to be life saving for the weaker bank.  
Bank Mergers & Consolidation 2008-2010: SBI first merged State Bank of Saurashtra with
itself in 2008. Two years later in 2010, State Bank of Indore was merged with it. The board
of SBI earlier approved the merger plan under which SBBJ shareholders got 28 shares of SBI
(Re.1 each) for every 10 shares (Rs10 each) held. Similarly, SBM and SBT shareholders got
22 shares of SBI for every 10 shares.
 
Post the merger, the SBI was in the process to rationalize its branch network by relocating
some of the branches to maximize reach. This, according to SBI helped the bank optimize its
operations and improve profitability. SBI had approved separate schemes of acquisition for
State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Hyderabad. There was no proposal for any share
swap or cash outgo as they were wholly-owned by the SBI. 
 
Consolidation of Banks (2015-2017) – This phase saw five associates of SBI and Bhartiya
Mahila Bank getting merged in SBI. The vision was to have strong banks rather than having
large number of banks. This resulted in SBI being one amongst the 50 largest banks in the
world.
 
Union Cabinet decided to merge all the remaining five associate banks of State Bank Group
with State Bank of India in 2017. After the Parliament passed the merger Bill, the subsidiary
banks  ceased to exist and the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959 and the State
Bank of Hyderabad Act, 1956 were repealed. 
 
Five associates and the Bharatiya Mahila Bank became the part of State Bank of India (SBI)
beginning April 1, 2017. This has placed State Bank of India among the top 50 banks in the
world. The five associate banks that were merged into State Bank of India were- State Bank
of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore
(SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT). The other two
Associate Banks namely State Bank of Indore and State Bank of Saurashtra had already been
merged with State Bank of India. After the merger, the total customer base of SBI increased
to 37 crore with a branch network of around 24,000 and around 60,000 ATMs across the
country.
 
Merger of Banks 2018- The government had merged Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank with
Bank of Baroda, creating the third-largest bank by loans in the country in 2018.
 
Mega Merger of Banks 2019- With the mega merger announce on August 30, 2019, ten
public sectors banks will be reduced into four large banks. The four sets of banks are to be
created out of Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank merger; Indian Bank and Allahabad Bank
merger; Union Bank of India, Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank merger; and the bank to be
created after merger of Punjab National Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank
of India.
 
 Six Banks Untouched: The mega merger has left untouched six other banks out of which
two are national banks and the four have regional focus. The untouched banks are Bank of
India, Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Uco Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and
Punjab & Sind Bank which will continue as separate entities as before.
 
Punjab National Bank to become 2nd Largest Bank: Oriental Bank of Commerce and
United Bank merger into Punjab National Bank will create a bank with ₹17.95 lakh crore
business and 11,437 branches.
 
4th Largest Bank – Merger of Canara Bank & Syndicate Bank: The merger of Syndicate
Bank with Canara Bank will create the fourth largest public sector bank with ₹15.20 lakh
crore business and a branch network of 10,324.
 
5th Largest Bank: Merger of Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank with Union Bank of India
will create India's fifth largest public sector bank with ₹14.59 lakh crore business and 9,609
branches.
 
7th Largest Bank: The merger of Allahabad Bank with Indian Bank will create the seventh
largest public sector bank with ₹8.08 lakh crore business having strong branch networks in
the south, north and east of the country
 
India has 12 Banks Now
The biggest overhaul in public sector banks has left India with only 12 banks now instead of
18 before the decision. According to the Government this decision of making large entities
will make the Indian banks capable of meeting the higher funding needs of the economy and
will help in acquiring the global scale.
Advantages of Bank Mergers
 Larger Bank is capable of facing global competition
 The merger will reduce the cost of banking operation
 Merger will result in better NPA and Risk management
 Merger will help in improving the professional standards  
 Decisions on High Lending requirements can be taken promptly
 For the bank, retaining and enhancing its identity as a larger bank becomes easier.
After the merger, benefits of merger are enormous and the biggest is generation of a brand
new customer base, empowering of business, increased hold in the market share, opportunity
of technology upgrade. Thus overall it proves to be beneficial to the overall Economy 
 Provides better efficiency ratio for business operations as well as banking operations
which is beneficial for the economy
 Minimization of overall risk is there due to mergers and acquisitions which is always
good from the business point of view
 Leads to increase in profitability and helps in raising the standard of living which is
absolutely crucial for a growing economy like India
 Chances of survival of underperforming banks increases hence customer trust remains
intact which is vital for the Economy. The weaker bank gets merged into stronger one and
gets the benefit of large scale operations
 The objectives of financial inclusion and broadening the geographical reach of
banking can be achieved better with the merger of large public sector banks and leveraging
on their expertise.
 With the large scale expertise available in every sphere of banking operation, the scale
of inefficiency which is more in case of small banks, will be minimized
 The merger will help the geographically concentrated regionally present banks to
expand their coverage
 Larger size of the Bank will help the merged banks to offer more products and
services and help in integrated growth of the Banking sector
 A larger bank can manage its short and long term liquidity better. There will not be
any need for overnight borrowings in call money market and from RBI under Liquidity
Adjustment Facility (LAF) and Marginal Standing Facility (MSF)
 In the global market, the Indian banks will gain greater recognition and higher rating
 With a larger capital base and higher liquidity, the burden on the central government
to recapitalize the public sector banks again and again will come down substantially
 Multiple posts of CMD, ED, GM and Zonal Managers will be abolished, resulting in
substantial financial savings
 Bank staff will be under single umbrella in regard to their service conditions and
wages instead of facing disparities.
Higher education in india

Higher education is an educational level which is offered after school education (primary,
secondary and senior secondary). Higher education consists of education which is offered at
colleges, universities, institute of technology, vocational institutes, career colleges etc. Higher
education compromises of teaching, social involvement of universities, research works and
many others. A large number of institutes offer higher education courses at different levels
and subjects. Higher education degree is offered after one to five or ten years of study at
different educational institutes in India.
The structure of higher education in India follows three main levels. These levels are
bachelor/undergraduate level, master/postgraduate level, and doctoral/pre-doctoral level. All
higher education courses are offered in various subjects. Bachelor Degree courses in all areas
are offered to those students who have passed 12th level exam from a recognized board or
university and three to five years of education. Master Degree or post graduate degree
courses are usually two years of education except for some professional courses. Master
Degree courses are offered to those students who qualified Bachelor Degree or undergraduate
courses. Pre-doctoral course M.Phil (Master of Philosophy) is offered to master degree
holders. M.Phil is mainly research based course & lasts for one year. Doctoral Degree (PhD)
is three years of study after Master degree and two years of study after M.Phil.

 B Com (Bachelor of Commerce)

• B Ed (Bachelor of Education)
• B Sc (Bachelor of Science)
• B Sc (Nursing)
• B Tech (Bachelor of Technology)
• B. Pharm (Bachelor of Pharmacy)
• B.Arch (Bachelor of Architecture)
• BE (Bachelor of Engineering)
• BA (Bachelor of Arts)
• BA LLB (Bachelor of Law)
• BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine)
• BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration)
• BCA (Bachelor of Computer Applications)
• BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery)
• BHM (Bachelor’s of Hotel Management)
• BHMS (Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery)
• D Ed (Diploma in Education)
• D. Pharm (Diploma in Pharmacy)
• GNM (General Nursing & Midwifery)
• JBT (Junior Basic Training)
• LLB (Bachelor of Laws)
• LLM (Master of Laws)
• M A (Master of Arts)
• M Com (Master of Commerce)
• M Ed (Master of Education)
• M Sc (Master of Science)
• M Tech (Master of Technology)
• M. Pharm (Master of Pharmacy)
• MBA (Master of Business Administration)
• MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery)
• MCA (Master of Computer Applications)
• MD (Doctor of Medicine)
• MDS (Master of Dental Surgery)
• ME (Master of Engineering)
• MS (Master of Surgery)
• NTT (Nursery Teacher Training)
• PG Diploma in Medicine
• PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Management)
• M.Phil (Master of Philosophy)
• Ph.D. (Doctoral Degree)

Unemployment in India

Unemployment is a common economic malady faced by each and every country of the world,
irrespective of their economic system and the level of development achieved. But the nature
of unemployment prevailing in underdeveloped or developing countries sharply differs to that
of developed countries of the world.
While the developed countries are facing unemployment, mostly of Keynesian involuntary
and frictional types but the underdeveloped or developing countries like India are facing
structural unemployment arising from high rate of growth of population and slow economic
growth.

Structural unemployment may be open or disguised type. But the most serious type of
unemployment from which those undeveloped countries like India are suffering includes its
huge underemployment or disguised unemployment in the rural sector.

Unemployment is a serious problem. It indicates a situation where the total number of job
vacancies is much less than the total number of job seekers in the country. It is a kind of
situation where the unemployed persons do not find any meaningful or gainful job in-spite of
having willingness and capacity to work. Thus unemployment leads to a huge wastage of
manpower resources.

India is one of those ill-fated underdeveloped countries which is suffering from a huge
unemployment problem. But the unemployment problem in India is not the result of
deficiency of effective demand in Keynesian term but a product of shortage of capital
equipment’s and other complementary resources accompanied by high rate of growth of
population.

Unemployment problem in India is the cumulative result of so many factors.

The broad causes of unemployment problem are as follows:

(i) Population Explosion:
The most fundamental cause of large scale unemployment in India is the high rate of
population growth since the early 1950s and the consequent increase in its labour force. It
was estimated that with the 2.5 per cent annual rate of population growth, nearly 4 million
persons are added to the labour force every year. To provide gainful employment to such a
big number is really a difficult task.

(ii) Underdevelopment:
Indian economy continues to be underdeveloped even as a vast quantity of unutilized and
under utilised natural resources are prevailing in the country. The scale and volume of
economic activities are still small. The non-agricultural sector especially modern industrial
sector which could generate huge number of employment, is growing very slowly.

During the pre-independence period also, Indian economy experienced a slow growth. British
destroyed the indigenous small scale and cottage industries instead of expanding and
modernising them. During the post- independence period also, the performance of the
industrial sector has also been found far below the plan targets and needs.

Moreover, the slow rate of capital formation is also responsible for the hindrances in the path
of realisation of growth potential in agriculture, industry and infrastructure sector. Thus this
underdevelopment is largely responsible for slow expansion of employment opportunities.

(iii) Inadequate Employment Planning:

In the first phase economic planning in India, employment opportunities could not be
increased adequately and little has been done to utilise the Nurksian variety of labour surplus
existing in the rural areas. Moreover, weak manpower planning is also another serious gap in
Indian planning.

Less effort has been made for balancing the manpower needs and supplies in various
production sectors, indifferent regions of the country and also indifferent skills.

This has resulted to large imbalances in the sphere of educated and trained personnel like
engineers, technicians, cost accountants, plain graduates and port graduates, administrators
etc. Thus huge amount of resources used for developing manpower could not come into much
help due to faulty manpower planning.

(iv) Slow Rate of Growth:

In India the rate of growth of the economy is very poor and even the actual growth rate lies
far below the targeted rate. Thus the increased employment opportunities created under the
successive plans could not keep pace with the additions to the labour force taking place in the
country every year leading to a huge and larger backlog of unemployment at the end of each
plan.

(v) Backwardness of the Agriculture:

Heavy pressure of population on land and the primitive methods of agricultural operations are
responsible for colossal rural unemployment and underemployment in the country.
(vi) Insufficient Industrial Development:
Industrial development in the country is not at all sufficient. Rather the prospects of industrial
development has never been completely realised. Due to dearth of capital, lack of proper
technology, scarcity of industrial raw materials, shortage of electricity and lack of labour
intensive investment industrial sector could not gain its momentum and also could not
generate sufficient employment opportunities in the country.

(vii) Prevailing Education System:

The prevailing education system in India is full of defects as it fails to make any provision for
imparting technical and vocational education. Huge number of matriculates, undergraduates
and graduates are coming out every year leading to a increasing gap between job
opportunities and job seekers among the educated middle class.

In the absence of vocational education and professional guidance, these huge number of
educated youths cannot avail the scope of self-employment leading to growing frustration and
discontent among the educated youths.

(viii) Slow Growth of Employment during Economic Reforms:

Finally, the current phase of economic reforms introduced in India has resulted jobless
growth to some extent. Economic Reforms has resulted large scale retrenchment of surplus
workers in different industries and administrative departments due to down-sizing of workers.

The annual growth rate of employment which was 2.40 per cent during the period 1983- 94,
but the same rate declined to a mere 0.98 per cent during the period 1994-2000. As a result,
the unemployment growth rates increased from 5.99 per cent in 1993-94 to 7.32 per cent in
1999-2000.

Essay # 5. Remedial Measures to Solve Unemployment Problem In India:

Unemployment problem is a serious problem faced by a large populous country like India.
Thus it is quite appropriate to suggest some measures to solve this problem. In order to
suggest appropriate measures to solve this problem, it is better to identify some measures
separately for the problem of rural unemployment and urban unemployment.

A. Remedies to Rural Unemployment Problem:

As the nature of rural unemployment is quite different, it is better to suggest some special
measures to solve this problem.

Following are some of these measures:

(i) Expanding Volume of Rural Works:
One of the most important remedial measures to solve the problem of unemployment is to
expand the opportunities for work especially in rural areas. In order to clear the backlog of
unemployment and also to provide jobs to additional labor force joining the mainstream
workers, this expansion in the volume of works needs to be done rapidly and that too in the
areas of both wage employment and self-employment.

As large scale industries cannot provide adequate employment opportunities thus more
importance be given to the development of agriculture and the allied sector along with
development of small scale and cottage industries and also the unorganised informal sector
and the services sector.

(ii) Modernisation of Agriculture:

In order to eradicate the problem of rural unemployment, the agricultural sector of the
country is to be modernized in almost all the states. This would derive considerable
agricultural surplus which would ultimately boost the rural economy and also expand
employment opportunities in the rural areas. Attempts should also be made for wasteland
development and diversification of agricultural activities.

(iii) Development of Allied Sector:

The problem of rural unemployment can be tackled adequately by developing allied sector
which includes activities like dairy farming, poultry farming, bee keeping, fishery,
horticulture, sericulture, agro processing etc. which are having a huge potential for the
generation of employment and self-employment opportunities in the rural areas of the
country.

(iv) Development of Rural Non-Farm Activities:

In order to generate employment opportunities in the rural areas, development of rural non-
farm activities, viz., rural industries, the decentralised and cottage small scale sector of
industry, agro-based industry, rural informal sector and the services sector, expansion of rural
infrastructure, housing, health and educational services in the rural areas etc. should be
undertaken throughout the country with active government support. Since Eighth Plan, the
Government is following this strategy for the generation of rural employment.

(v) Appropriate mix of Production Techniques:

Although Mahalanobis strategy of development argued in favour of capital intensive
techniques but in order to tackle the problem of rural unemployment the government should
adopt a appropriate mix of production techniques where both the labour intensive and capital
intensive methods, of production should be adopted selectively in the new fields of
production so as to attain both growth in employment along with its efficiency.

(vi) Rural Development Schemes:

In order to eradicate the problem of rural unemployment, the Central as well as the State
Governments should work seriously for introducing and implementing rural development
schemes so that the benefit of such development could reach the target groups of people in
time.

(vii) Decentralisation:
In order to reduce the extent of the problem of rural unemployment it would be quite
important to spread the location of industries around the small towns on the basis of local
endowment position so that migration of people from rural to urban areas can be checked.

(viii) Extension of Social Services:

It is also important to extend the social services in the rural areas in the sphere of education,
medical science and in other areas which will go a long way for the empowerment of the
rural people in general. Such a situation will indirectly motivate the people towards self-
employment.

(ix) Population Control:

Adequate stress should be laid on the control of growth of population through family welfare
programmes especially in the rural and backward areas of the country. This would be
conducive for solving the growing problem of rural unemployment of the country as a whole.

(x) SHGs and Micro Finance:

Adequate steps be taken for promoting self help groups (SHGs) for generating self
employment opportunities. In this respect, micro finance flow through NGOs towards SHGs
can play a responsible role in solving the problem of rural unemployment.

B. Remedies to Urban Unemployment Problem:

In order to solve the problem of urban unemployment the country should follow certain
important measures.

