1.

Demographic dividend can be defined as the economic growth potential of a country which is
generated due to an increase in the population of the country in the labour force such that the
working population (age 15-64) of the country is more than the dependent population (age <15 or
>64). In this scenario, the country witnesses higher economic growth due to higher savings,
investments by the working age population. According to the economic survey 2019-20, the median
age of India is 29 and around 65 per cent of its population is working age population. India is amidst
the period of demographic dividend. It is supposed to peak around 2041. This can help India to reap
the benefits of economic growth as experienced by the countries like China, Japan etc. Some of the
benefits are:

A. Large labour force: An abundance of skilled laobour force help a country to grow further as
labour is one of the factors of production, the basis of economic growth.
B. Less dependents: Lesser the number of dependents as compared to working age population,
more the resources as compared to consumers, and thus higher surplus wealth.
C. Savings & Investments: The surplus wealth can be further invested to act as wealth creator. It
can provide further impetus to the economy.

All these benefits are not automatically transferred to a nation with demographic dividend. The
government has to take many initiatives in order to gain these benefits. If not handles properly, it can
lead to a disaster as well. Some of the issues dragging India back are:

A. Lack of adequate employment opportunities: It is the reason that most of the dividend is
wasted as the youth are not getting employment.
B. Lack of necessary skill: If the youth are not skilled properly as per the industry standards, it is
unlikely for them to get a suitable job.
C. Lack of human development infra: Inadequate health and education facilities further the
impact of above issues as the youth do not get the basic facilities neccesary for their
development.
D. Asymmetrical dividend: India has many states which have different demographic situation.
Some have started to age already whereas some are moving towards the demographic
dividend.

All these issues are barriers to the benefist of demographic dividend. The advent of new technologies
also acts as a barrier as well as an opportunity. The emergence of the AI is also such an event. It is
supposed to impact various jobs all over the world. As the AI is helping companies in removing the
necessity of labour force for very basic jobs, it is curtailing the need of unskilled labour force. It will
impact the lives of poor who are not adequately skilled or do not have resources to skill themselves
according to the changing needs. According to a recent report, AI and ML are expected to impact
around 60 per cent jobs in India either by eliminating these jobs or restructuring these jobs.

The other side of the coin is an opportunity for the country to enhanc eskill development initiatives
according to the technology advancements. It will provide an avenue to the youth to prepare
themselves according to the future needs. It can project India as a nation of tech-savyy workforce for
the foreign investors and employers too. If handled properly, India can emerge as an AI hub with
skilled workforce.

From all these points, it is clear that demographic dividend is a double-edged sword. The GoI has
launched manhy initiatives like PMKVY, SIM, PMJAY, NEP2020 etc to address various issues so that
India can emerge as youth power.
(599 words, 26 minutes)

2.

Migration can be defined as the temporary or permanent movement of people from one place to
another. It can be urban-rural or rural-urban migration. Rural-urban migration is a common
phenomenon observed with the advent of indutrialization and urbanization, but India witnessed the
reverse Urban0rural migration in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. Due to enforcement of strict
lockdown, the people working in urban areas were not able to feed themselves and remained
stranded away from their homes. It led to mass Urban-rural migration where millions of laborers
migrated to rural areas. It has negative impact on th economy as the economy came to a standstill
and in the unavailability of labour, it took a little time for the industries to start production. Some of
the impacts of Urban-rural migration are:

A. Positive:

i. Preservation of traditional knowledge: With the increased movement of people from rural to urba
areas, the traditional knowledge trasnmission saw a decline. It led to higher dependence on modern
knowledge systems. With the reverse migartion, it provided an opportunity to new generation to
learn from the older generation and carry the same forward.

ii. Agricultural transformation: The people went back to their villages and started working in their
agricultural fields in the absenceof any other opportunities. It helped in the agricultural
trasnformation as people developed interest in the farming. It provided further impr=etus to the
oraganic farming. The agri sector was th eonly sector to see positive growth in this period.

iii. Respite to urban environement: Reduced pressure on the natural environment of urban areas
ensured reversal of global warming to a small extent.

B. Negative:

i. Reduced workforce: As most of the industries are set up in urban areas, they witnessed a reduction
in work force and hence, a reduction in production.

ii. Reduction in human development levels: All the indexes measuring human develoment saw a
steep decline as the access to the amenities reduced. Urban areas have access to better basic
facilities and migation away from urban areas declined this access.

iii. Enhanced disguised unemployment: The employment of more people than the requirement in
the agriculture sevtor enhanced the levels of disguised unemployment.

There was increased unemployment rate, reduced LFPS & WPR to add to above points. The situation
led to a chaos but as the restrictions were lifted, the economy came to a normalcy. The GoI launched
many initiatives like PMGKAY to reverse the negative impacts too.

(402 words, 19 minutes)

3.

(i) World Trade Organisation was founded in 1995. The world has undergone many changes since
then in all the fields. The recent global events have pointed out the failure of WTO in sticking to its
mandate, some of these are:

a. Failed Inter-miniterial conferences: The WTO conferences held in last decade or so were unable to
come up with any concrete decision on various flagging issues like food security versus trade
liberalization.

b. Climate Change: It was not a big issue in 1995 but now, the climate change is one of the biggest
question on human existence as pointed out by the WEF in its global risk report as well. WTO also
needs to make changes to its policies accordingly.

c. A dysfunctional appellate: The appellate authority of WTO is dysfunctional after the US vetoed
against the appointment of the judges. It halted the process of dispute resolution.

d. Consensus-based decision making: It has led to indecisiveness by the governing body of WTO. It
can be rethought as a majority based decision making with proper criteria to cater needs of all.

All these issues point towards the need to reimagine the role as well as the functioning of the WTO.

(ii) Freebies are defined as various free of cost facilities offered by the Govt to its citizens in order to
enhance their standard of living. On the other hand, social security benefits are the basic benefits
provided to all or those who lack access to basic amenities. These benefits help people in the times
of distress to sustain themselves especially the poor and marginalised.

It is clear from the above definitions that the social security is necessary for poor as it provides a
pathway out of poverty to them. It further helps them by not falling in poverty again in case of
emergencies. Some of the initiatives are PDS, PMJJBY, PMSBY, APY etc. These initiatives help the poor
in planning about their future too by providing them pension benefits on depositing small
contributions. But various plotical parties are extending far more facilities than the requirement
because of the election agenda. These initiatives are stressing the financial prudence of the
respective states. It not only discourages the citizens to be part of work force but also puts the
financial prudence of the state at risk in long term. Thus, it is very important to choose a balanced
path between the human development and financial prudence.

(402 words, 18.5 minutes)

4.

The Reserve Bank of India maintains a foreign exchange reserve, also known as forex reserve, which
helps the nation in the times of financial distress or recession. The forex reserve has 04 components
which are as follows:

a. Gold reserves: The gold reserves of India stands above 750 tonnes at the end of FY23.
b. Foreign currencies
c. Reserve Tranche: A portion of national quota at IMF which can be withdrawn for its use
without any conditions.
d. Special Drawing Rights: It is a national currency issued by IMF to the member nations. It
draws its value from a basket of 05 currencies – The US Dollar, the Japanese Yen, the Chinese
RMB, the UK Pound, the Euro.
These reserves provide necessary cushion to the Reserve bank of the nation which can use it to fight
the crisis. Over the last 3 decades, India has accumulated its forex reserves. It peaked around $ 600
bn last year. But as the recessionary forces was coming in and with the increase in inflation, the
reserve banks of developed nations like the Fed enhanced its interest rates. It led to fleeing of FPIs
away from India and depreciation of Indian rupee. The RBI depleted its forex reserves to counter the
depreciation of India rupee. The RBI had to sell dollars in the market to increase the demand of the
Indian rupee and stop it from further depreciating. As the inflation and currency has now stabilised,
the RBI has again started accumulating its forex reserves. The factors responsible for enhancing or
reducing the frex reserves are:

A. Depreciation of the national currency

B. Increase in interest rates by foreign reserve banks
C. Times of financial distress
D. Increase in levels of global inflation
E. Recessionary pressures
F. Outflow of foreign investments

All the above factors result in the depletion of forex reserves whereas the times of currency
appreciation, inflow of foreign investments, stable financial environment, checked levels of global
inflation result in an increase in the forex reserves of a country. India had witnessed troubles times in
1991 due to the increased debt and depreciation of the Indian rupee. It less to the following:

a. Interest load: The interest repayments of India surged as the loans availed in the foreign
currency were to be repayed in the same currency. As the India rupee depreciated, India had
to pay more in rupees against each dollar to be repaid,
b. Incraesed debt burden: The same was the case with principal amount of loans as well. To
repay these loans in foreign currency, India’s forex reserves were not enough.
c. Expensive imports: The depreciation of rupees also increased India’s import bill to
unsustainable levels.

All these issues led India to a situation called Balance of Payment crisis where a nation is unable to
manage its loans with its revenue. If India had enough forex reserves at that time, India would not
have to avail long-term conditional loans from IMF to repay its liabilities. India would have repaid the
loans using its forex reserves or would have stopped/ slowed down the depreciation of the national
currency too. Thus, it can be concluded that it is imperative for a nation to build its forex reserves in
the good times such that it can act as a counter-cyclic buffer in the times of distress. India has done
well in building its forex rerves and these efforts are paying off now as seen in the recent events.

