Women

1. Countries and nations which do not respect women have never become great nor will ever be in future — Swami
Vivekananda.
2. To awaken the people, it is the woman who must be awakened, once she is on the move, the family moves, the village
moves, the nation moves — JL Nehru.
3. "There is considerable evidence that women's education and literacy tend to reduce the mortality rates of children” --
Amartya Sen.
4. “Yatra naryastu pujyante ramante tatra devta” -- Manusmriti. "Where Women are honoured, divinity blossoms there, and
where ever women are dishonoured, all action remains unfruitful."
5. “I believe that the rights of women and girls are the unfinished business of the 21st century.” – Hillary Clinton.
6. Women empowerment means emancipation of women from vicious grips of gender, caste, political, economical based
discrimination.
7. The Rig Veda says, “The wife and husband, being the equal halves of one substance, are equal in every respect.
Therefore, both should join and take equal part in all works, religious and secular.”
8. But this equal status of women declined during later Vedic era. Gender inequality started creeping into the society. This
led to series of social evils against women - Child marriage, Sati, Jauhar etc. Inspite of these, there were series of women
achievers - Lopamudra; Maitreyi; Gargi; in that period.
9. In today’s political landscape, motherhood is often deployed as a tool to highlight the sacred nature of a subject, ranging
from the Gau mata to Bharat mata and Ganga mata.
10. The women from Sathyamangalam in Tamil Nadu have been victims of neglect for ages. Now, in the age of mass media
they are using video camera as a new weapon to fight the oppression. Female volunteers are using the visual platform to
tell their real tales of oppression which are hard to neglect.
11. Lijjat is a highly popular pappad brand in India. While many may remember it via TV commercials, many may not be
aware of the fact that it’s the power of rural women and their self employment initiative, Shri Mahila Griha Udyog which
made the brand possible. Started with a loan of just Rs. 80, today it is a Rs.500 crore business.
12. UN says investing in women’s economic empowerment sets a direct path towards gender equality, poverty eradication
and inclusive growth.
13. Chanda Zaveri. She ran away from her Kolkata home to the USA in 1984 to escape an arranged marriage. She is now a
leading molecular biologist.
14. Men are not assuming reproductive and domestic tasks, even as women are increasing their participation in on-farm and
off-farm productive activities.
15. Eco-feminism -- A parallel between the devaluation of earth and the devaluation of women. It highlights the convergence
between nature and women. Ex: Bishnoi movement, Chipko movement, Narmada bachao Andolan, etc.
16. Pictures of women carrying pots may be beautiful and widespread in popular culture, but it is a crime and outrage in the
21st century.
17. A woman’s body is not a democracy but her dictatorship. It is high time the dictators take charge of their body.
18. Gender equality is goal-5 in SDGs. The goals notwithstanding, it is our ethical responsibility to provide equal opportunity
to the neglected half of the world’s population, and for this, patriarchy must make way for more equitable social systems.
19. India belongs to a land where women are revered as goddess. They are given a sacred status whereas on the other hand,
they are debarred entry to temples (Sabarimala issue).
20. Women in society are seen as home makers, care takers even in the health front the job of a nurse is given mostly to
women, on the other hand, when it comes to women’s health or nutrition they are the most neglected ones.
21. In the education front over the years, it is seen in India that girls have more passing percentage over boys in CBSE
exams. But, still discrimination is seen in terms of expenditure done on girl’s education over a boy in a family.
22. Despite having a constitutional mandate (Article 243D) of reservation of 1/3rd seats for women at the level of Panchayati
Raj; these positions still continue to be effectively manned by their husbands as ‘Sarpanch Patis’.
23. Women have spearheaded path breaking initiatives and shown exemplary courage like Durga Shakti Nagpal (IAS), Kiran
Bedi (IPS) etc. However, their number in executive positions in government especially higher level continue to be
dismal.
24. Women leadership: Nirmala Sitharaman example. Angela Merkel. Aruna Asaf Ali during QIM.
25. The road to economic recovery in India’s post global financial crisis of 2008 was led by women headed banks - Shikha
Sharma of Axis Bank, Arundhati Bhattacharya of SBI. However, women continue to be denied leadership positions
constituting just 7% of seats on boards of publicly traded companies.
26. The highest grossing Indian film ever, the fifth highest grossing non-English film ever is not a romantic or male-
protagonist based movie, but Dangal, a story Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari who go on to become India's first world
class female wrestlers.
27. The only thing one could hear were shouts, whistles and claps when Agni-IV missile was successfully tested. But, behind
all these was the story of grit, of determination - The story of Tessy Thomas, an Indian scientist and Project Director for
Agni-IV missile. She is fondly called as missile woman of India.
28. On 1st June, 2018 - The Hindu prominently highlighted the success of all-women crew which circumnavigated the globe
on India built sail boat INSV Tarini. The same paper also carried reports of a girl-rape case in Kathua highlighting the
paradoxical situation of women empowerment in India.
29. Women’s play a negligible role in decision regarding conflict and war. However, the impact of distress, conflict and war
isn’t gender neutral. Rape and sexual violence against women during conflict are used as a tools in order to humiliate
enemies, to demonstrate victory, terrorise the population. Sexual Slavery against women is used as an incentive for
recruits into terror groups.
30. The idea of gender justice should reverberate in every soul with every breath we take and every move we make.
31. BR Ambedkar once said that “political power is the key to all social progress”.
32. Conclusion: Identification of the problem areas and weaknesses is the first step towards their eradication. While we may
walked few miles towards women empowerment, the road is a long one. Empowering women is key to our tomorrow, our
future. The need of the hour is to enable women to realize their potential. While the government measures are important,
it is the patriarchal culture and societal values which needs an overhaul. As famous Sociologist Andre Beteille has said,
"Law only decides the direction which a society should take, the actual direction of the society is decided by its culture".
Finally, women must be at the forefront for demanding their own empowerment. As Kofi Annan says that there is no
better tool of empowerment than Women themselves. 'Sabka Sath. Sabka Vikas.'