Following are some of these measures:

(i) Rapid Development of Industries:
In order to solve the problem of urban unemployment, immediate steps must be taken for
enhancing the industrial efficiency. In this regard, immediate attempts must be made for
expansion and modernisation of existing industries in cost-effective manner and also for
setting up of new industries.

Some basic and heavy industries which were already established in the field of iron and steel,
chemicals, defence goods, heavy machineries, power generation, atomic energy etc. should
be modernized and more such new industries should also set up in the new and existing fields
for generating huge number of employment opportunities for the present and coming
generations.

More new resource based and demand based industries should be set up for generating
employment opportunities.

(ii) Revamping Education System:

Indian education system still largely remains very much backward and fails to meet the
demand for present industries and administrative set up. Instead of giving too much stress on
general education, stress should be laid on vocationalisation of education which would help
the younger generation to involve themselves in small scale and cottage industries and also in
the services sector.

(iii) Motivation for Self-Employment:

In order to change the mindset of younger generation, especially from urban areas, attempts
must be made by both government and non-government agencies for motivating the young
people to accept the path of self-employment in the contest of squeezing scope of
employment through carrier counseling at the institutional level.

(iv) Development of SSIs:

Considering the huge number of unemployed, it is quite important to develop a good number
of small scale and cottage industries by adopting labour-intensive approach. Developing such
S.S.Is for the production of need-based products would help a lot for generating huge
employment opportunities in urban and semi-urban areas.

(v) Development of Urban Informal Sector:

As a good number urban people are engaged in urban informal sector, thus adequate steps
must be taken for the improvement and modernisation of this informal sector so as to expand
the sector further and also to generate more such employment opportunities for the growing
number of urban unemployed person.
(vi) Revamping the Role of Employment Exchange:
In order to utilise the huge governmental set up of Employment Exchange throughout the
country it is quite important to change the role of such exchanges for motivating and guiding
the younger generations for self-employment in addition to its existing role for registration
and placement. 

(vii) Banking Support:

In order to solve the problem of urban unemployment, the scheduled commercial banks
should come forward with rational proposals for the development of SSIs, various units in the
services sector and also for the development of urban informal sector with a sympathetic
attitude. 

(viii) Works of National Interest:

In order to solve the problem of urban unemployment it is quite necessary to start the work of
national interest which would generate adequate employment opportunities in the urban
areas.

(ix) Changing Pattern of Investment:

Attempt should also be made to change the pattern of investment into a viable and productive
one both from economic and social point of view so as to generate employment opportunities.
(x) Government Support:
In order to tackle the problem of urban unemployment, the government should come forward
with viable urban employment generation schemes in the line of PMRY, NRY etc. to assist
the urban unemployed for self-employment projects.

(xi) Growing Participation of FDI:

In order to tackle the problem of urban unemployment, the government should follow a
suitable policy in the line of China for promoting the smooth flow of foreign direct
investment (FDI) into our country for its growing participation in various important industrial
and infrastructural projects.

C. General Remedies to Unemployment Problems:

(i) Special Employment Programmes:
In order to meet the gap between the requirement and the actual generation of employment
opportunities, special employment programmes must be undertaken as an interim measure till
the economy could reach the maturity level of securing jobs for everyone.

These kind of supplementary programmes are very important for the poor people residing in
both rural and urban areas and also residing in small 8 medium towns.

Seasonally unemployed can also be offered seasonal employment through such special
employment programmes. Moreover backward people like landless agricultural labourers,
marginal formers, rural artisans, tribal people settled in remote and hilly areas can also be
benefited from such progrmmes.

The programmes may be chalked out by providing direct wage employment as on rural
capital works or in the form of providing assets or providing inputs to those people for self-
employment. Currently, the steps taken by the government for the implementation of
NREGA is a right step in this direction.

(ii) Raising the Rate of Capital Formation:

In order to reduce the problem of unemployment, in general, it is quite necessary to raise the
rate of capital formation in the country. Raising the rate of Capital formation is necessary to
expand the volume of work.
Capital formation can directly generate employment in the capital goods sector. Raising the
capital formation helps the country to raise its capital-stock and thereby can raise the
productivity of workers by raising the volume of capital available per workers.

(iii) Manpower Planning:

Management of human resources in a right and scientific manner is quite important for
solving the problem of unemployment. This is important for ensuring promotion of
employment scope as well as for realization of development of the economy. All these call
for proper manpower planning which requires the following measures.

Firstly, going beyond the narrow domain of manpower planning simply related to matching
demand and supply of skilled personnel, it is quite important to adopt effective remedies to
cut down the growth rate of population which in turn reduce the growth rate of labour supply
after a gap of period and thereby reducing the problem of unemployment.

Secondly, in order to attain effective use of skills it is essential to tailor the supply of skilled
labour as per the it’s requirement so that excess or shortages in skills in different sectors are
not faced.

Thirdly, while continuing with present strategy to promote high level skill formation through
education and Training confined to a small proportion of labour force, it is also essential to
improve the capabilities of large number of general people for their development.

This calls for several inter-related measures like making provision for adequate food and
nutrition, elementary education, proper health facilities, training for jobs etc.

Fourthly, while introducing special programmes for employment, it is quite essential to

ensure that the programmes rightly matches the characteristics and abilities of targeted group
and also match with the overall development plans of various sectors. This will definitely
make schemes quite useful and meaningful.

Freebies in politics

Role of freebies in Indian politics has been expanding and expanding very fast, especially in
the last decade. Indian politics, since independence is characterised by the government of the
day promising freebies to various categories of its voters.  It is enshrined in the Constitution
itself when the provisions for reservations to Scheduled Castes were included by the
Constituent Assembly.
The reservation was initially designed for government jobs, that too at the time of
appointment/selection.  Later on, it has been expanded, almost regularly to promotions,
education, allotment of government houses, etc. reservation, outwardly a preferential
treatment to target categories, is also in a way freebies from the government where the
government. lowers its general standard requirements for a job, etc. and accepts a lower
ranking person for the same set of benefits like salary, etc. to all its employees.
In the last decade, freebies have been introduced in several other areas like the MNREGA
scheme (touted as rural employment scheme), Right to Education (RTE), Food Security
(minimum food to poor).
Such an approach has been adopted uniformly by all political parties. While the above three
were extended by the Congress (aka UPA) government, BJP is also not lagging behind (may
be compelled by competitive politics) when it introduced Prime Minister Kisan Samman
Yojana, just before the recently concluded parliamentary elections.  The scheme extends the
payment of Rs 6,000/- to small and marginal farmers (recently expanded to cover all farmers,
including the rich ones), 10% reservation to all population, based on economic
criteria. Congress tried to match it by its Nyay scheme of offering Rs 6,000/- per month,
based on some vague income criteria.
And now the latest comes from Aam Aadmi Party, offering free public transport ride to all
women in Delhi.
This increasing phenomenon, over the last 72 years has actually turned the nation’s
population into lethargy, devoid of entrepreneurship where everyone, at the slightest sign of
distress, starts demanding some kind of freebies from the Govt.  This is psychology driving
any section of the population expecting (and the government promptly responds) when
immediate monetary relief or compensation is announced for people suffering due to flood,
drought, train accident, landslide, rape victims, etc.
In India, every citizen has a divine right to produce children and Govt. has the unlimited duty
and responsibility to feed, educate, provide education, health, employment to each of the
children. Here, employment means only a Govt. job.
The sole responsibility for bringing the population to this passe lies with the politicians.

Digital India
 In 2015, the Government of India launched a massive campaign named "Digital India". This
was done to make the government services accessible in various parts of the country. The
main aim was to improve access to technology to the people of the country. The government
worked on improving internet connectivity and made sure that it was easily accessible to the
remote and rural parts of the country. One of the initiatives included a plan to connect the
rural parts of the country with high-speed internet.
Digital India was launched on 1 July 2015, by the current Prime Minister of India Narendra
Modi. The campaign drastically boosted the use of electronic services and products. The
project is run by a Government entity called Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL).

Objectives of Digital India

The massive campaign is divided into three parts which hope to achieve the following
objectives:

 A stable, secure digital infrastructure connecting every part of the country

 Easy access to online government services (e-Governance)

 Digital literacy of the masses

The government of India wanted the rural public to make use of the internet and offer them
access to various services online.

Digital Infrastructure

With a population of over 130 crores, India is the second-largest populated country after
China. The actual meaning of digital infrastructure is in reference to platforms where the
citizens of the country will have a digital identity which will allow them to access
government services easily. Under this initiative, almost all services are made available
online such as managing a bank account, long-distance learning, signing up for various
government portals, storing documents digitally, etc.
The project is also working on providing high-speed internet access to all the rural parts of
the country. This will help them reap the benefits of the hundreds of project the government
runs.

e-Governance:

Digital India has introduced a large number of government services. Some of them are:

Mygov.in

A platform where people share inputs and ideas on the administration's policy and the overall
governance. This is introduced so that citizens can actively participate in the process.

Digital Attendance

In an effort to keep records of government employee's attendance, the initiative was launched
in Delhi and made use of a Biometric System to mark the employee's attendance.

UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance)

It is an application developed for all mobile platforms and even works on feature phones.
Available in multiple Indian languages, the application allows people to access services such
as tax payment, railway ticket booking, education portals, a digital locker and a biometric
identification system called AADHAR.

eHospital

This is an application that provides access to various hospital services such as online lab
reports, payment gateway, book an appointment etc.

 
eSign

It is a service which allows the registered citizens to digitally sign a document using their
AADHAR cards as a means of authentication.

DigiLocker

A digital locker which helps citizens store all their government documents digitally. It is a
cross-platform application developed to work across various branches of the administration.
Since the documents are authenticated by the government itself, there is no need for citizens
to carry a physical copy.

Digital Literacy

This is a huge step undertaken by the Government of India to let rural people make use of the
internet in order to improve the overall quality of life. A majority of the rural population did
not have internet access until 2015.

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi also undertook an initiative to make rural
households digitally literate.  The massive 2,351.38 crore project is an effort to cover
approximately 6 crore households under its umbrella. The project, executed by a body known
as PMGDisha (Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan), is hoping to achieve its
target by the end of March 2019.

It will also help people connect with just the touch of a button. The government also wants to
make digital payment platforms popular amongst businesses. This will facilitate more people
to jump in on the digital platforms and ease doing business across various parts of the
country.

The impact of the Digital India project

Digital India has a profound impact on people from every aspect of society. The campaign
has had a positive impact on the life of the individual as a whole and has contributed to the
progress of the society as a whole.
There are hundreds of programs under Digital India. One of the plans is aimed at creating
28,000 BPO jobs throughout the country and set up a "Common Service Center" in every
gram panchayat.

This will also enable the government to generate thousands of IT jobs since Digital India will
require individuals to help establish the platform as well as introduce a new wave of the
young population to the digital revolution.

Till now, Digital India has connected more than 250,000 villages throughout the country.
Every village covered, now has access to high-speed internet provided by a government-
owned telecom called the BBNL.

The Indian Government also undertook 11 technological initiatives including boosting the
volume of digital payments by encouraging several payment platforms such as PhonePe. It
also encouraged the RuPay platform, an Indian company competing with the likes of
MasterCard and Visa.

The Prime Minister said that if people start using RuPay, it will directly benefit the country.
Since the infrastructure was not present at the moment, IT companies started hiring more
people in order to develop one.

The campaign also led to an enormous decrease in the amount of black money people had.
Since everything will be done digitally, many people came under the tax radar and as a result,
a significant portion of the black money in the market was traceable. This led to a sudden
increase in the revenue collected by the government in the following year.

People from all over India can now directly engage with a large number of government
agencies from the comfort of their homes. For example, in the past, people used to travel for
hours on end just to get to a hospital to realize that their doctor wasn't available.

The rural part of India, which constitutes a majority of the population suddenly found
themselves interconnected, directly benefiting millions of lives. Farmers can now
intercommunicate and get help from the experts on a range of variety of subjects.

Digital India- Success or failure?

Digital India is a work in progress in the truest sense. Though the project has surely made an
impact on the common people of India, much of the work done is either inadequate or
unsatisfactory at some level or the other.

However, the number of internet users in India has increased to a whopping 500 million users
in the year 2017. Suddenly, the country has the highest rate of newly added monthly users,
contributing almost 10 million people every day.

Surely, the government initiative has done much work in laying out the groundwork to a
technologically advanced country, but the lack of awareness, literacy and infrastructure is
getting in the way. The government hoped to cover more people under the umbrella of the
scheme, but some parts of India are still unable to use the technology due to various reasons
such as lack of resources or understanding.

The project can be considered to be successful in general terms but still remains a failure in
the broader sense. Of course, campaigns like these take years if not decades and Digital India
is still in its early stages.

The government is actively pushing the project and announced in the 2019 Union Budget that
they will be working towards a $5 trillion digital economy in the near future.

Global warming

Global Warming is the increase in Earth's mean surface temperature because of the
effect of greenhouse gases. These gases absorb long wave radiations and warm the
atmosphere, and this process is called as Greenhouse effect. It had led to many changes
on the planet, such as rise in sea level; massive melting of snow and land ice, elevated
heat content of the oceans, increased humidity, change in the timings of seasonal events,
and many others. The main greenhouse gases, namely:Carbon dioxide (CO2); Methane
(CH4); Nitrous oxide (N2O); Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); Perfluorocarbons (PFCs);
and Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).

Global Warming is the increase in Earth's mean surface temperature because of the effect of
greenhouse gases. These gases absorb long wave radiations and warm the atmosphere, and
this process is called as Greenhouse effect. For both land and ocean, the global mean surface
temperature indicates warming of 0.85°C during 1880 to 2012. During the period 1906-2005,
the Earth’s mean surface temperature had increased by 0.74±0.18°C. Hence, it is seen that the
rate of warming approximately doubled for the last half of that duration (0.13±0.03°C per
decade, as compared to 0.07±0.02°C per decade).

It had led to many changes on the planet, such as rise in sea level, massive melting of snow
and land ice, elevated heat content of the oceans, increased humidity, change in the timings of
seasonal events, and many others.

Effects of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) on Global Warming

The main greenhouse gases, namely:Carbon dioxide (CO2); Methane (CH4); Nitrous oxide
(N2O); Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); Perfluorocarbons (PFCs); and Sulphur
hexafluoride (SF6). The impact of any GHG is based on the magnitude of the rise in its
concentration, its duration in the atmosphere and the wavelength of radiation that is absorbs.
1. Carbon dioxide is the GHG which is present in the largest concentration in the
atmosphere. Its emission chiefly comes from fossil fuel combustion. It is showing a rise of
about 0.5% per annum.
2. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are produced due to anthropogenic activity. Ozone is
present in the stratosphere where ultraviolet (UV) radiations convert oxygen into ozone.
Hence, the UV rays do not reach the Earth’s surface. The CFCs which goes into the
stratosphere destroys the ozone, which is evidently seen over Antarctica. The reduction of
ozone concentration in the stratosphere is known as the ozone hole. This permits the UV rays
to pass through the troposphere.
3. Nitrous oxide is naturally produced by oceans and rainforests. Man-made sources of
nitrous oxide include nylon and nitric acid production, the use of fertilisers in agriculture,
cars with catalytic converters and the burning of organic matter.
4. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are used as refrigerants, especially after the ozone-
destroying CFCs had been under the Montreal Protocol.
5. Perfluorocarbons (PFCs): Emitted as a result of production of flourites, they have an
atmospheric lifetime of more than 1,000 years.
6. Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6): The most powerful greenhouse gas yet discovered, it is
emitted as result of production of flourites.
What is Green Muffler & its relation with pollution?
Global efforts have been started for decreasing the emission of GHGs into the atmosphere. Of
the many initiatives, the most important one is the Kyoto protocol declared in 1997, and came
into effect in 2005, authorized by 141 countries. Kyoto protocol controlled 35 industrialised
nations to reduce the emission of GHGs by the year 2012 to 5% less than the levels present in
the year 1990.
The concentrations of greenhouse gases are not larger than oxygen and nitrogen, because
neither has more than two atoms per molecule, and so they lack the internal vibrational
modes that molecules with more than two atoms possess. Both water and CO2 have these
"internal vibrational modes", and these modes of vibrations can consume and resend infrared
radiation, which causes the greenhouse effect. 
Impacts of Global Warming
1. Rising Sea level: Flooding of fresh water marshlands, low-lying cities, and islands with
marine water is one of the major effects of global warming.
2. Changes in rainfall patterns: In some areas, droughts and fires happen, whereas in other
areas, flooding takes place. This all is due to changes in rainfall pattern.
3. Melting of the ice peaks: Due to melting of the ice peaks, there is loss of habitat near the
poles. Now the polar bears are considered to be greatly endangered by the shortening of their
feeding season because of declining ice packs. 
4. Melting glaciers: There is a significant melting of old glaciers.
5. Spread of disease: There is spread of diseases like malaria due to migration to newer and
currently warmer regions.
6. Thinning of Coral Reefs due to warming seas as well as acidification because of carbonic
acid formation: Almost one-third of coral reefs are now severely damaged by warming seas.
7. Loss of Plankton owing to warming seas: The large (900 miles long) Aleutian island
ecosystems consisting of whales, sea lions, sea urchins, kelp beds, fish, and other aquatic
animals, has now reduced due to loss of plankton.