(575 words, 25 minutes)

Q1. Supervision of the banks is one of the most important functions of the Reserve Bank of India.
The RBI has established a separate department for this purpose, namely the Department of
Supervision. The RBI sets various prudential limits and introduces various frameworks from time to
time in order to ensure proper supervision of various financial institutions. The general features of
the framework put up by the RBI are as follows:

1. Classification of various financial institutions: The RBI has classified various financial
institutions on the basis of their vulnerability or on the basis of the impact they can pose due to their
size. For example, the NBFCs have been classified under 04 layers based on various parameters. A
similar classification has been introduced for UCBs too. Banks are also put under the term D-SIBs
if their size is too large. It helps the RBI to focus on various institutions accordingly.

2. Prudential limits: Based on the above classification and som eother parameters, the RBI speifies a
minimum level of few parameters like CRAR, CET 1 Capital etc. Which the respective financial
institutions are expected to maintain. The achievement of these prudential limits increases the
confidence of public in finanacial system and also provides extra cushion to the institutions in
stressed times.

3. PCA and RBA: The Prompt Corrective Action and Risk Based Analysis frameworks were
introduced as a proactive approach to financial supervision. These frameworks act as an alert in
case of potential risk. For example, the PCA has three parameters viz Risk weighted assets, leverage
ratio and asset quality (GNPA). These parameters are further divided in various brackets. If any of
the bracket is breached, that bank is put in a specific list and some restrictions & corrective actions
are imposed on it.

All these steps collectively help the RBI in supervising various financial institutions. As supervision
is directly linked to depositor’s and investor’s confidence in the system, it is very important to
maintain the same. The RBI is also in process to implement BASEL IV in upcoming time which
shall strengthen the system further.

The RBI is considered as the spinal chord of the financial system. With evolution of financial
system, its role in national development and sustainability has undergone dynamic changes. The
RBI is also putting effort towards sustainability using modern tools as explained below:

1. Green deposits: Recently, the RBI has introduced its guidelines on acceptance of green deposits
by various institutions and the utilisation of these deposits. These deposits are supposed to be used
for the purposes contributing to environmental and social sustainability only including climate
change.

2. Sovereign Green Binds: In Feb 2023, the RBI issues 16000-Cr SGBs intended to pool the funds
for environmental projects. The proceeds of these bonds shall be used for specific purposes only.
AN exhaustive list of 09 sectors has been provided for this purpose.

3. CBDC: The introduction of Digital Currency has been a milestone step in this regard. It will not
only reduce the cost of production of currency but will also provide an alternate to not-so-
environment-friendly paper currency. It is expected to open new avenues towards addressing the
climate change.

All these steps are contributing towards the solutions on climate change. Green deposits and bonds
shall provide the neccesary funds for cimate resilient infrastructure and mitigation. These steps also
require enhanced levels of transparency so that the concerns of greenwashing can be addressed. The
RBI shall take the lead and become a pioneer in the sector paving path for all national as well as
international organizations.
(590 words, 25 minutes)

2.
a. Reimagining the role of payment banks:

Payment banks were introduced on the recommendations of Nachiket Mor committee. The main
purpose of these banks was to aid the process of financial inclusion in India. Over the last 8-9 years,
the payment banks had aided this process and have reached the last mile to enhance access of
financial services. With changing times,
1. these banks can further be used as vehicles of financial inclusion in far flung areas where other
modes of financial services are not prevalent.
2. The representatives of these banks shall be added to the state-level bankers committee which
oversees the functioning of Lead Bank Scheme. These banks can provide new solutions to the
problems faced by Lead banks.
3. The payment banks can also be used to provide microfinance loans in collaboration with NBFC-
MFIs. The co-origination models can be exploited for this purpose.
4. Another major role for these can be the introduction of CBDC at a mass level. As the CBDC is
still in trial mode, this can also be one of the possibility.

In this era of technological revolution, things are changing dynamically. It is imperative to make
changes to existing systems accordingly. Thus, the role of payment banks can also be altered
accordingly in order to address newer issues in a befitting manner and in order to provide new
opportunities to public as well as these banks to explore further.

NaBFID

National Bank for Financing Infrastructural Development was established in 2021. It is supposed to
act as a Developmental Finance Institution which can provide funds for building the long-term
infrastructure. It shall act as an institution meant to fulfil long-term infra needs of the country.
Currently, the GoI is the majority shareholder of NaBFID but its share shall be reduced gradually
over upcoming years.
NaBFID has been given the status of All India Finance Institutions by the RBI and it has joined the
league of NABARD, EXIM, SIDBI etc. NaBFID shall be issuing long-term security receipts in
order to attract funds and the proceeds of these receipts shall be used in financing infrastructure like
railways, highways, renewable energy related projects etc.
According to a report, India requires infrastructure funding of about $2 trillion by 2030 in order to
acgieve its SDG targets. Thus, NaBFID can act as a source of that funding and help India achieve
higher levels in its journey to become a developed nation in upcoming decades.

(404 words, 20 minutes)

1(a) UCBs (Urban Cooperative Banks) are generally the upgraded version by primary credit societies
existing from a lon time in India. Earlier, the UCBs with large size were under the financial regulation of
the RBI whereas their functioning was regulated by the state governments. But the recent crisis in some
of the UCBs pushed the GoI to bring all the registered UCBs under the control of the RBI. The regulation
and supervision have been i9n question for quite some time after the failure of some cooperative banks.
But the RBI has brought many frameworks and has undertaken a few initiatives in strengthening the
regulation of UCBs and hence securing the interest of the depositors. Some of these steps are as follow:

1. Four-tiered structure: The RBI has recently divided the UCBs in 04 brackets on the basis of their
deposit size. Tier-1 consists of salary earner UCBs and UCBs with deposit size less than 100 CR. Similary,
the Tie-2, 2 and 4 UCBs have their deposit size between 100 and 1000 Cr, between 1000 and 10000 CR,
and above 10000 Cr respectively. It will help the RBI to closely monitor higly vulnerable UVBs.

2. Recently, the UCBs conforming to FLSW criteria of the RBI are allowed to open maximum of 5 or 10%
of existing braches, whichever is lower in a FY without prior approval of the RBI.

3. The prudential norms of the UCBs have also been updates. The Tier-1 UCBs shall maintain a CRAR of
95 whereas 12% for other UCBs.

4. The PSL target of reaching 75% of its total advances as PSL has also been extended till FY 2026.

All above points focuses on an overhaul in the functioning of UCBs such that the UCBs can become a
potential solution in addressing the increasing needs of new India, especially those who does not have
high access to financial services.

(b) National Strategy on financial Education is a document that provides a vision for a financially aware
and empowered India. The document has been prepared by the National Centre for Financial Education
covering the period from 2020 to 2025. This document paves path for a financially literate India. The
document has been prepared in consultation with various financial regulators like SEBI, IRDAI, PFRDA
etc.

Following are some of the features of NSFE:

1. It considers a financially literate person as someone who is sufficiently aware; possess a skill set &
knowledge to make financially informed decisions.

2. The NSFE targets 100% financial education to the youth. The strategy targets all age strata of the
population.

3. The NSFE tries to bring a multi-sectoral approach to target financial illiteracy.

4. The NSFE is basically based on 5 C approaches as explained below:

i) Content – Providing financial literacy related content/books at school and college-levels.

ii) Capacity: The capacity building and necessary skill development of all the intermediaries.
iii) Community: To lead with a community-led approach, that is, Jan Bhagidari.

iv) Communication: To leverage various technological advances and other channels of communication to
take the agenda of financial education further.

v) Collaboration: To collaborate with various organizations like NGOs, CBOs which can take the agenda
to remote areas as well.

Focussing on all above points, the NSFE aims to leverage the vast demographic dividend of India in
making them financially educated such that they can contribute to nation. It also aims to make India a
hub of vibrant financial systems. A proper planning and implementation of the NSFE can help India in
achieving its goal of becoming a Vishwa Guru.

(589 words, 23.5 minutes) + 10 spelling mistakes

1. Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) can be defined as a company registered under the Companies
Act, 1956/2013 which is primarily involved in the business of loans and advances, acquisition of shares,
debentures, bonds & other securities, leasing, hiring, factoring etc. The NBFCs are not involved in farm
sector or industrial sector activities among others. These are different from banks as these cannot
accept demand deposits and are not a part of the Payment and Settlement System as well.

There are various types of the NBFCs, some of which are explained below:

a. NBFC-IFC (Infrastructure Finance Company): The NBFCs which are involved in lending loans to the
infrastructure projects as their primary activity. These NBFCs shall lend at least 75 per cent of their
portfolio to the infra projects.

b. NBFC-CIC (Credit Investment Companies): These NBFCs are primarily indulged in the activity of
acquisition of securities out of which 90 per cent shall be equity acquisition of individual or group
clients.

c. NBFC-Factor: These NBFCs are involved in buying the trade receivables of exporters or other suppliers
on a discount and provide the said amount to the other party.

d. NBFC-MFI (Microfinance Institutions): NBFC-MFIs work at the grassroots level and provide the lending
facilities to the poor and unbanked population. They have managed to expand their services to micro-
insurance, savings, pensions etc too. At least 75 per cent portfolio of such NBFCs shall be under micro
loans only.

e. NBFC-P2P (Peer to Peer lending): These NBFCs are generally an online platform where various lenders
can lend to the debtors based on the requirement. The limit of lending is Rs 50 Lakhs per lender whereas
borrowing limits are Rs 50000 per borrower from one lender and Rs 10 lakh overall.

f. NBFC-AA: Account Aggregators provide intermediation in access & sharing of financial information
between parties safely.