Education
1. True education does not consist merely in acquiring of few facts of science, history, literature or art, but in the
development of character — David O. Mckay.
2. To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society — Theodore Roosevelt.
3. It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it — Aristotle.
4. Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world — Nelson Mandela.
5. The highest education is that which does not merely give us information, but makes our life in harmony with all existence
-- Rabindranath Tagore.
6. There is no school equal to a decent home and no teacher equal to a virtuous parent - Mahatma Gandhi.
7. If the ability of fish is measured by its ability to climb a tree then fish would have lived its entire life thinking that it is
stupid — Einstein.
8. Amartya Sen says “India is trying to be the first country to become an industrial giant with an illiterate and unhealthy
labour force".
9. National Education Policy, 2019 -- Document that is comprehensive, far-sighted and grounded in realities.
10. Since ancient times, it is said "Sa Vidya Ya Vimuktaye," which means that with education we finally attain salvation.
11. The earliest education system to develop in India was known as ‘Vedic system’ with the ultimate aim being complete
realisation of self. This system was based on ‘Gurukul’ which fostered a bond between the Guru and the Shishya and
established a teacher centric system in which the pupil was subjected to a rigid discipline.
12. During the freedom struggle, several leaders like Gokhale, Ram Mohan Roy and Mahatma Gandhi worked for better
education for our people, particularly women. Indigenous model of education was a major component of Gandhi’s
conception of Swaraj and Swadeshi.
13. In the last 20 years, education discourse in India has undergone a major transformation and new concepts such as rights-
based approach to elementary education; shift in emphasis from literacy and basic education to secondary, higher,
technical and professional education, etc.
14. The focus on education was intense in the early period of Japanese development, during the Meiji era. For example,
between 1906 and 1911, education consumed as much as 43 percent of the budgets of the towns and villages.
15. Education begins in womb and ends in tomb.
16. Stagnant minds create immobile systems which becomes roadblock to growth. Hence creative thinking is needed.
17. Educational institutions are seen as temples of learning but today they are working as industries due to commercialisation
of education. Kota in Rajasthan is a classic example of how coaching classes have turned themselves into factories. The
students are under tremendous pressure to perform with no time to rest and relax.
18. Child labour, migration, child marriage are others barriers to education.
19. While schools are regarded as “Temples of Learning”, in recent times they have become breeding grounds of crime
against children. In 2017, a seven-year-old boy was found murdered inside a school in Gurugram and the next day a five-
year-old girl was raped in a school in Delhi.
20. Schools should downplay technical skills and emphasise general purpose life skills. Most important of all will be the
ability to deal with change, to learn new things, and to preserve your mental balance in unfamiliar situations.
21. Economy is the material part of development. Education is the essential part of it.
22. Australia- Incentives to teachers taking rural hardship postings, 20-plus years of schooling.
23. Japan- Intense focus on primary education starting at age 6 (low primary level drop-out rate of 0.2%).
24. Finland- Mandatory 15 minute break for every hour of five-hour school day, No grades until fourth grade.
25. The movie 3 idiots depicts how our education system is fraught with faults. It also shows how parental pressure can
sometimes be extreme, and lead a child to attempt ending his/her life. The story also focuses on how the education
system should look beyond high grades and should focus on what a kid wants to do. An extremely important message in
the movie is that all any child needs is an opportunity for good education. This is emulated by the protagonist, Rancho,
who is the son of a house help and given the opportunity to study.
26. Taare Zameen Par explores the needs of special children, and what the society can do for them. It shows how every
individual is gifted and how pursuing their inherent interest will only result in excellence. Ishaan is a 8 year old boy who
dislikes school and fails every test or exam. But Ishaan’s internal world is full of wonders that he is unable to convey to
others, magical lands filled with colour and animated animals. He is an artist whose talent is unrecognised.
27. Lifelong education is based on four pillars — learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to
be. A child educated only at school is an uneducated child.
28. Conclusion: India has one of the youngest populations in an ageing world. By 2020, the median age in India will be just
28, compared to 37 in China and the US, 45 in Western Europe, and 49 in Japan. To leverage the advantage of
demographic dividend, India needs to invest into its abundant human capital through quality education. The goal of every
Indian should be socio-economic well being of the poorest citizen of India, as exemplified by the idea of Mahatma
Gandhi’s Talisman.

Health care
1. "Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have" -- Winston Churchill.
2. "Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, Sarve Santu Niramaya" -- Upanishad. It means "May All become Happy, May All be
Healthy".
3. Health in modern times has been often defined in a negative connotation i.e. absence of illness. However, this definition
is restrictive and narrow. As Amartya Sen has argued that, “Health is a social good. A person should be termed healthy, if
he is able to actively participate in a society”.
4. Introduction: Preetham is a construction worker. After a long tiring day, he has come to home to find his daughter still
suffering from the ill fever which she got infected 5 days ago. He had already visited a PHC in the locality thrice. But
there were no doctors. Poor preetham does not have enough money to take his child to a private hospital and thus he
remained dependent on fate and miracle to treat his daughter.
5. Health in ancient India was defined as physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social wellbeing of an individual. Thus,
the system of medicine of medicine was not about illness and standalone treatment. It combined many concepts such as
diet, climate, beliefs, supernatural, empirical, and culture into treatment of the person.
6. It is a huge travesty that the land of Susruta, Charvaka, Vagbhata, and the generic pharmacy of the world in modern times
has been ranked 145 out of 195 countries on the Healthcare Access and Quality Index (HAQ) of The Lancet.
7. June 21st is every year celebrated as ‘Yoga Day’, an acknowledgement for one of the greatest contribution of India to
healthcare systems, especially in wake of emerging lifestyle diseases like depression, diabetes etc. However, among all
this, was another fact - India was declared as the Diabetes Capital of the world by International Diabetes Federation
(IDF).
8. Health as a social good. Social good refers to any good which benefits the largest number of people in the largest possible
way.
9. Health as political good. Political good refers to any good which enable participation of people into the political process.
10. Health as ecological good can enable in sustainable development, sustainable consumption and environment friendly
policy making. The recent Sterlite protests in Tamil Nadu were owing to the impact on health of the people around.
Similar protests have also been in Delhi because of growing pollution and increasing adverse impact on health.
11. Health as a Ethical good. SDG 3 - Good Health and Wellbeing - have recognized health as a basic human right.
12. Kerala and Tamil Nadu Insurance Model. The burden of premium and primary health care is borne by the state, whereas
the private participation is mostly restricted to tertiary healthcare services.
13. Odisha e-healthcare. Started in 2009, Odisha telemedicine has set up 127 telemedicine centres and trained about 900
telemedicine technicians.
14. Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) have emerged as a very fruitful model for preventive healthcare. It is
launched as a part of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and it led to reduced cost on healthcare, better health
indicators like IMR and MMR.
15. Conclusion: Indian healthcare currently stands at a critical juncture. To borrow Amartya Sen analogy, India’s healthcare
represents a islands of California (achievements) in a sea of sub-Saharan Africa (Challenges). So, there is a need for
overhaul of entire healthcare sector in India. This also includes a complete different perception of healthcare, where it is
seen as a process, as a part of life. It is important to note that even our ancient texts also subscribed to a similar view. In
today’s world, where people are running after wealth, where wealth has become the ultimate desire, it is important to go
back to what father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘It is only health, that is the real wealth’.

