16 October 2014
Answer ALL the questions in about 200 words:
1) “When it comes to choosing a partner between China and Japan, latter is the surer and safer option for India to partner with.” Substantiate.
2) Write a note on the location and distribution of coffee industry in India. Examine which factors decide the price of coffee in India.
3) With global crude oil prices hitting a four-year low, global gas buyers, led by those from Japan, are asking sellers to shift to gas-to-gas pricing, rather than linkage with crude oil prices. Explain the differences between two methods of pricing. Which pricing method is followed in India? Comment on it.
4) Comment on the recommendations of the Ramesh Chandra committee, constituted by the Union health ministry to review the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003.
5) Recently, the Government of India told American authorities that it would not cooperate with the out-of-cycle review (OCR) initiated by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) as part of the latter’s annual ‘Special 301 Report’, on its supposedly slack intellectual property rights (IPR) regime. Explain the rationale behind India’s stand.
6) What economic strategy was followed soon after India’s independence and why? Examine.
7) “The complex environmental forces of the Bay of Bengal, the shifting patterns of monsoon and drought and flooding that, as much as human migration, have shaped and linked life along these coasts.” In the light of its rich coastal heritage spread across nations, examine.
8) Growing trees on farms (agroforestry) is a triple-win strategy for combating simultaneously the challenges of increasing food production, mitigating greenhouse gases and adapting to climate change. Elaborate.
9) Write a critical note on ‘Mars One’ project.
10) Post – Fukushima disaster, what additional safety measures have been implemented in Indian nuclear reactor sites? Examine.
