Points FOR and AGAINST various Essay Topics

1. Is climate change alert an exaggeration?

FOR
Many reports by scientists that
something similar to ice-age will
repeatUnnecessarily people are
worrying. Many of the sceptics of
climate say that all these scientists
of IPCC just exaggerate stuff so that
they can get funding for their
research
Climate change is good because
now in cold regions due to increase
in temperature, many types of
crops can be grown
Too much fuss on human
causes,.many reports claim things
like solar flares, volcanic activities
are major reasons of any , however
minute, climatic change
Many renewable energy resources
companies would try and sell their
products/ services by scaring
people into believing about global
climate change

AGAINST
Reports of increase in temperature
all over the world at a much faster
rate than before..since mostall the
causes are anthropogenic

Freak storms or sudden rains/

snowfall in areas with low/nil
rainfall/snowfall, sudden droughts
Reports of habitats getting
destroyed or shrunken due to polar
ice caps melting. Many birds
species became extinct and some
others are on the verge of
extinction
River flows affected, FISH
BREEDING AFFECTED

2. food security in India

FOR
It is prevalent in almost civilized
countries...poor need our
support...we can worry about
market economics later.
Improves over health..healthy
bodies are more productive bodies
in occupations
Education measures will be more
fruitful because childrens mental
development would improve with
food security measures
If this measure is in place, many
loopholes and leakages in the PWD

AGAINST
Too much financial outlay

Enough hand holding

Increase our debt..CAD goes for a

toss..inflation goes up..people suffer

Many say that the plan will fail

exactly because of loopholes in

system would reduce. Govt has

allocated around 30000 crore for
the improvement of PDS
In order to ensure this there must
be steps to stabilise population,
improve health care too...

PWD system.

People might lose motivation to

work hard
There have been cases of
people spending their earnings
on gambling, liquor, prostitution
because they now feel that
their food requirement would
be met by the State

3. Should reality show featuring children be banned in India?

FOR
Innocence of children lost
Commercialisation of childrens
abilities..Let them be..dont
commercialise everything..there is
no end to it
Makes children overly competitive
from such a young age
Might lead to unexpected
consequences among children who
do not know how to handle such
pressure and defeat
Freedom of choice of
children....Many times it is their
parents who have forced them to
enter these shows to earn fame and
money
The very fact that many of these
reality shows are scripted is being
unfair to the viewers
In general dance shows, singing
shows more or less good as it is
catering to interests and talents of
people, however shows like Roadies
and Big Boss are a bad influence on
people esp big boss..it has no

AGAINST
Great platform for children to
showcase talents
Makes children open up more and
more and helps improve their interpersonal skills
Makes children competitive from a
very young age which could come
in handy in the years to come
Some might argue that rather these
shows make children strong as they
learn how to handle pressure and
defeat
Children develop other skills such as
goal setting, extreme hardwork,
quick learning, thinking on ones
feet..

motive..roadies might yet test some

kind of physical fitness and grit but
it sends out wrong message to
youngsters about what success
means or what accomplishments
mean. ALSO god knows how many
childrens shows are also scripted
and children are asked to behave in
front of cameras..god knows how
many cooking shows are rigged..but
still it is catering to children
talents..
Incase in general they ask about reality shows..See incase of adults, it
might be their own decision to participate in such shows, also many of
these people as seen in so many talent shows or dance shows or cooking
shows come from poor backgrounds and hence this platform works
wonders for them as they get a chance to showcase their talents and they
get recognised in their own areas which might lead to employment
opportunities for them. But shows like Big Boss, Roadies, dating-based
shows serve no purpose whatsoever..rather ppl start trying to emulate
those roadies, or start trying to impress the girls etc..The disadvantages
are more or less same as above
4. Is Nuclear Energy the best way forward for India's ever growing ener
gy demands?
FOR
Emission levels drop...

Nuclear power plants have massive

shelf life
Massive energy potential. Even a
little amount of radioactive material
produces a lot nuclear energy
Burden on non-renewable sources
of energy for power generation
drops and these can then be used in
other heavy industries which might

AGAINST
Safety a big concern. EXAMPLE OF
MAJOR NUCLEAR POWER NATIONS
LIKE JAPAN, GERMANY, FRANCE all
are going to decommission their
nuclear reactors in the decades to
come. Japan has even give a
deadline of around 2042
Nuclear waste disposal an issue
Politically driven decisions to
promote nuclear energy
Focus should be on utilising Indias
strengths like all the waste we
generate, we should use bio-ethanol
(which would help our sugarcane

even result in drop in prices of

these sources and also the final
products..ex coal can now be used
more and more for firing boilers
than for generating power in
thermal power plants or something
like that
Stable energy source..not affected
by weather and also low cost of
running..so if the country can invest
a large amount of money initially itll
work out to be economical in the
long run and considering that these
plants have massive shelf life, that
should not be an issue

growers too),

Massive misuse possible..eg Iran,

China

5. Should we ban genetic engineering of plants and animals

FOR
Endless, itll never stop..every single
thing will be engineered..we lose
the charm of the natural course of
things
Testing is a big issue...Can we
ensure tight enough norms for
animal testing? Isnt it immoral?