Environment
1. We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children — Latin American proverb.
(Responsibility)
2. If you really think the environment is less important than the economy, try holding your breath while you count your
money — Professor McPherson of Princeton University. (Economy vs environment debate)
3. We are running the most dangerous experiment in history right now, which is to see how much carbon dioxide the
atmosphere... can handle before there is an environmental catastrophe — Elon Musk.
4. Gandhiji had said, "The Earth has enough for everyone's needs, but not everyone’s greed" -- Gandhi.
5. We never know the worth of water till the well is dry — Thomas Fuller.
6. Don’t blow it, good planets are hard to find — Quoted in Times.
7. India has a tradition that considers entire world as one and the earth as our mother. Indian culture never permits the
exploitation of nature and nature’s resources. Atharva Veda calls it a bounden duty that we must protect the earth so that
life can be sustained. Indians worship trees and see them as gods.
8. Current culture - Throw away Culture.
9. Homo sapiens are fossil fuel addicts.
10. Nature provides a free lunch, but only if we control our appetites. Take care of the earth and she will take care of you.
Nature doesn’t need people. People need nature. Our food, our water, our health, our jobs — they all rely on the health of
the planet’s ecosystems.
11. For 200 years we have been conquering nature. Now we are beating it to death. The future will either be green or black.
Conservation is a state of harmony between man and nature.
12. Water and air are two essential fuels on which all life depends. They have become global garbage can.
13. Cleanliness is a mark of self respect.
14. Dharavi, one of the largest slums in the world, has managed to carve out a unique identity for itself. The industrious
residents of the slum have taken to recycling waste from across the country in order to eke out a living.
15. Atoll nations like Tuvalu and Maldives could submerge with just few metres rise in sea level.
16. Technology is both the source of environmental damage and our best hope to build a sustainable future.
17. Industrially produced meat is one of the answers to climate change.
18. Think Global, Act Local.
19. Environment should be put in national security.
20. BBC documentary recently showed how because of extreme poverty and absence of Government policies, common
villagers have been forced to kill African elephants and sell their tusks to traders at meagre prices. As a result, the global
population of African elephants has declined 90% in the last two decades.
21. Poverty and environment had long been seen as separate units of development, causing nations to adopt a singular
approach to each of them. However, since the 1970s it has been almost universally agreed that poverty and environmental
degradation are inextricably linked. The Brundtland Commission of 1987 states that poverty is a major cause and effect
of global environment problems. Hence, it would have been futile contain the larger issue of environmental degradation
without alleviation of poverty.
22. Indira Gandhi in her speech at Stockholm Conference, 1972 stated that ‘Are not poverty and need the greatest polluters?’.
It implies that poor are unable to utilise the resources sustainably and will destroy their immediate environment in order
to survive.
23. The latest IPCC report states that the world’s most poorest (South Asia and Africa) are the most exploited in terms of
environmental health. There is no wonder why cities such as Dhaka, Delhi are amongst the most polluted cities.
24. A road map towards sustainable development, free from hunger and poverty along with an uninterrupted, affordable
supply of sustainable energy are the broad objectives that India has chosen to pursue.
25. India’s commitment to environment and climate change, made at the highest political level, shows the global way in
supporting SDGs while retaining reliance on cleaner energy, including cleaner, greener coal.
26. Prime Minister has regarded energy sustainability as a sacred duty, and has also stated that sustainable, stable and
reasonably priced energy is essential for the fruits of economic development to reach the bottom of the pyramid.
27. Conclusion: Environment concern is not firmly embedded in public life, education, medicine, economy and social life.
What is more important at this juncture is that humans can no longer treat the Environment and other species as mere
objects but take care of them for their own well-being. Through consciousness, our minds have the power to change our
planet and ourselves. It is time we heed the wisdom of the ancient indigenous people and channel our consciousness and
spirit to tend the garden and not destroy it.

Children
1. There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children — Nelson Mandela.
2. Child labour perpetuates poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, population growth, and other social problems — Kailash
Satyarthi.
3. If your plan is for one year plant rice. If your plan is for ten years plant trees. If your plan is for one hundred years
educate children — Confucius.
4. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines child labour as the work that deprives children of their childhood,
their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.
5. Addressing the needs of 20 lakh children in street situations, as well as other children across all smart cities, is not merely
a question of their survival and dignity. It is also not merely a matter of moral responsibility. It is vital for ensuring a
peaceful, prosperous and just India.
6. If humanity is almighty’s greatest creation then childhood is its best manifestation.
7. Demand for child labour leads to problem of human trafficking and child abuse in the country.
8. The young labourers today will be part of India’s human capital tomorrow. Child labour undoubtedly results in trade-off
with human accumulation.
9. We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell.
10. Article 24 of Indian constitution prohibits child labour.
11. Agriculture is the largest employer of child labour.
12. Kailash Satyarthi, a Nobel laureate, started Bachan Bachao Andolan to protect children from the scourge of child labour.
13. Broken dreams is a short film about child labour.

Socio-cultural diversity in India

1. “Diversity may be the hardest thing for a society to live with, and perhaps the most dangerous thing for a society to be
without” - W. S. Coffin Jr.
2. “We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race” - Kofi
Annan.
3. “If America is a melting-pot, then India is a thali, a selection of sumptuous dishes in different bowls. Each tastes
different, and does not necessarily mix with the next, but they belong together on the same plate, and they complement
each other in making the meal a satisfying repast.” -- Shashi Tharoor.
4. When the Parsis requested asylum, Jadi Rana motioned to a vessel of milk filled to the very brim to signify that his
kingdom was already full and could not accept refugees. However, one of the Parsi priest added a pinch of sugar to the
milk, thus indicating that they would not result in overflowing of the vessel and indeed make the lives of the citizens
sweeter. Jadi Rana gave shelter to the emigrants and permitted them to practice their religion and traditions freely. In
India society, diversity permeates all aspect of socio-cultural life, both temporally and spatially.
5. It is often said that the concept of diversity is in itself so diverse that it is tough to arrive at a uniform and standard
definition. However, it is always possible to define diversity in terms of salient and necessary features. Thus, diversity
may be defined on following parameters. a) Understanding that each individual is unique and different b) Recognition of
these differences c) Mutual tolerance and acceptance.
6. Indian society provides the most potent illustration of socio-cultural diverse society as manifested in form of different
religions, languages, food habits, customs, dresses, festivals, beliefs etc. It has also been referred to as the oldest
surviving civilisation in-spite of being a target for invasions from Mughals, Britishers etc.
7. Culture of debate and diversity in ideas, values has been an integral component of Indian society. Amartya Sen - Book
‘Argumentative Indian’ - Ancient Indian society during the vedic times promoted debates and discussion through the
institution of sabha and samiti.
8. Out ancient texts also teach us to accept and respect diversity of thought and ideas. The very famous quote from Rigveda
“Let noble thoughts come to us from every side", advocates us to embrace diversity of ideas.
9. Racial Diversity: Indian sub-continent has been a major hub for a large number of migratory races from both direction -
east and west. India has often been described as an ethnological museum. While migration and diversity of race has been
a continued phenomena since time immemorial, instance of racism and xenophobia have also been part of Indian
discourse. For example, problems faced by people from North-East and also from countries like Africa as seen in the case
of recent attacks on African nationals.
10. Geographical diversity: India has been endowed with a very diverse geographic features like dry deserts, evergreen
forests, Himalayan mountains, long coastlines and fertile plains. Rainfall is not uniform across the country. While places
in Western Ghats and North-East like Mawsynram and Cherrapunji receive heavy rainfall, places like Sindh and
Rajasthan gets hardly any rainfall in an year. While geographical diversity has enabled existence of a diversity of climatic
conditions, it has also breaded problems of geographical neglect, inadequate infrastructure linking, alienation among
people and governance challenges.
11. Religious diversity - Land of spirituality and philosophy: India is home to 4 of the major religions of the world
namely Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism. Apart from these, due to migration and receptive nature of India
society followers of Islam, Christianity, Zoroastrianism etc., continue to form a major component of our population.
While religious diversity has been the hallmark of Indian civilisation, it has also lead to series of dysfunctions. Some of
the prominent among them include religious conflicts, religious polarisation, appeasement politics and communalism,
etc.
12. Caste diversity: While Caste groups have been mostly a feature of Hindu Society, they have now slowly become a major
component of other religions like Islam, Christianity. While caste had a genesis in occupational basis, it became rigid and
exploitative in due course of time. Consequently, it has led to series of problems in form of caste conflict especially
against lower castes, caste based violence, protests for and against caste based reservation and phenomena of vote-bank
politics. For example, the recent protest by Marathas, Patels for reservation, recent cases of violence against Dalits in
Maharashtra.
13. Language diversity: Indian constitution recognises 22 languages under Schedule Eight. However, according to People’s
Linguistic Survey of India, there are 780 languages and 86 scripts in India. While India has been marked by unity and
functional governance in-spite of many languages, linguistic diversity has also led to series of problems and challenges
like Language Chauvinism, Constitutional Recognition.
14. Family diversity: Family system has been one of the most important institution of Indian society. However, there is a
huge variation in form and structure of family. While India mostly have a patriarchal form of family, matriarchal form is
also found in Tribes and Nairs of Kerala. India has had a distinct joint family system, rarely seen in any society. In
modern day, there has been a shift towards nuclear family system, live-in relationships, single parent family etc, families
with working women. One of shift has been in emergence of LGBT community who have a distinct sexual orientation as
compared to heterogeneous families.
15. Food Habits, Dress Code, Music, Festivals: While diversity in food habits, dress code, festivals have led to
development of a composite culture, there have also been certain issues like problem of moral policing regarding dresses.
Issues of banning certain food like Beef ban etc., prohibition of celebration of certain festivals in certain areas.
16. Political diversity: Different ideologies like centrist, right-wing, left-wing, regional parties, etc. While political diversity
has enabled success of democracy and democratic institutions in India, it has also led to problems of: Accommodation of
diverse interests; Proliferation of Parties, Pressure groups etc.
17. Diversity comes naturally to humans. It forms the very basis of our existence. Example - Our physical features; thought
process; natural talent etc.
18. Diversity enables a society to resolve disputes through debates rather than recourse to violence or crime. For example,
Case study by Jean Dreeze and Retika Khera concludes that society with higher sex ratio has lower crime rate; India
approach to problem of national integration; Problem of North-East insurgency etc.
19. Cities like Mumbai and Hyderabad have become centres of development owing to their cosmopolitan culture and
receptivity to diversity.
20. Companies which have embraced diversity w.r.t gender, region etc. have made huge strides in their respective field. For
e.g. ISRO, Amul etc.
21. According to IMF chief Christine Lagarde, India can increase its GDP by 27% on account of greater participation of
women in labour force.
22. Potential of Yoga has now been acknowledged globally for enhancing concentration, fitness etc. Celebration of
International Yoga day.
23. Development of Syncretic culture: Gujarat girls from Muslim community practise Yoga for coping with fasts during the
month of Ramzan.
24. Role of Indian Diaspora who are recognized for their diverse views and ability to integrate with other cultures. For e.g.
Sundar Pichai as CEO of Google or Satya Nadella as CEO of Microsoft.
25. Any society which has tried to homogenise itself, has witnessed stagnation in due-course and ultimately decline. The
most important example is this case is of Pakistan which tried to impose culture on East-Pakistan ultimately leading to
creation of Bangladesh.
26. Problem is not of diversity per se, but the handling of diversity in India society. The problems of regionalism,
communalism, ethnic conflicts etc., have arisen because the fruits of development haven’t been distributed equally or the
cultures of some groups haven’t been accorded due recognition. It is in this context that Constitution and its values must
form guiding principles of our society. Indian constitution while respecting diversity also favours development of
national identity.
27. Conclusion: India is often held as a case of ‘Unity in Diversity’ and must continue to promote and preserve it. At a time
when the world is looking at India for guidance, any attempt to dent our socio-cultural diversity would be tragedy of
highest order. The essence of diversity is beautifully captured in the following quote from Rigveda: “Ekam Sat Vipra
Bahudha Vadanti”. There are many paths that lead to God and people use different names and forms while explaining it.
Irrespective of the apparent deviations, the core is same.

