BGS-End Term 2021-22 Term 3

Business Government and Society

End term exam – PGP 2021-22
Due 11th March, 2:00 PM

Name:
Roll No.:

The paper is divided into two parts, and the exam is worth 100 points. You must answer the
questions below based on the articles submitted on 8th of March 2022 and all course
readings and classroom discussions. You should bring in concepts that you have read and
those that have been discussed in class when writing your answers.
The answer scripts are due on 11th March 2022, 2 pm. This is to be submitted on Moodle
and thus, late submissions will not be accepted. Please include your name and roll number
on every page.
Broad sweeping statements and pasting content from websites will receive low or no
credit/marks. Do not feel compelled to use up the word limit; word limits are going to be
strictly enforced. Brief and well-discussed answers are most welcome. You must include a
word count of your answer for each part.
Students on Disability track as per the Office of Disability norms are encouraged to share
their submission to the Section specific Teaching Assistant in case Moodle submissions
prove difficult.
All the best!

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BGS-End Term 2021-22 Term 3

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BGS-End Term 2021-22 Term 3

Part 1: [75 marks]

The following questions are based on the paper “Pandemic Precarity Life, Livelihood, and
Death in the time of the Pandemic” that was circulated as a pre-read on 8th of March 2022.
The paper is 6 pages; please check that you have the entire paper. After reading this paper,
please write 3 essays, each of 500 words on the following questions:
The paper highlights how institutions in Business, Government and the Civil Society
simultaneously interacted and created conditions for a precarity that came into sharp focus
at the time of the Covid Pandemic in India.
1. The Developmental state came across as fragile, falling short of providing even basic
entitlements to its citizens in the face of a severe crisis. With the benefit of
hindsight, what are some of the (a) short-term governance mechanisms and (b) long
term policy initiatives that a Developmental State can put in place to tackle/pre-
empt such crises in future?
2. This piece highlighted the problems of Indian businesses (mostly urban centric and
dependent on casual/contract labour) in the face of a severe and unexpected crisis.
Given our readings on land, labour and Agriculture what would the nature of re-boot
needed in the coming 2-3 decades in (a) industrial policy and (b) labour legislation?
3. The response of the civil society during the Pandemic was complex and
contradictory. What features of the Indian civil society, do you think ‘forged’
solidarity, and what ‘fragmented’ it during this Pandemic?

Part 2: [25 marks]

Consider the blogpost below and write answer of 500 words on the following question
posed below the link.
https://www.ideasforindia.in/topics/money-finance/achieving-the-target-of-complete-
financial-inclusion-in-india-through-fintech.html
(Circulated on 8th of March 2022)
4. The authors (from the Reserve Bank of India), make a case for how fin-tech will go
towards achieving universal financial inclusion in the country. What BGS related
challenges and conflicts do fin-tech firms negotiate in the short-run and long-run in
making this possible?

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