There are many cases of scientists

reporting that the presence of
genetically modified species
disrupts the natural food chains
Issues such as who are we to
challenge the principle of survival of
the fittest
Natural ways of growing is always
preferred..promote organic
farming..why all this nonsense of
scientifically structured seeds and
animals and all?

AGAINST
Narrow minded approach..genetic
engg. is the way to go...

Population going up everyday.we

need strains of seeds that can grow
fast and produce bumper
production..also that they be
immune to adverse weather and
various pests/insects
Animals need to be genetically
engineered for the reasons as
above..since we will get better
meat.more milk and the health of
cows will also be great
Life saving drugs are discovered
everyday by genetically modifying
plants
There are talks of genetically
modified plants which can absorb
more CO2 and hence reduce global
warming

6. Ethics in Business
FOR
Business ethics must take
precedence over anything else
It is profitable to follow business
ethics as morals might come in the
way of good business sense

Ethics in business helps gives a

structure to working
Competition is very high and if we
harp on morals, we might lose our
suppliers to our competitors
If you stick too much to business
ethics..you might be perceived as
extremely professional

AGAINST
Morals should be your guiding light
Morals are the right tool to act as a
deterrent in the event that a
company is trying to ink a deal
which will make it millions but also
harm say all the sheep in some area
Morals are very fickle..and decision
making affected because morality
comes in the way of every decision
Slowly but surely perception
changing..ppl want to be associated
with moral companies
Morals in business is smart..in the
long term it stabilises a company
and its employees workculture
etc...all stakeholders are
happy..perception of company is
great..

7. Is disinvestment in profit making PSU's advisable?

FOR
Yes, paisa chaiye govt ko
Fiscal deficit will be in control

AGAINST
Lose control
Too much privatisation, state control
& regulation needed

Private players might run the PSUs

more efficiently

8. What should government do to attract the youth to armed forces?

9. Should Petroleum Subsidy go away?
FOR
Yes, so much debt burden...itll help
petroleum marketing companies sell
at much higher rates and get their

AGAINST
India is not in a position to still
operate without
subsidies..everything will get

rightful money
Petroleum Marketing companies
might realise that very high prices
might deter customers..so they
might just increase price a bit but
internally they might optimise a lot
and hence improve their
efficiency..good for competition

affected.
Transport charges will go up...hence
all good prices will go up...Hence
suddenly inflation ...people might
even stop buying stuf..hence
recession might also come in the
picture..
U collect taxes and generate
revenue from bonds etc..take loans
etc, earn money from exports
etc..this money should be used na
to subsidise stuff..the govt should
be able to bear the brunt and pay
the marketing companies for
whatever losses they make..
No subsidy might result in high
prices and people will stop buying
stuff..so one way good that
pollution might be lesser and
people might stop spending
unnecessarily..but then petroleum
marketing companies will go into
loss...Vicious Cycle?
Timing needs to be right..when the
PSUs doing comparatively
poorly..the govt nor the company
would benefit by selling of their
stake now

10.

Should higher education be open up for foreign universities?

FOR
Improve competition..the current
good universities are in a statusquoist position since they know
there is no one to challenge their
current status..eg..say Harvard is
allowed to enter India,
automatically institutions like BITS
Pilani and some of the top IITs will
try to do something to ensure that

AGAINST
We already have so many
institutions here, develop those..
The whole priority is good
education..so if firnagi universities
give cheap and good education..no
issues..
Also we need to develop indigenous
universities..kitna dependent
rahenge on firangis

the best students OF India will still

join them and not Harvard...quote
example of ISB..how it has done so
well in so little time..
The foreign universities could be
subject to certain govt regulations
where they reserve certain seats for
economically backward

On the other hand, maybe more

global and competitive values and
teaching styles will make indian
students more competitive

These universities will serve only

the elite and the elite are anyway
able to access these universities. so
overall the poorest of the poor and
the lower middle class will anyway
not be able to benefit from this
It is quite possible that their style of
teaching/ operating might not
match our style..cultural clashes

11.
If the economy of India is to improve then Education must
change
FOR
Education not qualitative, based on
quantity..times have changed and
so has Indias needs..post
independence we were in need of
vast improvement in literacy
levels..we have achieved
considerable improvement..now the
need is to make Indias workforce
competitive..so yes our education
system needs revision/revamping

Merit equated with marks. Our

education system works on the
principle of exclusion and not
inclusion. Most premier institutes
are known for their filtering criteria
and not actually for the intellectual
capital they have to offer. Hence

AGAINST
We produce max doctors and
enggs...there is no dearth of talent
in india..the reason we feel that our
country is not doing well is because
we do not tap into this educated set
of people..they end up going abroad
because there are better
opportunities there..it is upto the
companies in India and the govt of
india to make a situation conducive
for these good candidates to stay in
india. Abroad the industries by and
large are much bigger, are more
open to risk-hiring, spend a lot more
on human resources and hence u
find many Indians of even mediocre
grade doing well.
We might dilute the competitive
nature of our education system by
bringing in too many variations..the
Western countries have consistently
failed to produce bright candidates
in large numbers unlike here in
India

this needs to change.