Urbanisation and human resource development

1. In 2010, McKinsey published a document named "India's urban awakening", in which it pointed out that by 2050, 60% of
India's population will live in cities, contribute 70% to India's GDP and generate 70% of total jobs.
2. According to census 2011, India's urban population stand at 31%. This is based on a criteria. An urban areas consists of
a) A minimum population of 5,000 persons; b) 75 percent and above of the male main working population being
engaged in non–agricultural pursuits; and c) density of population of at least 400 persons per sq. km. So, this is
primarily based on a geographical definition.
3. The country’s future needs to be envisaged as comprising not just Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi, but also its more
than five lakh villages, creating better jobs and higher quality infrastructure in rural India.
4. An army of tens of millions of rootless men in cities, accompanied by an equal sized army of women left behind in
villages, does not provide the basis of a secure and stable future for the nation. Building better amenities in villages is
necessary for making shining India a truer picture of the lives of its village people.
5. The slums on the backyard of WHO headquarters in Delhi reflects the irony of development.
6. Growth magnets lead to waves of migration.
7. Human capacity has been a key determinant in the rise of nations. Even today, the race among nations is not necessarily
won by those with immense resources, but by those who have the capacity to make the most effective use of those
resources for building the nation and that capacity is directly related to the ability to make and implement effective public
policies. A good public policy with poor implementation is of no value.
8. Indian Talent + Information Technology = India Tomorrow.

Governance
1. Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth — Einstein.
2. Better no law than laws that are not implemented — Italian proverb.
3. The law barks at all but bites only the poor, the powerless, the illiterate, the ignorant — Justice Krishna Iyer.
4. Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it — Milton Friedman.
5. Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric — Bertrand Russel. (Freedom
of expression)
6. Rights are protected not by law but by the social and moral conscience of the society — BR Ambedkar.
7. Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time —
Winston Churchill.
8. The failure of democracy is not failure of concept and if democracy seems to fail than the solution lies in more
democracy and not less of it — Ambedkar.
9. The ballot is stronger than the bullet — Abraham Lincoln.
10. Democracy should be OF the people, FOR the people and BY the people. But it actually is OFF the people, FAR the
people and BUY the people.
11. Ambedkar said, if our constitution fails, it is not because it is a bad Constitution but because our functionaries have failed
it.
12. India is moving ahead as a digitally empowered society. Through JAM Trinity, govt is ensuring that benefit is reached to
beneficiaries.
13. According to Government, projects of more than 9.5 lakh crore has been reviewed during PRAGATI. Rs 57000 was
saved using the technology.
14. When the architects of our nation wrote the magnificent words of the constitution, they were signing a promissory note to
guarantee unalienable rights of life and dignity to all citizens. It is obvious that India has not done well on this promissory
note. Now is the time to make real promises of democracy. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial
injustice to solid rock of brotherhood.
15. We have to make India’s development journey a jan andolan as Gandhiji did to freedom struggle. Everyone must feel he
or she is working or India’s progress.
16. Democracy can’t be restricted to elections and government. Democracy is strengthened by Jan Bhagidari i.e. people
participation.
17. Vision of India is Food for every mouth, Work for every hand, Spark in every eye and Joy in every soul.
18. Freedom in the mind, Faith in the words, Pride in our souls.
19. We should all take a pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to still larger cause of humanity. Our
aim should be to wipe out every tear from every eye.
20. We are citizens of a great country on the verge of bold advance and we have to live up to that high standard.
21. Noble goals can be achieved only through noble means.
22. Government of India is not only focussing on consumer protection but also consumer prosperity.
23. The movie Swadesh focuses on the issue of brain drain and Indians moving abroad for greener pastures. The story
revolves around the life of an NRI who works for NASA and how his visit to a village changes his life along with
hundreds of other villagers. The movie inspired a lot of NRIs to come back to the roots and work for the country. The
movie gives a message that a little help from the fortunate and educated ones can help the underprivileged to a great
extent.
24. The Telugu film Rudra veena deals with the social position of Dalit girls. The story portrays a love story of a Brahmin
Boy and a Harijan (untouchable) girl. At the time when people were discriminated on the basis of their caste, this movie
sets a good example of how every human being is equal and love knows no boundaries.
25. There is no more dangerous menace to civilisation than a government of incompetent, corrupt, or vile men — Ludwig
von Moses.
26. Swami Vivekananda said, if you get 1 rupee without working, it means someone has worked and not got his 1 rupee.
27. There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supersedes all other courts — Gandhiji.
28. If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal
members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher — Abdul Kalam.
29. Corruption is like a ball of snow. Once it sets rolling, it will go on increasing in its size.
30. Monopoly + Discretion - Accountability = Corruption.
31. Corruption in India is like water, it always finds its way.
32. Main reason for the evil in world is not the action of evil doer but the silence of good people.
33. Whoever controls media actually controls mind and politics.
34. Chanakya has written about ways to control corruption in Arthasastra. Ashoka has an extensive system of spies and
informer to control corruption in his empire.
35. Freedom and power brings responsibility.
36. The biggest drawback of the country which has the largest democracy in the world is not population but corruption.
37. More than 62% of Indians had given bribes to get jobs in public and private sectors and to get their work process faster,
according to Transparency International.
38. Civil service was envisaged as the steel frame of the country, charged with smoothly running the administration. The
presence of rust should be a warning to the policymakers as well as the citizens, lest the country’s administration crumble
into a mess of corruption, inefficiency, and personal fiefdoms.
39. In 2012, a Hong Kong based consultancy described India as a bureaucratic nightmare among 12 Asian countries it
covered. Indian bureaucracy was ranked 9.21 on a scale of 10, with 10 being the worst. It went on to cite inertia and
corruption as some of the principal factors that ail Indian bureaucracy.
40. Edward Gibbon in his book ‘The decline and fall of the roman empire’ stated that if there was one reason why Roman
empire collapsed that would be corruption.
41. In Mexico every citizen adopts one officer and monitors their public life. They question him if he is suspected of any
bribe activity. This shows how innovative public participation can be major deterrent for corruption.
42. In south Korea when corruption charges against former President Park Geun-hye came out, people came out to the streets
to demand resignation.
43. Hong Kong was once a den of corruption now it is best model for corruption free state. The institutional autonomy
granted to its anti-corruption agency was one of the major reason for this success. Also they adopted a three pronged
approach, that means punishment, education and prevention.

