Deatiled Study of GD Topics

8/6/2019 Deatiled Study of GD Topics

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NION Budget 2011

The Union Budget 2011 was presented on February 28, 2011 by Financeminister Pranab Mukherji, in the background of Indian economy swiftlycoming back to a broad-based growth recovery path. The task on hand wasto ensure that the continuance of recovery is aided through policy actions, onthe one hand, and, on the other hand, to balance the growth trajectory withthe rising concerns on inflation.

As per the Budget statement, the fiscal policy will continue to be guided bythe principles of gradual adjustment from the fiscal expansion undertakenduring the crisis period in 2008-09 and 2009-10. The path has been slightlyfront-loaded to help the government in reducing the debt to GDP ratio atfaster pace that, in turn, will help in unlocking more resources fromgovernment revenue in future to be used for developmental programmesinstead of debt servicing. In order to achieve the enumerated acceleratedfiscal consolidation path, the government has focused on expenditurecorrection in 2011-12.

Total expenditure is estimated to decline from 15.7 per cent in 2009-10 to15.4 per cent in RE 2010-11 and 14 per cent in BE 2011-12. The sharp

correction in BE 2011-12 is designed with reorientation of expenditure topriority sectors and reducing the growth of non-plan expenditure. In order tokeep the overall expenditure under estimated level, the government hastaken certain decisions to control the growth of expenditure in subsidies andother related items. Decision to move towards nutrient based subsidy (NBS)regime in fertilizer subsidy, along with increase in the MRP of urea hashelped in containing the expenditure on fertilizer subsidy during 2010-11.

With respect of rationalizing of petroleum subsidy, the government hasalready decontrolled the pricing of petrol. And started providing petroleumsubsidy for under recoveries of oil marketing companies in cash instead ofsecurities. In order to arrest the diversion of subsidized kerosene oil, LPGand fertilizers, and to ensure greater cost effectiveness and better delivery,the government has started the move towards direct transfer of cash subsidyto people living below poverty line. This will be done in a phased manner.

On the indirect tax front, the strategic priority of the government continues tobe to achieve further improvement in the tax-GDP ratio through anexpansion in the tax base, removal of exemptions and moderation of taxrates. Maintaining the integrity of the credit chain is also a key priority as itreduces cascading and improves the overall efficiency of a VAT type of tax.In the medium term, these objectives are sought to be achieved through theintroduction of a comprehensive Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The Union Budget 2011 has enhanced the merit rate of Central Excise from4 per cent to 5 per cent. To expand the tax base, a nominal duty of 1 percent ad valorem has been imposed on about 130 items that were hithertoexempt or chargeable to nil rate of duty without CENVAT credit.

Service tax has been imposed on few more service categories. The Budgetalso seeks to rationalize the CENVAT Credit scheme provisions, especiallywith regard to the apportionment of credit between dutiable/taxable andexempt goods or services.

The contribution of Direct Taxes to the total taxes collected by the Centre

has increased from 33.8 per cent in 1999-2000 to 58.6 in 2009-10. Thesubstantial increase has been based on strategy of maintaining moderate taxrates while expanding the tax base by minimizing exemptions and phasingout profit linked deductions.

The implementation of the new Direct Tax Code (DTC) has been postponedto April 1, 2012. The Standing Committee on Finance is examining the code


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in the Parliament. The major policy proposals in the Union Budget intend toconsolidate past achievements and align with the DTC provisions.

A number of administrative initiatives have been proposed to reduce thecompliance burden and promote voluntary compliance. These are:(a) A category of salaried taxpayers who will not be required to files incometax returns will be notified.(b) A new simplified return form will be introduced for taxpayers who fallwithin the scope of presumptive taxation (business with turnover less thanRs 60 lakhs).

(c) Three more Benches of Settlement Commission will be set up to fasttrack the resolution of tax disputes.(d) The tax effect limits of tax disputes, which the government will not litigatein higher courts, have been raised.(e) The administrative as well as legislative framework for exchange ofinformation with other countries is being strengthened.

As part of the information technology initiatives the Central ProcessingCentre (CPC) at Bengaluru is now processing 1.5 lakh returns per day. Twonew CPCs at Manesar and Pune will become functional by May 2011.Another CPC will be set up in Kolkata in 2011-12.

In furtherance to better management of contingent liabilities, governmentguarantee policy has been framed and released. It enumerates variousprinciples that need to be followed before new contingent liabilities in theform of sovereign guarantees are undertaken. These principles inter aliainclude assessment of risk and probability of development, institutional limitson guarantees for limiting exposure towards select sectors and requirementof guarantee vis-a-vis other forms of budgetary support or comfort.

The stock of contingent liabilities in the form of guarantees given by thegovernment has increased in absolute terms from Rs 1,07,957 crore at thebeginning of FRBM Act regime in 2004-05 to Rs 1,37,460 crore at the end of2009-10. However, as a percentage of GDP, it has reduced from 3.3 per

cent in 2004-05 to 2.1 per cent in 2009-10.

The gross addition in guarantees was Rs 37,102 crore in 2009-10,amounting to 0.6 per cent of GDP. This was higher than the target of 0.5 percent of GDP set under the FRBM Act. This deviation was necessitated in thelarger interest of re-invigorating the economy in the background of theeconomic slowdown, to stimulate demand and increase investment ininfrastructure sector projects worth assistance from multi-lateral agencies.

The government policy towards borrowings to finance its deficit continues toremain anchored on following principles: (a) greater reliance on domesticborrowings over external debt; (b) preference for market borrowings over

instruments carrying administered interest rates; (c) consolidation of the debtportfolio; and (d) development of a deep and wide market for governmentsecurities to improve liquidity in secondary market.

During 2010-11, market borrowings of the government through datedsecurities have remained within the estimated requirement in BE 2010-11. In2011-12 the fiscal deficit of Rs 4,12,817 crore is proposed to be financed tothe extent of Rs 3,43,000 crore (amounting to 83 per cent of deficit) throughissuance of dated securities, Rs 24,182 crore (5.9 per cent of deficit) throughsecurities issued against NSSF, Rs 15,000 crore through Treasury Bills (3.6per cent of the deficit), Rs 14,500 crore (3.5 per cent of the deficit) ofexternal debt and Rs 20,000 crore (4.8 per cent of the deficit) through cash-draw down from the built up estimated in 2010-11.

Fiscal performance, along with growth in economy, during 2010-11 has beenbetter than the budget estimates presented in February 2010. While fiscaldeficit is estimated to decline from 5.5 per cent of GDP in BE 2010-11 to 5.1per cent in RE 2010-11, the growth in Indian economy is estimated at 8.6 percent, against 8.5 per cent estimated in Budget 2010-11. The process of fiscal


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consolidation that resumed in 2010-11 will be continued during 2011-12.The government hopes to bring down the fiscal deficit to 4.6 per cent of GDPin 2011-12. This is better than the target of 4.8 per cent recommended by the13th Finance Commission. The suggested road map on fiscal consolidationwill help in reducing the debt to GDP ratio from 48.1 per cent in 2009-10 to44.2 per cent in BE 2011-12 and further to 41.5 per cent by 2013-14.

HIGHLIGHTS OF UNION BUDGET 2011

TAXES

Standard rate of excise duty held at 10 percent; no change inCENVAT rates.

Personal income tax exemption limit raised to Rs 180,000 from Rs160,000 for individual tax payers.

For senior citizens, the qualifying age reduced to 60 years andexemption limit raised to Rs 2.50 lakh.

Citizens over 80 years to have exemption limit of Rs 5 lakh. To reduce surcharge on domestic companies to 5 percent from 7.5

percent. A new revised income tax return form 'Sugam' to be introduced for

small tax papers.

raise minimum alternate tax to 18.5 percent from 18 percent. Iron ore export duty raised to 20 percent Nominal one per cent central excise duty on 130 items entering the

tax net. Peak rate of customs duty maintained at 10 per cent in viewof the global economic situation.

Service tax widened to cover hotel accommodation above Rs 1,000per day, A/C restaurants serving liquor, some category of hospitals,diagnostic tests.

Service tax on air travel increased by Rs 50 for domestic travel andRs 250 for international travel in economy class. On higher classes, itwill be ten per cent flat.

Works of art exempt from customs when imported for exhibition in

state-run institutions; this now extended to private institutions.

