What do you understand by Autonomous Weapons? Recently, prominent scientists and entrepreneurs have called for global ban on these weapons. Examine why. (200 Words)

Automatic weapons are robotic devices
capable of taking their own decision with less or no human interaction using
the technology Artificial Intelligence. As always science can be both Boon and
Bane depending upon the utilization.

Many say Automated robots can be disastrous when used in
battle field because:

1.
If one country produces these it leads to rate
race for weapons by all countries which is disastrous.

2.
Many times decision in battle field is taken on
humanitarian sense and since Robots are predefined so can’t
comply with world humanitarian law and military code of conduct.

3.
If these are into terrorist hands it can lead to
catastrophe.

4.
Moral to restrict war due to human loss will be
effected which can result in increase frequency and intensity
of armed conflict.

5.
Other like if Malfunctioning, if
fallen into evil minded, cannot differentiate civilian and terrorist etc.

There is also an optimism like:

1.
Can be used during Natural Disaster’s, emergency
,Maoist insurgency etc.

2.
During internal terrorist attacks and example if
was used in Punjab terrorist attack we could save many police and military
officer.

So at the end these must be banned to use for waging wars
but could use in controlled way for development of humanity.

What do you understand by ‘Compensatory Afforestation’ in the Indian context? The recently introduced Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015 (CAF Bill) has given rise to many apprehensions amongst environmentalists. Critically examine what these apprehensions are and comment on the other objectives of the Bill. (200 Words)

Compensatory afforestation means afforestation done in lieu of diversion of forest land for non forest use. For this money is collected from companies to whom forest land is diverted. Centre proposed CAF bill,2015 which has following objectives:

1. to provide an appropriate institutional mechanism, both at the Centre and in each State and Union Territory
2. to provide safety, security and, transparency in utilization of amounts realised in lieu of forest land diverted for non-forest purpose
3. ensure expeditious utilization of accumulated unspent amounts available with the ad hoc Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA)

But recent CAF Bill has many flaws which have been
highlighted by environmentalists as:

1. The bill promotes breaking of large forest land into smaller patches which disrupts landscape connectivity, affecting dispersal of animals, creates new edges that expose forest to exploitation and severe degradation. Therefore there is no consolidation of OGF (old growth forest) but fragmentation of them.
2. The species raised are non native to the areas where they are planted. This causes degradation of indigenous or native species. E.g KIOCL ( Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd.) planted trees in Bhadra river basin which has destroyed natural grassland over there
3. The compensatory afforestation has only increased tree cover as VDF(very dense forest) and MDF(moderately dense forest) has declined. This was highlighted by Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment & forest. This shall be taken into
account.
4. Bill also does not provide for natural restoration and regeneration of degraded forest

The need of the hour is to promote consolidation of OGF, restoring degraded ecology and using funds for non native plantations only in extreme case when forest is extremely degraded with no trace of native species

Ans2:
Compensatory afforestation means plantation of new trees to regenerate forest in an alternate patch of land when deforestation becomes imperative over a particular part of forest to meet the developmental needs. This concept was introduced by Forest conservation Act of 1980. Under it, the Net Present Value (NPV) of the forest land that is to be deforested is estimated over 20 years in
monetary terms and the amount is deposited in CAMPA before deforestation takes
place.

The Apprehensions surrounding the Compensatory Afforestation Bill, 2015 are:

a) Misutilisation by centre and state government due to corrupt practices in utilisation and cover-up exercise to meet the norms of CAMPA.

b) This will open door way for rapid deforestation. Planned afforestation are no substitute for natural vegetation loss.

c) Ancillary impacts like biodiversity loss, fragmentation effect, development of new edges that increases the forest loss, fringe effect etc can never be compensated.

d) NPV assess only 20 year impact that too with restricted knowledge of biodiversity loss. This is too conservative and over simplistic.

e) Forest management and restoration, which are the major problems afflicting forest are rarely addressed. Thus even dense forest are converting into open forest.

These apprehension are genuine. But balancing the development environment trade-off is equally challenging. CAF should stand to meet out and compensate those projects that have wide social impact. Simultaneously NPV value should be enhanced by detailing biodiversity loss in better manner. Also, maximum effort should be made to restrict development projects that are intrusive for forest, and should be allowed only as an exception.

Should India have its say in ongoing Pakistan – Afghanistan peace talks? What are the concerns of India regarding these talks? Critically examine. (200 Words)

In the wake of the recent incidents of terrorist attacks emanating directly or indirectly from across the western boundary of the country, the stakes for India in any afghan- pak negotiations have increased all the more.

Afghanistan since the British times has played a pivotal role in determining the stability of the INDIAN subcontinent. Since , the American invasion, the Taliban and its affiliates have shifted their base towards southern regions and Pakistan. This has increased implications for security and safety for both Pakistan and the INDIAN territory. Only till recently the swat valley was controlled by the Pakistani faction of Taliban. Still many military operations under the banner of ZARB-e-AZB are going on in pak.
Amid all these developments including the withdrawal of the American troops, any AFGHAN - PAK peace talk automatically becomes crucial from INDIAN strategic and security perspective. Few of these are

- cross border terrorism both on the western and the eastern front of Pakistan is
crucial for INDIA's developmental interests in Afghanistan and at home.
- a peaceful afghan- pak region would also serve as a strong signal towards
stabilising the whole of SAARC region including conflicts in Sri Lanka, and Nepal, important for INDIA's strategic concerns.
- the various ethnic and intrinsic conflicts in Maoist and N.eastern region will also be under control, as they derive their inspiration from other conflicts across the border.

Thus, definitely, it's in the larger interest of India to be able to influence the outcomes of these AF-pak talks through diplomatic initiatives. But it should be wary of any actions and statements that may be seen as interventionist and unduly ignite apprehensions about India intentions.