Climate change

Climate change is the catch-all term for the shift in worldwide weather phenomena associated
with an increase in global average temperatures. It's real and temperatures have been going
up around the world for many decades.

Reliable temperature records began in 1850 and our world is now about one degree Celcius
hotter than it was in the period between 1850 and 1900 – commonly referred to as the "pre-
industrial" average.
 The change is even more visible over a shorter time period – compared to average
temperatures between 1961 and 1990, 2017 was 0.68 degrees warmer, while 2016 was 0.8
degrees warmer, thanks to an extra boost from the naturally-occurring El Niño weather
system.

While this temperature increase is more specifically referred to as global warming, climate
change is the term currently favoured by science communicators, as it explicitly includes not
only Earth's increasing global average temperature, but also the climate effects caused by this
increase

Global efforts are now focussed on keeping temperatures from increasing more than two
degrees above that pre-industrial average, and ideally no more than 1.5 degrees. That goal
may still be possible if the international community pulls together.
The effects of anthropogenic – human-caused – climate change range from more frequent and
severe droughts to snowstorms and extreme winter weather in temperate regions as a result of
warming Arctic weather fronts.
It's not only humans that are affected. Warming ocean temperatures are increasing the
frequency of coral reef bleaching; warmer, drier weather means that forests in some regions
are no longer recovering from wildfires and wildlife habitats around the world are becoming
less hospitable to animals.
Climate change is having economic and socio-political effects, too. Food security is already
being impacted in a number of African countries and researchers are studying suggestive
links between climate change and an increased likelihood of military conflict.
READ NEXT

 We can only fight climate change if we also focus on the mundane

We can only fight climate change if we also focus on the mundane

By KATHARINE HAYHOE
We're already seeing the first climate refugees as people are displaced by rising sea levels,
melting Arctic permafrost and other extreme weather.

What are the causes of climate change?

We are. While a wide range of natural phenomena can radically affect the climate, publishing
climate scientists overwhelmingly agree that global warming and resultant climate effects
that we're witnessing are the result of human activity.

Life on Earth is dependent on an atmospheric "greenhouse" – a layer of gasses, primarily

water vapour, in the lower atmosphere that trap heat from the sun as it's reflected back from
the Earth, radiating it back and keeping our planet at a temperature capable of supporting life.

Human activity is currently generating an excess of long-lived greenhouse gasses that –

unlike water vapour – don't dissipate in response to temperature increases, resulting in a
continuing buildup of heat.

Key greenhouse gasses include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Carbon dioxide is
the best-known, with natural sources including decomposition and animal respiration. The
main source of excess carbon dioxide emissions is the burning of fossil fuels, while
deforestation has reduced the amount of plant life available to turn CO2 into oxygen.

This floating solar farm is a dam clever climate change weapon

Methane, a more potent but less abundant greenhouse gas, enters the atmosphere from
farming – both from animals such as cattle and arable farming methods including traditional
rice paddies – and from fossil fuel exploration and abandoned oil and gas wells.
Chlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons – once widely used in industrial applications
and home appliances such as refrigerators – were key greenhouse gasses released during the
20th century, but are now heavily regulated due to their severe impact on the atmosphere,
which includes ozone depletion, as well as trapping heat in the lower atmosphere.
Our warming climate is also creating a feedback loop as greenhouse gasses trapped in
Arctic permafrost are released.
 For many years, oil companies were heavily invested in pushing the narrative that fossil fuels
did not have an impact on climate change. To this end, they bought advertising and funded
organisations to cast doubt on climate change, even while their own research conclusively
showed that fossil fuels are a major contributing cause of climate change.
This is still playing out in ongoing lawsuits against oil companies, but even giants such as
Chevron now publicly acknowledge the role that fossil fuel use has played in changing our
climate. Now, their key defence is that it's the fault of fossil fuel consumers for using it,
rather than of the companies that extracted, marketed and profited from oil.

Definition of Climate Change

Nasa defines climate change as: "a broad range of global phenomena created predominantly
by burning fossil fuels, which add heat-trapping gases to Earth’s atmosphere. These
phenomena include the increased temperature trends described by global warming, but also
encompass changes such as sea level rise; ice mass loss in Greenland, Antarctica, the Arctic
and mountain glaciers worldwide; shifts in flower/plant blooming; and extreme weather
events."

Plant a tree save the earth

Trees are the most important part of the ecosystem which helps in balancing the climate and
the environment. A forest comprises of trees and plants helps to reverse the global warming
which adversely maintain the health of the earth.
Global warming is the biggest problem facing by earth and the humankind nowadays which
adversely effects our earth and results of the same are observed in these days are:

1. Increase in level of the sea.

2. Temperature increase.
3. Fog.
4. Climate change.
5. Melting of glaciers.

The other effects of De-Forestation are:

1. Soil erosion destruction.
2. Water cycle.
3. Loss of biodiversity.
4. Climate of change.

Benefits of Trees and Forest on Earth:

1. It helps in sustain all life and living organisms on earth.

2. It helps in producing clean water.
3. It helps in naturally filter air.

Advantages of planting trees in reducing global warming

1. An average size tree creates sufficient oxygen in one year to provide oxygen for a
family of four.
2. Planting trees can cut air-conditioning/ electricity costs up to 50 percent.
3. Planting trees for the environment is good as they are renewable, biodegradable and
recyclable. 
4. If we plant 20 million trees, the earth will get with 260 million more tons of oxygen.
5. Once acre of trees can remove up to 2.6 tons of Carbon Dioxide each year.
6. During photosynthesis, trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide and give off
oxygen.
7. Trees keep in cheek the air and water pollution.
8. Why planting trees is important is evident as they are the natural habitat of the
animals and birds, as well as many endangered species.
9. Planting trees means more wood and paper products which can be easily recycled.
10. A newly planted whole forest can change tones of atmospheric carbon into wood and
other fibrous tissue, thus reducing global warming.

Are advertisements necessary?

Advertisements are necessary because they help educate the public, create awareness
regarding given products and services, help boost sales and create an avenue for
communication. It is important for any business that wishes to make progress in a
competitive environment to have some form of advertisement; otherwise, the business may
not perform as well as it should.
One of the most important reasons for advertising is to create awareness regarding a new
product or service. Without informing the public about new developments, including
improvements to certain products, it may be difficult to get clients.

Another reason for advertising is that it is a good way of educating the society in general.
Most advertisements contain information regarding the benefits of a given service or product.
Advertisements may also contain information on how to use a given product in order to
achieve the best possible results.

Since the business environment is competitive, it is important for each business to devise
strategies of getting ahead. Creating an advertisement that is able to appeal to a majority of
people ensures that a business can get a fair share of the market.

Advertising also creates an avenue for communication. Advertisers can gauge the reaction of
the masses after showing an advertisement to the public. This may help in the improvement
or modification of goods and services in order to better suit the market.

To answer this question honestly requires considerable character and integrity to the
mankind. The truth is advertisement are totally redundant. Companies spend millions of
dollars on advertisements only because they are the most effective tool to promote sales and
earn huge profits. It is through advertisements that the companies lure people to buy their
products. In certain cases, advertisements make false claims about the products.  

The products and services shown in the advertisements are presented in such an appealing
way that the people watching them feel tempted to buy them. The target of these
advertisements are children and adolescents. They are too young to think logically the pros
and cons of the products advertised. These advertisements are made to attract them. For
example, the advertisement promoting a bike, will show the bike in such an attractive
manner, that the young boys will feel attracted to them. This attraction gives rise to the urge
to buy that bike.  
Similarly, other products and services are presented in the same manner. For example, Mc
Donald burger add will present the burger in such a manner that children and youngsters will
have an urge to eat them.  

The bitter truth is most of the advertisements are misleading. Their chief purpose is to trap
people’s attention and entice them to buy the products and services shown in the
advertisements. They purely lead to wasteful expenditure. The best approach to
advertisements is they should not be taken seriously.

Suggestions to revive Indian eco

FY2019-20 will go down as ‘annus horribilis’ in India’s economic trajectory. The drop in
growth was so swift and so large that it can only be described as a crisis. India is now
officially growing at a rate below 5%. At this ‘Hindu rate of growth’, India will not even
reach $5 trillion by 2030.

GoI is under immense pressure to boost demand by breaching the fiscal deficit. It is, in any
case, going to be difficult to meet the fiscal deficit target, despite the huge windfall transfer of
excess reserves of Rs 1.76 lakh crore from RBI. The revenue projections in the Budget are
based on very unrealistic nominal GDP projections of 12% growth — 4% GDP deflator and
8% real GDP growth.

More important is to reorient government expenditures towards a more developmental

growth-oriented outcome — lower the recurrent expenditures and increase capital
expenditures. Lower borrowing costs and cuts in subsidies could provide some space for this
improvement in the quality of expenditures.

Recovery in investment is key to recovery of the economy. Gross fixed capital formation as a
share of GDP peaked in 2007-08 at 36% — it has since declined to about 28.5% — with
private investment peaking at around 27.5% of GDP in 2007-08, and now slumping to 21.5%.
Credit to the private sector as a share of GDP also peaked in 2013, and has since fallen — a
contrast with Vietnam and Bangladesh, where credit growth has continued to rise despite a
slowdown in global trade, as these economies have m ..

Pressure to come clean on NPAs — no doubt badly needed — forced banks to increase their
lending rates and hurt economic growth, via both the consumption and investment channels.
The high real interest rates has also meant that the real exchange rate remains hugely
appreciated — by around 15-20% over the last five years. Such a high real exchange rate has
hurt India’s competitiveness. The cost of not setting up a bad bank and conducting bolder
financial sector reforms has now come to bite the sys ..

Trade wars have added to the global slowdown. Nevertheless, the US-China ‘trade war’ was
seen as an opportunity for several countries. So far, the biggest winner is Vietnam and, to
some extent, Bangladesh. India seems to have missed the bus due to lack of competitiveness.
Vietnam’s exports to the US have jumped by about 30%. It has seen huge inward investment
from Hong Kong-based companies. India’s decision to not join RCEP may also make it a less
attractive destination for firms leaving China.  ..

India has moved up again on the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rankings to 77th
position. But it remains behind Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. India dropped 10
ranks to 68th on the broader World Economic Forum (WEF) Competitiveness Index, which
incorporates the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ index, but includes other factors as well.

This suggests India will need to conduct more aggressive reforms in enforcement of contract,
registering property, paying taxes and resolving insolvency, as well as conduct labour and
financial sector reforms. The following will be needed to accompany the corporate tax cuts to
boost investment:
Set up a bad bank, and privatise some State banks. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) is
a good reform, but too slow to deal with the systemic non-performing assets (NPA) problem.

*Labour flexibility for firms up to 500 workers.

*Liberalise agricultural markets and exports, and boost rural demand by shifting funds to
PM-KISAN and MGNREGA by reducing electricity and fertiliser subsidy.

*A new tourism push, ‘Swagat India’, to match ‘Swachh Bharat’, to double arrivals in 10
years.
*Direct tax reform to complement corporate tax cut and widen the base.

*Aggressively consummate disinvestment, including Air India sale and Bharat Petroleum
Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and Cement Corporation of
India.

This will be finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s first real Budget — she had to ‘adopt’ the
previous one and then take actions to repair its damage. It would be better to get out in front
and announce a set of coherent, comprehensive, bold reforms.

It would also be wise to stick to a glide path of fiscal consolidation to leave more financial
savings for the likely recovery in private investment, which can be further encouraged by
bolder reforms to accompany the corporate tax cut.

What ails the agriculture sector?

The complexity of the Indian agricultural economy can bewilder any observer. And not just
because of the agri climate zones or the types of crops, but also because it suffers from
problems that are neither easily visible nor easily comprehensible or solvable. Despite being
the country with the second largest agricultural land in the world, hardl
y two fifth or forty percent of the agricultural land is irrigated. Also, even though the country
boasts of being the highest producer of many major agro commodities in the world, it suffers
from low productivity. As for the strength of the farming community, it is inconceivable that
any political party can form government or even find representation in parliament without
making significant inroads in the agrarian population. All political parties make over the top
attempt to show themselves as the biggest supporter of farmers’ cause. And yet, year after
year, farmers in different parts of the country are forced to commit suicide crop failure or
inability to repay the loans, large scale loan waiver programs of governments
notwithstanding. The granaries are overflowing with food stocks and huge stocks are lost to
rain or rodents every year, but minimum support prices are still raised liberally and even
more food grain is procured. And of course, the government cannot distribute food to poor
for free, regardless of the Supreme Court strictures. Confused? You are not alone; hardly
anyone has a complete handle over the great game of the Indian agricultural economy.
Critical for economy
It may sound clichéd, but agriculture remains a critical element of the Indian economy. Even
though agriculture and allied sectors contribute just about 14 percent to the GDP (2013-14
estimates of the Central Statistics Office), its direct and indirect impact on Indian economy
are huge and multifaceted. Approximately 70 per cent of the rural households survive on
agriculture and this population has a lion’s share in the consumption of many consumer
durables and non-durables, rural vehicles, two wheelers and tractors. Also, rural income
which primarily is farm driven, is a critical component of infrastructural sectors such  as
construction and cement. Another dimension of the importance of agriculture in Indian
economy is the forex that it generates for the country. Agricultural and allied industries
exports account for nearly one fifth of the total exports of the country and have grown
sustainably over last decade or so. Indirectly, agriculture plays a big role in some industries
such as food processing by providing bulk inputs.
Many industrial segments like tractors are dependent on rural demand A second way of
looking at the criticality of agriculture is how fast it reduces poverty. Like any other agrarian
country, farm growth in India pulls down poverty much faster than other sectors. According
to a research of Delhi based Indian Council for Research on International Economic
Relations (ICRIER), farm growth could reduce poverty two to three times faster than other
sectors. This proves how important it is for India to ensure a healthy farm sector. Not only it
offers livelihood to the majority of the population, but also has the ability to reduce poverty at
a
much faster rate than industry.  However, the farm sector has never been given the due
importance in national economic planning it deserves and resultantly, it is tottering towards
collapse.