Poverty, inclusive growth and discrimination

1. Poverty is not just lack of money; it is not having the capability to realise one’s full potential as a human being —
Amartya Sen. (Multi-dimensionality of poverty)
2. Poverty is the deprivation of opportunity -- Amartya Sen.
3. Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime — Aristotle. (Poverty)
4. Human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that
create huge inequalities — Pope Francis.
5. India should not just remain content with political democracy, but strive for social democracy as well — Ambedkar.
(Inclusive growth)
6. Poverty is the worst form of violence — Gandhi.
7. There is an ancient saying that 'Sarvajana Hitaya , Sarvajana Sukhaya' meaning in the well being of each lies the well
being of the whole.
8. We know that a peaceful world cannot long exist with one third rich and two third hungry — Jimmy Carter.
9. The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide
enough for those who have little — Franklin Roosevelt. (Inclusive growth)
10. Capitalism and inclusive growth
11. According to recent Oxfam report, India’s richest 1 percent now hold a huge 58 percent of the country’s total wealth,
higher than the global figure of about 50 percent. In the report titled ‘An economy for the 99 percent’, Oxfam said it is
time to build a human economy that benefits everyone, not just the privileged few.
12. The paper by Thomas Piketty and Lucas Chancel, ‘Indian Income Inequality 1922-2014 — From British Raj to
Billionaire Raj?’ has shown that income inequality in India is at its highest level since 1922.
13. To a starving person, God will appear in the form of bread alone.
14. SC/minority/ST live on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.
15. We need to move from alleviation of poverty to elimination of poverty.
16. Feminisation of poverty. Feminisation of agriculture.
17. Poor people’s basic mobility is from village to urban slums.
18. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty, ignorance, disease and
inequality of opportunity.
19. “Besides having rapid growth... it is also necessary to ensure that growth is inclusive, sustained, clean and formalised.”
— NITI vision document.
20. The shape of the development process matters more to people than the size of the GDP. Development must be by the
people (more participative), of the people (health, education, skills), and for the people (growth of their incomes, well-
being, and happiness).
21. Jan Bhagidari is the greatest asset of progress. Wherever the people are active stakeholders in the development process,
the pace and extent of growth is higher.
22. Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls…. In to that heaven of freedom, my
father, LET MY COUNTRY AWAKE! — Tagore’s vision.
23. So long as you do not achieve social liberty, whatever freedom is provided by the law is of no avail to you — Ambedkar.
24. In Jitampur, a village in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, all villagers gathered in the temple on occasion of a festival.
But a group of people were standing outside the temple where a boy asked his mother that “why we are restricted to enter
the temple”, mother looking at his soon helplessly replied “we belong to lower caste whose entry into temple is
restricted”. Such Jitampur’s have become inevitable in modern India where people follow caste based inequality practices
in almost all walks of life. Example of Ekalavya from Mahabharata.
25. Human racial and cultural diversity and existing caste system is a consequence of populations having been more or less
isolated from each other in the past. Bring them together in a same place with equal opportunity and platforms what we
create is a melting pot in which this inequality will gradually dissolve and disappear.
26. 200 houses in 3 villages of TN were burnt because of an issue relating to love marriage between a Dalit man and an
upper caste woman. The bride refused to return home and her embarrassed father committed suicide. The Dalits allege
this enraged the upper caste people who then set the houses on fire and looted their cash and jewellery.
27. In 2018 the common person feels increasingly irrelevant. It is much harder to fight against irrelevance than against
exploitation.
28. Liberty is not worth much unless it is coupled with some kind of social safety net.
29. Property is the pre-requisite for long term inequality.
30. My brother Nikhil: The movie deals with how family and society react when a family member comes out and says he
has AIDS. It’s a journey of how his life takes a sudden turn after his declaration, from being a swimmer with a bright
future to a social outcast. The movies lay emphasis on the stigma society has when it comes to AIDS. Self stigma and
societal stigma have been the real culprits in the lack of acceptance and free flow of information.
31. Inflation is taxation without legislation — Milton Friedman. (High inflation)
32. The most distinctive feature of our economic system is the growth in human capital. Without it there would be only hard
manual work and poverty — TW Schultz.
33. The creation of jobs will not occur without a healthy workforce, and a healthy workforce is possible only with proper
interventions in healthcare and education at all stages, especially during childhood. With proper nurturing and a holistic
approach, a young India can step up to provide the world the workforce that it so desperately needs.
34. Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) via JAM trinity is one of the key projects of the government. If the privacy concerns are
addressed adequately, inclusion of MNREGA in DBT will be a game changer. It will lead to increased transparency in
functioning of the MNREGA, which has been historically criticised for leakages and delayed payments.
35. Goal 1 of the SDG is “Ending poverty in all forms, everywhere”. However, this is not a stand-alone goal, since poverty is
a result of deprivation, and can be eradicated only by removing that deprivation.
36. 3D refers to Democracy, Demography and Demand. This is Modi’s famous acronym for India’s potential in near future.
37. Empowered citizens are one of the strongest pillars of democracy. The government should work on principles of modern
information highways and Ask, Listen, Interact, Act and Inform.
38. Businesses could achieve upto USD 165 billion in cost savings by 2022 through wide scale adoption of automation
across sectors like automotive, retail, utilities, manufacturing, among others.
39. We have the manpower, we have the skills and the resources. We need to work in a Mission Mode and bring a positive
change. Our aim is social justice.
40.