Despite mandated by legislation, it is found that private companies are spending less on ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ activities in India. Critically analyse why. (200 Words)

The CSR law mandates an expenditure of 2% of net profits by the corporates. However, recent estimates have shown that corporates spent only 30-40% of the amount that was expected to flow in. A deep analysis of the law and the way corporates handle social responsibility could bring out several reasons:
a. Disinterest among the corporates: Many corporates see this as a burden on their manpower and time in a global scenario with tough competition.
b. Nature of the law: More than a dozen amendments in the law since its enactment has hampered its effective implementation. Some anomalies in tax treatment still remain in the law.
c. CSR in monetary value: Companies have been encouraging its employees towards social work which cannot be measured on a monetary scale. Attaching monetary terms would mean companies to reorient their policies to satisfy the monetary norms of the law.
d. Scope of the law: The law mentions activities ranging from eradication of hunger, poverty etc which account to social spending. However, companies spend substantial amounts on employee welfare programs like school and hospital which has not been accounted for.
e. Mandated organisation structure: The law mandates CSR committee which may not be in line with the existing structure in many organisations.

Thus, there still exists a gap between the law and the aspirations of the company towards CSR which needs to be sorted out for its effective implementation. More flexibility in the law could bring more corporates with the ambit of this law and fulfil the purpose of this law.




Ans2:

Ans: CSR spending, even after an year, is subdued meeting only 30%-40% of the 2% target. Primary reasons for it:

a) Ambiguity in activity list: Frequent amendments and addition in CSR makes it difficult for them to pick any particular activity.

b) Ambiguity in taxation: While CSR spends do not qualify for tax deduction, Income tax act provides exemptions on Allowable Business Expenditure(ABE). It open doors for litigation to decide whether an expenditure falls under CSR or ABE as private sector is motivated to put expenditure under ABE and avoid tax.

c) Board requirement and tax exemptions: CSR law mandatorily calls for routing CSR through a trust. Tax exemptions vary across the trust. For e.g. PM relief fund gets 100% exemptions while other gets less. Thus corporate are in dilemma whether to route their CSR through PMRF and save tax or to carry forward their own vision of social activity.

d) Independent CSR Board: The requirement to establish independent board to monitor CSR not only creates an extra burden but also creates a new conflict between CEO and board.

Ambiguity in list seems more of an excuse as the list is continuously expanded, interpreted more generously and none of the listed items were removed. Ambiguity in tax laws is a valid concern that should be streamlined. But corporate can use “Advance ruling” provided in Income Tax law to reduce litigation concerns. Trust, along the platform, should have equal exemptions so that the purpose of CSR is not defeated by cheque payments to PMRF. Board supervision is necessary considering the corporate record and the pressure on CEO to maximise profit. Hence government need to fill the gap while corporate sector should look at CSR from the long term perspective and in their own enlightened self interest.

IUCN Red List or Red Data List: Criteria for Consideration: CR, ER, VU

Critically discuss the voting behaviour of women voters during elections in India and the significance of this behaviour. (200 Words)

Ans: Women that constitute nearly half of the voters have shown distinct voting behaviour which is remarkably different from the conventional understanding. Their voting behaviour can be analysed along following parameters:

a) Voting Percentage: Women polling percentage have drastically improved and now stands at par with male comparators. At certain polling stations they have even outnumbered the male voting percentage.

b) Voting behaviour: Women considerations are distinct from men. Policies that impact the atmosphere at home, work place and society at large like alcohol ban, gambling ban, women protection laws and laws against sexual harassment are welcomed and women vote in favour of those parties.

c) Social engineering: Cast, class and religion used readily in Indian election rarely found favour among women.

d) Political change: As compared to men who generally aim for status co by opting same political party, women are more sensitive and react often changing the ruling party.

SIGNIFICANCE

Women voting behaviour proves that women act as an agent of change. They welcome those laws and policies that have positive social impact and reject those parties have are immune to social problems. Hence forth political parties have to realise women as a potent voters whose response is based more on merit rather than trivial issues and thus have the capacity to change political fortunes. This augurs well for the future of women, political parties and the entire nation.

Critically examine if India’s space research and exploration should aim at making profits or should it remain frugal? (200 Words)

The Indian Space Research and Exploration is a booming Industry which should have huge investments for becoming a key player in India's growth. Fats supporting it are--

--India's successful Mission on Mars, which reached the Red Planet in it's maiden attempt in a cost less than the production cost of Hollywood Movie 'Gravity'.

--The failure of Space Missions are rarely reported by India unlike Western countries which often report accidents.

--The Indian talent in the Space technology will be retained by investing further in this field significantly reducing the 'Brain Drain' of India.

--The developments in Space Technology will help India in not just National Security, but in reducing the dependence on Foreign Technologies like 'GPS' and will also help in exploring Ocean Wealth & protecting Biodiversity.

--It will help India exercise it's soft diplomacy for developing nations and secure it's dominant position among SAARC countries.

--It will also help India earning Foreign Exchange in high quantities, by the export of technology resulting in the reduction of Inflation and Fiscal deficit.

However, Making high investments may also result in reduction of expenses on the Social Schemes where the govt. has already reduced it's expenditure as can be seen in the Budget Allocation for ICDS etc.

-----The recent success therefore supports the scope of investment but it should be prudent keeping Indian poverty in mind else the eyes on the sky would end up ignoring the ground where the feet are placed.

Analyse the major areas of cooperation between India and Central Asian countries. Also examine if India is well placed to compete with Russia and China in the region to play an important role in security matters in the region. (200 Words)

India and the Central Asian region have historical links. While the relationship in contemporary times have been weak, there is a renewed thrust on co-operation between India and the Central Asian Region (CAR) countries. The major areas of co-operation are -

1. Energy - Energy is the most important area of co-operation. The CAR countries have an abundance of energy resources. India has been in negotiations for more than a decade now to ensure access to gas reserves of Turkmenistan through the TAPI pipeline.