SUBSIDIES

Subsidy bill in 2011-12 seen at 1.44 trillion rupees. Food subsidy bill in 2011-12 seen at 605.7 billion rupees. Revised food subsidy bill for 2010-11 at 606 billion rupees. Revised fertilizer subsidy bill for 2010-11 at 550 billion rupees. Revised petroleum subsidy bill in 2010-11 at 384 billion rupees. State-run oil retailers to be provided with 200 billion rupee cash

subsidy in 2011-12.

FISCAL DEFICIT

Fiscal deficit seen at 5.1 percent of GDP in 2010-11. Fiscal deficit seen at 4.6 percent of GDP in 2011-12.

SPENDING

Total expenditure in 2011-12 seen at 12.58 trillion rupees. Plan expenditure seen at 4.41 trillion rupees in 2011-12, up 18.3

percent.

REVENUE

Gross tax receipts seen at 9.32 trillion rupees in 2011-12. Non-tax revenue seen at 1.25 trillion rupees in 2011-12. Corporate tax receipts seen at 3.6 trillion rupees in 2011-12. Tax-to-GDP ratio seen at 10.4 percent in 2011-12; seen at 10.8

percent in 2012-13.


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Customs revenue seen at 1.52 trillion rupees in 2011-12. Service tax receipts seen at 820 billion rupees in 2011-12.

GROWTH, INFLATION EXPECTATIONS

Economy expected to grow at 9 percent in 2012, plus or minus 0.25percent.

Inflation seen lower in the financial year 2011-12.

DISINVESTMENT

Disinvestment in 2011-12 seen at 400 billion rupees. Government committed to retaining 51 percent stake in public sector

enterprises.

BORROWING

Net market borrowing for 2011-12 seen at 3.43 trillion rupees, downfrom 3.45 trillion rupees in 2010-11.

Gross market borrowing for 2011-12 seen at 4.17 trillion rupees. Revised gross market borrowing for 2010-11 at 4.47 trillion rupees.

POLICY REFORMS

To create infrastructure debt funds. FDI policy being liberalized. To boost infrastructure development with tax-free bonds of 300 billion

rupees. Food security bill to be introduced. To permit SEBI registered mutual funds to access subscriptions from

foreign investments. Raised foreign institutional investor limit in 5-year corporate bonds for

investment in infrastructure by $20 billion.

Setting up independent debt management office; Public debt bill to beintroduced in parliament soon.

Bills on insurance, pension funds, banking to be introduced.

SECTOR SPENDING

To allocate more than 1.64 trillion rupees to defence sector in 2011-12.

Corpus of rural infrastructure development fund raised to 180 billionrupees in 2011-12.

To provide 201.5 billion rupees capital infusion in state-run banks in2011-12.

To allocate 520.5 billion rupees for the education sector. Rs.21,000crore forSarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

To raise health sector allocation to 267.6 billion rupees. Rs.500 crore more for national skill development fund. Rs.54 crore each for AMU (Aligarh Muslim University) centres at

Murshidabad and Mallapuram. Rs.58,000 crore forBharat Nirman; increase of Rs.10,000 crore. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

wage rates linked to consumer price index; will rise from existingRs.100 per day.

Infrastructure critical for development; 23 percent higher allocation in

2011-12.

AGRICULTURE

Removal of supply bottlenecks in the food sector will be in focus in2011-12.

To raise target of credit flow to agriculture sector to 4.75 trillion


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rupees. 3 percent interest subsidy to farmers in 2011-12. Cold storage chains to be given infrastructure status. Capitalisation of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural

Development (NABARD) of 30 billion rupees in a phased manner. To provide 3 billion rupees for 60,000 hectares under palm oil

plantation. Food storage capacity to be augmented; 15 more mega food parks to

be set up in 2011-12; of 30 sanctioned in previous fiscal, 15 set up. Comprehensive policy on further developing PPP (public-private-

partnership) model.

MISCELLANEOUS

To move towards direct transfer of cash subsidy for kerosene, LPGand fertilizers.

Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission, headed by formerSupreme Court judge B. Srikrishna, to complete its work in 24months; to overhaul financial regulations.

Five-fold strategy against black money; 13 new double taxationavoidance agreements; foreign tax division of CTBT strengthened;strength of Enforcement Directorate increased three-fold.

Bill to be introduced to review Indian Stamp Act. New coins carrying new rupee symbol to be issued. Anganwadiworkers salary raised from Rs.1,500 to Rs.3,000.

Housing loan limit for priority sector lending raised to Rs.25 lakh.


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others were all believers themselves and adopted the religious idiom to mobilize the

Indian masses for the freedom struggle.

For Gandhiji, the basis of Hindu-Muslim unity was also religion. The political unity,

in his view, should also be based on one's religious duty to unite with other human

beings. He wrote in theHarijan of July 6, 1947 that "....by trying to befriendMuslims I have only proved myself a true Hindu and have rightly served the Hindus

and Hinduism. The essence of true religious teachings is that one should serve and

befriend all". To strengthen his point then he goes on to quote a couplet-from Iqbal's

famous poemNaya Shivala: Mazhab nahin sikhata aapas mein bayr rakhna",

meaning, religion does not teach us to bear ill-will towards one another.

Constitutional concept

Differing views of national leaders meant that the form of secularism that found

expression in the Constitution after independence was ambiguous. The result was

that the Constitution sought to do several things. It made some allowance for the role

played by religion, especially Hinduism, in Indian life. It also gave statutory

recognition to minorities, thereby implicitly accepting the existence of a majority. It

aimed to foster a common civic identity, but then compromised this by the provision

of reserved seats in legislatures to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (initially

meant to last 10 years, no Parliament has contemplated doing away with this and its

regular extension has become a formality).

Though our Constitution is secular, originally the word 'secular' found only a single

casual mention in the document of 1950. The reference was to "economic, financial,

political or other secular activity" in Article 25(2a) and the usage followed the

standard dictionary meaning.

It was only during the emergency in mid-seventies, during Congress party rule, that

the words "secular and socialist" were added. The secular objective of the State was

specifically expressed by inserting the word 'secular' in the Preamble of the

Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976.

But the word 'secular' was not defined, although it was given official (not

Constitutional but operational) expression in the State practice of maintaining equi-distance from all religions, or paying equal respect to all religions, not favouring one

at the cost of another. Thus, the unity and fraternity of the people of India,

professing numerous faiths, was sought to be achieved by enshrining the ideal of a

'secular State', which means that the State protects all religions equally and does not

itself uphold any religion as the State religion.

Thus, the spirit of Indian secularism is not denial of any religion or religious

practice, but religio-cultural pluralism. It is certainly better than atheistic secularism

as the latter does not admit the right of citizens to believe.

Critique

Uneven benefits of modernization and industrialization, on one hand, and

marginalization of religious traditions, on the other, have led to strong

reaction, lending legitimation to the reassertion of religious and ethnic

identities, and putting more and more pressure on the secular State.

During eighties, right-wing politicians mooted the concept of positive

secularism, putting a question mark on the Nehruvian concept of secularism.

The advocates of 'positive secularism' argue that all those who follow

Nehruvian secularism are following a 'pseudo secularism' or 'false

secularism', as they are indulging in 'minorityism' by unduly favouring the

minorities.

Religion in India, whether pre- or post-Independence, has never been

dissociated or de-linked from State institutions at any level: legal,

institutional or cognitive. Rather, the modern Indian State has been involved

in regulating the religious affairs of society, more to secure political goals

than to "modernize" the social structure of Indian society. As a matter of fact,


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its various policies have promoted and strengthened the religious identity of

people and provided State patronage to religious institutions and leaders.

Secularism became not a creed of radical separation between religion and

politics, but of spiritualising politics itself, which often took the form of

mutual accommodation of orthodoxies.

The crucial question would be what should be the relationship between the

State and religion? Should the State play a part in religious affairs?

Many argue that it is not possible to do away with religion from politics in

India. It must be noted that though the Constitution provides for citizenship

on individual basis, irrespective of one's religion or caste, one can hardly

forget that our existential reality is communitarian, rather than individual-

oriented.

The Constitution had to take note of this existential reality. Thus, our

Constitution tries to imbibe elements of both as an honourable compromise.

Strictly speaking, the ruling elites do not rule in the name of religion, or for a

particular religion. However, politics of the ruling elites has always found itconvenient to negotiate with various communities, rather than individuals.