Beyond rising production

It is commonsensical that if a sector which employs nearly two third of the country’s
population is in distress, the country cannot do well overall, regardless of how high the
national GDP is growing. But what is the actual status of the farm sector? Most common
noise that we hear is of record agricultural production, record food grain procurement by the
government, the stupendous growth of agricultural exports and the innumerable schemes
launched to benefi t farmers. And stats are made available to paddle such claims. Sure, we are
breaking records of production. GDP of agriculture and allied sectors stood at USD156.1
billion in 2013-14; production of wheat and rice reached an all-time high of 95.85 million
tonnes and 106.29 million tonnes respectively. Total agricultural exports from India grew at a
CAGR of 22.3 per cent over 2007 to 2013 to reach USD42.37 billion. Capital formation in
the farm sector stood at a record 6.8 percent in 2013-14. All glossy and happy. But these are
only one set of statistics. The other side is equally staggering, but not in a good way. Between
the years 2007-14, agricultural production in the country grew at a compounded rate of just
2.8 per cent. The combined food grain production of Rabi and Kharif crops grew at a CAGR
of even lower 1.83 per cent, in the six years leading to 2014. So, when the overall economy
was growing at around seven percent, the sector sustaining two-third of the country’s
population chugged along at such low rate.Uninspiring.
Census of 2011 showed that on an average, 2,300 people are quitting farming every day and
migrating to the cities. Between 2005 and 2009, roughly 140 million people left the farmland.
Over 35 million farmers are estimated to have left farming since 2007 to work in cities.
Naturally, farming has not been able to sustain these farmers, uprooting them to migrate to
cities looking for menial jobs. A survey by the Delhi based Centre for the Study of
Developing Societies (CSDS) found that three out of four farmers wanted to leave agriculture
because farming was not economically viable. According to the National Sample Survey
Organization (NSSO), as many as 78.1 million of the 90.2 million farming households do not
earn enough from farming to meet their expenses. The data show that on an average, a
farming family lives on a monthly income of Rs 2,115 Rupees, which is less than the official
threshold of the poverty line. The extreme distress is not visible to us in the cities.
Noted scientist and educationist Prof Yash Pal raises a pertinent question; how can the
country be prosperous if two third of the
population is growing at less than two percent in an overall growth of seven percent? The
inequality that it is generating is enormous and inhuman, he laments. When we see the impact
of a sustained and large growth differential between India’s agricultural GDP and overall
GDP, a scary situation emerges. If two third of population is creating less than one seventh of
the economy and is growing at a one third rate of the broader economy, it means that not only
there is a huge income differential, but that gap is increasing at a high rate. Add to it the
menace of inflation, which has ruled at double digit for the last few years, it is not hard to
imagine the stress that India’s agricultural economy is going through. And this stress reveals
in most depressing and sad way. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) records show
that nearly 300,000 farmers have committed suicide in the past seventeen years or so. Two
farmers on an average are committing suicide every day in Punjab, which is among the
prosperous states of the country. Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh have also recorded high
suicide rates. The increasing episodes of natural calamities during the last decade has made
matters even worse for farmers as the government’s interventions have been hopeless at best.
If loss of income because of crop failure have been the primary factor behind these deaths,
unserviceable loans have too made farmers’ lives hellish. Nearly 60 percent of the farmers
are deep in debt, the bad part of which is that small landowners owe to local lenders who
charge much more than banks and financial institutions.

But why is agricuture languishing?

According to Food and Agricultural Organization, India’s yield for rice stood at a low 2.4
tonnes per hectare against 4.7 tonnes per hectare and 3.6 tonnes per hectare for China and
Brazil respectively. In wheat, India’s yield per hectares stood at a little over 3 tonnes per
hectare against 4.19 tonnes per hectare in the case of China. However, according to data of
the Ministry of Agriculture, in 2013-14, the yield of rice jumped to 3.6 tonnes per hectare but
that of wheat plummeted to under three tonnes per hectare. Is low productivity a problem?
Actually, it is the cumulative net result of multiple problems. First and foremost problem is
the small average size of landholding. As per the Agriculture Census of 2010-11, small and
marginal holdings of less than 2 hectares accounted for 85 percent of the total agricultural
land holdings. As many as 62 million households have landholding of less than one hectare
and these accounts for 70 per cent of total farm households. What is even more disturbing is
that the average size of holdings has been coming down, and for all classes of farmers, from
small & marginal to medium and large.
The average landholding for all classes has come down from 2.82 hectares in 1970-71 to 1.16
hectares in 2010-11, a National  Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
study revealed. Even as the number of farmers has increased tremendously over last four
decades, the total agricultural land has barely increased, resulting in such decline in average
landholding, which manifests in multiple problems. On one hand, it makes the cost of inputs
high relative to the income, and on the other, it disincentivizes farmers from ferrying their
produce to markets where their crop can get right price. Middlemen make merry of the
situation. Furthermore, the decreasing size of land holdings makes it very tough to mechanize
and increase yield.

The low productivity also is a manifestation of some unique problems that India faces. First,
the human capital is of very low quality. The farmers are mostly uneducated or ill educated.
This makes adaptation of technology impossible. This is exacerbated by the poor help from
government in technical matters. For example, because of poor understanding of the ill
effects of excessive use of chemicals, farmers have overused these chemicals eroding the soil
productivity. Secondly, the landowning and rental rights are skewed against farmers.
Excessive rent, insecurity regarding land tenure and no land ownership rights reduce the
incentive for farmers to do anything for enhancing productivity and increasing production.

Poor infrastructure is third huge problem of Indian agriculture. The most visible and
prevalent problems are lack of irrigation and unconnected markets. Sixty percent of the
agricultural land is unirrigated, making monsoon all important factor in agricultural
production. This not only makes food prices extremely volatile, but also makes farmers’
income unpredictable. Another way in which poor infrastructure severely distorts agri
commodity market is poor road transportation and broken logistical network. The poor road
network makes it hard for farmers to reach markets to sell their produce. Also the storage
facilities across India are in bad  shape. The condition is especially bad for perishable items
such as fruits and vegetables. All of these result in poor income for farmers. Then there are
Institutional issues. It is an acknowledged fact that agricultural productivity is directly linked
with ready and reliable access to quality inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, farming
equipment and technical know how. Unfortunately, Indian farmers do not have access to any
of these. High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds are rarely available and technical information
and know how is hard to fi nd. The middlemen, entrenched because of the Agricultural
Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act further reduce the bargaining power of small
farmers for most crops. Agricultural loans were planned to ensure that small farmers can
afford input costs. However, the experience has been anything but encouraging. Most of the
times, credit is not available to small landowners forcing them to go to local lenders who
offer loans at exorbitant rates, making loans unsustainable right from the beginning. On the
other hand, large landowners who do get loans from banks at lower rate, have been found to
have a high propensity to default.

The way out

What transpires from above is that the Indian farmer is suffering at three levels. First, he is
too small and poor to afford modern farming with high quality inputs and modern
technology. Secondly, he does not have adequate state support. And third, the poor
infrastructure prevents him from realizing the right price for his produce. Action is required
at all these levels. The most fundamental of the agricultural inputs is seeds. State
governments who are primarily responsible for the production and distribution of
quality/certified seeds distribute seeds through a number of channels such as  departmental
outlets at block and village level, cooperatives and outlets of seed corporations and private
dealers. But the structure is very often so broken that farmers have to buy seeds only from
private outlets at a high price. Also, HYV seeds are too costly for most farmers. As such, a
mechanism needs to be found to ensure that high quality seeds are available at the right price
at all places. Supplemented with  other facilities such as proper irrigation and right fertilizers,
quality seeds can increase production in excess of 30 percent, according to numerous
researches.
At the infrastructure level, improving irrigation is the most crucial and immediate
requirement. There is no shortcut to this. A long term plan needs to be put in place for
effective and cost effective irrigation coverage. The river interlinking plan could be a
game changer in this regard. Also, efficient irrigation technologies such as piped conveyance
and drip irrigation, etc. need wider application. As for logistics, more private investment
needs to be attracted in  higher end projects like cold storage facilities. Private sector
investment in marketing and value chains have started to trickle in but needs further 
encouragement. At institutional level, action is required at four broad fronts. First and
foremost, adequate financing must be made available to small farmers so they can afford
quality inputs. These include seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, irrigation and mechanized
tilling. Farm credit is among the most important yet neglected areas of banking with high
losses. Proper targeting, monitoring and assistance is required so that credit level can be
increased but losses kept low. Crop insurance is the second big initiative that is required to
prevent extreme losses to farmers. While there are complex technical issues related to crop
insurance, but the government has taken up the initiative which is commendable. Third, the
entire mechanism of procurement and marketing of agricultural produce needs a radical
improvement. The APMC mechanism which was invented  to prevent middlemen from
robbing farmers, has itself become a monster and is harming farmers as well as end users. It
has to be done away with immediately.

Finally, the government needs to beef up its capability to guide the farming community in
best practices. Because farmers are mostly not aware of the best farming methodologies, they
are unable to take advantage of the best mix of fertilizers and pesticides, crop mixing, water
management and the weather forecasts. Even though the government has started to leverage
technology to make information available through telephone and call centers, its reach and
ease needs to be enhanced to make such information ubiquitous. Additionally, there is a dire
need for improving the information quality that is being provided. The fragmented farming is
a systemic bane of Indian agriculture. It is common knowledge that small and marginal
farmers are separately too poor and weak to adapt new technology or market their produce.
The government can intervene to encourage  collective farming that could allow members to
buy seeds or fertilizers, plan crops and market produce together. While the experience in
cooperative farming has mostly been a failure because of unclear work incentives, excessive
government interference and inefficient leadership, some  have done extraordinarily well. For
example, the Gambhira Collective Farming Society in Mahisagar district of Gujarat has
sustained for over sixty years. The Society undertakes primary tillage, purchase of inputs,
irrigation and marketing of produce for nearly 300 members who cultivate over 500 acres of
land. The proceeds obtained from crop production from the land allotted to groups, after
meeting all the expenses and contribution towards the reserve. The members have got higher
returns for their produce by achieving economies of scale and optimum utilization of
resources.

At the end of the day, government needs to move out of the paradigm of promoting
agriculture by merely increasing MSPs and waiving off farm loans. It needs to address deeper
structural issues that plague the system. The first Green Revolution rode the wave of better
seeds, irrigation and fertilizers. India needs another round of radical improvement in
agriculture to feed its population. But this time, a much bigger template would be required.
Besides research labs, it would need judicious government intervention to ensure sound
infrastructure and efficient market for agricultural produce and proper incentive structure to
lure
private sector money in the sector. There are no quick fix solutions for a sector as complex
and big as agriculture. But failing is not a choice because it is not only an economic
challenge, but also a social and human one.

Privatisation of public sector undertakings

Over the last 58 years or so, the performance of India’s public sector enterprises has been
severely criticised.

Truly speaking, the public sector enterprises have been set up not merely out of ideological
considerations of building a socialistic pattern of society.

In truth, the necessity for creating adequate infrastructural facilities was the most important
consideration leading to the expansion of the public sector.

This is in view of the fact that the private sector is not only hesitant, but also incapable, of
building social overhead capital. In a mixed economy framework, the two sectors are
expected to play a complementary role. But what happened in India during the planning
period was that the public sector acted as a feeder to the private sector, in spite of
inefficiencies of the former.

Furthermore, loss of public sector helps private sector to accumulate profits. That is why, in
the early 1990s, a question cropped up in the minds of our national leaders: How long public
sector industries should bear losses by merely playing the complementary role?

An argument often advanced by them is that, over time, private sector industries in India have
attained a fair degree of maturity. Investment potentiality, as well as managerial efficiency, of
these industries are no less inferior to those of public sector industries. Hence, the necessity
for expansion of the private sector.

ADVERTISEMENTS:
In the light of failure of the public sector and success of the private sector industries, demand
for privatisation of the public sector came to the forefront when the Cong. (I) Government
under the leadership of P.V. Narasimha Rao came to power in 1991. This was the time when
the then socialist country U.S.S.R. embarked upon economic reforms under the banner
‘Perestroika’ (meaning ‘reconstruction’ or ‘restructuring’ of the economic system) aimed at
dismantling socialist stance and introducing privatisation.

This wave of privatisation swept all over India. International financial institutions also
preached the gospel of privatisation. The World Bank, in its 1991 report, clamored for the
introduction of ‘market- friendly’ approach and advised us to deregulate and decontrol the
public sector. It is argued by these institutions that the market will take care of all problems.
The market mechanism is the ‘open sesame’ for all sorts of economic ills. Is it really so? To
answer this question, we must first know the meaning of privatisation.

The term ‘privatisation’ is used in different ways, ranging from ‘transition to private legal
forms’ to ‘partial or complete denationalization of assets.’

In India, privatisation is sought to be achieved through two measures:

ADVERTISEMENTS:

(i) The disinvestment of the government’s equity in public sector undertakings, and

(ii) The opening up of hitherto closed areas to private participation.

The issue of privatisation has come to the forefront due to the poor performance of several
public sector enterprises and the consequent huge fiscal deficits faced by the government.
Since the government has to give fiscal support to losing public concerns, the fiscal deficit of
the government kept on mounting year after year. One specific step that has been taken to
reduce the deficit was privatisation, through an act of disinvestment, i.e., selling of public
sector equity to mutual funds, financial institutions and the private sector.

The privatisation process began in 1991-92 with the sale of minority stakes in some PSUs.
From 1999-2000 onwards, the focus has been shifted to strategic sales. As a part of strategic
sales, the government plans to ensure that at least for a period of one year after privatisation
there would be no retrenchment of employees.
Another major shift in disinvestment policy was made in 2004-05 when it was decided that
the government may “dilute its equity and raise resources to meet the social needs of the
people”— a distinct departure from strategic sales.
The Government has been able to realise nearly Rs 51,573 crore by way of disinvestment of
PSEs over the period 1991-92—March 2007- 08. Till 1990-2000, disinvestment was
primarily through the sale of minority shares in small lots. Between 1999-2000 and 2003-04,
the emphasis on disinvestment changed in favour of strategic sale. At present, the policy is to
list large, profitable CPSEs on domestic stock exchanges.

One can conclude from this move of the Government that the private sector industries in
India are not inefficient as public sector industries. Administrative and managerial
inefficiency are the hallmarks of public sector industries. Government is unable to run these
high cost public sector industries. Unable to correct this situation, the Government went for
privatisation. So, it was a forced privatisation.

The current direction of privatisation policy has been spelt out in December 2002.
Government has announced in the Parliament its policy that the main objective of
disinvestment is to put national resources and assets to optimal use and in particular to
unleash the productive potential in our public sector enterprises.

The policy of disinvestment now aims at:

ADVERTISEMENTS:

(i) Modernisation and up-gradation of PSEs;

(ii) Creation of new assets;

(iii) Generation of employment;

(iv) Retiring of public debt.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Criticisms:
Mishra and Puri have rightly commented: “In fact, there seems to be no clarity regarding
the objectives of such privatisation. Instead of revamping the public sector enterprises,
the entire way in which disinvestment has been undertaken gives the impression that it
is an exercise to bridge the budgetary deficit.” Critics have argued that privatisation does
not necessarily lead to better economic performance.
In feet, there is hardly any correlation between ownership and operational efficiency
(performance). No doubt competitive markets are necessary to achieve an efficient and
vigorous economy, but full-scale private ownership is not necessary for the successful
operation of competitive markets (i.e., for keeping competition alive and markets free).

The fact is not that all public sector enterprises are models of inefficiency or loss- making
concerns and that all units in private sector are efficient in their operation. There are both
efficient and inefficient enterprises in both the sectors—private and public. Thus, it appears,
on balance, that in order to improve the performance of inefficient units the creation of a
competitive market environment is absolutely essential. The crux of the matter is that it is a
competitive environment, rather than ownership, which ensures an efficient allocation of
society’s productive wealth i.e., its capital.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Critics also point out that if shares of public sector enterprises are offered for sale to the
private sector, the latter will naturally be interested only in the shares of profit-making
concerns. This would virtually amount to transferring public profit to the private pockets.
This cannot be justified by any rational economic canon.

It may be reminded that the disinvestment policy has wide fiscal ramifications. It is observed
that disinvestment plans did not run as it was derived; it led to low resource mobilisation in
most of the years. Further, it has not been successful in addressing fiscal difficulties.

Finally, one may note that the sale of real assets of large enterprises like the SAIL or Coal
India Ltd. is likely to weaken the very base of the economy by creating infrastructural
deficiency. If the new owners of these companies (the replacement values of the assets of
which are in the neighbourhood of Rs 25,000 crore each) enjoy the discretion of using the
resources as they deem fit, this will virtually amount to giving control over the vast resources
at throwaway prices.
Ours is a mixed economy. In the name of liberalisation, private sector is being pampered.
Market principles are being allowed to play freely. What is needed at this juncture is the de-
bureaucratisation of the public sector, instead of privatisation. Public sector industries in
India are plagued with inefficiencies due to excessive bureaucratisation. Instead of removing
the ills of the public sector industries, the Government went for privatisation. To achieve the
goals of social justice public sector investment has to be stepped up.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

A logical question that will arise is the question of financing public sector industries.
Resources must be garnered to step up investment in the public sector. However, to this
problem we have an answer. The Government should have disinvested its share of luxury
hotels and restaurants, bakery, etc. By disinvesting shares of these luxury goods producing
public sector industries, the Government could have raised a great deal of financial resources.