2. Security - India and the CAR countries have a shared interest in the stability of Afganistan and counter-terror initiatives.

3. Trade - The trade between India and CAR is roughly $1 billion compared to $ 50 Billion of China. Hence, there is a huge potential for increasing the trade relationship between the two countries.

Due to reasons of geography, India is at a disadvantage compared to Russia and China to play a significant role in security matters in the region. However, it has a few advantages -

1. The CAR countries do not like the excessive Russian influence and are also wary of increasing Chinese economic dominance. In such a situation, an assertive India can play the role of a balancer.

2. India already has an overseas air base at Farkhor in Tajikistan. This would help India co-operate in security issues.

3. India has been focusing on ensuring operationalisation of the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) through Chabahar port in Iran to improve access to Central Asia.

Economically, militarily as well as geographically, India is at a disadvantage compared to Russia and China. However, India's strong democratic tradition and a tradition of respect for other countries along with converging interests with the Central Asian Republics might give it an edge.

Write a note on some of the successful e-governance models in India that have improved the efficiency and speed of service delivery to the citizens. (200 Words)

The National e- governance
Plan of the Govt of India was approved in 2006. Some of the successful e-
governance models in India are:

1. Unique
Identification Number (UID)- It provides for e- AADHAR and helps in identification
of an individual and delivery of services to the people. Eg: LPG subsidy,
health services

2. IRCTC- the e-
ticketing initiative has led to reduction in queues, more transparency,
decreased black marketing of railway tickets and also boosts tourism.

3. MCA 21- a project
of Ministry of Corporate Affairs which helps in online filing of documents,
registration of companies and public access to corporate information.

4. Income tax
filing, payments and returns can be availed online. This makes a cumbersome
process easier and faster.

5. National e-
health portal- it enables citizens to book appointments in any hospital across the
country. It also gives priority to emergency cases.

6. Direct Benefit of
Transfer for LPG (DBTL)- it is a landmark scheme for reduction of subsidy
leakages by linking the bank account to the AADHAR. The application for
availing the subsidy and the complaints pertaining to it can be filed online.

7. Passport Seva-
Getting fresh passports and reissuance is now easier. Also the online police verification
of details will start soon.

The
above models have helped in providing services at the doorstep, increasing transparency
and efficiency in the system and reducing cost to citizens.

Do you think Indian universities, from colonial to present times, have been treated as means to meet some of the state projects? Critically comment. (200 Words)

The patronisation of rulers had been instrumental to decide the fate of a university since ancient times.The colonial rulers followed the same to control the universities ,the education imparted in them as can be seen from the 'downward filtration theory' and Indian Universities act 1904 by them. The same is continuing in the present times whereby universities' autonomy is severely getting constrained.

The appointment of the 'loyals' of the executive through corrupt means,changing of curriculam so as to suit their ideology provides enough fuel for the suspicion. Further the boards of the universities are not autonomous and face severe constraints both academically and financially.This has reduced them to mere institutes of 'degree providers' rather than bieng institutes of higher learning and research.

Interference of states in universities to meet the state projects can also be helpful to many.For it may help if the state provide funds specially for a research project in a specific area beneficial to society at large ex-agriculture. Because citizens are ultimately state's means to achieve its projects so in a way it is justified to use their education as a means to achieve their ends. But state intervention in regulating their innovation,curtailing their autonomy is not good in large interests of the state.

Ans2:

It was the University act 1904 that appears as one of the major instance of governmental actions attempting to pursue state interests of colonialism. It was thought that after independence such colonial perspective led govt control shall obviously be abandoned and it happened, Yet the present instances of poltical nature of appointments, bureaucratisation, all points to inevitable features of state control.

Recent politiical controversy erupting around appointments in Nalanda university, idea of Credit Based System so as to provide homogenous standardised education to students, recent legislative proposal of curbing autonomy of IIMs, all have been assosiated somehow with objectives of articulating state objectives through educational framework.
Although certain governmental regulations are imperative to prevent corruption, promote equitable educational system,ensure education's complementation with national progress, yet excessive state control shall deter innovation, dissent. creativity ,professionalism,meritocracy and efficiency.

Thus,providing rich base of creative minds that complement efforts towards national properity is essential. and for this, unhealthy process of disseminating political ideologies at instituional level has to be abstained with.

Critically examine the role of NGOs at the grassroot levels and comment if recent crackdown on several NGOs by the government is justified? (200 Words)

Ans: NGO are pressure group that play a pivotal role in modern democratic politics. Their role has raised voices, both in their support and opposition, creating a fitting case for their contemplation.

POSITIVE ROLE

NGO is the fourth organ of state that steps in to mitigate the governance deficit. It plays a pivotal role in deepening of democracy by encouraging participation of hitherto excluded masses. By creating awareness about the political programs it mobilises masses and protect public policy from becoming a perverse of elite. RTI, RTE, Electoral reforms instituted at the behest of NGOs corroborates its criticality in Indian democracy.

NEGATIVE ROLE

After the Intelligence Bureau report that criticised them as threat to internal security, stalling developmental work and pulling down GDP by 2 to 3%; NGO has faced the wrath of government. They are labelled as stooge of foreign countries, propagating their agenda. Their account are sealed for the violation of FCRA. NGO role in GM crops, Nuclear energy and petroleum refining in North East has been largely obstructionist.

This crackdown on NGOs need to be analysed on case to case basis rather viewing it in toto. While FCRA violation can be tolerated as it can have serious implications on internal security of nation and outright ban or covert obstruction by government should be discouraged. Rather, government should look then as partners in development of nation and monitoring should be rule based and should not be to settle political vendetta.