Religion has firm presence within the communities, and it is a reference point

for the communities to define themselves. The Indian State, therefore,

continues to interact and deal with communities, and in the process,

constantly legitimises and reinforces the communities through its acts.

The meaning of religion varies from one person to another. All religious

people are not dogmatic, narrow-minded, ignorant, superstitious and

intolerant. Dogmatism and narrow-mindedness or fanaticism are

psychological rather than religious categories. In that way, even an atheist or

agnostic can be dogmatic or intolerant and even fanatic.

The role of religion has often varied, from being an instrument in the hands

for enforcing abject subjugation of the toiling masses, to that of inspiring the

revolt against tyranny or racial oppression.

Religion for toilers generally steps in to cement the strong bonds desired. It

provides values and meaning to their lives. It is their hope. Religion acts not

only as a substitute to science in explaining the universe and its laws, it also

acts as a popular philosophy for even the most ordinary person to be able to

appreciate.

The ordinary or powerless need stronger, collective existence to give meaningand purpose to their existence. The collective social existence through which

the individual seeks to compensate his or her powerlessness is to have

common social values, culture, and a world-view.

Some social scientists in India have argued that the serious threats to social

tolerance and diversity in India today come either from an anti-democratic,

majoritarian, ethnic nationalism or from a homogenising and modernising

nation State, and the imposition of alien values on Indian society. Such

theorists prefer a State which does not claim procedural neutrality and

separation of State from religion but is, instead, guided by an encompassing

indigenous culture, although they oppose the interpretations of Indian culture

which are being marketed by right-wing forces today. Minorities could be

protected, they argue, by the tolerance and modes of coexistence which have

evolved in the society over time, rather than by a modernising nation State

with alien values. The State should be prepared to devolve some of its powers

and functions on to communities.


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Rise of Entrepreneurs in India

There is a galore of Indian entrepreneurs in the Forbes list of the worlds wealthiest

every year. But, this is merely a factoid; more significant is the rise of new

entrepreneurs in India. In almost every new industry that has attained stature in the

last decade, the rising star is not from the established business houses but an upstart.

Take Sunil Mittal, whose phone company now has the sixth-highest value. Ten years

back, Mittal would not have figured even in the B list of Indian businessmen. Today,

he is ahead not only of patricians like Tatas but also of a global major like

Hutchison-Whampoa.

Naresh Goyals Jet Aiways, barely in fifteen years, has emerged as the largest

airline in the country, upstaging the State-owned Indian Airlines, and buying up a

private sector rival, Sahara.

In the sunrise retailing sector the big boys, Kishore Biyani and B.S. Nagesh, are

creating a furore. Kishore, a totally unknown name a decade ago is now a media

darling, a man-on-the-go. Pantaloon and Shoppers Stop are the Indian challengers-

in-waiting for Wal-Mart as they have already swept the likes of Tata (Trent) and

RPG off the floor in the retail business.

What about the countrys leading airports? The carpetbaggers here are again first-generation names like G.M. Rao and G.V.K. Reddy. Having interesting histories in

banking, power and hoteliering, both are now into the big league after outdoing

airport bids against celebrities with household surnames.

The most extraordinary stories of meteoric rise in the annals of entrepreneurship,

however, belong to Narayana Murthy, Azim Premji and Shiv Nadar. They have

surpassed their counterparts in advanced countries in software development and

helped India emerge as the leading Software power. In the same breath, we must

mention Subhash Chandra, the amusement parks owner and a pioneer of satellite TV

in India. Within a few years he has outperformed the oldest media house in the

country.

Uday Kotak has founded a bank that promises to be yet another ICICI. Rajeev

Chandrashekhar, an engineerturned-telecom tycoon is truly an adventurer.

Returning from the US, he got into a telecom business, sold it out and is now

entering into freight transport as the railways are privatising the container

business. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, another pioneer, has made impressive forays into

biotech industry.

Among the electronic media enterprisers Prannoy Roy and Raghav Behl are Indias

news kings. How about Jignesh Shah, the challenger. He is another first-generation

business entrepreneur involved in a David-Goliath duel with the countrys biggest

financial players for market leadership in commodity exchange. The list is gettinglonger daily.

Only a few decades back, Indian entrepreneurs had to leave India in order to prove

their spirit of enterprise. Aditya Birla wandered all over South-East Asia setting up

companies and factories. Laxmi Mittal had to flee his homeland to become the

worlds steel sultan.


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Doing business in India is no cakewalk, what with the bureaucracys red tape and

greasy palms, yet the Indian entrepreneur is proving his mettle. India is now a vast

and vibrant market. Capital can be organized and technology accessed. De-

regulation is creating new opportunities. Forbes list is no longer an Everest for

Indian entrepreneurs.

Indian business is also fanning out and challenging the global multinationals. For

instance, Tata is now one of the worlds lowest-cost steel producers. Indians are

shaking Europe, America, other continents with their global mega-mergers and

hostile takeovers. L.N. Mittalbased in London but holding an Indian passportgrabbed the worlds largest steel-maker, Arcelor. Tata, not to be left behind, gobbled

up another major steel manufacturer, Corus, to become the fifth largest producer.

These deals hail the emergence of global Indian entrepreneurs on the world stage.

India is fast becoming a hub for metals, petro-products and auto components.

Indias second largest private firm, the Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries,

may soon be among the top 10 in the world list.

According to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report, a revolution in global

business is under way, and the axis of corporate power was shifting towards the

BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries.

A 2006 study by Mape, an investment bank, observed: the Indian Multinational

Company (MNC) has finally come of age and Indian buyers have become a force

to reckon with in many industries such as pharma, auto components and oil and

gas. Liberal policies, access to cash, and the rise of entrepreneurial ambitions are

creating conditions for the emergence of global Indian enterprises.

Besides the exceptional first-timer Indira Nooyi, the Pepsico chief, many banks,

insurance companies and business enterprises now have women in key positions

chief executives, chief strategists, chief economists. Many head the human resource

wings and are tough and tactful while dealing with the hard-core politicos and burly

men dominating the restive trade unions. Kiran Shaw Majumdar, Biocon chief, or

Anu Agha, who took over Thermax after her husbands sudden death, is no transientphenomenon but is becoming a normal face of Indian business.

Higher education and new confidence are helping daughters and daughters-in-law of

traditional families take up high-profile corporate roles. Women are better students,

quick to grasp the nitty-gritty of work and more willing to listen to elders.

Shefali Munjal is a third generation member of the Munjal family who manages

Hero Group, among the worlds largest two-wheeler makers.

Priya and Priti Paul of Apeejay Surrendra Group, met the challenge after their father

got killed in a terrorist attack in Indias turbulent northeast, where the family has a

tea business.

Sulajja Firodia Motwani manages her Kinetic Group as well as family. She joined

the family enterprise on returning from Carnegie Mellon University. Mallika

Srinivasan of Chennai-based Tractor and Farm Equipment is the eldest daughter of

A. Sivasailam, chairman of the Rs 25 billion Amalgamations Group, and wife of

Venu Srinivasan of the TVS Group. She is rated as one of the most successful Indian

women CEOs.

Cremica is a popular biscuit and confectionery brand where Geeta Bector is both

director and wife of Akshay Bector, M.D. She thinks women have a special

advantage when it comes to food.

S.K. Dhamija in his bookWomen Entrepreneurs says: The hidden entrepreneurialpotentials of women have gradually been changing with the growing sensitivity to

the role and economic status in society Today, women entrepreneurs represent a

group that has broken away from the beaten track and are exploring new avenues of

economic participation. It is estimated that women entrepreneurs currently

comprise about 10 per cent of the total number of entrepreneurs in India.


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Shashi Ruia describes his Essar Group as serial entrepreneurs and predicts the rise

of new entrepreneurs. There has not been a better time in India to reach out and

touch the horizon ... entrepreneurship is no more limited to family-managed

businesses in India, he said while addressing a Convocation of the Entrepreneurship

Institute of India.

WORK ETHICS

That work yields moral benefit is a commonly-held belief in western societies. In the Bible, Adam was banished from

Paradise to live by the sweat of his brow. Christian Humanism also recognizes work as an enhancer of character. In

Japanese and Chinese cultures also work ethic is a strong element of earthly living just as it is much emphasized in the

Protestant value system. In its practical aspect, work ethic may include reliability, initiative and social skills.