Right from school, there should be
healthy balance between curricular
and extra curricular activities and
there should be experts engaged at
the state level to chalk out the kind
of extra curricular activities schools
must have. Provide necessary
funding/ infra to support such
activities
Our education system seems so
hollow after some level.
Example..say I take up arts..what
are the realistic chances of my
doing financially well for myself?
The situation has improved
definitely..but a LOT more needs to
be done..because the Indian
workforce is still primarily middle
and lower middle class, they are
risk averse and try and take up
degrees in fields which are more
promising of stable careers eg.
Engg. We boast that we have so
many enggs and doctors..are they
all really qualified? Are they even
really interested in being enggs or
doctors?
Our system must promote risk
taking and only then can we expect
more entrepreneurs..this must be
accompanied with improvement in
procedures required to set up a
business..more entrepreneurs..more
jobs created..more independent
people..lesser burden on the govt to
create jobs and they would have
more time to focus on other
important issues as well
Also our schools and colleges lack
good teachers, we need to develop
them..also re-look at the syllabus in
many states whether they need

Our education system does not

believe in hand holding or spoon
feeding...The reason most Indians
do well in countries abroad is
because they have developed
survival skills no other western
system is able to instil

refinement,
12.

Should gambling be legalised?

FOR
Great income for INDIA

Might remove a lot of associated

illegal activities. See gabling will
occur..theres no topping
that..atleast if we legalise it, then
this mafia and all other middlemen
are not needed...
Might kill the police-gamblers nexus
since now Policemen will not have
any premises to ask for Hafta
Also brings about better control and
scrutiny...take the example of
casinos in Las Vegas..every year
some big shot is sent behind bars
because the activities in casinos are
monitored..this monitoring is not
possible now
It is innocent fun most of the
times..like betting on the scoreline
of a football match,,etc,,all of these
can be legalised and made
enjoyable

AGAINST
Too much money wasted as more
people will be lured into gambling
as it would no more carry the
stigma of being an :illegal
activity..we do not have that kind of
disposable incomes

Social support systems will have to

be in place to handle issues of
chronic gamblers..an additional
burden on India
If it is legalised..itll become the best
source for a lot of black money to
be parked

It will have no effect on matchfixing etc..

A lot of valuable time might be lost

in sitting and gambling..we do not
have support systems in place to
treat perennial gamblers or chronic
gamblers..
Its like saying If we cant beat
them, join them..the govt is not
taking up the responsibility of
actually completely shutting down
gambling rather promoting a vice

We dont have a system yet where

we can enforce any bans, so might
as well legalise it and develop an
enforcement system side by side.

13.

FDI in retail

FOR
More organised, better tech and
SCM , they will give us management
principles

Farmers getting fair deals and

consumers getting fair deals
too..HOWEVER, there have been
cases of farmings actually getting
fleeced by these retailers....ALSO
there is a possibility like in the
british era of Indigo farmers..the
farmers will be forced to grow what
the big retailer wants him to grow.
Competition. Local/Indian
brands/retails chains will have their
hands full while competing with big
shots like Walmart
There are already so many Indian
chains like Big Bazaar, Reliance
Fresh etc.they have indeed provided
goods at competitive prices..arent
foreign retail chains aiming to do
the same? So far local traders have
not been affected THAT much. Also
the FDI rules like sourcing xyz % of
produce locally..hiring xyz % people
locally..the retail centres can only

AGAINST
People get enslaved soon, their
eating habits might change because
of consumption of canned foods,
there is a possibility that once the
big retail chains get their market
share, they will start selling substandard goods at inflated prices,
they kill the variety u can get..only
brands supported by or produced by
the retail company would be
available
A lot of the money is getting
expatriated. Whats the whole point
then?

There have been cases of lobbying

by Walmart and similar cases might
crop up.
Currently the rich Indians already
have a lot of options in terms of
fashion..introducing more and
more brands will lead to more
and more wasteful expenditure.
EFFECTIVELY THEY WILL ALTER
OUR SPENDING Habits

be located xyz km from the city all

ensure that small traders also
flourish
Exchequer earns more and more
when things are more
organised..GOD knows whether
local kirana walas pay all the taxes
they should be paying
There have been cases like that of
Ikea where they trained their local
suppliers..so that is good..
Also kiranawalas start taking more
interest in customers, they become
14.

Women managers better than male managers?

FOR
To begin with, very difficult to put
on a finger on this as gender and
genetic built up are VERY SMALL
FACTORS in making good managers
One might argue that many studies
have proven women have slightly
more emotional intelligence
compared to men. Women are less
tolerant of slackness, mostly No
nonsense types, more discipline
They do not indulge in the typical
status-quoist status in an
organisation. Many times men are
happy to let things be as it is,
women are always trying their hard
to improve things
Women have been proven to have
better intuition and this is of great
value.not everything can be
calculated after long thought-out
processes
Quote examples of companies like
BCG, Bain & Co, Airtel, Goldman,
Citigroup all wanting to hire women
in 30-40% of their Bschool
recruits..there are 533 woemn in
the top 6 IIMS or 22%...and they are

AGAINST

Men are better at giving certain

concessions like slacking off ..they
try and build a healthy mix of
professional and not-so professional
habits ..

looking at hiring anywhere between

28-50% women..so there will be
talent acquisition wars...All said the
same thing that women bring
diversity, different opinions, make
the company more
competitive..etc..
15.