Critically discuss the role of Panchayat Raj institutions in the empowerment of women. (200 Words)

Ans: Panchayati raj institutions are a watershed in India’s democratic history as they not only percolated democratic decentralisation to the grassroot level but also made a giant leap in women empowerment by granting them 33% reservation. This decentralisation model has its own blend of realism and tokenism.

REAL ACHIEVEMENTS

By granting 33% reservation Panchayati raj institutions restored its faith in women leadership. This sent a strong signal to the patriarchal society to correct its stereotypes associated with females. It also provided an opportunity to hitherto deprived low caste women. Its spiral affect boosted women confidence in their abilities and encouraged them to too seek a meaningful role in society. Thus the Model of democratic decentralisation was well conceived.

TOKENISM

While women got political representation, the real power was usurped by their husbands, ”The Sarpanch Pati” depriving them of any meaningful gains. Caste and gender based discrimination are still prevalent and despite earning a political position women are denied their due respect. Widespread literacy and ignorance further inhibit their capacity to perform.

Panchayati Raj model should move ahead of its stated objective by proactively realising it on field failures. Capacity enhancement training, legal protection to curb any form of discrimination as well as changing patriarchal mindset by gender sensitive education are need of hour to make panchayati raj model a true success.

Why, in your opinion, the growth of Middle Class is considered as favourable development for a society? Critically examine how liberal economic policies and globalisation have impacted middle class in India. (200 Words)

The middle class is a group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the class of people who are poor and the upper class. Their growth is considered favourable due to the following reasons:
-> It shows the society is indeed progressing; more poor people are coming out of their poverty.
-> They are relatively more satisfied with their social condition and their future than the poor in society. Therefore, they contribute to social stability.
-> They are more likely to favour forms of parliamentary democracy, the rule of law and freedom of speech and expression, making it a force for political fairness and stability.
-> If their numbers become substantial, then they can become consumers of goods and services and therefore, drivers of future growth.

The liberal economic policies and globalisation post 1991 have opened up opportunities, as well as challenges to the Indian middle class.
-> Relatively easier to get quality education in India and abroad.
-> Wealth of choices in goods and services – automobiles, deodorants, mobile, etc.
-> Expansion of private sector jobs (e.g. IT-related); growth of BPOs, expansion of tourism industry, which in turn increases the service-sector related jobs.

The challenges to the Indian middle class in the wake of LPG of 1990s:
-> Susceptible to global financial incidents, the repercussions are felt by Indian employees. For e.g. the shutdown of Nokia factory in the outskirts of Chennai.
-> The influence of radicalism is a threat to the Indian society, e.g. the ISIS influenced youths.

Critically comment on the causes of farmer suicides in India. (200 Words)

With about of our population employed in Agriculture and allied activities, increasing number of farmer suicides paint a grim picture regarding the income equality in the country. Around 1500 farmer suicides occur per year and forms around 11% of all suicides. Worse is suppressing the real causes of such suicides by politicization of the issue. The mains causes are:

> Small holdings: High initial investments for better productivity, low access to credit, lack of micro-irrigation facilities and poor storage facilities make small holdings unviable.

> Indebtness: Loans pending to private moneylenders makes the farmer fall into debt traps.

> Dependence on cash crops: Increased during green revolution, it continues to persist and exposes farmers to the vagarities of the market.

Way forward:
> Increased access to low-interest credit through financial inclusion schemes such as Jan Dhan Yojna.

> States must enact acts against private money lenders, and the Governor must protect the scheduled areas from them.

> Effective irrigation facilities (like drip irrigation) and organic farming maybe introduced for better yields.

> Land pooling, cooperative farming and contract farming can also be helpful against small holdings' flaws.

> Land Acquisition law must provide enough compensation as well as social impact assessment while displacing the farmers. 'Make in India' scheme can be a viable initiative to absorb displaced farmers as labourers.

Hence, instead of politicizing the issue, providing farmers their basic right to live with dignity is imperative to protect the basis of Indian employment force.

Analyse the objectives and causes behind the origins of the Bretton Woods institutions and India’s role in it. (200 Words)

United nations monetary and financial conference which took place in Brettenwoods, New hampshire in US attended by delegates from 44 nations created the institution of Brettenwoods to lay down a new financial order

Few of the major reasons that were thought of to be addressed by these insitutions are

Post Gold Standard - gold standard for international monetary affairs has been done away with after the world war 1. Now there is a vaccum which is hampering the cooperation between nations. A new world order is required to fill this gap

Great Depression - This phenomenon of 1920's and 30's had laid great stress on the financial stability of the nations. The institutions were created to foster integration among world economies and reduce the shocks from depressions

Post war reconstruction - World war 2 created enormous losses for Europe, the new insitutions are set to mitigate these losses through transfer of financial resources for reconstruction of European nations

Two institutions took birth i.e. IMF and IBRD (World Bank) with different mandates of monetary stability and reconstruction

India participated in the conference as a British colony which was unique among all the other nations present over there. Here it needs to be understood that Indian foreign policy was mainly guided by the British and because of the lack of any financial order at that point of time and India's willingness to it's own economic development had made Indian delegates to support the new financial order.