Both in theory and practice, a worker who attests to a good work ethic deserves to be selected for better position, larger

responsibility and higher promotion. Workers who do not measure up to prevailing norms of work ethic are considered

lacking in capability to offer fair value for the wage the employer is paying them. Such workers, according to the

employer, deserve no promotion and even a sack.

A central concept of free market economic theory of western capitalism is that workers who work hard and play by the

rules will be rewarded (eventually) and will move ahead. Those who do not work hard need to be dealt with a firm

hand,

given a warning to improve performance and, if they do not heed, there is no alternative but to dispense with their

services. This principle is almost universally practiced but has not remained unchallenged.

The counter-cultures within the American society in the sixties, such as, the beatniks and hippies, boldly challenged

these values. In the 19th century, the Arts and Crafts movement of William Morris in the UK and Elbert Hubbard in

the US countered that alienation of workers from ownership of the tools of production and from products they

produce destroys the work ethic. In the expanding industry and business of those times, the workers felt exploited and

faced general hopelessness. They only did their minimum, just to survive and subsist on deplorable wages.

Marxists, and most sociologists, however, debunk work ethic on principle. They find work ethic as irrational in

industry if the employee cannot hope to become more than a manager, as she/he remains a tool in the hands of owner

whose decisions are final. For Sociologists, excessive concern with work ethic is a form of alienation from the truer

need to connect with family and community. The twentieth century critical theory regards work ethic as a unilateral

demand that has evolved from a gross confusion between Max Webers Protestant work ethic of company founders,

and a sociological phenomenon, which in fact produces deviance from normal living in the form of addiction to work,

and family neglect.

It has been pointed out that an excessive work ethic leads to drug addiction as is evident from the widespread use of

crystal methedrine in American rural communities, which is attributed to excessive work schedules. It also causes sharp

division between work and play, and neglect of recreation (time with family, volunteer work, or cultural pursuits), and

turns a dedicated worker into a workaholic who leads an imbalanced, if not abnormal, life.

Anyhow, a shift in values has been happening in the workplace. Some observers see a new ethical outlook developing

regarding work and the workplace. They believe that new values are reshaping business and impelling companies to

think up new ways of attracting and retaining right people in their service. How these companies view work and what

they want from it is also changing. This new outlook may have resulted from the difficulties employers everywhere are

facing to find sincere and loyal employees. Big and small companies are experiencing high rate of attrition, especially

in South Asian countries, including India where salaries are going up and faster promotion and higher compensation are

possible for employees by jumping from one company to another. This is the opposite of the hire and fire trends in the

sixties and seventies.

Todays workers look for meaning in the work they do. Some Western business concerns have found that their average

worker is less interested in the bottom line and more interested in purpose and value. Daimler Chrysler AF of Stuttgart,a leading motor company, has joined with Mattel Inc. to help teach parents how to properly install child safety seats.

Business Companies are adopting volunteer service through the workplace as a strategy to connect employees with the

larger community. Volunteer service or socially beneficial activity originating from workplace enhances the importance

(value) of the workplace itself. According to an analyst, in an increasingly hi-tech world there is a need for hi-

touch experiences for adding meaning to life. A worker feels elevated within his self whenever he hears: What you


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do is noble, and You do make a difference.

In western countries, societies are aging while in India younger generations are dominating the market place. Therefore,

everything the western companies are doing to change work ethic cannot and does not apply to India. Even the notion of

work ethic is somewhat alien to Indian workplace but, with the Globalization and so-called Reforms going apace,

western methods are getting incorporated in the Indian system. It will be advisable, therefore, to keep track of what is

happening in the West right now so that the western experience could be used for improving the Indian workplace.

Labour market is getting tight and new workers to replace the retiring ones are not easy to find. Employers have to offer

personal growth and development opportunities as incentives to recruit and retain employees. Personal learning and

growth have been identified as factors that attract western younger workers today. Volunteerism offers options for

personal growth and development. Whether sharpening current skills or seeking to develop new ones, volunteerism

offers a safe environment for learning, practicing and growing. The current company slogan is Come grow with us!

and Come see whats in this for you!

The worker has to feel a sense of partnership with the company he works for. Experts Izzo and Withers have

identified five traits of partnerships: communication from above rank, open book policy, performance-based pay,

partnering leaders, vigilance and attention to symbolism.

Workers, according to them, expect recognition based on performance. They want to feel like partners with all levels of

paid staff. Employees value leaders who are in it with them and expect organisations to be vigilant in protecting their

rights. It is not just a Red Cross pin, a Race for the Cure T-shirt, an association coffee mug, an organisational plaque or

other outward symbols but a sincere appreciation of noble work done by them is what the workers value.

Employees no longer like to be machine-like cogs on the assembly line. Softball and bowling leagues are now official

and employees/ workers now form friendships and connections on company time. So also, dress in offices has become

casual; no longer the grey suit and blue shirt always. Workplace is also a fun place. Google offers extraordinary menu

for lunch and dinner in its canteens. Other companies are also emulating Google within budgetary constraints and

provide employee club-like facilities.

The workplace is being re-invented so that the worker feels that the employer cares and respects his/her personal life.

Workers today do not like to be work-addicts or workaholics. They seek balanced living, spending quality time with

family and friends.

Yet, employees can and do burn out in todays fast paced work environment. Intel, like several other companies, offersan eight-week sabbatical after seven years on the job.

Noble work, personal growth and development, partnerships, community, trust, balance and

synergy are magic words while recruiting employees. The test, however, comes when these words have to be turned into

everyday values within a companys work ethic. Increasing dimension of employee attrition suggests that something is

amiss within the companys inner working. People get drawn to employing organisations but depart when they find that

these organisations are not practicing the values they proclaimed when they advertised the vacancies.

Can we shape workers who have the sense that they serve the company and community? That remains a question!


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ROVISIONS FOR BACKWARD CLASSES, MINORITIES AND RESERVATIONS

India is a plural society and a democratic State and, from time to time, faces demands from various caste,

tribal religious and gender groups for social justice. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SCs &STs) are regarded as deserving for historical reasons, and by national consensus accorded positive oraffirmative discrimi-nation. The Constitution provides for special quota or reservations in education,employment and other State-granted benefits.There is no agreement about other categories but the demands for their inclusion in the affirmative action(positive discrimination in Indian parlance) list are assuming serious dimensions and the State is underpressure to respond to bitter agitations or compulsions that are purely political. Major categories now are

SCs and STs, the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), the Minorities, and Women at the federal level.Individual States too have faced demands and most recent is the case of the Gujjars in Rajasthan.It is ironical that the Indian State is increasingly withdrawing from the social sectors under the garb ofliberalisation and globalisation of the economy, yet it has been yielding to the demands for widening thescope of Reservation and enlarging the list of State-supported categories/castes/ communities.Concomitant with the demands for concessions and special benefits is the challenge of harmonizing thesociety and justifying the economic costs of such lop-sided distribution of social benefits in the larger contextof the poverty removal goals of the Indian State.Constitutionally, contradictory political concept of equality before the law, irrespective of religion, caste,

creed, race, and gender, and that of social justice at the cost of equality before the law continue to strainIndias socio-political structure. Other democracies too face similar counter claims within their constitutionalframework. In the United States, for example, the State has taken recourse to affirmative action to ensurejustice for the less privileged sections at the cost of individual merit and equality of all citizens before the law.In India, large numbers of people have faced social discrimination through centuries on account of Indiansocietys peculiar caste system. After Independence, the Indian State has provided redress to these under-privileged, socially and economically depressed sections through the policy of reservations or quotas forthem in jobs, seats in educational institutions and legislatures, and in governmental aid, loans and otherdevelopmental assistance.Mahatma Gandhi, while leading the nationalist movement, recognised the need for positive discrimination for

undoing the wrongs done to the depressed castes and outcast communities. Surprisingly, the Mahatma as adevout Hindu was a believer in the caste system, but as modern political activists, he also advanced humanrights and claims of individual dignity. He awakened the conscience of the so-called upper castes to reformthe society and remove untouchability and other humanly degrading practices. He also brought thedepressed castes and backward communities into the political mainstream and broadened the base of thefreedom movement. He renamed untouchables as Harijans (people of God) so as to bring them into thetraditional fold of caste Hindus and give his policy of human equality a religious sanction.Gandhis political logic was not without dissenting voices. Most notable among them being B.R. Ambedkar,who resented the patronising attitude of the upper castes toward the exploited castes and outcasts.Ambedkar saw in the political conflict between the Congress and the Muslim League an opportunity todemand separate electorates for the untouchables, like the Muslims enjoyed under the British.The British government, on August 17, 1932, announced the Communal Award granting separateelectorates for the depressed classes by treating them as a minority. Gandhi protested and went on a hungerstrike. The issue was resolved by the Poona Pact of September 1932. The pact provided for 148 reservedseats instead of the 78 separately elected members under the Communal Award. It also granted certainprivileges to the Harijans, such as educational opportunities, representation in services, and the franchise. Aschedule of depressed castes was prepared in 1936 under the government of India Act, 1935. It covered