Nexus of politics and media IS BAD

FOR
Definitely...God knows which news
channels we can trust..they might
all be airing certain pieces of
information which the political
parties want them to air
Newspapers might carry columns
favouring certain parties..this can
affect the countrys people esp if
the news paper is widely circulated
The art or journalism dies...it all
becomes corporate in nature
A lot of black money might be
involved, kickbacks to media
executives.
People lose faith in news
channels..start doubting everything
The media must remain impartial
and without any political meddling
and only then can we expect fair
journalism
Riots and all might occur due to
rubbish rumours provided by
political parties to news channels
16.Corporate Financial Transparency: Need for more regulation.

FOR
Many big companies too
secretive..god knows what they r
upto behind closed doors
The measure will bring about some
improvement in the way companies
work. They will work in more

AGAINST
Too much meddling in the
companies affairs
Too many obstacles to growth

transparent fashion
Deterrent to unscrupulous people in
various industries

Scope for corruption..some kind of

board or inspector will be there to
ensure companies follow all
regulations..the companies might
try to bribe and not follow some
regulations or it is possible that the
inspector might extort money

You can mention how derivatives

trading not regulated and see
consequences
Morally correct way or working
might be ensured

17.

Religion and politics dont go together

FOR
Narrow mindedness is supported
and spread if religion becomes a
part of politics...faaltu mein people
get polarised and all against each
other..

Kills the whole idea of secularism in

politics..we should only
acknowledge that india is a diverse
country with many religions and
hence we must make policies that
are beneficial to all and does not
infringe on anyones religious
beliefs to the extent possible
Religious fanaticism is
dangerous..lot of killings in name of
religion possible.political parties
endorsing it..

AGAINST
They go hand in hand and rather
they should..who will take up the
cause of say Muslims? It might
seem narrow minded but we also
have to be realistic as to how many
main stream parties will take up the
problems of Muslims?
Effective collective bargaining
possible

Peoples identities are very often

influenced by their religions. and
politics is all about how you go
about implementing your schemes,
ensuring equality and law and
justice ..to be to able to effectively
do this you need to understand the
identities of people and that can be
understood only be factoring
religious beliefs during policy and

Religion should not be used a point

for garnering votes

You can give examples of various

organisations like those which come
under the Sangh Parivar..they have
been known to influence elections
because of the sway they have over
so many Indians..because of their
demands,,bigger parties like the
congress is supposed to appease
Hindus.on the other hand to win
Muslim votes, they have to appease
the Muslims as well...Politics loses
its objective, just and secular
nature in the process
Muzzaffarnagar riots..hindu and
muslim clashes..invariably took a
political turn ..some parties
supporting muslims..some
supporting hindus..some talk about
Love Jihad which says that
muslims are trying to woo Indian
women..etc..in all this..the govt was
too afraid to really carry out
thorough investigations....
For too long have we allowed
religion to control politics..there is
till hope..but if we continue to
ignore the meddling of religious
sentiments in politics..it might be
too late..we need our big political
parties to put their foot down and
convey the message to their allies
who might be bigoted or fanatics
In the name of religion or Indian
beliefs or values, these khap
panchayats, various villages ill treat
women and people of lower castes,
many political parties endorse this
to win votes..these things ruin

decision making
We lead lives based on our value
systems and these are invariably
affected by religion..so politics must
understand this

politics
We can become more of a
theocratic state than a democratic
country
They should definitely however not
mix where things are fundamentally
wrong..certain beliefs in the Hindu
tradition about dalits, or women (if
the woman is pure as sita, she will
not burn etc..all rubbish)
Cases like stem cell research or
abortion..etc need to be seen
objectively..a lot of times when a bill
has to be passed either legalising or
banning these things, religion
enters the picture etc..
18.

Free trade good for developing economies?

FOR
Yes, very good. Global exchange of
ideas,

AGAINST
Cultural clashes possible...Hero and
Honda is an example...each country
can trade well within its countrys
confines

Also chance for competitively priced

imports to come into india which
will ensure local producers become
more competitive..great from export
point of view too..
Wealth creation, job creation,
A lot of advanced technologies
come into developed countries

19.

Globalisation has eroded our culture/ values

You can talk about not all values are probably right and some maybe
incompatible with todays times...women oppression, stay at home,
widows/single mothers looked at in a poor light, but the good values like
respecting your elders, humility, sincerity, integrity though
corrupted by certain agents like Facebook or unscrupulous practices in
certain investment firms etc..Indians still retain these values..Women and
backward class people have been empowered in India, we are more

tolerant, the West and Europe respects us more, love for mankind has only
increased..we share our problems and happiness..people pitching in to
help out other countries..all these relations have been possible only
because of global trade..
FOR
Unscrupulous people nowadays

No respect for elders

Arrogance on the rise due to more

money
Too much consumerism due to ads
and availability of everything to
satiate our desires
Lack of clarity on what we stand
for..too much imbibing of Western
values ..can give Japans example
where they still stand strong by
their systems..like children still
asked to clean bathrooms..in
America that would considered child
abuse
A socialist country becoming more
and more capitalist...earlier there
would have never been an
argument over wealth or welfare
because our people and leaders
were clear on the idea that we have
to empower everyone in our
country and that will automatically
ensure good human wealth and we

AGAINST
India has always been
gloablised..trade was main source
of income..traded with many
countries...idea exchange wealth
exchange is always better for a
country..
Obv not. Free idea flow. Open
mindedness and broadening of our
horizons..now more than ever we
have so many Indian CEOs leading
foreign companies..it is because of
certain qualities and the
environment that Indians have ben
exposed to post massive
globalisation
Women given opportunities,
backward classes given
opportunities....