It is argued that the release of revised draft of the Indian Financial Code (IFC) by the ministry of Finance will undermine the autonomy of RBI. Do you agree? Substantiate. (200 Words)

The FSLRC through it's IFC has recommended the formation of a MPC to decide on the policy rates. Commission recommended for 7 members to be part of this committee out of whom government has 3 nominees and the commission gave veto power to the governor. These two aspects denote the importance attached by the commission to RBI's autonomy in delivering it's functions

The revised draft IFC by Government has changed the provisions for MPC, there by bringing it under the control of government by making 4 members to be nominated by government to MPC and also doing away with the Veto power of the RBI governor

There are differences between government and RBI, each of them taking a different stand on setting monetary policies as the pressures acting on them would be different.
In case of government there will be numerous pressures on the government like from industry bodies, corporates for easing the monetary policies on the other hand RBI will strictly go by pure financial considerations and will also be very cautious in it's approach

More over the government may also succumb to the populist pressure and the coalition politics, which may be more harmful to the financial health of Indian economy. RBI being an autonomous body doesn't have to be part of these political pressures and can adapt the best suited policies

Any efforts to curtail the autonomy of RBI should be viewed with caution and such efforts on part of the government needs reconsideration

“Indian workers send home the world’s highest amount of remittance income, but there is no migration policy to protect them at any stage of their journey abroad and back.” Examine. (200 Words)

India is leading country in remittances got 70 billion $ in 2014 and hoping to becoming largest migrant sending country in near future. But India does not have any concrete migrant policy to promote and protect its migrants as they are facing
several problems from leaving India to resettlement again.

Hurdles in getting Passport:-
1) Complexity in procedure as issuance of passport, emigration clearance and departure are under different authorities.
2) Lack of recruiting agencies.
3) Cost of migration is very high making it unviable for many migrants.
4) Nexus between officials and recruiting agencies making it a corrupt procedure.

Challenges in new destination:-
1) Indian embassies have few labor attaches to deal with various migrant related problems ranging from bringing dead bodies of undocumented migrants to visiting them in jails.
2) Few labor officers are inadequate for both migrants and embassies to sort out problems.
3) There is lack of concrete data about migrants may creates problems during emergency operations.

Lack of rehabilitation policy for returning migrants:-
1) Lack of proper resettlement options for labors returned making their skills unused. As rehabilitation of these labors can boost manufacturing industries.

India should formulate and execute a proper migrant policy to tap the unlimited
potential of migrant Indians who are boosting our economy with remittances
despite all these hurdles.

Critically examine how the climate change and melting ice in the Arctic region is affecting the predatory and dietary habits of the polar bear. (200 Words)

Climate change and global warming are having various effects on both biotic and a biotic constituents of our environment.Melting ice in Arctic (as per an estimate,as much as 14% since 1979) have impacted the predatory and dietary habits of Polar beer due to following reasons -

Predatory -
1. Reduced ice cover has shortened the spring season (primarily used by polar beers for hunting).
2.Increasing time duration for polar beers being without prey on land.It has forced them to even attack humans due to hunger.

3.Polar bears are now shifting their dietary habits by feeding on
animals like beluga whale,bowhead whale,narwhal,thus destroying the
genetic diversity of these regions,creating an imbalance in food-chain.
Dietary -

1.Polar beers are forced to wander to terrestrial areas in search of berries, birds’ eggs or plants.
2They have even been forced to feed on carcasses due to lack of availability of main prey (seals in ice),an unusual scenario.
The restricted availability of seals has caused nutritional problems and infant mortality among bears. Their reproducing capacity has been affected as well.

Melting ice peaks have also exposed the arctic further for possible resource extraction,global transportation (sea-lanes) links and to an extent to tourism enthusiast.This has further created pressure on natural habitats of polar beers.

Thus,an urgent and coherent global action is required for reduction of GHG emission to stop further loss/change of habitat of these arctic species.A well -coordinated action plan ,if arrived at the upcoming Paris meet under UNFCC umbrella,shall be a shot in arm towards those efforts.

A recent survey conducted by the Women and Child Development Ministry and UNICEF in 28 States and Delhi presents a dismal picture of crucial maternal and child health indicators. Critically examine the finding sof the report and comment on them. (200 Words)

The recently concluded Rapid Survey on Children (RSOC) conducted by Women
and Child Development Ministry and UNICEF paints a mixed picture. It covered
various parameters related to women and children like age at marriage, school/college
attendance, maternal care, early childhood care, access to drinking water,
toilet facilities, and awareness and utilization of six Integrated Child
Development Services (ICDS).

Women related -

1. Nearly 53% girls (15- 18 yrs) have low BMI -This indicates not only the poor
status of girl children but shall also lead to under-development of children
they will bear in future.

2.High prevalence of marriage below the age of 18- This results in poor
educational,psychological and physical development ( before the child bearing
age) of women.

3.Low ratio of the pregnant and lactating women availing supplementary
nutritional at ICDS- It leads to nutritional deficiency ,thus retarded
development of their young children

Child related -

1. Less penetration (65.2%) of immunization - It results in health issues
arising out of communicable but preventable diseases,leading to productivity
loss and health burden on families.

2.High rate of stunting (38.1%) and underweight (29.5%) with worse figures for
weaker sections (SCs,STs and OBCs) - Lack of balanced diet leads to this
situation.These children are bound to be less productive and more -prone to
various diseases.

3.Low access ( 54%) to nutritional food at ICDS- Point to less than effective
implementation of ICDS.Leads to below par development of children.

Besides,lack of facilities at ICDS ( on one or the other account),high rate (
44%) of open defecation,lack of breast-feeding of children in various age group
etc are other issues reported.

Having said that, rates of registration for pregnancy (84 per cent) ,antenatal
check-up and access to drinking water were reasonably high .At the same time,there
was high awareness among anganwadi workers about various maternal and
nutritional needs of women.Besides,high performing states ( economically) like
Gujarat and Delhi were found to lagging behind on most of these params than
those which are not so economically better off.

Thus, it clearly shows that effective social, economic ,administrative and
legislative actions needed to improve the situation. Improving overall status
of women can be the starting point as it will have multiplier effect on other
areas.

