Day: December 8, 2015

Conventional wisdom suggests that great powers and aspiring great powers prefer bilateralism to multilateralism or plurilateralism; they consider the former a characteristic of the strong and regard the latter only as the privilege of the weak. Are there any exceptions to this rule? Should India prefer bilateralism over multilateralism? Critically discuss.

The architecture of the IAS, consciously drawn from the ICS, was premised on a social and cultural distance between the administration and civil society on the one hand, and between the political executive and the civil servant on the other. Why do you think IAS has an edge over other services and why it has …

Continue reading “The architecture of the IAS, consciously drawn from the ICS, was premised on a social and cultural distance between the administration and civil society on the one hand, and between the political executive and the civil servant on the other. Why do you think IAS has an edge over other services and why it has attracted hostilities from various quarters? Discuss.”

India’s stand in climate change negotiations is that it can’t accept a hard limit on emissions when it’s still trying to lift hundreds of millions of Indians—more than 20% of whom lack electricity—out of poverty. Recently, Prime Minister also demanded for climate justice. Do you think India is right in demanding climate justice? Critically comment.

Under the Digital India initiative, fulfilling the vision where all citizens are digitally connected to the government will take enormous efforts. What are these efforts? Examine the factors on which success of this initiative depends upon.

Examine why and what needs to be done to make sure that the information commission becomes fully autonomous, along the lines of the Election Commission, and thus becomes a constitutional body.

One of the disappointments in the post-reform period in India has been the slow progress in the reduction of malnutrition, especially with reference to the underweight among children. Examine why despite high economic growth, malnutrition persists in India and why it is important to address this problem urgently.

An education policy will influence India’s economic, social and political future for decades to come. Critically analyze India’s post-independence education policies and suggest what should the new education policy aim for.

Comment on the significance of India’s recent successfully completed Operation Rahat.

It is said that India has many stakes in the Syrian crisis. What are these? Should India play an active role in this crisis in its own national interest? Critically comment.

India has only one psychiatrist for every 343,000 people, and one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Critically examine what needs to be done to reform India’s mental health policy.

“Some of the ethno-territorial conflicts in western Myanmar and Northeast India are part of a single regional conflict complex.” Discuss.

In urban India, it is the economically weaker sections and the low income groups, which earn between Rs 3 to 6 lakh annually, that account for 96 per cent of the housing shortage. Examine the challenges that governments face in providing housing to these sections and what needs to be done in this regard.

“Some of the ethno-territorial conflicts in western Myanmar and Northeast India are part of a single regional conflict complex.” Discuss.

Discuss the role of NGOs in development process in India.

“New Delhi’s approach to its neighbours has increasingly been marked by muscularity, only to raise the spectre of an Indian ‘Monroe Doctrine’ — a doctrine India cannot afford to enforce.” Critically comment.

Administrations around the world cite public safety as the reason for asking for encryption access. Is it in public interest to give this access to governments? Discuss.