Our economy has flourished

because we have imbibed the good
from the West and stuck to our
principles

How the west has benefitted from

us..more and more examples of
them doing yoga now and yoga is a
flourishing business in the US.
How our service companies like
TCS, Infosys are being engaged to
solve some of the Wests most
challenging problems.

can also slowly develop business

areas. Now its the other way round
most of the times
Globalisation has resulted in
acceptance of various faiths and
religions..tolerance has increased
all over the world..no more
stereotypes..
20.

Gandhian values are they relevant now?

FOR
One of his values was love for
everybody. It is very important that
we follow his because we are seeing
so many cases of kiilings in arab
countries, bodos and muslims
violence, muzzaffarnagar riots
Other value is independence..we
can look at it from economics point
of view..we will be come a
superpower when we become an
export heavy nation rather than
import heavy..
Simple living high thinking another
value. We need to follow this well.
WE should not get carried away by
wealth
His value of truth is probably the
most important value. Integrity is of
utmost importance and even more
today with various irregularities
being reported in companies and
various scams
His value of non-violence is
essential because unnecessarily so
many countries are spending
billions of dollars of defence
spending when they could be using
that money for better things..he
was a big supporter of HinduMuslim love and equality..we need
to follow this value now more than

AGAINST
We cannot be naive..we cant be
overly simple

There is no talk of
independence..the whole world has
become and should continue to be
economically inter-linked

The world has changed..interdependence is the key to

globalisation we cannot stay
independent and expect to survive
Satyagraha not possible today. You
can just be silent protestors, you
must make yourself heard..see
AAP..COUNTER EXAMPLE is
satyagraha incase of Jessica lal
murder case..

ever
You can talk about how it is
essential to strike a balance
between which we follow and how
much we follow gandhian
values..acc to me all values can be
followed to some extent..
21.

PPP for or against?

FOR
Essential..shows a mature nation

Certain examples in health care

how benefitted from PPP
Great opportunity for private
companies to serve the people and
also meet their targets of
profitability
Great opportunity for Pvt firms
because a lot of the usual read tape
is waived off/ made easier

AGAINST
Too many cultural differences..govt
wants benefit/welfare for all..pvt
companies want benefits for
themselves
Mention many cases where PPP
failed
Most cases very delayed, funds
unavailability, new govt comes and
again things change..some projects
might get shelved..too risky
From the point of a view companies
health, they should not enter into
agreements with govt..since their
profits might get hit
Irregularities in a lot of infra
projects, dams, toll booths when
private players given buil-operatetransfer models of working..private
players tend to be unscrupulous

22.
Satya Nadella feels THAT engg better CEO than sales
expert
FOR
From microsofts point of view, it is
an software company..what will u
sell if ur product itself is not good?
So u need an engg to understand
product development
People want concrete products not
just showmanship

AGAINST
An engg might not ever understand
the dynamics of markets and of
sales

A sales guy is able to sell the

product..whats the point of a great
product if you cant sell it

Over the past few years though it

has predicted that tablets and
smartphones would be the way to
go, they have failed to capitalise
their opportunities
Cloud computing is something that
they need to work on big time and
hence nadellas engagement with
start-ups to understand what
Microsoft must do to make a mark
in the cloud computing business
Also their internet browser is almost
dead and buried..something radical
needs to be done
23.

There are enough great enggs in

the company..as a ceo u should be a
sales initiator

You run the risk of the company

losing its risk appetite or becoming
too nerdy

Management cannot be taught

FOR
Talk about various successful
entrepreneurs and leaders like
dhirubhai ambani, jrd tata, sachin
and binny bansal etc..
and man managers like atal bihari
Vajpayee, mahatma Gandhi , grassroot level leaders did not need
many training in organisational
behaviour or other management
subjects

AGAINST
Talk about great business leaders
who have been through IIMs or
other b schools..
Example-Ivan Menezes of Diageo, the alcoholic
beverages firm, Mastercard's Ajay Banga, financial
services giant DBS Group's Piyush Gupta and
Vasudeva. Apart from Vasudeva, the others went on to
do an MBA from IIM, Ahmedabad.
Anshu Jain, who heads Deutsche Bank, got his
bachelor's degree from SRCC after finishing his
schooling from DPS Mathura Road, while Rakesh
Kapoor, who heads Reckitt Benckiser, studied at
Modern School.
Indra Nooyi from IIMC,

Talk about how only when you have

experienced real life situations can
u learn and improve..just reading
past case studies are of no use

Many cases of well educated people

failing in applying policies in
companies , maybe Maruti or
smaller firms with workshop