Furthermore, loss- making public sector industries should not be allowed to function unless
they improve their performance. However, the Government thought it proper to disinvest
shares of profit-making public sector enterprises. But, experts firmly believe that privatisation
is not the solution to the problems from which our economy is suffering.

Automobile crisis in india

Over the last 58 years or so, the performance of India’s public sector enterprises has been
severely criticised.

Truly speaking, the public sector enterprises have been set up not merely out of ideological
considerations of building a socialistic pattern of society.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

In truth, the necessity for creating adequate infrastructural facilities was the most important
consideration leading to the expansion of the public sector.

This is in view of the fact that the private sector is not only hesitant, but also incapable, of
building social overhead capital. In a mixed economy framework, the two sectors are
expected to play a complementary role. But what happened in India during the planning
period was that the public sector acted as a feeder to the private sector, in spite of
inefficiencies of the former.

Furthermore, loss of public sector helps private sector to accumulate profits. That is why, in
the early 1990s, a question cropped up in the minds of our national leaders: How long public
sector industries should bear losses by merely playing the complementary role?

An argument often advanced by them is that, over time, private sector industries in India have
attained a fair degree of maturity. Investment potentiality, as well as managerial efficiency, of
these industries are no less inferior to those of public sector industries. Hence, the necessity
for expansion of the private sector.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

In the light of failure of the public sector and success of the private sector industries, demand
for privatisation of the public sector came to the forefront when the Cong. (I) Government
under the leadership of P.V. Narasimha Rao came to power in 1991. This was the time when
the then socialist country U.S.S.R. embarked upon economic reforms under the banner
‘Perestroika’ (meaning ‘reconstruction’ or ‘restructuring’ of the economic system) aimed at
dismantling socialist stance and introducing privatisation.

This wave of privatisation swept all over India. International financial institutions also
preached the gospel of privatisation. The World Bank, in its 1991 report, clamored for the
introduction of ‘market- friendly’ approach and advised us to deregulate and decontrol the
public sector. It is argued by these institutions that the market will take care of all problems.
The market mechanism is the ‘open sesame’ for all sorts of economic ills. Is it really so? To
answer this question, we must first know the meaning of privatisation.

The term ‘privatisation’ is used in different ways, ranging from ‘transition to private legal
forms’ to ‘partial or complete denationalization of assets.’

In India, privatisation is sought to be achieved through two measures:

ADVERTISEMENTS:

(i) The disinvestment of the government’s equity in public sector undertakings, and
(ii) The opening up of hitherto closed areas to private participation.

The issue of privatisation has come to the forefront due to the poor performance of several
public sector enterprises and the consequent huge fiscal deficits faced by the government.
Since the government has to give fiscal support to losing public concerns, the fiscal deficit of
the government kept on mounting year after year. One specific step that has been taken to
reduce the deficit was privatisation, through an act of disinvestment, i.e., selling of public
sector equity to mutual funds, financial institutions and the private sector.

The privatisation process began in 1991-92 with the sale of minority stakes in some PSUs.
From 1999-2000 onwards, the focus has been shifted to strategic sales. As a part of strategic
sales, the government plans to ensure that at least for a period of one year after privatisation
there would be no retrenchment of employees.

Another major shift in disinvestment policy was made in 2004-05 when it was decided that
the government may “dilute its equity and raise resources to meet the social needs of the
people”— a distinct departure from strategic sales.
The Government has been able to realise nearly Rs 51,573 crore by way of disinvestment of
PSEs over the period 1991-92—March 2007- 08. Till 1990-2000, disinvestment was
primarily through the sale of minority shares in small lots. Between 1999-2000 and 2003-04,
the emphasis on disinvestment changed in favour of strategic sale. At present, the policy is to
list large, profitable CPSEs on domestic stock exchanges.

One can conclude from this move of the Government that the private sector industries in
India are not inefficient as public sector industries. Administrative and managerial
inefficiency are the hallmarks of public sector industries. Government is unable to run these
high cost public sector industries. Unable to correct this situation, the Government went for
privatisation. So, it was a forced privatisation.

The current direction of privatisation policy has been spelt out in December 2002.
Government has announced in the Parliament its policy that the main objective of
disinvestment is to put national resources and assets to optimal use and in particular to
unleash the productive potential in our public sector enterprises.

The policy of disinvestment now aims at:

ADVERTISEMENTS:

(i) Modernisation and up-gradation of PSEs;

(ii) Creation of new assets;

(iii) Generation of employment;

(iv) Retiring of public debt.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Criticisms:
Mishra and Puri have rightly commented: “In fact, there seems to be no clarity regarding
the objectives of such privatisation. Instead of revamping the public sector enterprises,
the entire way in which disinvestment has been undertaken gives the impression that it
is an exercise to bridge the budgetary deficit.” Critics have argued that privatisation does
not necessarily lead to better economic performance.
In feet, there is hardly any correlation between ownership and operational efficiency
(performance). No doubt competitive markets are necessary to achieve an efficient and
vigorous economy, but full-scale private ownership is not necessary for the successful
operation of competitive markets (i.e., for keeping competition alive and markets free).

The fact is not that all public sector enterprises are models of inefficiency or loss- making
concerns and that all units in private sector are efficient in their operation. There are both
efficient and inefficient enterprises in both the sectors—private and public. Thus, it appears,
on balance, that in order to improve the performance of inefficient units the creation of a
competitive market environment is absolutely essential. The crux of the matter is that it is a
competitive environment, rather than ownership, which ensures an efficient allocation of
society’s productive wealth i.e., its capital.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Critics also point out that if shares of public sector enterprises are offered for sale to the
private sector, the latter will naturally be interested only in the shares of profit-making
concerns. This would virtually amount to transferring public profit to the private pockets.
This cannot be justified by any rational economic canon.

It may be reminded that the disinvestment policy has wide fiscal ramifications. It is observed
that disinvestment plans did not run as it was derived; it led to low resource mobilisation in
most of the years. Further, it has not been successful in addressing fiscal difficulties.

Finally, one may note that the sale of real assets of large enterprises like the SAIL or Coal
India Ltd. is likely to weaken the very base of the economy by creating infrastructural
deficiency. If the new owners of these companies (the replacement values of the assets of
which are in the neighbourhood of Rs 25,000 crore each) enjoy the discretion of using the
resources as they deem fit, this will virtually amount to giving control over the vast resources
at throwaway prices.

Ours is a mixed economy. In the name of liberalisation, private sector is being pampered.
Market principles are being allowed to play freely. What is needed at this juncture is the de-
bureaucratisation of the public sector, instead of privatisation. Public sector industries in
India are plagued with inefficiencies due to excessive bureaucratisation. Instead of removing
the ills of the public sector industries, the Government went for privatisation. To achieve the
goals of social justice public sector investment has to be stepped up.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

A logical question that will arise is the question of financing public sector industries.
Resources must be garnered to step up investment in the public sector. However, to this
problem we have an answer. The Government should have disinvested its share of luxury
hotels and restaurants, bakery, etc. By disinvesting shares of these luxury goods producing
public sector industries, the Government could have raised a great deal of financial resources.

Furthermore, loss- making public sector industries should not be allowed to function unless
they improve their performance. However, the Government thought it proper to disinvest
shares of profit-making public sector enterprises. But, experts firmly believe that privatisation
is not the solution to the problems from which our economy is suffering.

the automotive industry, which has about 50% share in manufacturing GDP, has been down
for over six months due to reduction in demand. Climax Overseas is a tier-two supplier to
several original equipment manufacturers including Maruti, Honda, Hero, Toyota and Tata. A
manufacturer and supplier of all types of automotive components including track control
arms, tie rod ends, ball joints and stabiliser links

while the overall sentiment in the market was positive when the BJP-led government came to
power in 2014, and the ‘Make in India’ slogan infused confidence in manufacturing,
demonetisation dealt a severe blow to the economy. Since we have traditionally been a cash
economy, scrapping high-value currency reduced cash-in-hand. This adversely impacted
expenditure. Though cash has returned to the economy to some extent, it is still concentrated
in a few hands. This has kept demand low. The jobs lost during demonetisation could not be
fully restored. Sectors such as real estate, which employ a large number of people, are still in
a shambles. Soon, other sectors like retail and hospitality also started seeing a reduction in
demand due to the cash crunch and job losses. The entire economy was impacted,” he says.
Sood says the demand for small cars and two-wheelers was hit the most as there was low
demand in the predominantly cash-driven rural economy.

Over the past year and more, 16 automotive units have shut shop rendering at least 20,000
workers jobless. With the three original equipment manufacturers registering a fall in
production to even 30%, their ancillary units have also felt the heat and lost business. When
the Maruti Suzuki management accepts that it has not renewed the contract of 3,000
temporary workers, the loss of jobs across the ancillary units in the area is anyone’s guess,”

Relevance of non violence

There was a time not long ago when any incident of violence was treated as a matter of great
concern. But violence has become so pervasive in the world today that most of such incidents
occurring on a daily basis attract scarce attention. When something gruesome or shocking
happens there is often debate about how to check violence. However, it has become a way
with the world to treat evil with more evil. Using force to set a wrong right or to discipline a
wrongdoer has been adopted as a norm by humans at all levels of society. The whole issue of
arms proliferation is based on the premise of promoting violence as a power and justifying
use of weapons as a necessity to maintain peace, law and order. Is violence justified for a
good cause? This is a critical question today and most people would react to it by pointing to
terrorism, crime, the need for defence of vulnerable sections of society and so on. But history
is witness to the fact that violence begets more violence. We can subjugate an enemy by use
of force but can we subjugate hatred, resentment, mistrust and wickedness through force?
The antidote for violence is to promote a culture of ahimsa – nonviolence. Ahimsa is
considered the highest duty in Hinduism, Jainism and many other religious traditions. In
ancient India, people practically lived by the principle of ‘Ahimsa Parmo Dharma’ (non-
violence is supreme conduct). If non-violence is promoted as the highest ethic and way of life
by all religious, political and social leaders, our world will become paradise. The benefits of a
non-violent culture are tremendous. If nations and their people adopt non-violence in their
thinking, planning and actions, there will be progress at all levels of human existence by
leaps and bounds. Non-violence will promote rational and non-aggressive ways of solving
problems. Nations will have no need for hoarding lethal weapons of mass destruction. They
would not devote time, energy, money and skills to research and development of
sophisticated arms and tools for warfare. So much of manpower will not be needed for
guarding each nook and corner of land, air and water demarcated by each country and local
groups. Most of all, lives will not be lost as a result of violent incidents. People will not be
killed, maimed or wounded and families will not be broken or displaced due to the threat to
their lives and loss of lives in violent events. Imagine how much of mental, intellectual,
cultural and creative energy will be at the world’s disposal to invest in more progressive and
constructive work. A world at war or violent conflict cannot progress, let alone carry on its
normal way of life. When survival, basic human rights and security are threatened, how can
people think of creative and progressive pursuits? Peace and non-violence are prerequisites
for a developed world. How can a society progress if all or most of its time is spent on
defending and fighting for basic survival and rights? When there is little or no threat,
violence, it will facilitate law and order in the society not out of fear or compulsion but out of
great respect for the rights and dignity of each human being. Nonviolence can redress almost
all problems of our world – ecological, economic, political, social, cultural and religious.
Such a society or nation can devote itself to raising the bar to achieve the best in spirituality,
science, commerce, art, education and other spheres of human activity. They can reach the
highest level of human experience in terms of quality of work and relationships. Such a world
is not a utopian dream but a reality that can be made possible the present times. There was a
period in human experience called Satyuga or heaven when people lived with a completely
non-violent attitude. In reality, today the entire human world has become hostage to violent
forces – vices such as lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego. In fact, all human souls are
innately good, but when we are disconnected from our true nature we violate ourselves and
we lie, steal, cheat, covet, envy, hate and deride others – we kill our true nature of purity,
peace and love. True non-violence means to be completely free from vices. Truth and non-
violence go hand in hand. In fact, the first violation of truth happens when we consider the
self to be a physical body instead of a soul. Our body-consciousness segregates us on the
lines of gender, race, colour, and creed and brings us in conflict with each other on these lines
of discrimination and hatred. When we realise that as children of God we have innate virtues
that are god-like, then we begin to live in a truly non-violent way. Such a spiritual awakening
can help us live in complete harmony with fellow humans and nature. 

Is India safe for women?

Our first priority has to be safety of women. It is important for everyone- from government to
corporate and individuals- to come together to make India a safer place for women to work
and live.

If you search the internet , there are numerous stories of girls being raped by cab drivers,
molested by men on metros, killed for marrying a man of another caste, foot-binding, acid
burning , child marriage happening in different parts of India wherever girls- young and old-
are being troubled and killed for simply existing.

Once you feel unsafe in a place, it is hard to ever feel safe there again-one in three women
and girls worldwide experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime.

It is the most pervasive human right violation in the world, every culture, every country
,every religion, every society, every time period, everywhere in the world – women are the
ones who are more poor, they have less choice, less political voice, less mobility, less access
to healthcare, less education they are more vulnerable to violence . The question is how are
we going to end this? Well it is time we start taking it personally!

The year 2018, was full of mixed feelings. On one hand, there were many wins
like #MeToo movement gaining attention in India and worldwide, many powerful men lost
their jobs and they were forced to resign. Additionally a year that saw a number of women
leaders being elected into workplace within our country, and many women voters showing up
in US and India to vote corrupt and inept governments out of power.
On the other hand, it seems like a lot of work still needs to be done. Heads of government,
from Donald Trump to Yogi Adityanath, continue to play down and demean women,
relegating them to second – class citizenry. This cannot continue if we want to make women
feel they live in a happy, safe and inclusive world.

We live in a country where 50 percent of the population still lives in terror and does not have
same privileges as their male counterparts. Since it is that time of the year where we reflect
upon our achievements in the past year and makes plans for the New Year, I have some
suggestion on how every person can the driver of change when it comes to making women
feel safe. We want to try to instigate as many men and boys as possible to advocate for
change.

Woman Safety – What can you and I do?

Everyone needs to decide and favourably agree that each person has the right to feel safe.
Our constitution states that every individual is equal before the law. So why it is not reflected
in practice? Women and girls all over the world must be allowed to access education,
healthcare, choice of career, choice of marriage partner, or the right to wear what they want
without any fear. They should not be chastised for the choice of garments, friends, and leisure
activities.

Education in this regard is the need for the hour to dissolve taboos issues and to help men in
the country understand and respect boundaries, and consent in order not to violate women’s
right.

As individuals, we can respect each other, let us be active bystanders where we prevent
sexual violence and intervene when we see it happening and, most importantly, do not
perpetuate it.

Role of the Government

The Government must guarantee that the legislation in force is implemented. What is the
point of having women’s protection legislation if the system is restrictive and inhibiting?
There is clearly a need to upgrade the infrastructure to safeguard women’s freedom.
Half of the Nirbhaya Fund is unused despite the hopeless need for efficient helplines, fast-
track courts, delicate judicial officials, extensive and high-quality one-stop crisis centers and
shelters and financing for women’s right education and advocacy programmes.

Despite the creation of numerous efficient laws and regulation by the Government of India to
deal with and regulate offences against females, the amount and frequency of offences
against females is growing on a daily basis. The position of women in the nation has been ore
offensive and terrible in the last few years.

Women’s faith in their safety in their own nation has reduced. Women are in doubtful
condition for their safety and fear while going anywhere else outside their home (office,
market, etc.). We should not blame the government, because women’s safety is not just the
duty of the government, it is the duty of every citizen of India, particularly the people who
need it.

A study that ranked India as the most dangerous place due to its elevated incidence of sexual
violence , absence of access to justice in rape instances , child marriage , feticide and
trafficking in human being . India outstripped nations like Syria and Afghanistan – second
and third- that are presently at war.

The government has performed little to safeguard females since the contentious rape and
murder of a young student in 2012 caused extensive outrage and change in the country’s rape
legislation. Swati Sharma, a young, innocent kid from Aligarh who had so much to look
forward to in life, but was killed and killed as a result of a monetary conflict between her
parents and the guilty party.