It can be easily inferred from above that the NBFCs are involved in diversified businesses ranging from
lending to account aggregation to peer to peer lending. In the light of this, NBFCs contribute to the
economy by:

1. Providing financial services to the poor.

2. Covering various sectors like MSMEs.

3. Boosting exports and providing working capital to the businesses.

4. Expanding the scope of activities & creating new avenues.

In this way, the NBFCs are an integral part of the economy and complement the existing banking system
to its advantage. The NBFCs not only fund the capital projects but also enhance the reach of
conventional services. NBFCs can play a very important role in achieving the target of Rs 5 trillion
economy.

(420, 20)

2. Fintech can be defined as the way of leveraging technological advancement in providing various
financial services. With the technological revolution, the Fintech has gained popularity in recent times.
The online provision of financial services like lending, UPI, BHIM, emergence of neo banks etc. has
brought the fintech sector in the forefront. The establishment of RBI Innovation Hub and separate
Fintech dept in the RBI has also provided much needed boost to the sector.

By nature, the fintech is supposed to enhance the reach of the financial services including conventional
banking services like lending, withdrawal of money, fund trasnfer etc. With time, the fintech has eased
the process of conventional banking services. Thus, it can be said that the fintech is meant to
complement the conventional banking and to transform it further, but not to act as a threat to it. Some
of the strengths added by the fintech to conventional banking are:

a. Reach: With the advent of digital payment solutions, the public can use various banking services from
home. It has enhanced the reach of services to the rural and far flung areas too.

b. Cost reduction: Whether it is supply side cost or demand side cost, the fintech has leveraged the
economies of scale to reduce the cost of transactions.

c. Access: The new technology has made most of the banking facilities more accessible to general
population.

d. Transparency: The transparency has enhanced to a newer level. It has resulted in better trust
partnership among financial institutions and their clients.

e. Inclusion: The fintech has also aided financial inclusion by reducing the paper work and by leveraging
the potential of technology.

f. Affordability: The financial services have become more affordable due to the use of new and cheap
technologies.

From above, it is clear that the fintech has revolutionized the banking and financial space globally. India
has started pilot study of the Central Bank Digital Currency. India’s finance track is one of the most
appreciated and most talked about topic in G20 meetings today. The globe is looking forward to use the
India stack in their countries too. The cross-border payments through UPI-Paynow linkage has opened
the doors for new opportunities. All these advancements have resulted as a friend of the conventional
banking services, not a threat.

(380, 14)

7 minutes proof reading.

1. The Reserve Bank of India is the sole authority responsible for issuing and managing the currency in
India according to the Section 22 of the RBI Act, 1934. Recently, the RBI has launched the pilot usage of
the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in two modes viz Wholesale mode and Retail mode. With this,
the CBDC has been launched in select cities through select banks. The RBI defines CBDC as a form of
currency issued by the RBI in the digital form. It is a legal tender exchangeable with the paper currency
on its face value. With this, India marked its presence among the countries exploring CBDC for future
use. The CBDC has been seen as the future as it provides various advantages over and above the paper
currency. Some of these advantages are:

- Cost: The CBDC has potential to curtail the cost of issuing and managing currency by a significant
margin. As per the RBI report, an amount of around Rs 5000 Cr was spent on currency issuance and
management by the Central bank in last fiscal. The CBDC does not get mutilated or soiled, and thus does
not require exchange.

- Environment-friendly: The CBDC does not require any paper for printing or does not involve chemical
applications as required by the paper currency. Also, the energy consumption required for printing of
the paper currency can be reduced too.

- Fast exchange: It also provides a fast mode of exchange and reduces the transaction time. When giving
a large amount to someone, it takes time to count the paper currency but this is not the case with the
CBDC.

- Access and Reach: People shall find it much easier to access the CBDC as compared to the paper
currency. One does not need to visit an ATM or bank branch to access CBDC. It can be easily loaded to
one’s wallet through UPI or other digital means. Thus, CBDC can reach far flung and remote areas much
easier than the paper currency.

- Counterfeiting: It shall be easier for the central bank to take care of counterfeiting and duplicate
currency through digital means as the softwares and digital apps can be programmed to not accept the
duplicate currency.

- Does not require the presence of two parties: The digital currency can be transacted by a distance.
There is no need to exchange the currency personally as was the need for the paper currency.

Other than the above mentioned advantages, there are many other advantages of the CBDC. These
positives put the CBDC as a favorite choice over the paper currency. Some reports have mentioned that
the usage of the paper currency shall be reduced over time. But there are many challenges on this
journey which a nation needs to take care before rolling out the CBDC all over the country. Some of
these are:

- Digital divide: According to the Global Risk Report published by the World Economic Forum, the
digital inequality is the biggest risk faced by India in the long-term. The urban populace is more
digitally aware as compared to the rural population.
 - Fiancial literacy: It is another challenge on this journey. A vast chunk of Indian population does
not possess the awareness and literacy to make informed financial decisions.
- Resistance to change: This can also be an issue among the older generation.

All these challenges shall be addressed diligently in order to see a wide adoption of the CBDC in future.
The GoI and the RBI have been trying their best as many initiatives like PM DISHA, Utkarsh, NSFI, NSFE
have been launched to counter these issues. With proper planning and implementation, India can
establish itself as an example.

(615, 30)

2. Title: One World, One Future?

Like humans, the nations too break laws governed by International federations. There is a need to
govern nations as a system of federal states. We need collective vision, ideas and futures to bond
together as a society. Through the history, humanity has seen many who kept the vision of one world
alive even after suffering a lot. They knew the importance of one family of nations even after the
nations are divided by various borders. We can keep their struggle alive with our zeal, collective vision
and co-operation.

Our history points out towards many leaders who started the wars in the past. The wars which resulted
in misery and destruction all over the globe. Those leaders felt guilt and shame for their violent acts
started in an attempt to eliminate existing inequalities. The turbulent times put a question on the
human civilisation and the way we react. Presently, the big nations are trying to influence the smaller
nations to expand their agenda instead of fighting against menaces faced by humanity worlwide like
hunger, poverty, discrimination etc. It shall not result in a peaceful world.

(188, 26)

30+26+6 = 62 minutes including proof reading.

1. Gender Budgeting

“Where the women are worshipped, there lives Devta” goes an old saying. But the data suggests the
opposite. India, a country of devi – devta, has around 68 per cent of female literacy, 49 per cent of
Female LFPR, 33 per cent of women-led bank accounts as compared to 84 per cent, 57 per cent and 67
per cent for males respectively. Historically, the women had been subjected to discrimination including
undermining of human rights and dignity. To handle this menace, the GoI introduced the Gender
Budgeting in 2005-06. Gender Budgeting primarily deals with providing adequate resources to women in
order to bring them at par with men. It not only provides budgetary support but is an ongoing process of
policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The Gender Budgeting in India consists
of two parts viz Part A & B. The part A deals with women-specific schemes only with 100 per cent
funding towards women like BBBP whereas the part B deals with general schemes with at least 30 per
cent funding reserved for women.

The gender budgeting is a systematic process. It starts with a scenario analysis of the fields where
women lack resouces followed by the assessment of existing policies in the identified areas. The next
step is to assess and allocate the resources to that area, monitor the implementation, and evaluation of
the achieved goals with respect to the objectives. The inputs received from this process are utilised for
the next cycle of the process. The gender budgeting has provided a way out for women who were stuck
in the clutches of patriarchal society for ages. It has shown an improvement in the status of women in all
the aspects. The schemes like BBBP, JSY, JSSK ensured institutional deliveries, low MMR and fought the
issue of female foeticide. The initiatives like Women Entrepreneurship Platform, Stand up India, MUDRA
Yojana helped the women in stepping up on the entrepreneurship front and provided a platform to
them to become economically independent. There have been many schemes addressing a wide range of
issues right from the birth of a female child to her education, her marriage to economical independence
and participation.

All the above mentioned advantages have resulted in a new-age India in recent years, but there still
persists many challenges on the path of 100 per cent women parity. The major challenges in this journey
are the patriarchal mindset especially in the remote areas, lack of the role models to whom women can
look up & idealize, infrastrctural bottlenecks like absence of street lights in rural areas, and issues of
private funding. Although various steps have been undertaken to address these issues but there is a
need to take these steps to the next level now. The women have been conquering all the fields at this
point of time. It is time to develop them as role models of the Amrit kaal. The Amrit kaal shall pave the
path for reformed gender budgeting in India.

(498, 23)

2. Title: Old wine in the new bottle

Since 1991, India has implemented a range of economic reforms which were aimed at capitalistic
economy to some extent where the role of government goes down. It has benefited India with better
economic conditions on the expectd lines. But it has also led to some issues like manufacturing dearth,
issues with China which resulted in dissatisfaction. To tackle these, the government has taken a
restrictive approach taking some steps back from the earlier reforms. This can be seen as adopted from
the countries which faced similar issues like the US. Whether it is “America First” policy of Trump or
Biden’s trade agreements based on incentives, it points towards the recent approach of countries
worldwide. China has also replied with similar barriers & enhanced levels of restrictiveness. In an effort
to oppose China, these policies are very expensive and are costing high amounts to the nations. The
subsidies and incentives on manufacturing have encouraged more companies to start production. There
looms uncertainty over the future of markets and economies. India, too, have joined these nations, but
not explicitly as India is still struggling to find a balance between manufacturing capacity and overseas
employment. India’s dream of import substitution remains uncertain.