Case studies are essential..u

analyse them..very rarely does
anything beyond that taught in bschools come up in real life...u have
already seen the case and hence u r
not completely caught off guard
Organisational behaviour is of vital
importance and sine you have
already been taught all of that..ur
job in leading teams or departments

protests..etc.Handling such
situations comes only from
experience
When you work your way up and
are not influenced text books
caselets..you ahve unrestricted
thinking and you might take better
decisions because your not going to
be biased by some previous similar
caselets you might have read in Bschool

24.

or organisations become all that

easier
Not many people are brought up in
an environment where they are
given the opportunity to have
imbibed various qualities like
enterprise, street smartness, man
management ...but in management
courses you expose candidates to
such subjects and you never know
that many of them might flourish
because they always had it in them

Corporates of today lack a conscience

FOR
You can talk about how many wall
street companies such as goldman
or meryll lynch or morgan Stanley
and many more had cased against
them for a laud of shady trading
Many people nowadays opt the
easy way out and more often not
the easy way out/easy path to
success will involve some kind of
bribery/bypassing of rules

Many cases of Shell and Exxon

Mobil being labelled as
unscrupulous...purely money
minded..meddle with the politics of
a certain area to get the best oil
fields..
There have been many cases of
corporations bypassing rules and
razing trees and displacing people

AGAINST
You can quote Daimler which has
made it a point to be totally clean in
its workings

Many are forced into killing their

conscience because when they deal
with govt officials esp in PPP or in
case of getting loan approvals or
getting clearances..the officials ask
for bribes to carry out their
duties..The action of bribery might
seem bad but you never know, the
guy who is bribing actually has a
conscience and is feeling rotten
from inside
Things have changed for the
better...sustainability is the top
agenda in many big firms..they
realise that the best way of working
is the honest way of working such
that all stakeholders benefit
Many things have been
incorporated in the Land Acquisition
Bill and we can expect much better

and not giving them the right

compensation
You can counter by saying that all
csr work is selfish.they want to win
brownie points

scenarios in the future

Much before CSR became
compulsory as per the Companies
Act, many corporations have been
involved in education, healthcare,
rural employment etc..

You can talk about how corporations

fund political campaigns
25.

Indias gold problem

FOR

26.

AGAINST

Size doesnt matter

Against
In sports like wrestling and boxing
they matter a lot and hence the
concepts of different weight
categories
They matter in economics too,
bigger companies can slash prices
and still survive, smaller companies
with limited liquidity cannot

For
The ant stuck in the trunk of an
elephant is the typical example

AAP overthrowing Congress in Delhi

however mostly the bigger the
party, the easier it is for it to
influence peoples views and
opinions Or talk about babasaheb
ambedkar..he single handedly
challenged the institution of
untouchability
Mobile companies like Karbonn,
micromax challenging bigger
companies like apple, nokia etc in
India

The bigger the army, the higher the

chances of winning wars. Having
said that there are also cases like
that of the Vietnam war where the
Americans suffered massive loses at
the hand of the Vietnamese
Big firms with big legal
In the wild, a pack of hyenas can kill
teams..hence efficient tackling of all a lion
lawsuits and licenses needed to
operate...ease of operations..NOT

the case for a smaller company

Smaller educational institutions
attracting a good pool of students
because of the quality of education
they provide..larger institutions run
the risk of becoming complacent

Sports where agility matters and

usually very bulky people do not
perform well..example athletics or
say high jump or long jump
Talk of people like alan border,
sachin, arvind kejriwal, hitler

27.

Extra taxation for the super rich

FOR
They have so much money...they
should pay more because they have
earned so much because of govt
support in terms of operating
license provided to the companies
they run etc..also the ppl
Funda of deterrent is all
nonsense..that way toh nobody
would pay taxes..many of these
multi crorepatis have got enough
money to be able to afford a little
bit of extra tax, but this amount
would help the govt coffers.
In the hope that yes our country has
matured and that they would pay
these higher taxes..its like they
have made so much money using
indias resources, now its time to
pay back your motherland

AGAINST
Bad precedent..soon they might
start taxing other people more too
and might start taxing big business
houses separately too

People lose motivation to work hard

and earn money

The super rich might start filing

wrong IT returns to show lesser
incomes..tax evasion is a big
possibility...hence the whole idea
loses its purpose
NRIs might not return to India,
firnagis wont come to India, some of
our investment might be hit..

28.

Junk food should be taxed more

FOR
Yes, they make so much money at
the cost of peoples health..so they
should be asked to pay more

AGAINST
Who decides what constitutes Junk
food...anything that is unhealthy
right? Many restaurants also serve
highly oily or heavy meat

May act as deterrent for further

expansion of such junk food chains

If taxation increased..then the junk

food chain ppl might have to jack
up their prices and that might act
as deterred for people and hence
they might indulge lesser in junk
food
People might start spending lesser
on such things and might end up
saving money for necessary things
like education or better nutrition or
health care

dishes..they are also not very

healthy...then what do you do?
Bad precedent, they are adding to
the wealth of your country..what
more do u want..here we talk about
no enough jobs or not enough GDP
growth..if taxes are increased..these
junk food chains might have to start
downsizing
We should then start asking liquor
companies, cigarette companies to
start paying more tax

We should start asking brokerage

firms to pay more taxes because of
the truck loads of money they make
by feeding off inside information
Instead of taxing them..why not
improve education in schools or
colleges and in communities stating
the ill effects of excess consumption
of sugar rich or fat rich foodstuffs