“The issue of manual scavenging should not only be addressed as a social issue but also as an environmental issue.” Critically discuss. (200 Words)

Manual scavenging is one of the most filthiest job that goes against the humanity. In India, this work is done by the people those are termed under the untouchability category. As time progress, India progress to get rid of the need of manual scavenging by introducing new bill in 2012 i.e prohibition of Manual Scavenging and rehabilitation bill which widen the term of dry pits to sceptic tanks and railway tracks.

Its gives rise to various social issues like sense of untouchability, poverty as it is one of the lowest earning jobs, health issue like respiratory disease and cardiovascular diseases. These are the visible issues which can be taken care but the effect on environment is hitherto in it. No of environment issue occurs due to the excreta generated by human being are below :
1. Contamination of soil and ground water by the process of leaching of the soil. Studies shows that People those are using well water that is near to dry pit are more prone to diseases.
2. Give rise to insanitary environment which leads to disease.
3. Contaminated water goes to rivers that poses danger to aquatic habitants. Overall death of primary consumer leads to unbalanced food pyramid.

India is thriving to pose more stringent punishment by introducing new bills and by amending the old one, but the lack of vision by no of state actor give rise to such inhuman condition like creating more dry latrines, open pit holes near religious place for pilgrims. Need of hour is to introduce a bioculture everywhere that should give a better life to everyone.

Do you think caste, class and religion have influence on the food habits of people in India? Critically analyse. (200 Words)

India is known for its Caste system and religious diversity. Class is a universal
phenomena which results form differential economic growth.All three effect food
habits of people in following ways:

Caste:
-Brahmans generally avoid meat and other non-vegetarian food.Regional exceptions are there,like in West Bengal where fish consumption is almost common.
-Higher classes have more share of nutritious food,no of vegeatbles are more.
-lower castes(SCs and STs) are more likely to consume coarse grains like Bajra,jowar,Ragi,Maize and low grade pulses depending on local availability

Class:
-Rich kids have abundance of option.Consumption of fast foods is more predominant compared to low class people.
-Middle class has mixed food habits,no scarcity of food here
-Lower class has to compromise sometimes with low grade food items

Religion:
-Jains are vegetarians
-majority of Muslims are non-vegetarians
-Hindus have mixed food habits and here again class and caste division decides ultimate food choice.

Thus all three together with regional availability of foods and cultural norms of the surroundings ulitmatetly decide the final food
in the plate.

InsightsOnIndia.Com The Hindu News Analysis: 16 July 2015

What does transparency in public administration means to you? What kind of ethical dilemmas you would face when you want to practice absolute transparency in administration? Discus. (200 Words)

Transparency means openness and compliance to rule which should be verifiable,visible and according to the norms. Accountability and transparency:these two virtues hold particular importance to public servant in terms of delivering judicial and efficient service.This makes public administration deontologically compatible to one's sense of duty.

A public servant has to manage lots of expectations and demands during his service.The corridors of bureaucracy is grappled with many lacuanes and system inertia which will need a strong willpower and courage if one wants to follow complete transparency in all the actions one undertakes.

Following dilemmas can be encountered:

1.Rigid administration: Full transparency means full compliance and revelation to law.Sometimes bending of law is needed for the greater good.Too rigidity rules out any such consideration.For e.g. One shouldn't wait for FIR registration in case there is a medical emergency or should not wait for orders to take a concrete action if there is an earthquake,flood or any emergent situation.

2.Wrath of politicians,seniors,peers and subordinates: Because not everyone wants full transparency.

3.Threat to personal life:Full transparency irks some of the goons and they will resort to vendetta and threat to one's own life and of his family members.This puts one in a moral dilemma what to choose:Professional integrity on personal life.

Thus road to full transparency is filled with many thorns and will need system reform,cultural reform and policy reform for its fearless application.

Write a critical note on the objectives, significance and performance of Soil Health Cards (SHC) programme. (200 Words)

India Government recently launched Soil Health Card(SHC) scheme which would be providing to the farmers the assessment report of soil health and its needs based on scientific lab tests.

The objectives of this scheme are-

1.To disburse 14 crore SHCs within 3 years.
2.To provide crucial information regarding soil’s depleting health and nutrient composition.
3 To provide information regarding corrective measures to be taken.
4.Overall to increase agricultural production,boost farmers income.

The significance of scheme are multiple-

1.assist farmer in supplying needed micr-,macro-,and secondary nutrients to the soil through proper fertilizer mix up which at present is dominated by urea.

2.will provide information based on different crops thus helping farmer select most appropriate crop pattern hence reducing risk of low productivity or crop failure.

3.will lead to diverse crop pattern which at present circles around wheat & rice and thus better production of diverse agricultural products hence effect on food inflation and economy as a whole.

4.this scheme on combination with others like krishi sinchayi yojna,easy loans to farmers,better monsoon forecast could help the agriculture sector perform better.

However its significance depends on its steady and effective implementation which at present looks sluggish as many states have not even started taking soil samples for test like Arunanchal Pradesh,sikkim while some has taken sample but slow in distributing the SHCs like Tamilnadu.Hence scheme needs boost in efforts.

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Should India open diplomatic channels to talk to Afghan Talibans and try to bring peace to the region? Critically comment. (200 Words)

Terrorism is a growing concern for all including india. In such case, different factors opens the door of India to involve in the discussion with Afghan Talibans---

Role of international peace
=====================
Keeping view of peace as ultimate agenda, there is a necessity to involve in talk process with Taliban .

Security threat
=============
Terrorism with its different branches spreads far and wide to every nook and corner of the world. The close proximity of india to be fallen under terrorism due to its various socio religious factors might involve india in this talk process.