(199, 25)

3.

FI/2023-24/Planatation/24 Dated: July 17, 2023

The Divisional Forest Officer,

Division - Raisen (Madhya Pradesh)

Respected Sir,

PLANTATION: Request to provide medicinal plants for mass planatation drive.

As you are aware that the Earth Warriors, a club managed by youth, is actively involved in environment
friendly activities like planatation, cleanliness, plastic recycling.

We are planning to initiate a mass plantation drive in August under which we will plant 7500 plants in
around 75 villages of this division. These medicinal plants will not only help villagers in medicinal aspects
for which they will be trained further but also provide caretakers to these plants. It is an initiative
focussed on countering the uprooting of plants post mass drives.

Thus, it is a humble request to provide us with 7500 medicinal plants for the said purpose. We shall be
highly delighted.

Thanking You.

Yours sincerely,

XYZ ABC

President, The Earth Warriors

Raisen (Madhya Pradesh)

(150, 11)

25+25+11+7= 68 minutes (including 7 minutes for proof reading)

1. a. The global financial markets have seen many headwinds in recent past which started with the
pandemic followed by the Russia – Ukraine war and emergence of deglobalisation voices. In the light of
this, the following are the recent developments in the global financial markets:

i. Trade in local currencies: In an effort to shift away from the Dollar, the countries have been
establishing ties for local currency trade settlement. The recent entry in this list is India and Bangladesh.

ii. The rise of digital currencies: Various countries are exploring these new tides of the digital currency
which is expected to benefit the currency management system multidimensionally and will also enhance
cross- border payment system. Example- China’s e-Yuan, India’ CBDC.

iii. Risk Management: The Bank of International Settlement is considering the discussions and further
implementation of BASEL IV. The new challenges posed by the new environment shall be addressed with
that.

iv. Regulating Crypto: India, as the president of G20 for this year, is taking the lead in coming up with a
globally accepted regulation for crypto currencies during G20 consultations. The main reason behind
this is the risk posed by crypto to the financial stability and cross border reach of these assets.

v. Shifting away from LIBOR: After the introduction of SOFOR, the concerned authority is discontinuing
publication of LIBOR. All the central banks including the RBI has issues timelines for their financial
institutions to switch to new benchmark.

vi. Emergence of climate finance: The introduction of climate finance, sustainable finance and green
bonds has marked a new era of funding the environmental projects in the long-ter.

Thus, the above developments are a mix bag of positives and negatives. Some may see trade in local
currency as a drawback to globalisation but others may see the same step in the path of reduced
dependence on the dollar. India, G20 President, is going to set the tone for the future of financial
markets based on the finance track proceedings.

b. The global financial market consists of various components viz cash market, equity market, bond
market and forex market. All these components are inter-related. The outlook of these markets is
explained below.

i. Cash market: Enhanced levels of inflation worldwide are posing risk to the cash market. It has resulted
in hike in the interest rates by the central banks and thus, liquidity crunch. The inflation is expected to
come within a comfortable limit in 1-2 years. The RBI has also hiked the repo rate by 250 bps in last
fiscal and this action is expected to bring the retail inflation in the target bracket by 2024.

ii. Equity market: Equity markets of developing countries are in jeopardy as the hike rates in developed
world are attracting FPIs. It may remain the same till the rate hikes soften in the developed world.
India’s equity markets are soaring and presenting a much better picture. The overall monetary and fiscal
initiatives retained FPIs and as a result, Sensex touched 66000 recently.

iii. Bond market: The global bond market is expanding its range by adding new instruments especially
green instruments. Also, the countries like India are considering listing its sovereign securities on global
markets. It is expected to provide further impetus to achieving SDGs.
iv. Forex Market: The rise of trade settlement in local currency has been seen among various nations. It
will lead to a situation where the Forex reserves shall lose their relevance to some extent. India’s forex
kitty is near $588 bn which is a very comfortable position.

Globally, the markets have been on a recovering journey and are expected to come back on track in
upcoming years.

(606, 28)

2. G20 is an inter-governmental organisation founded in 1999 consisting of 19 countries and EU as its

members. It works on a rotating presidency basis. India took over the presidency of G20 last year and
shall continue to be in place till September this year. This presidency has provided vast opportunities to
India where the world is looking for a leader in India. G20 has 2 tracks called Finance track and Sherpa
track. Finance track is majorly focussed on the consultations related to finance sector.

The 3rd Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting was held recently at Gandhinagar. The
major priority areas chalked out by the FMCBG are:

i. Digital financial inclusion: The G20 countries are committed to expand the plethora of financial
services to aid the financial inclusion through various digital initiatives. The exploitation of digital
technology can provide new avenues to this sector.

ii. India Stack: India’s digital payment infrastructure, commonly known as India stack, consists of Jan
Dhan, Aadhar and Mobile. India is ready to share its technologies like UPI, BHIM etc. to aid the financial
inclusion all over the world. The G20 is working on the adoption of these technologies worldwide.

iii. MDB reforms: The G20 constituted a 9-member committee co-convened by NK Singh and Lawrence
with a mandate to come up with a framework to reform the multilateral development banks. The MDBs
need to evolve according the requirements of world. These need to be pro-active in their approach. This
has been one of the priorities of India’s G20 presidency.

iv. Regulation of crypto assets: Looking at the risk posed by these assets to global financial markets and
the reach of crypto assets on cross-border payment fronts, the G20 nations are trying to bringa global
regulatory framework on crypto assets.

v. Climate finance: As per the Global Risk Report of WEF, the climate change and its effects are the
biggest risk the world has to face in the long-term. The G20 nations are deliberating on the issue as the
financing requirements to fight this issue are huge. G20 nations are expected to come up with new
solution to this problem.

India’s G20 presidency has come up at a turbulent and uncertain time. It is a great opportunity for India
as well others to stand in forefront and lead the globe towards a new world.

(388, 15)
1. Personality can be defined as the ideas, features and behavioral patterns followed by a personal
which makes them unique. Personality is a set of behavioral patterns followed by a person and which
are easily recognizable when observed with care. It defines one’s actions and responses in an
organization. It is regarded as one of the most important management tools as it helps the organization
in attaining its goals. The following are some of the advantages provided by the personality study of
employees:

i. Motivation: The personality traits of a person tells the factors which drive their motivational levels.
Some employees can be motivated by monetary benefits whereas some others by challenging jobs and
self recognition.

ii. Conflict Management: Personality plays an important role in conflict management. The persons with
aggressive personality have tendency to fire a conflict whereas some others with relatively
accommodative and agreeable stance can help in watering the conflicts.

iii. Staffing: It is the process of deputing a job to the right mix of people. It is one of the most important
functions of the management. The personalities of respective employees help the managers in knowing
the field where that employee can excel. For example, extrovert employees can perform better in sales
jobs as compared to introvert employees.

iv. Delegation: The personality traits like ableness to lead efficiently can help the employee to stand
above all in the team. It also helps the superiors to delegate the critical responsibilities on the basis of
personality traits.

v. Controlling: The managers have different controlling styles. Some of them follow autocratic mode of
management which is suited in most favorable or most unfavorable situations whereas others may have
democratic styles which is considered favorable in moderate situations.

vi. Organizational efficiency: A proper personality management and study of employees can lead to
enhanced organizational efficiency. It will help in assigning suitable jobs to suitable personalities and
thus, the productivity of the organization will increase.

The personality, as defined by Big 05 model, has 05 elements viz Openness, Conscientiousness,
Extroversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism. These 05 components dominate in different roles. A set
of personality can enhance the performance of a job whereas other type can reduce the same. This is
the most important aspect of the importance of personality in an organization.

(381, 20)

2. Management is an art of getting things done by others. This is the simplest form of definition of the
management. It has many functions starting from Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing and
Controlling. Since the management also depends on other people, its techniques have changed over
time with the change in the working environment. The evolution of management can be backed by the
following resons:

i. Management theories: Started with classical theories of management which focused on time study,
motion study and fatigue study, we have reached the times of theories focusing on the human approach
to management.
ii. Dynamic field of study: As the management principles are dependent on overall working
environment, it keeps on changing with working conditions. As the working environment is a dynamic
concept, the same goes with the management.

iii. New concepts: With the advent of new concepts like Kanban, Kaizen, Just in time etc, the
management has strengthened itself at the core. These concepts keep on providing new inputs to the
management as a field of study.

iv. Shifting paradigms: The management has evolved itself with the evolution of technology. From the
mechanical technology to Information technology, the mangement has to undergo changes in ordder to
accomodate new techniques with high relevance in the present times.

All these points validate that the mangement is an evolutionary concept. The same can be inferred by
an analysis of various management theories as well. The management theories are classified under
three heads viz Classical theories ( before 1930), Neo Classical (1930-1960) and Modern theories (1960
onwards). Some of these theories are explained below:

i. Scientific management: It is a classical theory of management which focussed on the change in

production levels based on the movement of human parts like hand movement. It majorly focussed on
motion, method, fatigue and time studies.

ii. Administrative management: It is also a classical theory given by JW Taylor. This approach considered
a worker – work realtionship in a mechanistic way and ignored the human content.

iii. Human Relations Approach: As the classical theories ignored the human aspect of managemnt, this
theory was developed by Elton Mayo on the basis of his hawthorne experiments. This theory
emphasized on the importance of the employee –employee relationship over other factors. According to
this theory, better relationship among the workers enhances their motivation as well as productivity.

iv. Systems approach: It is a modern theory of management. It defined an organization as a system

which consists of many sub-systems intergrated closely to work and complement each other. It also
defined the concepts of CLosed and Open systems. The open systems interact with the environment
whereas the closed sytems are insulated from the environment. All the sub-systems shall work properly
in order to achieve an optimum productivity for the entire system.