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43.6 million people or 28.5% of the Hindu population and 19% of the total population of British India. TheConstituent Assembly later adopted this very list.Similarly, tribes too got officially listed; the British had treated them separately for administrative purposes. Atthe 1991 census they were about 66 million7.75% of Indias population.This policy of positive discrimination has resulted in improvement among the scheduled castes and tribes. In1957, the percentage of SCs in the Class I Central Government services was a mere 0.7. By 1971 it hadrisen to 2.58%. For Class II and III services the rise was from 2.01% to 4.6% and 7.3% to 9.59%,respectively. In 1947-48, only 650 scholarships were awarded to the SC students for post-school studies,costing the State Rs 540,000. By 1973-74, the number of such scholarships had gone up to 270,420, costingthe Indian exchequer over Rs 120 million. Improvements were recorded amongst the STs as well.Social discrimination has, however, not disappeared in spite of economic rise through reservation. Casteismhas surely received a boost in the midst process of modernization going on apace in India afterIndependence. The quotas earmarked for the SCs and STs are often not filled on account of the indifferenceof the heads of departments. Non-availability of qualified candidates could be a genuine reason, though.While the OBCs and intermediate castes fight for their rights vis--vis the upper castes, they are unwilling tosupport castes lower than theirs. The noted social anthropologist M.N. Srinivas aptly observed: I am equalto those who think of themselves as my betters, I am better than those who regard themselves as my equals,and how dare my inferiors claim equality with me?

Politics of Reservation has acquired the worst kind of caste-orientation. Politicians distort and bend the publicpolicies for personal or party ends. The landlessness of certain groups keeps them perpetually poor whichalso prohibits them from learning new skills. Dalits in predominantly Dalit villages are the worst off. Dalitleaders, who got it made in politics, have become thoroughly corrupt and arrogantly exhibit ill-gotten wealth,callously ignoring community interests.Certain inherent flaws also mar government policies. Mushrooming private schools, far better than the State-funded schools, are under no obligation to reserve seats and undermine the policy regarding education andemployability of the depressed castes and tribes in an increasingly competitive socio-economic environment.Reservation is a double-edged weapon. If the situation is altered in favour of the SCs/STs/OBCs, for eachcategory of jobs there is the risk of positive discrimination going to the exclusive benefit of the lites amongst

the SCs/STs/OBCs and sharper divisions and inter-caste conflicts would come to the fore. Therefore, theSupreme Court has ruled that creamy layers or the well-off among the reserve categories shall be excludedfrom State benefits. But this rule is being flouted by raising the income norm, so that legislators, bureaucratsand power elites continue to corner State-granted benefits at the cost of the poorer SC/ST/OBCs.Flaring caste fury marked the recent Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan. The Rajasthan government finally yieldedand passed a Bill providing 5 per cent quota to Gujjars under the special backward class and 14 per centto poor among the economically backwards (EBC).Other communities could also rise in agitation in other States to gain similar advantages. A backlash amongthe economically poor among the so-called upper castes could also sweep the nation if the violent agitationsby rival castes are allowed to gain an upper hand repeatedly.

Reservation was to be a talisman for creating an egalitarian, harmonious, casteless society but is turningmodern India into a conflict-ridden society with ultra caste-orientations of another kind .


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LIFE IMPRISONMENT IS A GOOD ALTERNATIVE TO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Can life imprisonment be a good alternative to death penalty? The issue remains unresolved. Even the US Supreme

Court that had abolished Death Penalty reversed its decision when new and less cruel methods of execution were

introduced.

Why does a society punish its members for certain acts that are offensive and unacceptable to its laws and codes? This

can be a starting point of exploring our dilemma about death penalty vs. life imprisonment.

It is argued that fear of death deters people from committing crimes, and the penalty of death exerts a positive moral

influence.

The American death penalty laws have invited ire and ridicule of human rights activists everywhere, including in the

USA, and Courts in most democratic countries, including India, have been very sparing in pronouncing death sentences

in the rarest of rare cases. Yet, crimes of murder and rape and the cruel manner in which they were carried out, at

times, make ordinary citizens support and commend death penalty and believe that fear and intimidation of capital

punishment shall keep other citizens from violating the social and normative codes of their State and society.

But there are contrary views and arguments, according to which capital punishment does not deter crime and death

penalty is not necessary. Countries that no longer have death penalty have not experienced an increase in the number of

murders. Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland and Belgium have not carried out executions since the early part

of the century, yet these countries have not experienced a rise in crime rates. But the retributive value of capital

punishment dismisses the question of deterrence. Deterrence works only if forbidden acts are illegal as well as

immoral. So the easily frightened will not break the law, but the fearless will break the law, the irrational will break the

law, and all others will break the law, it has been argued.

Capital punishment is retributive justice, and murder rates bear no logical correlation to the death penaltys deterrent

value. There are no actual statistics about the deterrent value of capital punishment as it is impossible to know who may

have been deterred or not deterred from committing a crime.

If some one is thinking of committing murder and is aware that he will be released because of early parole, then it will

not deter any future crime from happening.

Most criminals would ponder before committing murder if they knew their own lives was at stake and, it is argued thatbecause very few people are executed so death penalty does not work satisfactorily as a deterrent. During highly

publicised death penalty cases the homicide rate is found to go down but it goes back up when the case is over

(Bailey).

According to some researchers executions maximize public safety through a form of incapacitation and deterrence.

Incapacitating a person is depriving him/her of the physical or intellectual power. Executing a person takes away the

capacity of, and forcibly prevents recurrence of violence. Deterrence is the act or process of discouraging and

preventing an action from occurring. The possibility of execution, thus, gives a potential pause in the thought process

of the murderer, using fear as an incentive for preventing recurrence or quite possibly the first occurrence of murder.

Opponents of the death penalty argue that although it is said to exist as a crime deterrent, in reality it has no effect on

crime at all. Modern supporters of capital punishment no longer view the death penalty as a deterrent, but as a justpunishment for the crime. Previously, the deterrence argument put the burden of proof on death penalty advocates, but

recently this argument has become less effective as in recent years the appeal of deterrence has been supplanted by a

frank desire for what large majorities see as just vengeance.

The opponents to death penalty argue that criminals who are in the business of killing make sure that they do not get

caught; they skilfully concoct plans to make sure they are not suspected of criminal activity. A person who gets caught


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for killing another individual is usually someone who did not plan to murder in the first place. These individuals fall

into the crimes of passion category. Crimes of passion are defined as unlawful acts of an individual which are

unplanned and erupt as a result of a fit or rage or anger. These illegal actions usually stem from drunkenness or a short

term loss of logical thinking, which can be attributed to anger. The death penalty would logically deter crime, but the

problem is that most murderers are unplanned and are not a result of logic.

During the 1930s the federal government, under the direction of Jack Gibbs, investigated the effectiveness of the death

penalty in deterring serious crime. The results of Gibbs investigation is that capital punishment did not deter. However,

during the 1970s, Prof. Isaac Ehrlich found out through his research that capital punishment did deter but no one else

besides Ehrlich has come up with the same results. The conclusion that researches have drawn up during the past decade

is that the death penalty does not significantly have an effect on serious crime, one way or the other.

Another reason that many people are against death penalty is that they feel that many a times innocent people are

wrongfully executed, all in the name of justice, even though there are many safeguards guaranteeing protection of the

rights of those facing death penalty.

Abolitionists of death penalty want the procedures of punishment more humane and victim-oriented. They argue that the

offender be required to compensate the victims family with his/her own income from employment or community

service. To that end, the offender has to be kept alive. By working, the criminal also pays back the society. For the

imprisoned criminal there is no need of monetary compensation for his work. Money is of no value in jail. An example

cited in this behalf is the case of Leopold and Loeb, both nineteen years old when they committed The Crime of the

Century in 1924kidnapping and murder of a fourteen year old boy just to see what it was like. They were not

awarded death penalty but sentenced to life imprisonment. They worked at hospitals, taught illiterates to read, created acorrespondence school, made important contribution in the World War II Malaria Project, and wrote a grammar book.