If news is to be believed, the guilty party had, in the past, supposedly been harassing his own
daughter. The world is shocked and angry. Twitter is blazing with individuals, including
celebrities rallying together, urging the government to take serious action against the guilty
parties. Safety and the right to live without fear is the right of every citizen.

Unfortunately, this is being robbed of females. New Delhi, the capital, has reported some of
the largest number of rapes in India. The 2012 gang rape and the murder of a student on a bus
in the city frightened the world, led to candle marches and nationwide protests.
At a moment like this, when I see no light at the end of the tunnel, Delhi’s Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal is proposing free public transport for females in the capital to enhance
women’s safety.

Women’s safety in India is a major issue today. We can not say that females are secure in
India by seeing offences against females in particular in the domestic capital in the last few
years. Women usually feel scared when they go out to their home by themselves.

The sad truth of the nation is that its women people live with fear all the time. Personal safety
of females has been an issue of significance to every citizen of India. In order to enhance the
safety status of females in India, the following are some tips for women’s security.

Tips regarding women’s safety

 Self-defense techniques are the first and foremost thing that every female must be
conscious of and have adequate self-defense training for their safety.
 They need to be conscious of some efficient defense methods, such as groin kicks,
blocking punches, etc. Generally, most females are endowed with the sixth sense that
they have to use whenever they have a issue.
 They should at once prevent any scenario that they feel bad about.
 Escape and operate is also a nice way to decrease some of the hazards females face
when they’re in trouble.
 They should never go alone with any unknown individual in some unknown location.
 Women must understand and feel their physical power and use it accordingly. They
should never feel that they are weaker than men and take some self-defense training.
 They should be careful to communicate with someone on the Internet in cyberspace.
 Pepper spray can also be shown to be a useful self-defense tool, but it has a drawback
that some people can not be harmed by it even after full-face spraying. It may not stop
the attacker, so that women do not depend entirely on it and use other techniques as
well.
 They must have all the emergency numbers with them, and what if possible, so that
they can tell their family members and the police immediately.
 Women should be very aware when riding a vehicle and going on any journey. They
have to lock all the vehicle doors while travelling with their own or private vehicle.
Conclusion

While we had a woman prime minister, a woman president, and presently a woman minister
of finance, and a woman defense minister, we have mainly had a gender non-inclusive
legislature. At 12%, India is one of the laggards among its colleagues in the representation of
females in Parliament.

Democratic India has half the representation of females observed in the Chinese legislature.
The scenario is not very encouraging even in the case of the judiciary, where, as a country,
we are celebrating only the first example of three female magistrates sitting in the 68-year
history of the country’s Supreme Court.

Despite repeated offences against females and young girls, India does not yet have a
prevalent database of sexual offenders. Registration and notification schemes for sex
offenders have been created around the globe over the last 20 years. Since 1994, 18 more
nations have implemented some type of law on the registration of sex offenders.

We can strengthen women’s leadership, by enhancing their representation and meaningful

participation in displaced community and camp management committees, in decision making,
and in dispute resolution systems, by enhancing their access to and control over services and
resources, promoting their rights and leadership skills.

We can improve the capacity of women and girls, including by allowing them to have access
to quality education, including secondary education, in a secure classroom environment and
by improving food security, livelihood possibilities, liberty of motion and financial
independence.

The Government should provide data, counselling, medical and psychosocial care to females
and girls at risk, as well as access to secure homes when faced with domestic violence and
abuse or assault by other members of the society, particularly where there are no mechanisms
to remove offenders; provide for emergency voluntary relocation, e.g. to another town or
camp, or emergency resettlement;
Women make up nearly half of the world’s population. It is of the utmost significance that
females also enjoy equal opportunities in all walks of life and have the liberty to make their
own choices and decisions.

Women are known to have made an extraordinary contribution to making the world as we see
it today, be it Mother Teresa, Marie Curie, Betty William, Virginia Woolf, and many others
who fought for their rights and stood up for their beliefs against all odds, or Kalpana Chawla,
Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal, Indra Nooyi, etc. who broke down all the barriers in their paths
to success and influence.

Women empowerment in society promotes equality between women and men and helps
women by offering them with strength and bravery to be the decision-maker of their own life.
Women’s empowerment in India has attained power with the assistance of women’s welfare
organizations by offering them with all the necessary assistance.

Should mobile towers be banned in residential areas

While people are rather happy with better network accessibility brought by increase in the
number of mobile phone towers in their areas, the National Rights Commission (NHRC) is
concerned about the harmful effects of radiation emitted from these towers in residential
areas. Notices have been issued to the union ministry of communications and information
technology and health ministry.

Development in the telecommunication sector has never been so hiked up as now. New and
better services are being introduced with newer networks that require more towers.
Development should not come in the way of healthcare and government needs to ensure that
strategies are adapted to take care of these aspects.

The harmful effect of having mobile towers in residential areas is highly debated. Some of
the theories believe that there is no harm in having mobile towers in residential areas while
the others cite the list of harms that could come from them.

Yes:
1. Electromagnetic radiations: If you go for expert advice, they would tell you that living
within 50m of a mobile tower is like being stuck in a microwave oven for the entire day. The
electromagnetic radiations are cancerous elements that are straightforward lethal for health.
Take a look at all those cell phone towers on the terrace of residential buildings and you can
imagine how close a call people are taking with these perilous elements. The WHO’s
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reported that mobile tower radiations
are carcinogenic to humans and can cause brain cancer. It has the same effects as being
surrounded by DDT, chloroform, lead and petrol exhaust.

2. Unauthorized constructions: Out of all the mobile phone towers in metropolitan cities, a

shocking 45% of them are illegal. They did not follow the norms that are set for the purpose
and ignorantly put the lives of people at risk of cancer and other disastrous ailments. The
buildings on which the tower is to be set must be authorized by the concerned government
body but since most of them are illegal, hence unauthorized too.

3. Other issues: While cancer is the biggest threat to people living in the vicinity of a mobile
phone tower, there are other health issues too. People in the area experience sleep disorders,
fatigue, headache, memory loss, depression, hearing problems, joint pains, skin diseases, and
even cardiovascular problems. Mobile phones emit radiation too but they are smaller in
intensity while mobile towers generate higher intensity of radiation 24 hours. We can only
imagine the kind of long term toll this can take on the health of people.

4. Birds on the go: The most notable effect of mobile tower radiation has been seen on birds.
The numbers of local birds like sparrows have started to dwindle from the residential areas
where mobile towers have been installed. The mobile towers are known to emit microwaves
that are found to damage bird eggs and embryos as they cause thinning of the skulls of chicks
as well as eggshells. Microwaves also interfere with the navigation sensors of the birds which
they use to find their way back to nest. Imagine a mother bird on the spree for food trying to
return to the kin but never being able to find the way back. It is dismal indeed.

5. On children and unborn: Children have thinner skulls and are hence known to be more
affected by radiation from mobile phone towers. The same applies for pregnant woman
carrying an underdeveloped child. The penetration of radiation is easier on them and the
effect could be really disastrous if not kept under check. Children these days are known to
have less concentration power – one of the effects of having cellular towers in residential
areas, near schools and hospitals.

No:

1. Norms are effective: The norms set by the Indian government are far more stringent as
compared to the limits set in advanced countries. There is very negligible amount of harmful
radiation created amid our mobile phone towers which do not have a greater coverage area.
The frequency is very low, making the norms far more effective than to leave us worrying
about cancer and other health issues that are only known to happen under very high radiation
exposure.

2. Authorization: After compliant from the residential, many illegal mobile towers were
sealed in the year 2013. Now the company needs to get various types of clearances from
various departments that strictly check the environment and the tower capacity before giving
it a go. The whole problem of illegal and unauthorized setup of mobile towers on rooftops
started when people started selling off their space to mobile companies that promised them
good pay and round the day electricity advantage. People also need to be more aware and
precautionary if they want the government to take care of the health needs of the citizens.

3. Heavy fine imposed on trespassers: Heavy fines and punishments are now imposed on
illegal construction of mobile towers which has effectively lessened the whole fiasco about
harmful radiation in residential areas. On top of that it is to be noted that people are more
worried about getting the best signal strength on their mobile devices. There is no
compromising on data speed or call drop due to bad network. People rarely have objections if
a mobile tower is erected in their area.

4. For selling radiation proof products: The whole rumor about mobile tower radiation in
India was started by a foreign company that sells radiation proofing products like window
and ventilation shields. There are even curtains and wallpapers being sold that are labeled as
radiation proof. The whole stigma comes from this backdrop which could one fine day start
selling clothes and helmets that are meant to ward off radiation.

Mobile phone towers in residential areas are harmful if they do not comply with the norms
and the emission if higher than permissible limits. However, it is still worth noting that
cellular phones are bad for pregnant women and children which make it clear that mobile
towers are also no good. Only when these things are kept within a certain limits, they are
useful and necessary. For instance, it is true that radiation mingles with sleep. You are
advised to stay technology free while sleeping. Do we really follow this rule? It is about time
we start taking them seriously.

Is freedom of press important?

Democracy came much later after the press came to  India. The Press is the voice of people, it
is considered to be the voice of the voiceless. The Press existed even before independence
and it certainly proves that any sort of media or press is by the people of the state not by the
ruling body.

Democracy may be very powerful in its own terms and conditions but is not fully efficient in
working without media, especially the free press. The media acts as a bridge between the
government and the people as it tends to inform people about the functions performed by the
government. It also informs the government officials about the problems faced by people in
their respective constituency. Hence, the democratic system is only fully efficient when the
state enjoys a free press, though the Indian constitution doesn’t have a separate article for
freedom of the press in the  Constitution like the United States.

Because the freedom of the press means freedom from interference from the authority which
would have the effect of interference with content and circulation of newspapers. But under
freedom of expression, it is inferred that the press, not only newspapers but all sorts of media
have the right to inform and educate people. In the democratic aspect, only people of the state
or citizens can enjoy the freedom of speech and expression to a great extent. 

The free press is a  term used for the media which is not controlled or restricted by the
government for propagating political agendas or ideological matters among the masses. May
3rd is celebrated as world press day or world press freedom day. India, the largest democracy
in the world, slipped two points on the world press freedom index ranking compiled
by reporters without borders. India ranked 140 amongst 180 countries. It measures the level
of freedom given to the journalists of a country.
Why Freedom Of The Press Is Necessary For A Democracy To Work

“The press is the only tocsin of a nation, when it is completely silenced, all means of general
effort are taken away.”

-Thomas Jefferson

The press acts as a medium of communication between the government and the people.
Freedom of the press is so necessary that multiple times in India it has been controlled, even
during the British rule, the press worked so vigorously in promoting the idea of freedom that
they had to bring Indian press Act 1910 and then again implemented later in 1931-1932.

Indira Gandhi controlled the press during the Emergency but stopped giving advertisements
and funds to the national newspaper while the radio and television were under the
government as a result of which they could be easily controlled. The Press is considered the
fourth pillar of democracy, that works independently, outside the government. The fact that
makes it the most specialised institution is that common people can participate in it freely and
can share their problems, opinions, fact and figures.

It stands for the civic rights, political rights and religious rights of the people. Media plays a
vital role in forming opinions and influencing decision making by the people, comparing
present and past experiences, actions, works etc. done by different governing bodies. It also
helps in giving feedback, exposure and conduit mechanisms by the people to the government,
so that the representatives can work according to their needs and requirements.

Citizens receive the information about the new policies, projects, schemes, laws, amendments
etc. through media, by which they can assess the working of the government and analyse if
the deeds are beneficial for them or not.

The Press also acts as a crucial instrument for accounting. A person can forget the promises
made by their leaders but a printed newspaper, video, or audio recording will act as a piece of
reminding evidence for both citizens and the government. The people who work in the press
must be unafraid. Some brave journalists do perform string operations, do investigations and
find out the reality. It tends to fight against corruption, unfulfilled promises, disloyal
behaviour or misuse of power in public or private life.

Factors which threaten the freedom of the press are: 

 1) Corporate Sector: Not only does the government try to control the press but sometimes,
even the corporate sector tries to control it in order to increase their business sales or other
personal users may control the press by paying the editors, writers and reporters.

2 The killing of Reporters And Journalists: Many a time, reporters and journalists are killed
for presenting a piece of news or covering a story by the supporters of a  particular group,
organisation or political party. 

3 Targeting: Press workers are often targets of hate campaigns, trolling, character
assassination etc.

Also read: The Govt’s Recent Bill-Passing Spree Will Be A Blow To Indian Democracy

Though journalists have the choice to publish or not publish names with their reporting,
choosing to remain anonymous depicts a sense of fear in one’s own nation.  

India has the world’s largest democracy, and it is absolutely necessary that the press is not
controlled by the government or any other sector of society.  The Press is the voice of the
voiceless and should promote the rights of the minority; it is the duty of the press of any
country to ensure that the government is functioning properly and no section of the society is
left behind or is not treated well. It ensures the proper functioning of the executive
Legislature and the judiciary because it raises questions!

Knowledge is an asset

nowledge is an asset which is fundamental to the efficient and effective delivery of

public services. This Principle emphasises the importance of an organisation recognising that
the seeking and sharing of knowledge leads to better outcomes, including:

 Increased collaboration

 Improved quality of evidence-based decisions and continuous improvement

 Enhanced speed of decision making and provision of advice

 Reduced duplication of effort

 Increased business resilience

 Organisations need to understand their need for knowledge and value that knowledge
in business terms. They should appreciate that it is through knowledge that they deliver
value and impact. In parallel with other assets (e.g. buildings, machinery, people,
money), knowledge needs to be fully and appropriately exploited for maximum business
benefit.

Rationale

Valuing knowledge as an asset is the basis on which all other knowledge principles depend.
It is essential to establish a culture where knowledge is valued if people are to share and
capture knowledge freely and if the leadership of organisations are to promote
knowledge management and support staff in such activity.

Implications for Knowledge Management Strategy

 There is a declaration from the organisation clearly acknowledging and establishing

the importance of knowledge to the business

 The importance of knowledge is reflected in organisational policies and practices

 Tacit and explicit knowledge assets need to be considered, and given equal weight

1: Knowledge Drives All Business Activity

What is actually happening when you are doing business? Knowledge is

being transferred between stakeholders, in order for those stakeholders to make buying
decisions.

Interacting with people to make business transactions requires a trained workforce. Every
person in this workforce needs to know what they need to know to make these interactions
with prospects and customers successful, day-in, day-out.

The right knowledge needs to be transferred to the staff so that they know what they need to
know prior to interacting with fellow employees, prospects, investors, or customers. If they
use their knowledge effectively the staff will, in turn, transfer select knowledge to these
external parties, which influences and persuades them to make buying decisions.

Regardless of your industry or the size of your company, there isn’t a single aspect of
business activity that doesn’t rely to some degree on knowledge. From sales to marketing,
HR to Accounting, customer service to R&D, every person operating within or without the
organization is seeking, generating, and leveraging knowledge in order to purchase, refer,
hire, etc.

#2: Knowledge Drives Growth

Since knowledge drives all business activity, knowledge also drives growth. Your company’s
ability to sell more, do more, hire more, and provide more relies on the right information
reaching the right people so that they know what they need to know in order to perform the
right action.

When a business is attracting the right people, when its staff are doing the right things,
connecting with customers in the right way, when those customers are referring the
organization to others; all those actions require knowledge as much as they require good
products, services and people.

#3: Knowledge is a Company’s Differentiator

Knowledge has immense value because it is completely and entirely unique to the
organization. From corporate culture and values to well-honed processes, what the business
knows, how it teaches, and what stakeholders learn will be different than anywhere else. For
instance, the unique knowledge of the business determines how accurately, quickly,
effectively, and helpfully an employee can respond to and resolve a customer’s issue. That
employee relies on knowledge (from training, experience, or observing colleagues) to not
only provide answers to the customer, but how to provide the best possible service.

Knowledge has immense value because it is completely and entirely unique to the
organization.

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Any business leaders worth their salt understand that this unique knowledge is the company’s
differentiator.

Knowledge – though frequently unknown or underestimated – is a business’s most vital and

valuable asset. It is the make-or-break factor in every occurrence of the business from routine
procedures to major sales to growth and scalability. Understanding the importance of
knowledge is crucial for a company’s executive team: only then can it be protected and
leveraged.

Why does knowledge need protecting? In the second part of this series, discover how
inefficiencies and errors arise from improperly stored company knowledge.