Now, the major focus of the management is shifting towards situation theories of management. The
main concept of these theories revolves around the situations and environment in which an
organisation is working. As and when the situation changes, the applicable management theory shall
also change to get the maximum results. From the above points, it can be concluded that the
management has been a dynamic concept historically and will keep on changing with changing times in
a pursuit to enhance the organizational efficeincy and productivity.

(550, 22)

20 + 22 + 5 = 47
1. A business that makes nothing but profit is not a good business. This statement points towards the
importance of the business ethics and social responsibility in today’s era. Ethics can be defined as the
value system possessed by someone which helps her in differentiating between right and wrong or good
and bad. On similar grounds, the business ethics can be defined as the set of guidelines which a business
should follow as per the community standards. The business ethics has emerged as a very important
area in the business development. A proper policy formulation and implementation of the business
ethics benefit an organization in various ways. The following points tell about its need.

i. Organisation as a part of the society: Every business is a part of the society itself. There are various
factors affecting the working of a business and the environment under which it is working is one of
them. The society and community, being a component of that environment, impacts the working of a
business. Thus, it is important to consider social and environmental factors too while bringing a plan of
action.

ii. Reputation: The businesses spending high on the society where they are working are seen to have
high levels of reputation as compared to those businesses which do not.

iii. Profit: The customers like to buy the goods or services offered by a responsible organisation. The
organisations which have internalised the ideas of sustainability in their businesses have been
considered more responsible towards the society as large.

iv. Trust: The employees as well as citizens show a high level of trust in responsible organisations. The
employees feel that they are working for the benefit of society which is a source of motivation for them.

Thus, organisations involve themselves in activities like Corporate Social Responsibility to benefit the
organisation in a long term. There are various theories which guide one’s actions in personal as well as
professional life. These theories are called ethical theories. Some of these theories are:

i. Teleological theories: These theories are based on the importance of ends, not means. If the result of
an action is for a larger good, then the action shall be considered as ethical. This theory ignores the
importance of the means. For example, if a person steals food for donating it to a beggar then the action
shall be considered ethical. It ignores the rules and regulations widely accepted by humans. There are
two sub-theories under it:

a. Utilitarian: It talks about utility in the terms of pleasure and pain. More the pleasure, more the
ethically correct action is.

b. Consequential: It talks about the final consequence of the action only.

ii. Deontological theories: These theories are based on the importance of the duty or the means, not the
ends. It states that the ethics are equal for all irrespective of the results. A person shall check her actions
according to acceptance of the means or the process followed. Theories under it are:

a. Rights-based: An action shall be considered ethical if it is performed in order to save a person’s self
rights in case someone tries to threaten the rights. The rights such as Privilege, immunity etc. are
considered.
b. Duty-based: A person should consider an action ethical if she will take it positively if the same thing
happened to her. In short, a person’s action should be reciprocally ethical too.

There are some other theories too. These theories guide a person in the situations of dilemma when she
is not able to choose an action. The theories are used to aid decision making widely.

(600, 28)

2. Corporate Governance can be defined as a set of rules, regulations and standards which are used to
govern an organisation. It is a concept which aligns an organisation’s internal as well as external
objectives. The world has been working on the concept since 90s when the famous Cadbury committee
was constituted. In India also, various committees has worked on this with recent being Uday Kotak
committee. The recent developments on this front are explained below:

i. Companies act 2013: It paved path for the inclusion of various provisions aiding the process of
corporate governance. The constitution of various committees like Audit committee, Remuneration
committee which shall report to the Board of Governors, is the most important provision.

ii. Increasing stature of Independent directors: There was a time when the independent directors were
the part of the board for name sake but the scenario has changed gradually. There are many
committees which shall constitute of more than 50 per cent independent directors. The independent
directors have better say in company governance now. This is done to avoid conflict of interest as the
independent directors are impartial and are not related to the company in any way.

iii. Third-party involvement: It is imperative to conduct third-party audits in order to provide an impartial
feedback. The third parties are expected to provide an honest picture of the shortcomings to the
company.

iv. Fit & Proper criteria: The companies are being selective while hiring an employee at significant
positions. For example, the RBI has also set limits for roping in the IDs, WTDs or other employees. The
criteria talks about the competence of the director, their tenor and reporting line.

v. Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting: The SEBI has recently released the guidelines on
BRSR and BRSR core with assurances. Top 150 companies shall mandatorily adhere to the guidelines
from this fiscal.

vi. The role of women directors has also increased after the introduction of rule to add at least one
women director in top 100 companies.

vii. Separation of the posts of MD and CEO to avoid any conflict of interest.

Thus, all the above steps have aided the corporate governance in India. After the full implementation of
BRSR guidelines and enhanced level of disclosures, it is expected to provide adequate information to the
investors so that they can make more informed decisions.

(389, 16)

28+16 = 44
A.

Poverty is defined as a situation when a person or household is not able to fulfil the basic essential
needs to achieve a minimum standard of living. The United Nations defines poverty as the
deprivation of a basic minimum income, denial of opportunities and inability to make choices such
that the person is not able to participate socially. At the time of independence, India had around 80
per cent of its population as poor due to prolonged rule of British empire. After the independence,
the GoI took various initiatives to tackle poverty, which were based on Industrialization in the initial
stage. Soon after, GoI pushed the green revolution to help three-fourth of the population grow
economically as they were majorly dependent on the agriculture. After constituting various
committees on poverty line estimation, the poverty line in India was decided by the calorie intake
which was 2100 calories per person per day for urban areas and 2400 calories for rural areas. Thus,
GoI launched nutrition-cum-grain distribution programmes like Antodaya Anna Yojana and Public
Distribution System to counter the poverty by providing the targeted segment with grains at very low
cost or for free.

Till this time, poverty was majorly seen as lack of basic income. After the introduction of Human
Development Index and Multidimensional Poverty Index, various other aspects related to the
poverty were widely recognised and accepted. Some of these are lack of education, lack of health
facilities, gender aspects of poverty, lack of employment opportunities etc. The GoI also moved
ahead in this direction and launched various initiatives tackling separate dimensions of poverty.
Some of the aspects covered by these initiatives are as follows:

1. Health: The introduction of National Health Mission in 2005 paved the way for providing
adequate health facilities to the population. It was followed by the launch of various
schemes under this mission. The launch of Ayushman Bharat marked further progress of the
country in this direction. PM Jan Arogya Yojana provides a health cover of Rs 5 Lakhs per
family per year to the BPL families for secondary and tertiary hospitalization. Some other
initiatives are Health and Wellness Centres, Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram, LaQshya etc.
2. Education: The introduction of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya
Uchhatar Shinsha Abhiyan had set the tone towards the importance of education in the
country. The recent National Education Policy 2020 marked a great shift from conservative
education system towards a more holistic and evolved education system. The GoI is trying to
implement NEP 2020 through various schemes like Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, NIPUN Bharat,
wide availability of digital sources of education, SWAYAM etc.
3. Skill Development and Employment: The GoI has launched Skill India Mission in 2015 to tap
the demographic dividend and to provide adequate skills to the youth such that their
employability can be enhanced. PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana, DDU-GKY, SAMARTH etc. are some
of the initiatives in this regard. Also, the portals like National Career Scheme provide a
platform for emploers as well as job seekers. GoI has been encouraging self employment also
through initiatives like PM Employment Generation Programme, Stand up India, PM Mudra
Yojana etc.
4. Social Security: It is a general tendency that the people just above the poverty line can get
adversely affected in cased of tragedies like health emergencies, death of bread winner or
disabilities. The schemes like PM Jeevan Jyoti Beema Yojana, PM Suraksha Beema Yojana,
Atal Pension Yojana are some of the initiatives which provide safety net to the poor.

These have been the initiatives covering the recent approach of the GoI other than the existing
approach which is still continuing with initiatives like PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana. The Government
has not only recognised but is tacking the poverty by countering its multiple dimensions. This is
considered the right approach towards the future as well. This can be linked with exploring the
regional solutions to poverty alleviation. The GoI should rope up reputed education institutes in
policy making at regional levels. It will provide local solutions to this issue which can be easily
accepted by the community and can provide long term path for fighting this menace.

(690 words, 35 minutes)

B.

India has pledged to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2070. All other nations are also heading
towards such goals with different timelines. Environmental concerns are one of the largest risks to
the humanity in upcoming years, as reckoned by Global Risk Report 2023 as well. The nations are
trying to handle these concerns by adopting various strategies – internal as well as external. Internal
strategies are aligned with the internal dynamics of country like National Action Plan on Climate
Change, National Clean Air Programme, FAME etc. whereas external strategies pertain to global
initiatives like Mission LiFE, CDRI, International Solar Alliance, and non-trade barriers.

In this era of Free Trade Agreements, a recent example of non-trade barrier pertaining to the
environmental concerns is Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Europena Union has been
working on this for some time. EU has adopted it recently. It will be functioning from this year but
will come into force completely by 2026 providing enough time for industries and nations to evolve
accordingly. CBAM proposes to charge hugher tax rates to the industries which are contributing more
towards carbon emissions. The step is intended to provide a cushion to the local industries against
the cheaper products of countries like China which are using lesser environment friendly
technologies or which are emitting more carbons.