An inestimable amount of people were directly helped by Leopold and Loeb; both of them making a conscious

commitment to atone by serving others.

Abolitionists also oppose capital punishment as it is cruel and extraordinary. The Eighth Amendment of the United

States Constitution condemns cruel and unusual punishment and the abolitionists find it handy to quote in support of

their view. However, the US Constitution was drafted when capital punishment was widely practiced and it was not

specified as wrong or cruel or unusual. The framers of the Constitution mostly endorsed capital punishment, as also the

philosophers of the time.

Opponents of death penalty point out that expert after expert and study after study have emphasized the lack of

correlation between the threat of the death penalty and the occurrence of violent crime. Also, the belief that executioncosts less than imprisonment is false. The cost of the apparatus and maintenance of the procedures attending the death

penalty, including death row and the endless appeals and legal machinery, far outweighs the expense of maintaining in

prison the tiny fraction of criminals who would otherwise be slain.

Capital punishment is a barbaric remnant of an uncivilized society, immoral in principle, unfair and discriminatory in

practice. It can deprive completely innocent persons of life because legal procedures involved are not foolproof. It has

no purpose and no effect. (American Civil Liberties Union National Office 2-16-95).

Opponents of capital punishment contend that the death penalty demeans the moral order because it is cold,

premeditated homicide. It lowers the state and raises the criminal to moral equality with the social order.

In view of the above arguments and counter-arguments, and dispassionately considered, life imprisonment with someadded social purpose appears to be a better alternative to death penalty.


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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Governments continue to dither and differ on solutions and their adoption. Experts are in panic because the rich nations

are trying to lock in their advantages by revising the 1992 Rio bargain and re-ordering their Kyoto Protocol obligations,

inviting sharp division between haves and have-nots, on a similar pattern as was created by the Non-Proliferation

Treaty (NPT) when the Nuclear Powers tried to impose an unequal treaty to which India never became a signatory.

Now, belatedly the Nuclear haves are tackling the anomalies through the India-USA Nuclear Deal.

On Climate Change, a new bargain is being hammered out for fashioning a 2009 Copenhagen Protocol to rich nations

advantage.

The Kyoto Protocol had targeted only 7 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions below 1990 levels but richer

nations did not adhere to their commitments. For their failure, they are blaming India and China. They are resorting tohigh sounding rhetoric to justify their lack of responsibility and asserting that global warming cannot be slowed down

unless India and China agree to cut their emissions at par with them, even though emission levels in these countries are

much lower.

Decision makers in rich countries hold the ultimate power to decide the fate of billions but cannot think beyond their

own national and geographic boundaries. They can also not think of times beyond their own. They care only for their

immediate national interests, pushing the world to the brink of global disaster. But, the threat of climate change is global

and cannot be dealt with by individual nations who all face the challenge of sustainable development.

Men of narrow vision believe that global warming would affect different countries differently and some, who currently

wield great political clout, are smug with the thought that their own country would not be so badly off. The rich nations,

with their vast technological resources, appear to have calculated that countries in the colder climes would, in fact, gain

by climate changes because warming would bring about favourable changes in terms of cropping and vegetation, thus

providing them with greater food security than they enjoy currently.

Such beliefs could prove devastatingly illusory. Recently, US Senator Joe Lieberman acknowledged at a group

discussion that US government dishes out such ideas and information as foster resistance in the US Congress to

America slashing its high emissions. This was the reason why the Lieberman-Warner cap-and-trade Bill got defeated in

the US Congress. We must not forget that the USA accounts for nearly a quarter of the worlds total carbon emissions.

The sly diplomacy of the

western nation-States led by the USA is shocking.

The Western powers, whether it is the question of subsidies at the WTOs Doha rounds of talks or global bargaining onclimate change, are trying to trick and deceive the poorer nations into arrangements that would render them even more

vulnerable. And, Western powers political and economic dominance will continue. They are not willing to work out

arrangements that are equitable and fair to all nations.

China and India are being targeted to bear the maximum brunt of climate change even though their current contribution

to global warming is small compared to that of the advanced G-8 countries. China and Indias enlarging economies are

causing concern among Western nations and they would do every thing possible to keep India and China at a

competitive disadvantage.

Western diplomacy works on the principle that national interest is the ultimate director of foreign policy and the

powerful nation is entitled to use all the persuasive-coercive tools to make other nations bend to the powerful nations

demands and interests. But in the present situation, they are forgetting that there will be no winners against globaldimensions of climate change. Climate change, as is already being seen, will make weather patterns more unpredictable

everywhere, including in higher latitudes. In the upper reaches of the Arctic already warming is twice as fast as the rest

of the world. Un-seasonal heat and rain, floods and droughts have affected Europe and USA as much as Asian countries.

Climate change potentially can wreck agriculture, public health and ecosystems in colder lands also, besides breeding

unmanageable viruses. Strangely, in the subsahara regions it is bringing rain and greenery and a new pattern of

cropping that these deserts never saw before.


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Another important point to remember is that China and India are no longer weak on the negotiating table. The western

countries are not in a position to ignore the huge developing markets and economies of these two Asian giants. These

two countries are fast developing and leading other poor nations in the WTO and other forums. Western powers are

finding it difficult to divide the poor nations at the economic forums and so is also the case at the Climate Change

Conferences.

There is danger and risk in this climate of distrust and division among governments of the world for people everywhere.

These divisions and unresolved disagreements will create more threats for humanity. The efforts and vision of

sustainable development at this time is enveloped in an atmosphere of devilish disregard to the questions of survival.

We cannot talk of sustainable development and national interests at the same time. Globalization is being exploited by

richer nations to gain an upper hand and not for treating the McLuhanesque global village as one community.

It is true that our scientific knowledge at this time is short of fully understanding and answering questions that are being

thrown up by climate change and changing world environment. So, US President and other western leaders find the

environmental issues as mere exaggerated projections of scientists and human rightists. They, therefore, underestimate

the likely impact of climate change.

In the present international political scenario, we can see that climate change could escalate interstate and intrastate

competition and contest over natural resources. For India, this potential threat looms very large. The Great Game over

water, experts predict, will have Asia in its grip. Chinas control over Tibet, which is the source of all major Asian

rivers except the Ganga, may create problems of continental dimensions for agriculture and sustainable development

and countries from India to Cambodia could find it difficult to sustain the growth of their economies. Acceleratedmelting of glaciers and mountain snows would affect river-water flows, although higher average temperatures are likely

to bring more rainfall in the tropics, says Brahma

Chellany, a security expert.

Higher extremes of weather could create a rise in ocean levels and will spur greater interstate and intrastate migration

especially of the poor and the vulnerablefrom the delta and coastal regions to the hinterland. The influx of aliens

would disturb the local populations and provoke a backlash and internal and regional security will be threatened as

there would be strains on the resources. Already, Bangladesh, has been losing land to saltwater incursion and further

trend in this environmental change will force its people to enter India in hordes.

The whole concept of sustainable development is in jeopardy because of climate change and human security itself faces

the maximum threat. Climate Change will devastate the vulnerable economic sectors altogether. Disparities are bound toget aggravated. The resource conflicts and uncontrollable migrations, failing states, spreading extremism and high

frequency of unpredictable weather are in store for the whole world, if governments do not come together to deal with

questions arising from the issue of changing climate and its impact on human environment.

The changing pattern of production and how it will impact humanity at large is illustrated by the diversion of food for

biofuels that has created a windfall for major farm industries while pushing the worlds poor to greater backwardness.

This is how the issues of environment and sustainable deve-lopment are inextricably linked. Another innovative but

highly coun-ter productive measure is the buying of carbon credits from poor nation-States to exceed carbon emission

targets of richer nations. This is proving as no more than mere environmental grandstanding and a form of carbon

colonialism because, ultimately, the net impact on global warming remains the same.


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Nuclear Energy in India - Boon or Bane?Points to be known:-

Nuclear power is the fourth-largest source of electricityin India after thermal, hydroelectric and renewable sources of electricity.

There are 442 nuclear reactors in the world. And some more nuclear plants are in construction.