Science and technology

1. Humanity is acquiring all right technology for wrong reasons — R. Buckminster Fuller.
2. A discovery by nuclear physicists in a laboratory in Berlin, Germany, in 1938 made the first atomic bomb possible. Otto
Hahn, Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassman discovered nuclear fission in their laboratory.
3. Human spirit must prevail over technology — Albert Einstein.
4. The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that man will begin to think like computers —
Sydney Harris.
5. Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind — Albert Einstein.
6. Diabolical use of science -- Gandhi.
7. In this digital age, we have an opportunity to transform lives of people in ways that was hard to imagine a couple of
decades ago.
8. The cab could be our new ambulance. Uber is offering its cab services to non-emergency health patients thus improving
healthcare access to poor and elderly.
9. The DBT scheme covers over 400 central schemes.
10. Digital lifestyles.
11. Internet has made it easier and cheaper to sell a false propaganda.
12. Technology gives us power. Wisdom helps us in how to use it.
13. Machinery has its place and it will stay for long. But it must not be allowed to displace necessary human labour.
14. A technology is only as good as the judiciousness with which it is used.
15. Everything is getting smaller and more effective these days. Ex: Electronic gadgets, polluting particles like PM2.5.
16. For the first time in history, infectious diseases kill fewer people than old age, famine kills fewer people than obesity, and
violence kills fewer people than accidents.
17. The job market of 2050 might well be characterised by human-AI cooperation rather than competition. Human-AI teams
in chess, known as centaurs, outperformed both humans and computers in chess.
18. The replacement of human pilots by drones has eliminated some jobs but created many new opportunities in
maintenance, remote control, data analysis and cyber security.
19. If you put a drop of love into Twitter it seems to decay but if you put in a drop of hatred you feel it actually propagates
much more strongly. And you wonder: 'Well is that because of the way that Twitter as a medium has been built?’ — Tim
Berners lee.
20. Improvements in biotechnology might make it possible to translate economic inequality into biological inequality.
21. Alibaba will collaborate with World Food Programme to develop a digital World Hunger Map to monitor the status of
global hunger and help enhance the efficiency of operations and shorten emergency response times to support efforts
towards the goal of attaining SDG 2.
22. Our technology has exceeded our humanity.

Artificial intelligence
1. "Artificial intelligence is likely to be either the best or the worst thing to happen to the humanity" -- Stephen Hawking.
2. The truth is that, whether or not A.I. is actually a threat to our existence, there's no stopping its evolution and its rise.
Humans have always fixated themselves on improving life across every spectrum, and the use of technology has become
the vehicle for doing just that. And although the past 100 years have seen the most dramatic technological upheavals to
life than in all of human history, the next 100 years is set to pave the way for a multi-generational leap forward.
3. In May 1997, an IBM super-computer called Deep Blue defeated world chess champion Gary Kasparov in a chess match.
4. Another recent example of 2016 is, AlphaGo, a program driven by Google’s DeepMind AI, has won Korean Lee Sedol,
one of Go’s most dominant players.
5. Computers are everywhere today. It would be impossible to go your entire life without using a computer. Cars, ATMs, and
TVs, all contain computers. It is for this reason that computers and their software have to become more intelligent to make
our lives easier. Intelligent computer systems can and do benefit us all; however people have constantly warned that
making computers too intelligent can be to our disadvantage.
6. Artificial intelligence, or AI, is a field of computer science that attempts to simulate characteristics of human intelligence
or senses. These include learning, reasoning, and adapting.
7. The beneficial uses of AI cannot be denied. Despite the beneficial uses of AI, scientists and leading thinkers like Stephen
Hawking and Elon Musk warn us about the dangers of AI and the coming technological singularity.
8. We need AI researchers to actively involve ethicists in their work. Some of the world’s largest companies like Baidu,
Google, Alibaba, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft are cornering the market for AI researchers. They also need to employ
ethicists.
9. AI is not the end of the road for humanity and we have a history of technological revolutions causing social and political
changes in society. In the Early years there are bound to have some fears and challenges but so was the case with the
French revolution, steam engines, industrial revolutions and most recently the computers. Nevertheless, there will be
more opportunities in the fields not yet known and there will be more jobs to cater to human needs.

Social Media
1. “Social media has played a key role in democratising our discourse” - Narendra Modi.
2. "Technology and social media have brought power back to the people" - Mark McKinnon.
3. Social networking: Man by birth is a social animal. Man has always belonged to a society of some sort, without which
he can’t exist at all. Society fulfils all his needs and provides security to him. He took birth, grows, live and die in society.
Without society his life is just like fish out of water.
4. During 2010, there was widespread discontent against autocratic regimes across Middle-East often referred to as Arab
Spring. While discontent wasn’t new, what was new was the Social media and its power. Social media played a huge role
in mobilising people who were demanding democracy and voice in decision making.
5. Connectivity and communicating form the basis for sharing, learning, debating and discussing. Beginning from the
ancient times, they have been an integral component of our lives, our society. They started with Pigeon post, moved on to
postal letters, then to telephones and now to smart phones and social media. Hence, it is of no surprise that human beings
are often referred to as social animal.
6. However, the content and means of communication have not remained static. Social Media is not only changing how
people communicate but also what people communicate. As of today, social media is becoming an integral part of our
life. Our days starts with checking and updating our social media accounts and ends on a similar note. However amidst
all these, there has been growing reception and debate on the problems and the challenges of social media.
7. In common parlance, Social media is seen synonymous with Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, LinkedIn etc. However, social
media goes beyond this and has a much more broader scope. It is an umbrella term and, refers to websites and
applications that enables users to create, share content, interact and to participate in social networking.
8. Social media has often been described as the silent revolution of the 21st century. Recently the total number of social
media users crossed 3 billion with no sign of slowing down. Some of the factors for growth of social media is USPs of
Social Media, Digital Penetration and applications, as a marker of social status, rising urbanisation, individualism and
breakdown of traditional social structures.
9. #MeToo campaign on Social media against sexual harassment and assault, became a global movement and helped in
demonstrating the widespread prevalence of sexual assault and harassment, especially in the workplace.
10. The war for Net Neutrality in India wasn’t fought on any ground, water or space but on Social Media. The support on
social media finally led to government confirming the principle of net neutrality.
11. Social media today has emerged as a double-edged sword. While it has transformed the way what we think, believe and
act, it has also led to violation of privacy, problem of trolls, fake news etc. These volley of problems has called for
regulations and restrictions regarding social media. However, regulating social media is not only desirable but also not
possible. It is the uniqueness of social media that is self regulating.
12. With increasing digital penetration and increasing development of application, social media rise is indispensable. Also,
the values of social media like freedom, transparency, openness etc. are innate to human being, part of their social being.
As Victor Hugo said, “No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come". Today, this power is “Social Media”.

Terrorism
1. Terrorism has no religion, terrorists have no religion and they are friends of no religion — Manmohan Singh.
2. Wanton killing of innocent civilians is terrorism, not a war against terrorism — Noam Chomsky.
3. If we destroy human rights and rule of law in the response to terrorism, they have won.
4. Terrorism has become the systematic weapon of a war that knows no borders or seldom has a face.
5. The landscape of the contemporary world in economic, technological, global and social context is transforming quickly.
However this sporadic transformation has posed some challenges like environment depletion, creation of weapons of
mass destruction and unsustainable development. But the biggest challenge is created in form of terrorism that shivers the
human inside us and threatens the existence of humanity as a whole.
6. Terrorism is probably as old as human society. In the ancient Roman world, the acts of terrorism inflicted were not unlike
those of modern times. Then the people were willing to employ a calculated use of force and terror to accomplish their
ends. But the motives, the methods, and the outcomes are familiar to people of our era under the collective name of
terrorism.
7. Reign of terror during French revolution. The Jacobins, who ruled the revolutionary state, employed violence, including
mass executions by guillotine, to compel obedience to the state and intimidate regime enemies.
8. Terrorism is like a spurious growth in a beautiful garden, if it were cut it would come up again, there by it needs to be
deeply uprooted.
9. The best way to fight terrorism is by fighting the basic needs of humanity i.e hunger, poverty and education.
10. Terrorism should not be seen from the narrow perspective of caste, creed and religion.
11. The war we are fighting against terrorism is a multi-faceted fight. We have to use all the tools from our tool kit such as
diplomacy, finance, intelligence, law enforcement and of course military powers.
12. Mehdi Masoor, a Bangalore based techie, was arrested in 2015 for handling of pro-ISIS twitter handle.
13. Kasab told police he was trained to kill to the last breath.
14. A new World Bank study says that the recruits into the Islamic State (IS) group are better educated than their average
countryman. Out of 331 recruits described in a leaked IS database, only 17% did not finish high school, while a quarter
had university level educations.
15. Terrorism takes us back to the ages we thought have long gone.