The GoI has also proposed to study CBAM and look for the possibilities of a similar mechanism in the
India context. Looking at the current global dynamics, India exports have an edge in exporting their
products to Russia. Also, the FTAs with Australia and UAE have also provided Indian exporters with
better access to these foreign markets. On the other hand, India opted to stay out of RCEP and IPEF-
Trade pillar considering the risk associated with these agreements. It tells that GoI has been moving
forward cautiously and is trying hard to negotiate the terms and conditions favorable for Indian
exporters. Further, the increase in negative sentiments towards China is opening new avenues for
India at the global stage. India exporters, if handled properly, can tap this gap and move towards
manifold increase in exports value in the future.

(356 words, 20 minutes)

1. Motivation is a drive which translates into a person’s behavior. The motivation theories are classified
in two types based on how do these define motivation. The two types are: Content theories of
motivation and process theories of motivation. The distinguishing factors among the two are explained
below:

i. Basis of definition: The content theories are the theories which consider that a person os motivated in
order to satisfy her needs. These needs can vary form physiological to social to self actualization. On the
other hand, the process theories of motivation focus on the process followed by a person from drive to
final outcome and it also considers the factors working in and around this process.

ii. Theories: The content theories are – Maslow’s needs hierarchy, Alderfer’s ERG theory, Mcllaland’s
theory, Theory X & Y, Herzberg’s two factor theory. The process theories are – Adam’s equity theory,
Vroom’s expectancy theory, and House’s Goal theory.

iii. The content theories work at the individual level by predicting the path followed by an employee to
achieve a specific need. On the other hand, the process theories try to explain various other factors
between the drive and the outcome. These theories work on establishing a relationship between the
motive and performance.

iv. The content theories ignore the external factors which are working in an environment and establish a
direct relationship between one’s needs and her behavior to achieve those needs. The process theories
do not talk about various needs but only about the trajectories which can be followed by a person on
the of motivation.

v. The content theories focus on the alignment of individual goals to the organization goals in an isolated
environment whereas the process theories also consider an open environment.

Thus, the motivation theories can be applied on the basis of the situation. Although, both the theories
are quite different but in today’s era, it is difficult to apply an absolute relationship between the need
and the behavior. There are many factors working in a scenario as the environment we are working in, is
open and accessible to all. Thus, the process theories are more successful in this complicated scenario in
today’s setup.

For example, the Adam’s equity theory tells that an employee will assess her situation based on the
outcomes and fairness of those outcomes. That means, she will compare here rewards with others as
well as her productivity with others and compare the input to output ration. She may consider some of
the factors like education levels, position levels etc. She shall compare herself at four levels, that are,
self inside, self outside, others inside and others outside before coming to a conclusion. ALos, the
Vroom’s expectancy theory talks about the relationship between the the actions and performance called
as expectancy. The relationship between performance and reward is also considered called as
instrumentality. Then the relationship between the reward and its willingness on the part of employee is
considered called as valence. A product of expectancy, instrumentality and valence is thus called
motivation.

It is clearly visible that the practical scenarios do not contain absolute relationships. These relationships
between various factors change according to the situations and this, the process theories are better
suited in today’s organizational world according to me. These can be further aided by the content
theories to help an organization in better implementation of motivation.

(558, 23)

2. According to SP Robbins, the perception is a cognitive process in which a person senses this
environment and tries to establish a connection between what is happening and how is it happening on
the basis of sensory information available. These sensory information are captured by ears, eyes, nose,
skin and tongue. As the humans are susceptible to various emotions, socio-cultural biases, it is very
common to interpret our surroundings incorrectly. It leads to perceptual errors. Some of these errors
are:

i. Halo effect: It refers to a situation where the perceiver judges a person based on her one quality only.

ii. Horn effect: In this case, the perceiver judges the other person on the basis of her one negative trait
only.

iii. Recency error: The perceiver judges a person on the basis of the most recent interaction with that
person.

iv. Attribution error: These errors occur when the perceiver has a tendency to blame all the negative
reactions on the external environment and to give the credit of all positive outcomes to the employee or
vice versa.

v. Similarity error: When a perceiver senses a similarity between the subject and himself, he connects
with the subject better.

vi. Contrast error: It is just opposite to the above error. In this case, the perceiver senses the opposite
nature of the subject and tries to rate her accordingly.

There are some other errors too like the stereotyping where the perceiver makes a judgement on the
basis of the group to which the person belongs. These errors lead to harmful effects, if not handled
properly. Some of the remedial actions can be:

i. Training: A proper training of all managers regarding these errors can help them observe their own
opinions and rectify those accordingly.

ii. Team or committee-based decision making: It is used to counter individual biases while making
decisions but the team should have diversity.

iii. Multi-dimensional approach: The tendency of a manager should be to observe the subject or the
surroundings from different dimensions and aspects before coming to a conclusion.

Thus, the above steps can help managers in making better decisions and save themselves from
committing perceptual errors in order to enhance their as well as organizational efficiency.

(358, 13)
1.

Fiscal policy is primarily aimed at judicious collection and utilisation of the government revenues and
expenditures such that the macro-economic stability of the country is maintained whereas Monetary
policy in India has primary aim of price stability, that is, guiding the retail inflation in the bracket of 2-
6 per cent while keeping the objective of growth. The recent times have been difficult for global as
well as Indian economy. The advent of COVID-19, Russia Ukraine war followed by high inflation have
dented the economy at various levels.

India has been no exception to this. A very high fiscal deficit which touched around 9 per cent during
the pandemic period, a never seen before negative growth of the economy coupled with high
umeployment had been the key highlights. On the other hand, the RBI has also struggled to achieve
the said target of retail inflation for consecutive 03 quarters for the first time since the Flexible
Inflation Targeting regime. But this poor performance doesn’t mean that fiscal and moetary policies
have failed in India. It was majorly attributed to the one in a century crisis. Although the GoI took
various steps like Atmanirbhar Bharat package which had plethora of initiatives to help the economy
get back on track. It consisted of Emergency credit line to stressed sectors, Production linked
incentives, PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, enhanced funcds to employment generation schemes etc. On
the other hand, the RBI also extended the deadlines for considering an asset NPA, reduced Cash
Reserve Ratio, infused liquidity in the financial system. The RBI also shifted towards unconventional
tools like Targeted Long Term Repo Operations, GSAP etc. to tackle the siyuation in better way. All
these initiatives followed by a 250 bps hike in the policy rate in last one year show a poitive approach
of the central bank.

All these initiatives have resulted in reduction of fiscal deficit to 6.4 per cent in FY23 and budgeted
fiscal deficit for FY24 is at 5.9 per cent. The economic growth is also back on track to 7 per cent in
FY23 to be followed by an estimated growth of 6.5 per cent in FY24. The retail inflation has also come
under the bracket. The CPI for the month of April was 5.1 per cent, well under the comfort zone.
Thus, we can say that fiscal and monetary policies have delivered their commitment towards
macroeconomic and price stability.

All these events have impacted rural and urban economy of the country in different ways. The
following are the points comparing the both:

a. The imapct of COVID-19 was on the same lines on both urban as well as rural areas but due
to high dependece on the contact-based industries, the urban areas were more affected
whereas the ruaral areas are more dependent on the agriculture, which was the only sector
showing positive growth of 3.9 per cent in FY20.
b. The pandemic era also saw a reverse migration trend from urban to rural. Since the
employment opportunities are less in rural areas, it resulted in further deteriotion of the
situation.
c. Citing the data of recently released Periodic Labour Force Survey, the unemployment rate
has been high in urban areas (6.3 per cent) as comapred to rural areas (3.2 per cent). The
major reason behind this is dependence on agricultire and disguised unemployment.
d. According to PLFS, the LFPR has been high for rural areas (57.5 per cent) as compared to
urban areas (49.7 per cent).
e. The female employment rate has been high in urban areas as compared to rural areas.

These have been the recent trends on economic parameters of urban and rural areas.

(608 words, 30 minutes)

2.

The population growth, high poverty, lack of infrastructure and low per capita income had been
some of the features of the Indian economy at the time of independence. The GoI initiated five year
plans, declared industry as the prime moving force, aided green and white revolution. All these steps
helped India in attaining a growth of around 3.5 per cent during 1960s to 80s. After the BoP crisis in
1991, India adopted Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation reforms by opening up the
economy, abolishing license raj and dereserving the industries. All these series of reforms followed
by further opening up of stock market, banking and insurance system led to a growth of 8-9 per cent
in this period. It was dented to some extent by the GFC crisis if 2008. Although, India remained
insulated to the adverse impacts of GFC but due to outflow of foreign capital, India witnessed a
growth of 6-7 per cent till the 2020. In 2020, the world had to face a unprecendented crisis as the
COVID-19 pandemic spread over the globe. It forced economies including India to register a negative
growth. But the post-COVID reforms era had helped India get back on the track. With its strong
fundamentals followed by plenty of fiscal as well as monetary reforms, India achieved a 7 per cent
growth in FY23 and is expected to stay in the range of 6-7 per cent in upcoming years.