There is no right way of doing wrong thing

Wrong things are either ethically or legally wrong. And  the activities that  led to do wrong
things are also wrong. Suppose if a criminal escapes from the prison and he hurts a person
with a weapon then the first thing that will come to that  persons  mind is to beat/kill  him ,
which is right according to the person but it is legally wrong.

The most  important  thing is to decide whether the action is right or wrong .An action is
seem  to be right in a situation but  it may be wrong in another situation .If  a man rob any
food item , its acceptable since he feels hungry but if a man steels others property for leading
luxurious  life  it is not acceptable. So it is important to analyze the situation. A  person  who
do wrong things will be punished by the society. But in some case a person  may  do  good  to
others but in a wrong way. It may be acceptable  to extend  but this is not  right in all cases .If
we do so then it will be an encouraging factor for others to do wrong things.

If  a man can do wrong thing then why do we need prophets to tell how we ought to live.
Many experts have different opinion over this. Also the right and wrong depends on how one
perceive it. But the thing is that there is no right way to do wrong thing but if there is a wrong
way to do right thing then in  particular circumstances it is acceptable.

Life is good but it is the people who find reasons and excuses to make it bad. Problems are
there in everyone’s life, and will continue to stay but that doesn’t mean that people can blame
the wrong time for not taking the right steps to change their life. It happens with most of the
people. They blame the situations or circumstances for not taking the right actions. Are they
really right? What do you think? Let us see what the two groups think on the statement:
There is never a Wrong Time to Do the Right Thing!

Yes

• Right acts always bring fruitful results, and therefore they can be done without looking at
time. Stop making excuses!

• Don’t think that your kids will dislike you if you place a limit on their usage of internet and
tech0-devices. If you don’t, the future will be full of darkness for them.

• Narendra Modi has to come up with a strong budget without thinking of the populism of its
government among the local masses.

• Narendra Modi invited Nawaz Sharif on the swearing in ceremony and proved that the right
things can be done at any time.

• Don’t be afraid to take the risks when the aim is to explore more like people who want to
become entrepreneurs. The decisions are delayed only by thinking that is it not the right time
to take the action.

• Obese people keep on delaying their fitness plans by giving some or other excuse that falls
under the wrong time. They should act, and not delay their plans.

No

• Right thing or wrong thing, every action yields a reaction, and sometimes right things done
at the wrong time can yield negative results.

• People who are not satisfied with their jobs or are troubled with their bosses and working
conditions cannot just do the right thing of resigning before securing another job.

• Marriage is considered a right thing that is vital in life, but that does not means it is a right
thing to opt for child marriages.

• Just because life is uncertain and should be enjoyed doesn’t means that people can get away
from their responsibilities and indulge in leisure at any time of their life.

• People who are in jobs need to think twice about their business plans, resources and
feasibility of plans without taking actions. Risks are there but then they should be in defined
limits.

Conclusion

If people take the excuse of wrong time, and keep delaying their actions, then certainly they
are following a wrong path. They need to understand that time is not going to wait for
anyone. It is today when they have to take the action for changing their fate. Wrong time is
turned into good times by taking the required actions. However, a bit of planning is always
advised before taking any course of action.

Should politicians have a retirement age?

Politics, along with religion, personal values, and moral philosophy, belongs to a specific
family of topics in society known as “hot button topics.” This is only a colloquial term, but it
nonetheless accurately depicts the kind of emotion that it generates in people. Politics is, at
the best of times, a polarizing issue. Most political systems are set up so that if a constituent
does not fall in line with one side of the political aisle, then they must, by default, belong to
the other camp. This creates a great deal of divisiveness in the political environment – and
when it comes to the politicians themselves, there is no difference. Some believe that
politicians, with their experience and knowledge, should be allowed to remain stationed at
their post for as long as possible – and, indeed, the current system is structured to
accommodate this. However, there is currently a push to install new regulations that will
impose a retirement age for politicians, which will allow for the new generation, along with
their values and ideas, to take a seat of power.

Unsurprisingly, this topic quickly generated a heated debate. On one side lies those who
believe that the “old guard” still has plenty to contribute to society, and that they are
repositories of information and wisdom that was accrued through years, even decades, of
service. However, there are also those who would like to thank the older generation for their
service and contribution, but also believe that it is time to make way for the younger
generation – whose views, ideals, and ideas can better represent today’s cultural climate.
While both sides put up interesting arguments, the truth and solution will most likely lie in
the middle. But first, it is best to explore the various qualities of each viewpoint.

We begin with the detractors of change, with those who believe that older politicians have
earned the right for their voice to be heard and to keep their seats of power until they
voluntarily retire, or ill health prevents them from holding office. Contrary to popular belief,
many of those supporting this side of the argument do not believe that politicians should be
able to hold their seat of power indefinitely, but only as long as the public considers them fit
to hold it. They believe tenured politicians have accumulated years upon years of knowledge
and experience, which cannot be easily taught or replaced.

Furthermore, politicians, through years of dealing with foreign dignitaries, have built and
cultivated diplomatic relationships with their counterparts and leaders of industry from other
countries. The removal of the old guard puts these relationships (some of which may be vital
to parts of government or society) at great risk, which may have significant ramifications to
the branch of government in which they are involved in. On top of this, their young successor
may not have the same success in maintaining the relationship with their foreign partner,
causing the relationship to further sour. Then there’s the sheer amount of experience that is
involved with the position. While data and information may easily be transferred, experience
and politicking (for lack of a better word) is not so easily shared from one individual to
another. A significant transitional period will be required to ensure that there is a seamless
transfer of power and knowledge. Then there’s the public image to consider. The public, at
this point, has been used to seeing certain politicians. They have become public figures that
have been subconsciously embedded in the minds, and sometimes hearts, of their
constituents. To suddenly replace them may lead to confusion among the populace.

The naysayers are, of course, only one side of the equation. Those in support of enforcing a
retirement age for politicians also believe that doing so will be for the greater good of society.
This set of individuals believes that when the old generation of politicians step down, they are
fostering the growth of younger individuals in the profession. They are allowing younger
people to take on more responsibility and exposure to new experiences. On a biological level,
all humans face deterioration, both physically and mentally, and politicians are no exception
to this rule. Imposing a retirement age rule will ensure that those in office are physically,
mentally, and intellectually fit to do so.

And, as previously mentioned, allowing younger people to take office means that they can
introduce new ideas and take different approaches than the conventional standards in which
everything is done. They can literally breathe fresh air into a profession often associated with
age, laborious movement, and tedium. Perhaps most importantly, enforcing a retirement age
would ensure that no individual retains power indefinitely. In a way, it is in human nature to
retain power and control for as long as possible; this can be beneficial in some ways, but in
the long run it tends to make others resentful and has the ability to corrupt the system it once
served to protect and uphold.

Work life balance

It`s the idea that a person’s life outside of work is as important as their working life`s and that
the time a person spends working should be balanced by time spent doing things such as
spending time with friends and family, keeping fit, doing hobbies, traveling etc.

Work life balance is the state of equilibrium between an individual’s work and personal life.
Work life balance is achieved when an individual combination of work, family commitments
and his personal life in an effective and efficiently way. If a worker is spending more time on
work, he earned money but he unable to give quality time to his family and would also be
neglected from his community. If a worker is working too little work, then he could not be
able to provide his family a decent standard of living. A single individual work-life balance
varies overtime. Work life balance for an individual worker is different from a single parent
or a parent with school going children.

Importance of work-life balance:

The idea of WLB does bring attention to the fact that being a salve is detrimental to a
person’s physical and mental well-being; socializing, physical activity, and being with friends
and family are all activities that contribute to being happier and healthier. Adopting WLB
practices, the organization can also give a sense of social responsibility that organization is
not only concerned with the profits earning activities but they are also concerned with the
non-business activities like taking care of families of the workers.

MERITS
Spent more time with family.

Healthier life

Productivity increased

Clear thinking.

Better judgments.

Enjoyment of work.

Better social relationships.

Broader perspective.

Less stress

DEMERITS
Slower career advancement.

Lower financial rewards.

Moving out of the mainstream.

Reduction in responsibility

How important for employees and employers:

All around the world, many companies realized that there is a connection between the work
life balance and the impact it may have on their business. Much business believed on the
theory that their employers must devote their work time to their work alone. Employees were
not allowed to leave the work due to unexpected emergencies because many employers
believed that their employees were hired only for work. As the world is changing, many
employers become more flexible to balance the life situation with their employees.
The most common problem for the employees is that they worked too much. They spent
many hours in the office to complete their activities. For this reason a negative atmosphere
may be created in the company. To combat that negative atmosphere or attitude there are
many employers who are beginning to educate themselves and their employees on work-life
balance.

Employees who manage to balance their work with their life activity are more likely to be
happy. This increased happiness can create positive work environments. Employers know
that friendly work environments mean better results and better results often translate into
profits.

Developing Work-life balance is not only beneficial to employers. Employees, their family
and friends can all from benefit from a positive work-life balance. Once a balance between
life and work has been established a working parent may be able to spend more time with
family.

Benefit not Just for Those with Families:

Many organization brought work-life balance in the workplace considering the families of
employees, but work-life balance is not just for individuals with family. It is true that the
employees who benefit the most from a work life balance policy are those with families;
however, others do as well. When work-life balance incorporated in to the business structure
it must applies to all employees not certain one. This means that everyone, including
unmarried individuals or those without children, can reap the benefits of WLB.

Many employers offer work alternatives to their employees to create positive work
environment. All of these alternatives are likely to decrease the amount of time that an
employee has to spend in the workplace when they already have prior engagements. Some of
the alternatives are flexible hours, working at home, or job sharing.

There are many individual who have multiple hobbies. A hobby is an activity to participate
during your free time. Some of the activities are stamp collecting, photography, writing,
reading story books, playing sports and other outdoor activities. Since work-life balance
reduces the amount of time you are giving to your job, so an employee can utilize his/her
time for doing such activity. There are many individuals who (when not working) volunteer
in or around their local community. Volunteering is most commonly done at not profit
charities, play groups, schools, and homeless shelters. Having a healthy balance between
work and life is what enables many employees to volunteer during their traditional work
hours.

Impact of working long hours:

Working eight hours is considered to be as the standard time for employees in many areas of
the world. But an employee often works for more than eight hours a day because employer
requires it. Regardless of the reason for doing so; it has been proven that long hours can have
a negative impact on an employee and their family.

Some health issues are associated with working long hours. Stress is more likely to occur
when you are working long hours more than the standard. It has been known a sleep
deprivation that is cause by stress. Individuals who suffer from a lack of sleep and a large
amount of stress are likely to have a weak immune system. In order to prevent from these
employees need to get a proper amount of rest and relaxation.

The most important affects of working long hours is the amount of time you spend with your
family. Your relationship with your family is depending of how much time you spend with
them. It is not uncommon for tension to be present in a household where one or more of the
home occupants are working long hours. Stress is more likely to occur when a household
hold more than one duty and give extra time to her outside work.

When an employee has regularly been putting in long hours at their workplace it is often
difficult to stop. It is not uncommon for a worker to fear asking their employer for a reduction
in hours in fear of losting their job. So If a job was accepted on the terms that workdays
would be longer than most traditional ones it may be difficult for you to find a solution to
your long lasting hours. If you agreed to the work arrangement your only alternative may be
finding an organization that values the balance between working and life.

How work-life balance should be implemented in the workplace:

Earning profits is not the only goal that the organization is looking for. Nowadays getting
employees loyalty is another important challenge that organization want to achieve to success
in the business. In order to do that employer should satisfy their employees. This satisfaction
is most often obtained by coming to the realization that all employees have a life outside of
work that is just as important, if less, than their career. Pleasing every employee is a difficult
task but most of the successful organization accomplished that task by incorporating work-
life balance into their organization.

One research indicated that employees are satisfied when the policies of work life balance are
in accordance to their needs. Some of the individuals needs are sick leaves, lunch breaks,
vacations leaves, pleasant amount of time with family and friends etc. Therefore there is a
need for the organizations to develop a work-life policy that respects customer, individual
and organizational needs. Same set of WLB facilities available at the organizations will help
the management of the organizations to retain their employees with higher satisfaction levels.
One important fact that organization should clearly defined the concept of work life balance
to the employees so that they can balance their life.

Some major policies of WLB all over the world:

Long hours and overworked employees is the main problem in the organization. So in order
to prevent that there are certain policies (flexible work practice) developed by the
organization:-

Hiring two employees to fill one job; this practices known as job sharing. Job sharing means
works by dividing work time vacations, benefits, and pay between two workers.

It is now becoming standard practice for an employer to offer their employees flexible hours.
Working hours are predetermined during the hiring process and employees are allowed to
pick hours that they work each week.

Working at home is another alternative work arrangement that enables more employees to be
at home with their family.

Provided medical leave programs to employees. This program enables the employee to take
time off from work if they or one of their family members becomes injured or ill.

Provided vacation leaves for some period of time if employees feel that they are not giving
proper time to their families.

For parents the most popular way that work-life balance is brought into the workplace is
through onsite childcare. It is located at the same building which allows parents to visit
whenever they want to.
Provide part time work arrangement for those who want to work for fewer hours.

Affects of flexible work practice:

Studies have indicated that introducing flexible work practices has a number of advantages
for employers, such as an improved ability to attract existing employees as well as people not
currently in the workforce. Research has shown the provision of flexible work practices (that
help workers achieve work-life balance) positively impact

Recruitment and selection

Reduced stress and working environment

Job satisfaction

employee morale

Labour turnover

Motivation and productivity

Absenteeism

Return on training investment and staff loyalty

Hard work is the key to success

 The Reason Why Hard Work Is The Key To Success

1. It’s the price you pay for what you’re going to get.
If success was free, everyone would have it. But there are few successful individuals and
each of them had put in enough productive work before they received anything in return.
That’s important, and it’s fair enough. While working hard on what you believe in, you’re
understanding its true value.
You begin to respect the work itself, to build some good qualities along the way, and to
learn important life lessons during it.
2. Hard work helps you build discipline.
In the beginning of your journey, you aren’t ready to handle the success and all the
responsibilities that come together with it. But earning it with sweat and sacrifices prepares
you for that. Here are some examples.
No athlete truly deserves a medal before investing years of his life into training, before
getting his body ready to endure it, before building the qualities necessary to become a
champion and developing the mindset of a winner, the same applies to your life as well – no
matter if it is at work related, in college related or your dating life.
Successful entrepreneurs wouldn’t have been able to manage people effectively, build
products people love, run a big company, organize their time well and work with big sums of
money, if they hadn’t started from nothing and earned the chance to get to every next step.
Millionaires also weren’t that good at handling their money, investing wisely or networking.
It took them years, trial and error, and patience to make a fortune.
So the hard work, together with the time it takes, is a must on your journey to success. It
makes you who you have to turn into in order to live the better life that’s awaiting for you.
What’s more, the harder you work on your dream, the more confident you become. Those
who lack self-esteem also lack determination and end up losing hope and giving up. But by
investing enough energy in this daily, you start believing in yourself more, you are sure that
you’ll succeed, and you don’t need support from others and no one can put you down
anymore.
. It teaches you values.
You learn to persevere, to find ways to appreciate all you have but still aim higher, to be
patient, to take action instead of waiting for things to happen, to stop blaming and take
responsibility for anything you have or don’t have in your life instead.
Hard work gives you a purpose, it helps you overcome laziness, procrastination, your doubts,
fear of failure, insecurities, and your bad habits.
4. You make your own luck with it.
Average people spend a great deal of time waiting for things to happen. They make countless
excuses in order to postpone taking action, and are distracted all the time.
People with goals, on the other hand, constantly do something and try new stuff to move
forward. This way, they’re creating opportunities.
A universal law is that the more you’re focused on something and take action connected to it,
the more doors you open and the more life gives you chances to get closer to your vision.
Grabbing opportunities and making the most of them is part of working hard. And it’s the
real face of luck.
 5. It gives you results.
The best measure for anything is progress. And there’s nothing else that brings more results
on a consistent basis than hard work.
What’s more, action itself leads to more action and at any moment of the day, you’re building
momentum and making sure your journey continues.
Working on your goal itself is the motivation you need to keep moving forward and say no to
distractions from daily life.
Seeing results makes you feel accomplished, grateful and truly satisfied with what you’re
doing. That makes the whole process enjoyable and you find the strength to persevere.
Success doesn’t happen by chance. It takes strategic actions in the right direction to get there.
It doesn’t happen overnight either. There are more failures during the journey than most
people allow themselves to admit, it’s just that the stories about overnight success sound
better.
In the end of the day, it’s all about how hard you’ve worked on the right thing – the one
which will get you closer to your goal.