29.
Banking licenses for corporate
a. Its a good things..more competition in the market...better services
expected.
b. Another way of looking at it is by saying that already you have so
many banks..why add more? Too fragmented a market
c. Corporations are making enough money as it is..why allow them to
make even more money?
d. Do they have the necessary expertise to run banks? Mostly no, so
they would feed off exisiting manpower from other banks..might
lead to massive shifting of manpower from some banks to these
new entities..The existing banks might feel bad that their talent pool
is being directly utilised by these new entities.
e. Might bring in fresh ideas....also might result in more empathy
towards giving loans to industries..most they would realise better
how difficult it is to repay loans at times..
f. Flip side that they might start favouring companies with whom they
have close relations

30.
Liquor consumption in Bihar on the rise
a. Many liquor stores opened. Easier access for village folk
b. Food security..hence spending in liquor is up
c. Young ppl are not driven and waste money on liquor..siphon
money from welfare schemes to buy liquor
d. Women might suffer at the hands of drunkards
e. Social ramifications..ppl might be angry with the govt and might
not vote for them again
f. Excise duty collection in Bihar has gone up because more of the
alcohol business has come under the excise net
g. The cost of license to have a bar in a restaurant has gone up so
much..that new restaurants do not have bars and hence ppl flock
to vendors and end up spending and drinking more.
h. Not sustainable model of growth..earn ur revenues through
industries etc..not through taxes on alcohol

31.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

FDI
Surely good infra
Good supply chain
Less food wastage
Great money for big foreign companies
Most of their stuff sourced from abroad
Big bazaar, reliance fresh yet there are enough small
shopkeepers
g. Middlemen might go..but that means more money for big
companies
h. Possibility of stranglehold on market like Walmart
i. Big retail chains are less accessible than ur local shop
j. Local shopkeepers have personal relations with customers
k. Incase they feel the pinch of big retailers they can be more
competitive..weather the storm..suffer some losses and improve
l. Consumer benefits
m. Aldi, leading retail chain in Germany, opened small small stores
rather than one massive store which had everything to sell
because it did a market survey and found out most people want
something that is small, they can walk to and not drive to..seems
similar to Indian households..very few have the patience to go to
far off distances to do shopping in D-Marts or R-Malls etc.
n. IKEA invested in skill building from suppliers..we might se
something similar in India..so that is beneficial for small time
local Indians

32.
FDI in general can also lead to skill transfer, better technology
in everything we do, managerial concepts and entrepreneurial
concepts to India.

33.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

g.
h.
i.

j.
k.

Monorail
Comfortable travel
Good speeds, less travelling time
Less passenger capacity
Safe and fast
Too short a route for now, but longer routes will definitely make it
useful..so lets be patient
Also the wadala station is 2 km from main wadal
station..that is a problem..interconnectivity of normal nus
and rail routes with monorail routes/stations
Cheap enough tickets..makes it affordable
Congestion on the road below possible because road had to be
narrowed down..but overall it relieves congestion
It will help the development of all the areas it passes
thorugh..esp places where there are slums..those slums
might be razed and real estate developed..
Results in lesser vehicles on streets, hence lesser
pollution
Less decibel levels

34.
Metro
a. Definitely useful as it is in very congested stretches ..also
connecting areas which are not that well connected by local
trains
b. Decongesting roads below
c. Comfortable travel
d. Safe and fast way to travel
e. Ghatkopar to versova in 21-22 minutes..
f. Plans to join important places
g. Results in lesser vehicles on streets, hence lesser
pollution
h. you will end up paying a fare between Rs. 22 (minimum) and Rs. 33 (maximum) for
a ride on the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar stretch...which is more expensive than
other modes of transport

35.
Khobragade incident
a. Well from reports and the FIR filed by her maid, it seems
b. We were too harsh with our US diplomats, shutting down their bar
and spas in US embassy
c. We removed security barricades to the American embassy..
d. Our media hyped the situation
e. There are enough reports claiming that devyani might be at fault..ill
treating and under paying her maid
f. This is seen as a case of the Indian foreign service saving its own
skin rather than in any interest in national pride
g. This incident showed our hypocrisy
h. Where was the IFS anger after the Italian marines killed poor Indian fishermen? Where
was the IFS anger after several dozens of Indians were sent to jail abroad on trumped up
charges? Where was the IFS anger after Chinese troops entered the Indian soil? There
was a complete silence. The IFS lobby behaved like as if such incidents never happened.
i.