There has been difference in the drivers of growth which took India forward in 1950s to that of
today. The same is explained below:

1. As Industry was declared as the prime moving force, it was the main driver of the growth in
50s whereas the agriculture sector was the flag bearer of growth during pandemic. Also, the
service sector accounts to 57 per cent of GVA today as compared to 29 per cent in 1947.
2. The domestic consumption post-independence was too low as a major portion of the
country was poor with very low purchasing power. Whereas India has improved over time in
the terms of purchasing power. Being one of the largest market in world, the dometic
consumption is an important factor of growth today.
3. Private consumption was also very low post-independence due to lack of capital. Today, the
private consumption has increased multifolds due to development of the sector over these
years.
4. The overdependence on the imports was a key feature of Indian economy in 50s which has
been offset by competitive exports and the conducive environment provided to them
theorugh various schemes, FTAs etc.

Other factor like inward remittances, MSMEs lead India’s growth today which were not that
competent in 1950s.

(440 words, 21 minutes)

1. Internationalization of Rupee is a testament of India’s growing stature at the global level. The
internationalization of Rupee means enhancement and promotion of trade settlements like exports
and imports in Rupee. The main reason behind this development is to counter the impacts of over-
reliance on the international currencies, mainly the US dollar. The other reasons are to counter the
weaponisation of foreign currencies and promoting our national currency. The GoI and the RBI
have taken some steps in this direction in recent times. The RBI has approved a list of 18 countries
which are now authorized to settle their trades with India in Rupee. For this, these countries have
been authorized to open special vostro accounts with Indian banks. The most recent settlement in
Rupee started with Bangladesh.
The internationalization of Rupee prrovides various advantages to India. These advantages range
from countering reliance on foreign currencies to enhance the usage of Rupee on global level. It
will reduce the requirement of foreign exchange reserves maintained by India. This move will also
lead to providing immunity to India from the volatile financial global markets having over –
reliance on the US dollar. It will further strengthen Indian financial system and growth. In addition
to these points, this move will enhance India’s IMF quota as the usage of Indian Rupee shall
increase. It will also develop new foreign currency exchange markets.
Despite of many advantages, the internationalization of Rupee has still a long way to cover. There
are many challenges too. The first one is the demand – the demand of Indian rupee is less in global
markets. The countries prefer other currencies over Indian Rupee to settle their trades as other
currencies are easily available and exchangeable in markets. The recent example being the
discussions with Russian Oil companies to settle trade in Rupee, but they insisted India on settling
the trade in Yuan instead of Rupee. The other challenges are unavailability of currency exchange
markets between Indian Rupee and other currencies. The US dollar, Euro etc. are only a few
exchange markets available. The partial capital account convertibility of Rupee is also one of the
challenge in this journey.
India has learnt to fight with challenges in order to succeed. The GoI and the RBI have been
working on the issues flagged above. Currently, Indian Rupee covers only 3 per cent of the global
demand. As per the latest report of the RBI panel on internationalization of Rupee, some
suggestions have been made in short, medium and long term. The capital account convertibility,
promotion of Indian rupee products abroad, the pursuit to put Indian Rupee in the currency basket
used by IMF for valuation of SDRs are some of these. India has signed agreements with many
countries recently and is furthering its agenda. The G20 presidency can also be used as a golden
opportunity to enhance the demand of Indian Rupee further by bringing the state heads, finance
ministers and Central bank governors of participating countries on the same page.

(499)

24 + 4 (proof read) = 28
1.

The Foreign Trade Policy of a country governs and regulates its exports and imports. The general
tendency of a FTP is to enhance the competitiveness of country’s exports and reduce the import
dependence of a country. The FTP 2023 was released on 31 March, 2023 and became applicable
from 01 April 2023 without a sunset clause. The FTP 2023 aims to enhance the exports of the
country with the help of various initiatives grouped under the following 04 pillars:

1. Incentive-based regime to Remission-based regime.

2. Enhancing export competitiveness by collaboration with various stakeholders like states,
districts, towns etc.
3. Promoting districts as export hubs.
4. Exploring and Promoting new avenues like e-Commerce.

Some of the features of the FTP 2023 are as follows:

a. Aim: FTP 2023 aims to increase India’s exports to US $2 trillion by the timeline of policy. Out
of this, US $1 trillion is to be achieved by services exports and remaining US $1 trillion goods
exports.
b. Export Promotion of Capital Goods (EPCG): The benefits of EPCG scheme has been extended
to various priority sectors like dairy sector, solar panels, green hydrogen etc. It will help in
prioritising India’s needs and provide further impetus to said sectors.
c. Town of Export Excellence (TEEs): It has been decided to add 04 new TEE to existing 39 TEE
making it a total of 43 TEE. The new TEE to be added are Moradabad, Faridabad,
Virudhnagar and Varanasi. These towns shall get priority access to exports markets and other
facilities like IFSC.
d. E-Commerce: The target has been set at US $300 bn for e-commerce exports. E0Commerce
has been a promising emerging area for the exports. To ease the restrictions, it has been
decided to enhance the value of exports sent by courier to Rs 10 lakhs from Rs 5 Lakhs
earlier.
e. Districts as Export Hubs: It has been proposed to facilitate various districts to become export
hubs by providing then state-of-the-art facilities. The states and respective districts shall be
consulted to come up with a development plan for each dostrict accordingly.
f. Mercahnting: The MoCI has also set up sepearte guidelines to facilitate the development of
export mechanting business. The export merchanting deals with the goods coming from
outside India and being sent to other countries without touching Indian land. IFSC is
considered as foreign land for this purpose.
g. SCOMET: A separate guideline dcoument shall be released in due course to deal with Special
chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipments and Technology as these are considered
important as well as sensitive export items.

All above features are expected to help Indian exports grow manifolds. FTP 2023 also took care
of a regime shift. The major focus of previous policy, which was extended for 03 years in phases,
was incentive-based promotion of the exports. The FTP 2023 marked shifting away from this
regime towards remission-based regimes where various remissions on taxes shall be provided to
the exporters instead of directly incentivising the exports. Thus, FTP 2023 has made India
compliant with the norms prescrobed by the World Trade Organisation on the exports. It made
India comply with various WTO principles like National Treatment.
 These are aimed to promote local exports through promoting districts as export hubs. It also
tries to tap the potential of emerging areas like e-commerce. The development of necessary
infrastructure is also on the list as 04 new TEEs have been introduced. It can be concluded that
FTP is an important policy document for a country. FTP 2023 is expected to enhance India’s
socio-economic factors too based on the ehnacement of export competitiveness.

(599 words, 31 minutes)

2.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a widely accepted measure of economic growth but not economic
development as it tries to considers only factor and that is country’s output production in a specific
period of time. When this economic growth is mixed with “social welfare” too, it gives a better
picture and is called as economic development. Economic development takes care of many factors
like income inequality, standard of living, education, health etc. Economic growth is considered a pre-
requisite of economic development but it doesn’t necessary lead to exonomic development. Various
other interventions are required to lead economic growth towards economic development.

The UNDP came up with an index called Human Development Index in 1990 which considered three
factors namely, education, health and standard of living. Various developed countries perfromed
poorly on this index, which points out the growth versus development debate. According to a recent
report, India’s richest 01 per cent holds more than 3-quarters of total wealth of the country whereas
poorest 90 per cent had access to less than 1/4th of total wealth. Various measures to tackle this
situation are as follows:

1. Redistribution of income: It is a vital component while dealing the above situation. The rich
earns much more than poor and thus, it is necessary to channelise some of their income
towards social schemes to help poor. The GoI has been doing this by implementing
progressive tax regime where high earners are taxed at high rate.
2. Equity in resource allocation and utilisation: The resources of the country belong to all the
citizens and it makes sense to equally distribute these resources. The landless poor shall be
provided land for making houses with basic amenitites. The GoI has been doing this i=since
independence by providing Patta to the poor but there is huge scope to improve further.
3. Enhancing the reach of schemes: The GoI is implementing a bouquest of social schemes
covering aspects right from housing, drinking water to employment opportunities. But the
benefit of these schemes haven’t reached the last person in need yet. By making gram sabha
the identifier of the benficiaries, GoI has been trying to cover this aspect too.
4. Enhancing implementing mechanisms: The distrcit administartion has the most important
role in implementing most of the schemes. The capacity building of the officials shall help in
better implementatioin and thus, enhanced efficiency too.
5. Promotion of CSR: The ambit of corporate social repsonsibility shall be widened to further
accommodate various activities. The idea of adopting a town or tehsil or district shall be
promoted under CSR to provide localised solutions to local problems.

Thus, it can be concluded that there is a long way for India to reach a point where it can be said
that India is developed, not mrely on paper but in reality. The GoI has been proactively
participating for tha cause and has been implementing various schemes. An enhanced impetus
towards the rural development can do miracles.

(490 words, 21 minutes)

1.