As of 2010, India has 20 nuclear reactors in operation in six nuclear power plants, generating4,780 MW, while 5 other plants are under construction and are expected to generate anadditional 2,720 MW.

India plans to increase nuclear power output to 64,000 MW by 2032. It aims to supply 25% ofelectricity from nuclear power by 2050.

Six nuclear power plants in India are located in Kaiga in Karnataka, Kakraparin Gujarat, Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu, Narora in Uttar Pradesh, Rawatbhata in Rajasthan,Tarapur in Maharashtra.

India involved in ITER ( International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor ), which consistsEuropean Union, United States, Japan, China, South Korea, Russia as other members.

Indo - US nuclear deal was done on July 18th, 2005, under which India agreed to separate itscivil and military nuclear facilities and place all its civil nuclear facilities under International AtomicEnergy Agency (IAEA) safeguards and, in exchange, the United States agreed to worktoward full civil nuclear cooperation with India.

In Favor:- Nuclear fission produces energy equal to 10 million times of the energy produced by burning of

an atom of fossil fuel or hydro or wind power.

Through Nuclear plants, we can save our planet from Global warming as there is no release ofgreenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, chlorofluorocarbon) during nuclear reaction.

By burning fossil fuels, poisonous CO2 releases.

Uranium is obtained from open-cut mines, which is not expensive. And Currently, the highreserves of uranium found on Earth, are expected to last for another 100 years.

Nuclear fuel is inexpensive and easier to transport.

Nuclear Energy can be produced in large quantities over short periods of time.

When compared to the fossil fuel waste, the nuclear waste which occurs due to the production ofnuclear power is small in quantity.

We can save oil reserves which are going to be run out at some point.

In Against:- Nuclear plants are dangerous if it explodes. Thousands of people suffered in the nuclear accident

happened in Chernobyl in 1986. Recently, on march 11th, 2011, four nuclear reactors explodedin Japan due to earth quake. And there are 17 nuclear plant explosions happened in the world tillnow.

Nuclear power releases radiation, which causes severe health problems to the people in it's

surroundings. The radiation released by this, lasts for tens of thousands of years in theenvironment.

Nuclear reactors last for about 40 to 50 years.

Terrorists may take advantage of this and may produce nuclear weapons, which is a great riskfor entire world.


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Even though it produces small amount of waste, it is highly hazardous. And the long-term storageof this waste is too difficult.

Nuclear plant is highly expensive.

Uranium is not renewable. If the resources of uranium are completely used, there isn't any more.

Conclusion:-

It's definitely a bane as it is highly dangerous. What is the use of this power, when peopleare suffering from severe health problems. It's not too difficult to live without power, but it's difficult to live

without good health. Growth of Technology should not be a danger for human survival. We should workmore on alternatives such as solar energy and hydroelectric energies etc.

Examination - Has it killed Education?Points to be known:-

Ancient China was the first country in the world that implemented a national wide standardizedtest, which was called as 'Imperial examination' in 605 AD. The purpose of examination was toselect for able candidates for specific governmental positions. This examination system was laterapplied to education.

In closed book system, the test taker was tested based on the memory to respond to specificitems. In open book system, the test taker was tested based on the analyzing capability, test

taker can use a reference book and a calculator when responding to an item.

In Favor:- Most of the exams pattern is not sufficient to evaluate the real capabilities of the student.

generally, there are some important questions which comes every year. So some students justbyhearting the answers for them like robots and getting good score even though they are notaware of the actual concept.

There are many exams annually like daily, weekly and monthly tests. So, students barely has anytime for extra curricular activities.

In present generation schools and colleges unnecessarily pressuring everyone including kids to

get above 90%. Most of the private colleges are not conducting practicals, they are just focusing on theoretical

subjects to make their students toppers so that their college can become famous. By thisstudents are not knowing the applicability of subjects.

Because of excess pressure of examinations some students committing suicide.

Some of the persons, who corrects the paper are giving marks based on number of paperswithout seeing the actual content. This discourages the students who have real worth.

In Against:- Examinations help to evaluate an individual academically.

It helps the student understand the pressure which he/she will face in their professional lives. Exams help in facing competition.

Exams help the students stay connected to their books.If there are no exams, most of thestudents don't concern about studies.

Through Exams students can know the areas which they are weak, so that they concentratemore on those areas.

If we qualify a person without exams, it may lead to critical situations like a doctor would kill manyof his patients.

Conclusion:-

Examinations are not killing the education, but the pattern of some exams are killing it. Questions mustin a way to make students think about it in order to write an answer. The weightage of practicals shouldbe more than the theoretical subjects. Exams must include projects, assignments and presentations tojudge the actual worth of a student.


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Are Advertisements Beneficial or misleading?Points to be known:-

Advertisement are an integral part of modern life.

Advertisement is a process of promotion of goods and services through media, such as TV,Radio, Newspaper etc.

The focus of today's advertisements is, by hook or crook, to promote the business.

In Favor:- All kinds of businesses depend on advertisement, particularly at the time of launching new

products.

It is the fastest way to point across. Through advertising, anyone can reach large number ofpeople in a short period of time.

People can know the whole range of products available in the market along with their price.

People can select the products of their need.

In the absence of advertisements they cannot possibly know which products are available in themarket.

The recruitment columns in the newspapers offer wide opportunities to job seekers to getemployment as per their qualifications, experience and skills. Lakhs of people get suitableplacements due to these advertisements.

There are business opportunities, sale and purchase of various types of goods from household

goods to old vehicles. There are advertisements about lost or found things, missing things.

There can be alerts in commercials about a criminal on the loose, warning the people to becareful.

So many students buy newspaper for classifieds.

Parents can search suitable match for their young children.

Without advertising , we wouldn't have our favourite t.v. shows.

Without advertising , newspapers would be very expensive and most people wouldn't buy it.

In Against:-

The promoters only emphasise on the merits. Advertisers present the product as a favourite of the celebrities. This has great influence on

young minds.

People are preferring ready made food than fruits and vegetables through advertising. Thesenew habits are adversely impacting their health.

Some pesticides, though in very small quantities were found in common cold drinks. Butadvertisers are not revealing this fact.

All cosmetic products are advertised in the name of fruit extracts, the chemical contents areneither displayed nor printed on the product cover.

Teenagers are attracted by cigarette, alcohol and diet pills advertisements, and their health isadversely effecting by these habits.

Consumers tend to be manipulated by an advertisement's promise that the product will dosomething special for them, which upsets their budget.

An advertisement for an expensive good is likely to create an ill-feeling in the mind of a poorteenager who cannot afford it. Such feelings often lead to hatred and anti-social activities.

Conclusion:-

The advertisers should keep fine balance between reality and urge to promote the product. There is

nothing in this world which is perfect, everything has some good points and some bad. It's better toignore the disadvantages and concentrate on the positive role that the advertisements are playing todayin laying bare the whole market before us so that we exercise a judicious choice. It's up to us to monitor

ourselves.Are Foreign television channels destroying our culture?Points to be known:-

International channels available in India are TV5MONDE Asie, Deutsche Welle, CCTV 9,Australia Network, KBS World, NHK World, TBN, BBC World, CNN, Russia Today, ChannelNews Asia, F TV, INDIA Live24 24hr, HOME SHOP 24X7, TELE SHOPPING channel.


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In Favor:- Now-a-days people can't able to talk pure mother tongue because they are watching foreign TV

channels most of the time.

These channels have adverse effect on institution of marriage.

Some people try to imitate the trends which are shown in TV.

Fashion TV in the name of exhibiting new trends, vulgarity has been showing.

Children and youth are easily fascinate towards bad things than the good things.

After the introduction of foreign channels, there is a drastic change in our culture.

In Against:- Culture depends on a person's perception. Nobody can destroy our culture without our

permission.

As world is becoming a global village, we must be ready to embrace all other cultures and have aknowledge about it.

By having foreign TV channels, we can able to know about world shows and can participate inthem.

Discovery, National Geographic, BBC and much more foreign channels expand our knowledge.

Through star sports, Ten sports we can see the sports of all countries.

Cartoon Network, which is the best channel for kids.

With the new DTH technology users can subscribe the channels as per their wish.

Parents can lock those channels, which are dangerous to children.

We can't blame foreign channels as some local channels are also destroying our culture.

It's not their mistake because they are just following their culture.

Conclusion:-

Every coin has two sides, we should take only positive side. We are responsible for our deeds. But of

course, I&B ministers should take necessary steps for the controlled telecast of visual media whether it

is foreign or local channel.