Communication and diplomacy
==========================
The growing involvement of India in TAPI pipeline, increasing concern regarding China-Pakistan economic corridor, rising hostility regarding Chabahor port encircles Afghanistsn where Taliban exist. A perpetual peace in this region might usher in a new era of diplomacy as well as development to India.

Counterforce
===========
To counter the force of china and pakistan who might use various state and non state factors against india; a necessity is seen for india to involve in the talk process.

Strategic void
============
Keeping view of contribution of India to build social and economic capital in Afghanistan as well as to
fill the strategic void in front of withdrawal of US security force, india can fill this void by active participation in talk process.

But concern arises due to different causes in this course--

1/Taliban is not directly involved with india till now.

2/Establishment of sharia state as proposed by Taliban is not anyhow supported by soul and deeds of indian policy.

3/The recent vote of china in UN against the declaration of taliban leader as international terrorist brings difficulty in the process.

4/In case of any fraction of Taliban in the process of discussion , india might be the target of unfavourable taliban branch.Afghanistan bears immense value to india at current scenario as a linking domain to middle east and thereby west. In such scenario, for a perpetual peace and stability in this region, opening diplomatic channels to afghan taliban will work for india.

“Excessive and prolonged reservations (affirmative action) have had unintended and possibly net negative consequences.” In the light of the statement, critically comment if it’s time for India to stop prolonging affirmative actions.

Reservations for SCs/STs in employment and educational institutions was originally intended for 10 years till 1960. Its extension time and again warrants the question if it is time to stop reservations for SCs/STs and OBCs (added later).

Reservations have helped these communities enter the mainstream to some extent through government employment and educational institutions.

However,
1. Extreme competition has reduced the space for well qualified upper castes leading to Brain Drain.
2. Performance standards in various jobs in the country are not up to the mark because of admission of much less qualified SC/ST as seen in various examinations like IIT JEE.
3. Overall, this results in inefficient allocation of resources since it is not exactly aligned with merit system.
4. Further, vote bank politics has grown steadily with reservation used as a tool to garner votes.

But, still we see that caste discrimination is prevalent in rural India as NGO reports show. Census data shows that SCs and especially STs lag in all major indicators including literacy, IMR, MMR etc. In fact, reports show that some well-off communities in SC/ST/OBC have benefited rather than the ones who needed reservation most. For eg:- Income criteria for creamy layer in
OBC is too high.

Therefore, rather than stopping it altogether, it is time to form a Committee, introspect on the methodology of granting affirmation and refining it to give it to the communities who need it most.

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Do you think special development packages periodically announced by the union government for the states are antagonistic to the principle of cooperative federalism? Critically examine. (200 Words)

Special Development packages in-priciple are meant to assist the developmental efforts for certain states which owing to different compulsions,leading to resouce shortage, needing them thus propagating cooperative federalism where central geovernment assist state governments efforts.However it is often alleged that in-practice these are announced based on political mileage.

The developmental package are meant for resource assistance to States like-
1.J&K,North-Eastern states facing insurgency problems.
2.Bihar,UP which have large population even lacking the basic amenties.
3.States facing naxalism like Chattisgarh..
4.States facing natural calamities like floods,drought,earthquake etc.

However more often it is observed that they are sanctioned on the basis of political considerations like-coalition politics,to garner support in Rajya Sabha,demands from opposition party led states are often rejected.This dents the priciple as-
1.leads to distort allocation mechanism of limited resources.
2.states making their support conditional on crucial issues like Land Boundary agreement.
3.public funds used to further ruling-party’s interest.
4.leading backwardness in already backward and needy states.

Hence priciple of cooperative federaism is violated.But this doesn’t means that such grants be stopped.Instead a mechanism in place is needed to judge the state’s demand on the basis of merit.Inter-state council and Finance commission are rather better choice than finance ministry in this respect to keep up the spirit of these special packages alive.

It is a paradox that malnutrition in India continues to exist in large proportion despite robust economic growth. Critically examine why fight against malnutrition has become a challenge in contemporary India. (200 Words)

India suffers from high levels of malnutrition. The reasons for its persistence are social,religious, economic and political. Economic growth has not been able to resolve the issue because of lack of a holistic approach to the issue.

The reasons for persistence of malnutrition are :

1) Son preference - Parents spend their meagre resources unequally between children. Spending more on boy child, ignoring the girl.
2) Lack of awareness about nutritional requirements and their sources.
3) Economic growth has been unequal, with 75% rural still earning below 5000. Hence meagre resources coupled by large families has exacerbated malnutrition.
4) PDS focussed on rice and wheat. They are insufficient for complete nutrition.
5) Bio fortified crops or fortified foods are unaffordable to the large poor.
6) Anganwadis suffer from chronic under funding, poor implementation and low awareness.
7) Religious imperative to embrace vegetarianism, not eat beef or pork is another issue.
8) Poor sanitation, open defection, unhygienic surroundings exacerbate malnutrition.

Such diverse challenges make fight against malnutrition a major challenge. Hence, a holistic, comprehensive approach with due emphasis on implementation and community participation is the way forward.

Critically analyse the issue of imposition of Inner Line Permit system in India’s northeastern states and the dilemma this system has posed to the Indian government. (200 Words)

ILP system is a system in which entry permit is needed to visit some of the North-Eastern states of India ( eg. Arunachal Pradesh). It has been in force so as to protect the cultural traditions of the local populace as well as their demography. Recently there have been demands in NE states (Mizoram, Manipur etc.) to enforce ILP in their states due to the following factors :

1. Acquisition of ancestral land given to outsiders and industry houses.
2. Their cultural practices have been exploited and many business houses have made huge profits from them.
3. Due to the influx of people from outside states, their demography has been affected and in many places, majority ethnic communities have been reduced to minority.
4. There have also been problems of crime, trafficking, terrorism, congestion, unemployment and pollution of the environment due to the industrial activities of outside people setting up their businesses there.