The role of banks has shifter from credit providers to the economy stabilizers. The initial role of banks
was considered to provide credit access to the industries and major earning potential was based on
the interest income. As the financial systems evolved around the world, this role also went on
changing to wealth creators. Today, the banks act as a building block of the economy. The banks with
their various functions provide a cushion to the financial and economic stability of a nation. In these
unprecedented times of COVID-19 pandemic, Russia – Ukraine war, rising inflation and enhanced
protectionism, we have seen failure of a few big banks like the Silicon Valley bank. Despite these
issues, the Indian banks have been able to sustain these times and are on the way to reverse the
damage caused by the current crisis. Some of the functions of banks which have helped in economy
stabilization are:

a. Credit access to stressed assets: During COVID, the economic activities came to standstill and
contact-intensive sectors were hit hard especially MSMEs. The banks were the providers of
credit during this critical time to these stressed sectors through the ECLGS initiative of the
GoI. This facility aided these sectors to bring themselves back on track.
b. Policy rate transmission: The banks are also the mode of transmission of changes in policy
rate to general public. This transmission is important to tinker down the impact of policy rate
changes especially today, when the RBI is struggling to bring the retail inflation back in the
permissible limit.
c. International Trade in Rupee: The banks have been opening Vostro accounts of the foreign
banks so as to encourage and enable tarde in the Rupee currency. It is an important step to
tackle the current geopolitical conditions where the US has issued sanctions on Russia and
some other nations.
d. Export enablers: The banks have been providing facilities like factoring, forfeiting to help the
exports such that they don’t have to wait for the receivables. It provides timely funds to the
exporters which can be invested further.
e. NARCL: The banks have come together to form an asset reconstruction company which will
takeover bad assets from them and work on recovering the dues. It will help in cleaning the
balance sheets of the banks and provide them space to focus on basic banking services.
f. Financial Inclusion: It is one of the most important tools of economic development and
poverty alleviation . The banks have been taking this up since decades and have successfully
brought a major population under its ambit.

Although the RBI has been taking many initiatives like RBIA, identifying DSIBs, Capital adequacy, fit &
proper criteria for selection to enhance the banking regulation in India, but some other suggestions
for furthering proactive regulation are:

1. It can be a game changer if the RBI accepts the recommendation of Narsimham committee
about the banking structure where there will be only 2-3 large banks followed by many
regional banks.
2. The development of regional banks can help them to provide local solutions which shall be
tailor-made based on the area specifics.
3. Fintech Authority: The changing landscape of banking is posing new challenges day by day.
The RBI has set up a Fintech department but an independent Fintech authority shall provide
a better opportunity to regulate as well as develop fin tech sector.
4. Counter Cyclic Buffer: It has not been implemented yet in India. Its implementation can
provide cushion to the economy.
 Thus, we can conclude that the banking system has enormous opportunities and responsibilities
in shaping a sustainable future. For the proper functioning of the banking system, the RBI and
GoI has already been working on various steps. A little more pro-active approach can do miracles
to the banking industry.

(630 words, 29 minutes)

2.

A. Monetisation generally refers to the utilisation of public assets to generate funds for various
purposes like infrastructure development. National Monetisation Pipeline was launched in 2021 with
an objective to accumulate a funding of around Rs 06 lakh crores for the infrastructure development
of the nation. It is aimed at complementing the 111 lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline. The
NMP is basically limited to the transfer of usage rights, not the ownership. Initially, only the
brownfoeld assets under the PSUs shall be considered.

It is a very important initiative from economy and infrastructure point of view in the following ways:

1. Stable source of funding: NMP shall provide a stable source of funds to various social and
infrastructural projects being implemented in the country.
2. Infrastructural gaps: NMP will pave a path of full the inftrastructural gaps in the country. It
will boost the capital expenditure of the GoI.
3. Lifeline to stalled projects: NMP will help the GoI in completing the stalled projects due to
lack of funding.
4. Optimum utilisation of the resources: The resources of the government which were not in
use, shall be utilised optimally to create new resiurces as well.
5. Private sector participation: NMP shall provide an opportunity to private sector to actively
participate in economic development, while generating revenues for themselves too.

From the abobe points, it is clear that the NMP will provide opportunity the GoI as well as private
sector to actively boost the infrastructure development while taking acre of their organizational
objectives too. It may prove to be a watershed moment in providing necessary resources to fulfil the
funding gap for country’s all-round development.

(273 words, 11 minutes)

B. The labour comes in the concurrent list which means both state as well as centre are liable to
frame laws for labour industry. India had numerous labour laws which complicated their
implementation at the gound level. To handle this loophole, the GoI reduced the labour laws to 29 by
subsuming various redundant laws and brought these laws under 04 codes to futher the
simplification process. The details of the codes are:

1. The Code of wages: It subsumed 04 labour laws. This code described the floor wage and minimum
wage concepts. As per this code, the state governments can set their respective floor rates which
can’t be less than the minimum wage prescribed. This code will help in uniformity on the wages
throughout the country and will ensure periodic revision of floor wage too.

2. The code of occupational health and safety: It subsumed 09 labour laws dealing with occupation
health. It has provisions to provide necessary safety equipments to labour and ensure
implementation of the basic safety guidelines in the industries. It will reduce the industrial accidents
and will reduce the deaths due to industrial accidents. It will further aid in providing basic health
facilities to the labour deployed.

3. The code on social security: It mandates the respective industries to provide a basic social security
net to the labour deployed. It subsumes 13 labour laws. It will help in bringing the unorganized
sector under the ambit of social security.

4. The code on industrial relations” It subsumes 03 labour laws and basically deals with the laws on
trade unions. This code will further the development and independence of trade unions in the
industries which can take up the interests of the workers.

Thus, it can be concluded that the implementation of labour codes is a welcome step and is expected
to provide relief to the workers on various aspects like wages, social security, health facilities etc.

(318 words, 12 minutes)

1.

Financial market is a place which enables a trade between the entities with surplus funds and the
entities with inadequate funding. It promotes the utilization of funds in economically viable sectors.
Financial institutions are the general tarders in the financial market which deal in financial
instruments. The financial market of a country serves as an important indicator of that country’s
economic health. The financial markets aid the economic growth of a country in following ways:

A. Resource utilisation: A financial market provides an avenue to the financial intermediaries

and business houses with surplus funds to optimaza the efficiency of those funds by utilizing
them. In absence of the financial market, those funds could have been lying in the accounts
only.
B. Funding to stressed sectors: The sectors having funding crunch get an opportunity to raise
funds for themselves through the financial markets as the entities with surplus funds are
ready to invest their funds in other sectors.
C. Wealth creation: The surplus funds invested in capital-creating sectors have a cascading
effect as these sectors further generate wealth on the basis of available funds. This multiplier
effect of the financial markets help in economic growth too.
D. Employment generation: The financial markets enhance the employment opportunities in
various sectors including the markets as well as the sectors which raised funds.
E. Diversification and risk management: The financial markets provide an opportunity the the
traders or businesses to diversify their risks by investing in different instruments having
different risk possibilities.
F. Transparency: The traders and investors get access to transparent markets where most of the
trades are standardized. The trade takes place as prescribed by a set of guidelines and
processed. It further enhances the investor confidence.
G. Innovation: The financial markets also enable the innovation by introduction of new
concepts like Soveriegn Green Bonds, Social Stock Exchanges etc.
H. Financial Inclusion: The financial markets bring the new users under its ambit and provide
them with better returns on their funds. It plays an important role in financial inclusion.

All above points make a direct linkage between financial markets and the economy. The vibrant
financial markets pave path for a vibrant economy. Some of the recent financial instruments
introduced in the market are:

a. TLTRO: Targeted Long Term Tepo Operations were introduced by the RBI to lower the yields
of Government securities during the pandemic era. This instrument enabled the investors to
invest in government securities for a longer period than usual, that is, upto 3 years. It
provided nevessary cushion to the market in the unprecedented times.
b. GSAP: Government Securities Acquisition Programme was another instrument launched by
the RBI on behalf of GoI. The RBI bought the government securities available in the market
through this initiative.
c. Sovereign Green Bonds: SGBs were issues by the RBI recently. These are aimed at providing
necessary support and funding to the various environmental projects being carries out in the
country. The proceeds of this instrument shall be invested in a specific list of projects only
which are aimed to tackle cimalte change.

Thus, the above instruments have further brought vibaracy in the markets in the tough times and
helped the economy grow further. (530 words, 26.5 minutes)
2.

Agriculture sector has been the only sector exhibiying positive growth during the pandemic. After
the lockdown, the Indian economy saw a negative growth in the FY21 as the economic activities
came to a halt during the COVID-19. During these times, the agriculture sector exhibited a growth of
3.6 per cent in FY21 and 3.9 per cent in FY22. The sector was the only flagbearer of the economy.
India is an agrarian economy as around 50 per cent of India;s population is directly dependent on the
agriculture. During COVID-19, the agriculture sector not only saved the economy from further
decline but it also produced record output to feed the nation. The sector faces many challenges like
lack of irrigation facilities, lack of funds, overdependence on monsoon, lack od skill etc. but the
various initiatives of the GoI like PMFBY, PMKSY have helped the sector grow on a sustained pace.

There is one more sector which has a great impact on Indian economy over these last decades. The
GVA of services sector has grown to 55 per cent from a mere 28 per cent at the time of dependence.
This stats clearly depicts the share of services sector in the growth of country. The sector has seen
tremendous growth after the 1991 economic reforms. The sector has seen manifold increase in the
FDI inflow as well. The sector has contributed enormously to the economic growth due to the
following reasons:

A. The availability of skilled manpower has helped the sector grow further. Banglore has
emerged as the hub of BPO industry due to this.
B. The availability of cost effective manpower has encouraged the foreign investors to invest in
Indis’s service sector.
C. The demand has increased in various service sectors like tourism, hospitality, BPO industry
etc. To compensate this demand, growth of supply side factors ensured growth of the sector
overall.
D. The enabling schemes and initiatives of the GoI has further boosted the confidence of the
investors as well as businesses.

Thus, it can be said that the agriculture sector (the prime moving force) has emerged as the actual
moving force for Indian economy during tough times whereas the services sector has provided the
required impetus to the economy throughout these years, especially after 1991 reforms.

(376 words, 13 minutes)