Agriculture
1. "Food is a source of wealth. Food production is a source of endless misery" - Rabindranath Tagore.
2. "If agriculture fails, everything else will fail." - M. S. Swaminathan.
3. “Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy.” - M. K. Gandhi.
4. “Everything can wait, but not Agriculture.” - Jawaharlal Nehru.
5. India’s agricultural production in the past attracted worldwide attention. It attracted Dutch, Portuguese, British and
France to India. The rivalry between British and French to gain control over Indian produce highlights this fact.
6. In Indian civilisation agriculture was given a sacred status where Goddess Annapurna is the goddess of food and
nourishment in Hinduism. In modern times, Agriculture in India boasts of a series of achievements - largest producer of
milk; second largest producer of rice, wheat, fruits, and vegetables, fifth largest producer of poultry. However, it also
continues to suffer from problems of malnutrition, farmer distress, farmer suicides, post-harvest losses, challenges of
climate change etc. Thus, while agriculture in India may have come a long way, it continues to face series of challenges.
7. Uprisings in Egypt, Arab countries, Tunisia, Asia, etc., were all primarily driven by food and other commodity shortages.
Egypt was once the bread basket of the Roman empire. Today, Egypt is a basket case.
8. West Bengal and Kerala are often cited as model states for land reforms implementation. China’s 'Great Green Wall'
programme has been highly successful in fighting desertification in Gobi desert.
9. Village level Seed banks in Tumkur (Karnataka), Datia (Madhya Pradesh) etc. have helped in making these villages self-
sufficient in Seeds.
10. Israel has been cited as a model example in irrigation owing to its expertise in micro-irrigation, desalination and
recycling techniques. It has emerged as a template for reusing wastewater for irrigation.
11. Farmers in Tamil Nadu are successfully using the technique of fertigation leading better fertilizer efficiency and crop
productivity.
12. 'eSagu' in Andhra Pradesh has been a successful case-study for providing web-based personalized agro-advisory system
which uses Information Technology to solve the unscientific agricultural practices.
13. M-Pesa in Kenya has emerged as a successful model for enhancing financial services to farmers and field workers.
14. Maharashtra has recently removed trade in fruits and vegetables from the purview of APMC act. Price deficiency
payment schemes in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Telangana have been hailed as a model scheme for country wide
emulation.
15. With around 65% of India’s agriculture depending on rain and more than half the population on agriculture, too little or
too much rain is always a harbinger of trouble.
16. In agriculture, emphasis must shift to converting farmers to ‘agripreneurs’ by further expanding e-National Agriculture
Markets.
17. Agriculture needs to viewed as a ‘Sunrise sector’. Huge potential owing to organic farming, huge domestic market, food
processing industry, Vegan movement. Like IT, Agriculture must be promoted as the new start-up sector in India.
18. The agriculture sector in India is experiencing structural changes which are opening up new challenges and opportunities.
The Government has initiated reforms in the field of agricultural marketing, given a big push to the use of technology in
agriculture, and also adopted Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode for timely delivery of extension services, credit and
other inputs to small and marginal farmers.
19. However, the challenges in agricultural sector can’t be handled by government alone. There is a need to involve
corporates, civil society organisations, academia as a whole for reforming agriculture. There is also a need for cultural
shift, need for viewing agriculture in a positive light, need for perception change. We need an urgency in dealing with the
problems of agriculture.

Tourism in India
1. “The one land that all men desire to see and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for all the
shows of all the rest of the globe combined”- Mark Twain on India.
2. “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page”. This saying by St. Augustine truly captures the
spirit of travel, and India as a vibrant country, provides scores of reasons for travelers from across the world to choose
India as their destination.
3. UN World Tourism Organization - "Tourism comprises the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside
their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes.
4. Tourism is a complex set of industries including accommodation, recreation and entertainment, food and beverage
services, transportation, and travel services. It encompasses domestic, inbound, and outbound travel for business, leisure,
or other purposes. And because of this large scope, tourism development requires participation from all walks of life,
including private business, governmental agencies, educational institutions, communities, and citizens.
5. Historically, the ability to travel was reserved for royalty and the upper classes. From ancient Roman times through to the
17th century, young men of high standing were encouraged to travel through Europe on a “grand tour”. Through the
middle Ages, many societies encouraged the practice of religious pilgrimage. The continued popularity of rail travel and
the emergence of the automobile presented additional milestones in the development of tourism.
6. Fast forward to 1952 we witnessed the dawn of the jet age, which many herald as the start of the modern tourism
industry. The industry growth however had also been interrupted at several key points in history, including World War I,
the Great Depression, World War II, 9/11 attacks, the war in Iraq, perceived threat of future terrorist attacks, and health
scares including SARS, etc., have dented tourism industry to an extent. At the same time, the industry began a massive
technological shift as increased internet use revolutionised travel services. Through the 2000s, online travel bookings
grew exponentially.
7. The Indian tourism industry did not have it so good since the early 1990s. Though the Indian economy has slowed, it is
still growing faster than the rest of the world. With Indian economy growing at around 5 percent per annum and rise in
disposable incomes of Indians, an increasing number of people going on holiday trips within the country and abroad is
resulting in the tourism industry growing wings.
8. India’s tourism industry is experiencing a strong period of growth, driven by the burgeoning Indian middle class, growth
in high spending foreign tourists, and coordinated government campaigns to promote tourism in India. Domestic tourism
has been growing in a settled way. Fairs and festivals of India are continuous phenomena. Events like Kumbha in north
and Onam and Mahamastakabhisheka in the south are events that fetch a lot of tourists almost every year.
9. International Dimension: Tourism and Peace. Tourism can play a key role in building peace and supporting
reconciliation processes. It is a vehicle for trust and goodwill. Cultural understanding can change attitudes, generate
respect and build peace. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said that it was not only an instrument of earning foreign exchange but
also a means of seeking international cooperation, understanding and peace between the nations.
10. Responsible Tourism – The Gandhian Way: 'Live Gandhi For A While' a tourist programme, conceived and developed
by travel agent Nischal Barot and was launched on October 2016. The participants are expected to live in the ashram in
an austere way, for a minimum of five days, like a true Gandhi ashram inmate, wearing the hand spun cloth, doing
physical labour, practising truth, chastity, non-violence, etc. Mahatma Gandhi was probably the first responsible traveller
who travelled across the country, connected with communities, walked down villages, stayed in their homes, tried helping
them, solving their problems with minimal impact on the environment.
11. Gender & Tourism: Women are almost twice as likely to be employers in the tourism industry than in other sectors, and
often employ more women than men. However, women are concentrated in the lowest paid, lowest skilled sectors of the
industry and carry out a large amount of unpaid work in family tourism businesses.
12. Government initiatives: 100% FDI is allowed under the automatic route in tourism and hospitality, subject to applicable
regulations and laws. Adopt a Heritage scheme. Incredible India. Swachh Bharat Swachh Pakwan (Hunar Zaika): The
street food vendors constitute a significant percentage of the hospitality service providers, are part of the Indian milieu
through the ages and have a pan India presence.
13. Various forms of tourism
1. Recreational tourism: Tourism is an often activity for recreational purpose. Most tourism took for a change and rest;
this is the reason why package tours have become so popular.
2. Ethnic tourism: This refers to people traveling to distance places looking to their routes and attending to family
obligations. Marriage and death bring people together to their native places. Persons who are settled overseas during
later part of life visit place of their birth for giving boost to ethnic tourism.
3. Cultural tourism: Some people are interested to know how other people or communities stay, survive and prosper.
The kind of culture they practice their art and music is different from ours. So in order to acquire knowledge,
understands culture well, to become familiar with the culture, they undertake journey.
4. Adventure tourism: There is a trend among the youth to take adventure tour. They go for trekking, rock climbing,
river rafting etc. They organized camp fire and stay under the blue sky. This tourism is meant for people with strong
nerves who can tolerate stress.
5. Health tourism: In recent years, health tourism has become highly popular. People visit nature cure centers and
hospitals providing specialist treatment. Many foreigners visit India for treatment because similar services in their
country are costly.
6. Religious tourism: India represents multi-religious composition of population. Various package tours are organized
to enable people to attend the religious duties and visit places of religious importance. E.g. Char Dham yatra.
7. Music tourism: It can be part of pleasure tourism as it includes moment of people to sing and listen music and enjoy
it.
8. Village tourism: It involves traveling and arranging tours in order to popularize various village destinations.
9. Wild life tourism: It can be an Eco and animal friendly tourism. Wild life tourism means watching wild animals in
their natural habitat.
14. The future of tourism in India is certainly bright but we do have a long road ahead. Philosopher Lao Tzu said “a journey
of a thousand miles must begin with a single step”, and with recent developments in the sector, that step has already been
taken.