As per the US laws, what Devyani has allegedly committed is a serious crime. She is
accused ill treating her maid and not paying the stipulated salary.

j. Yes, the American authorities could have possibly not kept

her with drug addicts or strip searched her as she
claims..but the fact that she was treated very well post that
and allowed 2 hours of phone calls to make arrangements
for her childrens welfare and care also should not be
neglected
k. The US system takes things like human rights seriously, visa
fraud is a bad thing..things we Indians cannot fathom

Why should diplomats be afforded such unusually benign treatment? This question has been
asked and answered over the centuries. Diplomats, everyone has come to agree, are meant to be
emissaries of peace. A diplomats job is to either bring or maintain peace between two nations
and as such the people who carry out this special and important job should be afforded special
and important protection. (Remember, I said theoretically. While modern diplomats are still
tasked with maintaining peace, the Jeffersonian view of their craft has become much more
apparently correct over the years.) Also, being brokers of peace, diplomacy is often part of a lastditch attempt to avoid war between the diplomats home country and the host country the
diplomat is visiting. If those negotiations break down and war is not averted, the diplomats
require safe passage out of the host nation before hostilities begin.
Not only does personal inviolability call for the host nation to refrain from
killing or detaining an emissary who brings an unpopular proposal, it also
became a call upon host states to protect visiting diplomats from harm from
others, including their own people. You can still see this ancient custom still
observed today in the form of the NYPD providing escorts to dignitaries
visiting the U.N. and in the outcry over the death of the U.S. ambassador to
Libya, Christopher Stevens, during an attack on the American embassy in
Benghazi. The acting Libyan government, under the customs and norms of
diplomatic immunity, had an obligation to protect the American emissaries.

When a diplomat violates a law that is serious enough to warrant the host
countrys attention, those situations themselves often call for some
diplomacy. Under the rules of diplomatic immunity, a host country can
declare a visiting emissary persona non grata (an unwelcome person) and
demand the emissary be recalled. When defense contractor Raymond Davis
killed two would-be assassins in Lahore, Pakistan in 2011 he created an
international incident that strained the limits of the already shaky diplomacy
between the U.S. and Pakistan. Though not technically a diplomat, Davis had
entered Pakistan on a diplomatic passport which, under international law,
meant that Pakistan admitted him to their country with diplomatic immunity.
In the aftermath of the shooting, American diplomats brokered a deal to
maintain relations between the two countries. Davis was removed from
Pakistan, as would have been customary and necessary, but Pakistan also
secured the removal of other diplomats it suspected were engaged in spying
and other intelligence and defense activities in the nations borders.Pakistan
handed over a list of 331 Americans working in Pakistan with diplomatic
immunity who they wanted recalled to the U.S. The Pakistanis stopped just
short of declaring the emissaries personae non grata, which, after a declared
period of time they would be granted to leave the country and never return,
their diplomatic immunity would cease and they would be liable for
prosecution in the host country. The host country need not give a reason for

declaring an individual persona non grata and, although its a big deal when
they do, some host countries use the tactic as a means of expelling diplomats
who are publicly critical of the ruling regime.
Why immunity is important
There are several theories underpinning the notion of diplomatic immunity among them, the
now-outmoded idea that an ambassador represents the body of a foreign king; the notion that an
embassy is in fact foreign territory; the idea that such immunities are necessary for the smooth
conduct of foreign relations. Behind these theories lies one simple truth: if one nation punishes
diplomats for good reasons or bad, there is nothing to stop the other nation from doing the same.
For all practical purposes, diplomats would be at risk of becoming hostages.
Understanding this, nation-states have let diplomats literally get away with murder. In 1984,
Libyan embassy staffer Salah Ameri allegedly opened fire at protesters, killing British police
officer Yvonne Fletcher. Britain severed diplomatic relations, after which the accused embassy
staff member left the country.
In a thoughtful analysis published in 2000, legal scholar Dror Ben-Asher noted that the
occasional abuse of the diplomatic immunity rules is largely offset by the continuing need for
them. He added: The actual number and percentage of abuses affecting fundamental human
rights is relatively small, [and] therefore a complete wholesale rewriting of the rules or even a
too-radical reform, is undesirable.
Put simply, arresting a diplomat in violation of the Convention signals contempt for international
norms and with it, signals that one nation-state believes it can violate the rights it accords
another.
Long before modern diplomatic conventions began to evolve in 17th-century Europe, great
civilisations understood the importance of ensuring that diplomatic envoys were inviolate. The
ill-treatment of Raja Raja Cholas envoys sparked the Kandalur War in 994 CE. Genghis Khans
armies insisted on the inviolability of the lives of their ambassadors and razed entire cities to
defend the principle. The Mongolian conquest of the Khwarezmid empire in 1219 began after one
of Genghis Khans ambassadors was beheaded.
New Delhis more civilised expression of wrath, notably by denying U.S. diplomats unilateral
courtesies, is legitimate. There is plenty of reason to believe the State Departments casual
consideration of Dr. Khobragades privileges was grounded in an institutional unconcern for
Indian reactions. Earlier this month, New York authorities were prevented from arresting 49
Russian consular and diplomatic officials and their spouses, charged with embezzling millions. It
is probable that the near-certainty of Russian retaliation helped focus the State Departments
mind.
It is also important, though, that New Delhi upholds the Convention not subvert it. New
Delhis effort to shield Dr. Khobragade from prosecution by giving her full diplomatic immunity
is fundamentally misplaced; the Convention gives Dr. Khobragade no such immunity. It is also
important for the government to initiate a credible investigation into claims by Dr. Khobragades
domestic help that efforts were made to intimidate her family in India.

The larger challenge, though, is before the U.S.: it has the choice to do the right thing and admit
wrongdoing. To remain recalcitrant, as it has been, is to contribute to the slow unravelling of an
international convention that keeps its own diplomats safe, every single day.