Is India ready for a cashless economy?

Yes, India is ready for a cashless economy.

 According to TRAI, as on 30 September 2016, 82 out of 100 citizens in India owned a
mobile phone. The evolution of the telecom ecosystem, with significant reduction in call and
data rates, along with the prices of smart phones, is propelling the shift to a cashless
economy.
 The government of India is working dedicatedly to push India towards a cashless
economy. With major initiatives such as demonetization, Direct Benefit Transfers, BHIM and
many more. The intent is to streamline the economy and curb corruption.
  The government approved for a proposal, under which there would be no charge for
BHIM, UPI, and debit card transactions up to ₹2000.
 Government also ran a DigiDhan campaign where 16 lakh lucky winners (users and
merchants) were rewarded with prizes ranging from Rs 1000 to 1 crore.
 Further to incentivize behavior change and bring down the cost of digital payments,
referral and cash back schemes have also been launched for BHIM where users and
merchants receive cash back. Also, initiatives like USSD and the *99# service have ensured
that non-Smartphone users are also on board the cashless wave.
 Demonetization has given an impetus to e-wallet services. According to a report
“Securing the cashless economy”, by Pwc, India witnessed
 3X increase in the download of a leading mobile wallet app within 2 days of the
demonetization announcement.
 1 million: Number of newly saved credit and debit cards within two days of
demonetization announcement.
 100%: Day-on-day growth in customer enrolment with leading mobile wallets after
demonetization.
 30%: Increase in app usage and 50% increase in the download of wallets backed by
leading banks
The smart phone revolution has led to the emergence of e-commerce, m-commerce and other
services, including app-based cab aggregators, who encourage digital payments for use of
various services. The value added services such as cash back, bill payment facilities, loyalty
points, rewards and ease of use have resulted in surge of such digital platforms. These
developments have given rise to a modern payment model.

Hurdles in making India a cashless economy

 More than 60% of Indian population belongs to rural region. Almost a quarter of the
rural populace doesn’t have mobile phones and a large percentage of them are computer
illiterate. They are not comfortable using computers or mobile phones for transactions and
rely on other people for help. This sometimes leads to misuse of the accounts and siphoning
of funds, so majority of rural mass prefer cash over digital modes.
 About 90% of the Indian labor market is informal. Majority being employed in
agriculture and manufacturing sector where daily wage is prevalent. Under such
circumstances the informal labor market is heavily cash dependant.
 India is a country where 90% of transactions are paid for in cash because cash
facilitates making transactions anonymous, helping conceal activities from the government in
a way that might help agents avoid laws, regulations and taxes. Transition from a 90% cash
based economy to a
 Security is another big concern regarding cashless transactions. The Indian Computer
Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has reported a surge in the number of incidents till
October 2016 with close to 39,730 security incidents. Indians are wary of digital modes due
to cyber security incidents such as phishing, scanning, website intrusions, defacements and
virus code.
 Though several companies have come up with inexpensive smart phones still they are
not affordable for most of the people in the country. Unless Indian government provides
necessary subsidy or affordable solutions cashless economy would be a farfetched dream.
 Digital India suffers from the threat of thefts and hacking of digital money
instruments. The ATM cards, Debit/Credit cards, Net Banking solutions and even the
transaction websites of the financial institutions and banks are hacked by the mischievous
people who withdraw money by making clones and changing the passwords. This has to be
taken care of before proceeding on digital India mission..
What is a cashless economy?
A system where no physical cash is in circulation is a cashless system. Payments are made
through credit and debit cards, bank electronic fund transfers or virtual wallets.
 
Benefits:
 Cost Reduction: cashless system brings down the cost associated with printing,
storing and transporting of cash.
 Risk Reduction: The risk of money getting stolen or lost is minimal. Even if the card
is stolen or lost it is easy to block a credit/debit card or a mobile wallet remotely. It is also a
safer and easier spending option while travelling.
 Convenient: The ease of conducting financial transactions is probably the biggest
motivator to go digital. With the advent of digital modes, one can avoid queue for ATMs,
transact 24*7 and save time. Additionally for service providers, with the emergence of e-
KYC, it is no longer necessary to know your customer physically as the payments model has
overcome limitations related to physical presence.
 Tracking spends: Spending done via mobile or computer applications can be easily
tracked with a simple click. This allows users to keep a track of all their spending and
manage their budget effectively.
 Increase in tax base: Traders, small businesses, shopkeepers, and consumers
regularly use cash as a means to avoid paying service tax, sales tax, etc.  However, in a
cashless economy where all transactions will be done through organized channel, through
banks and financial institutions, they can be monitored by the government and proper actions
could be taken against the evaders. This will result in more transparent transactions which in
turn lead to fall in corruption in the economy of the country.
 Containment of parallel economy: In a cashless economy it is easier to track the
black money and illicit transactions unlike cash based economy in which money does not
come into the banking system. In case of digital transactions it is easy to track and monitor
suspicious transactions as all the records are available with the banks.  
 Financial Inclusion: At present, India’s low-income households access credit
through informal systems, through relatives or private lenders. Forcing them to shift to
cashless payment platforms instantly formalizes this world of informality and include them in
formal economy.
 Discounts: A lot of ecommerce websites offer huge incentives in terms of discounts,
cash back, loyalty points to the customers for making digital transactions for shopping online.

Is safe drinking water necessary?

Water is a scarce resource and an important basic necessity for the human survival. The
quantity of potable water on earth is limited and its availability per person is reducing day by
day due to increase in global population and damage to the environment. Though water
available in nature is free, sizeable investment and planning is needed in order to make water
available to people in the desired quality and quantity on a consistent basis.

India has the maximum number of people, 63 million, living in rural areas without access to
clean water, according to a new global report released to mark World Water Day in 2017.

Access of safe drinking water was declared as a human right by the United Nations but
remains a challenge for urban India. Depleting ground water, lack of proper rainwater
harvesting and rising contamination in the ground water due to sewage and industrial effluent
discharge is posing fresh challenges for the Indian cities, especially in low-income or
resettlement colonies, which are struggling to get safe and affordable water. While the
affluent class depend on the purified water and packaged or bottled water, this class of
consumer constitutes less than 5% of the total Indian population. As on date, over 95% of
Indians still depend on free sources of water and other unreliable water sources.

According to the World Water survey, 31% of Indians had been in a situation where it was
unsafe to drink water but had to consume it given no other choice and thereby suffered from
water-borne diseases such as diarrhea and gastroenteritis.
According to World Resources Institute (WRI), over 100 million people in India are living in
areas where water is severely polluted. In fact, of the 632 odd districts that were examined for
ground water quality, only 59 districts were marked safe. The Government of India estimates
that 70 per cent of available water is unfit for consumption without prior treatment. The WRI
research also shows that 54 per cent of the nation is facing high to extremely high water
stress and this is only bound to get worse.

Lack of safe drinking water poses many health hazards such as diarrhea, cholera, and typhoid
which have seen millions of registered cases during the past 3 years. In a quest for clean
drinking water, research also indicates that on an average, women and young girls spend 700
hours every year filling and carrying water for home consumption which directly affects their
economic productivity.

Adequate drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene are all essential ingredients to ensure good
health. The same is true for proper wastewater management, which is a basic prerequisite for
environmental welfare and protection. Improving upon these services will bring economic
gains while also helping to build resilience given increasing climate variability.

Safe drinking water received attention in 2014 when Mr. Modi assumed office of the Prime
Minister and highlighted the need for drinking water and sanitation in India. This was
followed by the launch of the Swachh Bharat initiative that added further momentum and
strength to the implementation of WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) facilities in the
country. With the Government of India’s emphasis on CSR spending, corporates have
developed a renewed focus on safe drinking water as its significance in terms of meeting
basic needs of people is clearly understood along with the fact that the social impact being
delivered is unparalleled.

Many independent organizations have taken up the initiative and are tackling the problem of
availability, affordability and accessibility with purity under a novel approach for rural India.
One such private sector initiative is JanaJal, who install and operate safe drinking water
ATMs in India. JanaJal is an integral part of the Prime Minister’s Swachh Bharat Campaign
and through support from NGOs, Charitable Foundations and Corporates have implemented
some landmark award-winning community drinking water projects in the country. The
company has a strong focus in Maharashtra and Delhi NCR and is rapidly installing water
ATMs at railway stations, bus stands, municipal areas and places of religious sanctity.
A majority (71 per cent) of Indians said that safe drinking water had improved over the last
five years. 62 per cent of the Indians believed that the government was doing enough to
support access to safe drinking water. While a lot remains to be done, it is imperative that the
government agencies collaborate with private sector companies to be able to deliver
sustainable projects on ground that can deliver this precious resource to people in a consistent
and affordable manner.

Global warming

Q: What is global warming?

A: Here's a simple definition of global warming. (And yes, it's really happening.) Over the
past 50 years, the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded
history. And experts see the trend is accelerating: All but one of the 16 hottest years in
NASA’s 134-year record have occurred since 2000.

Climate change deniers have argued that there has been a “pause” or a “slowdown” in rising
global temperatures, but several recent studies, including a 2015 paper published in the
journal Science, have disproved this claim. And scientists say that unless we curb global-
warming emissions, average U.S. temperatures could increase by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit
over the next century.

Q: What causes global warming?

A: Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants and
greenhouse gases collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have
bounced off the earth’s surface. Normally, this radiation would escape into space—but these
pollutants, which can last for years to centuries in the atmosphere, trap the heat and cause the
planet to get hotter. That's what's known as the greenhouse effect.

 Melting glaciers, early snowmelt, and severe droughts will cause more dramatic water
shortages and increase the risk of wildfires in the American West.
  Rising sea levels will lead to coastal flooding on the Eastern Seaboard, especially in
Florida, and in other areas such as the Gulf of Mexico.

 Forests, farms, and cities will face troublesome new pests, heat waves, heavy
downpours, and increased flooding. All those factors will damage or destroy agriculture
and fisheries.

 Disruption of habitats such as coral reefs and Alpine meadows could drive many plant
and animal species to extinction.

 Allergies, asthma, and infectious disease outbreaks will become more common due to
increased growth of pollen-producing ragweed, higher levels of air pollution, and the
spread of conditions favorable to pathogens and mosquitoes.

Demonitisation and effects on economy

Demonetization happens when a government legally bans the coins and notes of a certain
denomination. The currency which is banned may or may not be replaced by the new currency.
The aim of Demonetization is to target multiple problems like illegal activities and their funding
source, terrorism, tax evasion, and counterfeit currency.

Effects of Demonetization

Demonetization has long term effects on a nation’s economy. The people in the rural areas who
did not have access to internet and plastic money were majorly affected. Since centuries,
governments have been using it as a tool to reduce corruption and other illegal activities. Thus,

Demonetization boosts a nation’s economy by removing fake currencies and bringing black
money into the mainstream.

Positive Effect of Demonetization on Economy

1. Break Down of Black Money: – Black money accumulation impacts a country’s

economy negatively. Demonetization helps in closing businesses running by black money
 and destroying the black money savings of the people, thus having a positive impact on
its economy.

2. The decline in Fake Currency Notes:- A number of fake currency notes circulating

in the country have a bad impact on its economy. Hence, Demonetization helps in
removing the high-value of fake currency notes.

3. Increase in Bank Deposits:- The circulation of the old currency notes is banned and
those who have these currency notes should deposit them in the banks so that their money
did not get wasted. Hence, cash amounting to trillions of rupees gets deposited in the
banks.

4. Real Estate:- Real Estate is one industry that runs largely on black money.
Demonetization stops the flow of black money in the real estate sector to ensure a fair
play.

5. Increase in Digital Transactions:- The cash crush in the market encourages people to
make digital transactions. Almost everywhere in the country machines get installed to
accept debit/ credit card payments. Over time people start using plastic money. This is a
great way to track tax evasions.

6. Cutting Monetary Support for Terrorist Activities:- Anti-nationals support terrorist

activities in the country by providing monetary support to the terrorist groups. This
money is used to purchase arms and plan terrorist activities in different parts of the
country. Demonetization helps in cutting down on the monetary support provided to the
terrorist groups to a large extent. It thus promotes peace and helps the country prosper at
various levels.

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Negative Impact of Demonetization on Indian Economy

Most of the positive impacts of demonetization are long term. We may begin to see the
country’s economic growth after demonetization in a few years from now. However, the
negative impact of demonetization on the Indian economy has been tremendous.
Many of cash-driven small industries are left starving. Many manufacturing industries suffered
huge losses thereby impacting the economy of the country negatively. Also, many factories and
shops had to be shut down. This did not only impact the businesses but also their workers. Thus,
several people, especially the laborers, lost their jobs.

There is a shortage of cash as old money is exchanged with the banks. The government was
blamed for poor planning and management. Indian National League also filed a Public Interest
Litigation (PIL), in Madras High court, requesting to scrap the demonetization decision.
however, the Court refused to intervene in the government’s monetary decision.

On Gross Domestic Product (GDP): The Indian economy is a cash-driven economy and

demonetisation has largely affected its growth. The GDP growth rate of 8.01% in 2015-2016
fell to 7.11% in 2016-2017 after demonetisation. This was largely due to less availability of
cash in cash-intensive industries like manufacturing and construction. It has also adversely
impacted the primary function of banks to issue loans and has put pressure on them as current
account holders demand0 large sums of cash.

On Daily Wage Workers: A major portion of the Indian workforce is a part of the informal
economy. They use cash to meet all their expenses and demonetisation has resulted in a lot of
them losing their jobs due to unavailability of cash. According to CMIE’s Consumer
Pyramids Household Surveys (CPHS), approximately 1.5 million jobs were lost during the
final quarter of the financial year 2016-17. The estimated employment during this period was
405 million as compared to 406.5 million during the previous four months.

On Small Scale Industries:Businesses like the textile industry, salons, restaurants, and
seasonal businesses are low capital enterprises and work on the basis of liquidity preference.
Demonetisation gravely impacted their revenue collection and threatened their existence to an
extent.

On Black Money: Though only a small portion of black money is stored in the form of cash
and majority is in the form of physical assets like gold, land, and building, demonetisation of
the rupee 500 and 1000 notes might take out a lot of black money from the economy.

On the General Economic Situation: Till months after demonetisation the general

economic situation was disturbed. The public had to queue up outside banks to exchange
their old currency for new ones. Households lacked liquidity and could not do transactions
for daily items. Small shopkeepers who only accepted cash went into losses and some even
shut down.

On Inflation: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) considers the Wholesale price index (WPI)
and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to measure inflation. Demonetisation is expected to
reduce inflation as consumers have cut down on spending and aggregate demand has
considerably fallen. According to government press releases, the official WPI for  ‘All
Commodities’ (Base: 2004-05=100) for the month of December, 2016 declined by 0.2
percent to 182.8 (provisional) from 183.1 (provisional) for the previous month. The index
started rising during the month of January and rose by 1.0 percent to 184.6 (provisional) from
182.8 (provisional) for the previous month. This may be correlated with the availability of
cash with people which led to increased spending.

On Terror Funding: Demonetisation was aimed as a clean-up of the economy where Fake

Indian Currency Notes (FICN) would be checked. It is aimed at rendering all fake notes of
rupees 500 and 1000 useless and thus drastically affecting illegal funding of terror groups in
Jammu and Kashmir, states in the North-East, and Naxalism-influenced states.

On Political Parties: Many Political Parties use large amounts of undeclared cash to

campaign for elections and meet other requirements. Due to Demonetisation such acts might
get restricted to an extent and parties will have to formulate new strategies.

Towards a Digital Economy: Absence of liquid cash has led to people making transactions
using cheques or account transfers. They have also switched to virtual wallets like Paytm
which allows electronic transfer of money. All this might result in a digital economy where
transactions are being recorded and the economy has more white money. This might increase
the government’s tax revenue.