$5 Trillion economy
1. On 15 June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared: “The goal to make India a $5 trillion economy by 2024 is
challenging, but achievable, with the concerted efforts of states." This goal has solid support from the International
Monetary Fund (IMF). Its most recent projections suggest that India’s gross domestic product (GDP) will touch about
$4.7 trillion in 2024. This is close enough to $5 trillion to make the latter a credible headline target.
2. "Economic growth without investments in human development is unsustainable and unethical" -- Amartya sen
3. Sheila moves from one workstation to another collating an hourly production of garments being manufactured at an
export-oriented factory in Mandya in the state of Karnataka. She has a post-graduate degree in commerce and hence, she
is overqualified to do this clerical job. But she works for a monthly salary of Rs. 5000, which is less than what a factory
worker makes. She is not alone to accept such a low-paying job with having pursued masters, there are many such
examples.
4. To realize the dream of New India by 2022, the full utilization of India’s demographic dividend is essential. The
initiatives taken so far are in the right direction so that no more students like Sheila remain underemployed and
unemployed.

Data
1. Data is new oil.

Innovation
1. Magnetic compasses may have been made somewhat obsolete by satellites and global positioning systems, but their
impact on early navigation and exploration was gigantic. Originally invented in China, by the 14th century compasses
had widely replaced astronomical means as the primary navigational instrument for mariners. The compass provided
explorers with a reliable method for traversing the world’s oceans, a breakthrough that ignited the Age of Discovery and
won Europe the wealth and power that later fueled the Industrial Revolution. Most importantly, the compass allowed for
interaction—both peaceful and otherwise—between previously isolated world cultures.
2. "Innovation is the calling card of the future" -- Anna Eshoo, An US representative.

Knowledge and character

1. APJ Abdul Kalam had went down in history as a dynamic scientist, a respected president and a beloved person. In his
youth, he always aspired to gain knowledge despite failures and contribute to space technology, spearheading India’s SLV
programme. His character was marked by attributes such as perseverance, altruism which helped him gain adoration of
every section of the scientific community.
2. ‘Pen is mightier than sword’ have been proved to be true time and again but the character of the person holding the said
‘pen’ decides the legitimate of use of ‘might’.

Introductions and conclusions

1. International collaboration, in the past, eliminated biggest threats to humanity like Slavery, World wars, epidemics and
some deadly diseases. With Climate change and Terrorism looming large, now is the time for even greater collaboration
amongst countries.
2. Populism should be an objective but it should not be a technique to achieve growth.
3. The journey so far has been a Tumultuous journey. India is a very difficult country to change. Problems remain, but the
rewards are beginning to appear and should be greeted with cheers.
4. We need to put in place a ‘development state’ guided by the philosophy of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.
5. Besides having rapid growth, it is also necessary to ensure that growth is inclusive, sustained, clean and formalized.
6. We need to create a future Indian state which is progressive, inclusive, prosperous, sustainable and humane society.
7. Efficient, transparent and accountable governance has to be the way forward for our governance systems.
8. A surge of energy, untiring effort and an unshakeable resolve on the part of the government, private sector and every
individual citizen will achieve India's transformation in the future.
9. While India may have lacked behind in the past, today it stands in the verge of bold advance.
10. ISRO is a shining example of how India can break monopolies of western world. We need to repeat the model.
11. At the end of the dark tunnel lies the glory of the light.
12. Mother Teresa once remarked that problem with the world is that we draw the circle of family too small.
13. We need to create pedestrian crossings on the highway of globalisation — K R Narayanan. That means we need to create
safety nets like MSP, PDS, MGNREGA, etc to take care of our poor.
14. We must, as proud Indians, have confidence in the idea of India and the values and principles enshrined in our
Constitution. India has always been able to self-correct whenever such a need has arisen.
15. Ambedkar once said that we are Indians, firstly and lastly.
16. Once again, the young need to experience the “blissful dawn” and call for the overthrow of caste discrimination,
inequality, patriarchy and other remnants of an oppressive order in India. This will complete the objectives of our
freedom struggle, for political equality is inadequate without social and economic equality.
17. The future has to be built on the foundations laid in the past and the present.
18. The most powerful force on the Earth is love.
19. Seva Parmo Dharma. Service is the ultimate duty in our Indian ethos.
20. Aristotle said that the Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
21. Justice Chinnappa reddy once said that our tradition teaches tolerance, our philosophy preaches tolerance, and our
constitution practices tolerance. Let us not dilute it.
22. India is the land of the Buddha, Mahavira and Mahatma Gandhi who are the greatest proponents of tolerance. It shows
that value of tolerance, peaceful coexistence etc., are inbuilt in India’s way of thinking which is needed in today's world.
23. Swami Vivekananda began his famous speech with sisters and brothers of America. This kind of tolerant attitude is
missing in today’s leaders.
24. Humans were always far better at inventing tools than using them wisely.
25. In pre-modern times, religions were responsible for solving a wide range of technical problems in mundane fields.
26. Religion plays a role in protecting identity. When Japan started to modernise in modernise in 1850s, the Japanese state
fused its state Religion with very modern ideas of nationality and race.
27. Henry Field -- Trans Atlantic cable story.
28. Brothers in Arms.
29. Promise or Peril.
30. Towards a brighter future.
31. A double edged sword.
32. Two sides of the coin.
33. The problem of unintended consequences.
34. Silver lining.
35. Window of opportunity.
36. All that glitters is not gold.