Balance between Professionalism and FamilyPoints to be known:-

Professionalism and family can be described as the two sides of the same coin as both areequally important in one's life.

Profession gives us an individual identity and financial security and family gives us an emotionalsecurity.

In today's hitech busy lifestyle one cannot find the time to spend with his/her family. They maylead a luxurious life but there is absence of peace of mind.

Without profession there will be no meaning of our life in present generation. Profession is not for

just to earn money for family but for our self satisfaction. With the development of newer technologiesand each and everything we need money not only

for fill our hunger but also for survival in the better society.

professionalism is important but not as much as relationships.

Professionalism is not all about being a workaholic. It is all about knowing your priorities andacting professionally both at the workplace and at home.

Being more workaholic leads to express frustration on family members. It will lead to a badimpact on children.

Some people are not spending with their family even in holidays to earn more money. Theyshould remember that money is just a tool for happiness. Money can't give someone who shares

our sorrows and happiness. If we concentrate only on professionalism we may get fame and money but we loose many

sweetest moments in our life.

Going to abroad for just to earn money is not a good choice. He can't be replaced by money forhis family.


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Some people are not concentrating on their children because they are giving much more priorityto their profession. So children may feel unsecured and it may lead to wrong path.

To achieve goals sometimes we need to sacrifice family. For example the people in the army,inorder to serve the country they have to stay away from their families.

If both parents are working it's better to stay in joint family. So that children will be taken care bytheir relatives.

Avoid procrastination.

Plan the weekends with family by keeping the office matters aside.

Prioritize the things and plan effectively. So that one can have free time.

We should not do office work in the home unless we really need to.

If we spend some time with family, obviously there will be need to go to the psychiatrist for stressrelief.

The ultimate goal of everyone is being happy. So, We must make ourselves and our familyhappy.

Make a habit of saying 'no' to the unimportant matters and spend that time with family.

if one of the track is damaged in railway track, train will be derailed, so as in life, professionalism& family plays same role.

Inner strength plays a big role in balancing professionalism and family.

If we learn to balance between professionalism and family, our children follows us and stays inthe correct path.

Conclusion:-

The important thing to balance profession and family is saying no to unimportant events. By planningeverything before, anyone can balance both. Only one of these can't fulfill a person. We shouldremember the fact that the ultimate goal of anyone is happiness and peace.

E-Learning: A substitute for classroom learning?Points to be known:-

E-learning is essentially the computer and network-enabled transfer of skills and knowledge.

E-learning applications and processes include Web-based learning, computer-based learning,virtual classroom opportunities and digital collaboration.

In Favor:- Through E-learning we can study from anywhere at anytime. All we need is just a computer and

internet connection.

E-learning costs less than classroom learning.

Through E-learning we can continue studies while doing full - time job.

We can repeat the lesson for many times if we didn't understand the concepts.

We can easily update new information / inventions. We can e-mail the doubts, and can be clarified.

Student takes whole responsibility of himself in learning process. So that he becomes moreconfident.

Students will become more flexible with computer, which is much essential in present generation.

We can do the course in the university of foreign countries without going to there.

Students can become comfortable in face-face to conversations which is very important incareer.

In Against:- Through classroom learning, we can clarify our doubts immediately.

Through classroom learning, we can increase our presentation skills.

Through classroom learning, we can know how to behave with colleagues and superiors.

Teachers in classroom can know whether students understand the topic or not, and explains thetopic clearly using general examples.

Unemployment increases, in result our nation's GDP decreases.

Conclusion:-


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E-learning has its own advantages and disadvantages. It can't be a substitute for classroomlearning up to graduation level. But after graduation level E-learning can be a substitute for classroomlearning. If the student have more interest in studies, he can go for E-learning. If he has no interest, aperson must be there to create interest in him by general examples and to make him study, that's onlypossible with class room learning.

Should euthanasia / mercy killing be legalized?Points to be known:-

Euthanasia means the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful diseaseor an irreversible coma.

Euthanasia is of two types, one is active and another is passive. Passive Euthanasia meansstopping the treatment which is of no use and allowing the patient to die peacefully.Active Euthanasia means injecting the poison to make the patient die.

Determining Euthanasia has two cases. One is the person is able to express his willingness todie because of unbearable pain. And the second case is the patient is being in coma and unableto express his views, in that case patient's relatives and doctors have to take the decision.

In Netherlands, both active and passive euthanasia are legalized. In United Kingdom, onlypassive euthanasia is legalized. In remaining countries, it isn't legalized.

Earliest story of euthanasia is found in the Talmud (Avoda Zara 18). One of the ten martyrs,Rabbi Hanina ben Teradyon, was burnt at the stake holding a Torah scroll. His students stood

around and said to him, Rebbe, open your mouth. Let the flames and smoke enter your bodyand choke you so that you will die quicker and not suffer this terrible torture. He said, No. Godgave me my soul. Only He should retrieve it from me.

In Favor:- It should be allowed, if there is no hope of life and the pain is so high. And It should be decided at

least two qualified doctors.

It should be legalized to the patients who are in 'persistent vegetative state' ( the state of patientswho are living through ventilators and there is no ray of hope).

In Against:- Science and technology is increasing rapidly, there is a chance of inventing medicines for

incurable diseases too. If euthanasia is legalized, some doctors won't think of alternatives for living.

By legalizing this, many people may think as suicide is legalized. They easily go for suicide evenfor small difficulties.

If the patient is not in a state to express his/her views, his/her relatives may choose euthanasiafor him/her for their selfish reasons.

Conclusion:-

It should be legalized if the pain of the patient's pain is intolerable and there is no chance tosurvive, but with strict rules like more than two doctors conformation and the patient's family acceptance.

Multinational Companies: Are they devils in disguise?In Against:-

The main advantage of MNCs is reducing of unemployment.

India is a developing country. MNCs helping India to become developed country.

They are helping us to connect with whole world, which is highly necessary for developingcountries in present generation.

Some MNCs are including in social activities.

They are introducing new products of cost effective.

The employees of these companies are having high salary.

Economy of India increases.In Favor:-

India has many intelligent people. But the intelligence is not used by India, and using for thedevelopment of the other countries.

Many talented people are settling in foreign countries to work for MNCs.

The stress of MNC employees is more compared to others. There are many cases of mentalhealth problems in these employees.


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The pay scale of Indian employees of these companies is less compared to foreign employees ofthe same companies.

Employees of these companies are working like robots, and not spending their valuable time withtheir family.

Some young people are attracted by the high salary and moulding their career wrongly for luxurylife.

In these companies there is least scope of using creativity. Mostly, employees are just followinginstructions of their superiors.

By MNCs, local companies are having losses.

Conclusion:-

Multinational companies are not disadvantage to our country. India need MNCs to becomedeveloped country. But employees of these companies should not take responsibilityfor overloaded work just for high salary. So that, there can have fulfilment of passion and also fulfilmentof personal life.

Privatization will lead to less corruption.Points to be known:-

Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise,agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector.

In Favor:-

Employees of private companies are given high salaries, so they are much more motivated towork, and less interest on corruption.

Private companies take immediate action on those who take bribe. This creates fear inemployees to take bribe.

If we take private airports, they take more care to keep them clean and to provide more facilities.

Private companies have competitive spirit. So, they offer more features to public.

Through privatization, our country's GDP increases from the taxes.In Against:-

There is no guarantee that privatization leads to less corruption, because there are somecompanies in the news which did scam.

The cost of products increases by privatization.

If we take private petrol bunks, even though they keep petrol bunks clean, they charge high thanthe bunks under government control.

Our rights of demanding decreases by privatization.

Conclusion:- Corruption does not depend on whether it's private or government, it completely depends on

individual's attitude. But by privatization, we can reduce corruption up to some extent.

Is Globalization Really Necessary?Points to be known:-

Some world historians attach globalization big bang' significance to 1492 (Christopher Colombusstumbles on the Americas in search of spices) and 1498 (Vasco da Gama makes an end runaround Africa and snatches monopoly rents away from the Arab and Venetian spice traders).

In Favor:- Through Globalization developing countries can become developed countries.

We can share technologies and inventions. We can sell our products all over the world.

India has resources of skilled manpower. So through globalization other countries invests moneyin India. And by that our economy increases.

We can share the medical inversions which helps the patie

Documents

Deatiled Study of GD Topics