This situation has posed a dilemma to the Govt. as to whether ILP be enforced or not. IF enforced, then it violates a person's fundamental right to freedom of movement guaranteed under art 19. Also Requirement of ILP makes a citizen of a country a quasi-foreigner in the country's own state and hence creates a divide among the people and goes against the principle of "unity in diversity".

Therefore, the govt needs to tread a middle path and should ensure that ILP is enforced but with conditions to protect the interests of the native people of the state. This can be done by ensuring :

1. Proper screening of people before letting them enter a state. This will help in tackling problems of crime and unrest.
2. Creating more employment and educational opportunities for native state's citizens in other states as well. This can be done under the govt's mission of "Make in India" and "Skill India".
3. Strict monitoring of the activities to see that the native traditions are not copied and exploited for selfish interests.
4. In order to keep the ecology of the region intact, it is necessary that only clean and sustainable development take place

“People-to-people ties between India and the U.S. have been more robust than state-state relations.” Discuss the causes and consequences of this kind of ties between India and USA. (200 Words)

The reasons and consequences , for the deep people-to-people ties between India and the U.S while the state-state relations remained relatively milder ,can be attributed to the following:-
Deep people to people contacts :-
1. presence of some of the best universities of the World in the U.S resulting in huge number of high aspiring students from India admitting every year for best educational quality.Nearly 12% (> 1,000,00) of the total foreign students in U.S are Indians ,second only to China.
2.Huge migration of Indians in late 80s and 90s to the U.S due to lenient visa policy than now, resulted in large population of Indian diaspora in U.S who are the most successful than any other diaspora in the U.S.
3.Fluency in English and large number of technical personnel ,doctors and engineers in India further adds to the advantage of Indians migrated or migrating U.S.
4. deep trade relations and business cooperation among corporations of both countries with regular exchange of professionals among them ,particularly the Indian IT sector.
Milder state-state relations:-However, same can't be said for state -state relations.
1.refusal to align with the U.S during the Cold War due to India's non-alignment policy while at the same time ,it developed closed diplomatic relation with USSR with almost all it's military equipment ,fighter jets ,submarines coming from the Soviet Union.
2.close relations of the U.S with Pakistan meant the mutual relations in the meantime ,further remained marred with doubts and uncertainty.
3.Nuclear tests by India in 60s and 90s created further strains due to opposition and harsh sanctions imposed by the U.S on it.
All these meant while the people to people contact remained rich ovet the years but the state to state relations remained stagnant until now when a new overture has started between India and the U.S .

Despite global appreciation, Israel labelled the recently concluded nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers as ‘stunning historical mistake’. Critically examine the historical reasons why relations between these two countries is not good. (200 Words)

The relationship between Iran and Israel is a mixed bag, there was a time when both these nations maintained cordial relations but with the opposition of Israel to the deal of P5+1 with Iran the differences between them had again surfaced. Some of the historical reasons behind these differences are

1 Iran had opposed to the plans of UN for formation of Israel state by partitioning Palestine in 1948 as they felt that this could lead to instability in the middle east

2 With return of conservative rule in Iran post 1979 revolution hitherto good ties between both of them have been broken off and again the question of legitimacy of Israeli state was putforth by Iran

3 Post gulf war which lowered the influence of Iraq in the west Asia a bipolarity has emerged in the form of Iran and Israel as strong powers in this region

4 Acquiring of weapons by Iran is always seen as a threat to their sovereignty by Israel, this militarily strengthening of Iran had further aggravated the situation

5 Israel alleged that Iran is involved in funding to extremist organisations like Hamas, Hejbullah etc

6 Israel taking the side of Saudi Arabia, which is in conflict with Iran on sectarian lines i.e. Shias and Sunnis

Finally, fears of Israel should be alleviated by the P5 nations and Iran otherwise the already instable west Asia is prone to more vulnerabilities

Critically examine how illegal mining of river sand in various parts of India is affecting the ecology of rivers and lives of people in the vicinity of these rivers. (200 Words)

With boom in real estate and construction sector demand for its basic raw material sand has also increased tremendously. That’s why sand mining has become a highly profitable business.

According to geologists sand accumulation in riverbeds reduce their depth and cause frequent floods so it is necessary to remove sand regularly but unscientific, indiscriminate ,illegal and excessive mining has become a bane for ecology as well as people around them.

Adverse effects of Over exploitation of sand resources:

· Distortion of forests , hills and ecological biodiversity in and around the river which ultimately disturb the ecological balance of the river system.

· Due to mining color of water get changed . low ph level, high electrical conductivity, high concentration of ions of sulphate and presence of toxic metals, low dissolved oxygen are other effects which leads to water depletion.

· It cause fall in ground water level because of that the area once having plenty of
water have to struggle for that .people do not get sufficient water even to drink
· Mining left riverbeds full of trenches and pits leaving it unuseful for agricultural activities which leads to loss of employment for farm workers and ultimately disturbing the socio-economic condition of local people.

For tackling illegal mining not only strict laws but also their effective implementation is required. There is a need to break sand mafia ,political and executive nexus. Researches on alternate building material and their recycling and reuse should be conducted.

Although development is necessary for every country and its people and it highly rely on natural resources available locally but their utilization should be in restrictive manner and based on scientific lines . Development should not be on the cost of environment and people living their. Its the time to think about sustainable development.

Write a note on the recent trends in the economics of meat market in India and the challenges facing the sector. (200 Words)

Livestock sector is an important source of livelihood for the poor. Recent trends in meat market are encouraging.

1. In 2014, India has emerged as world’s third largest exporter of meat.
2. Meat exports have steadily increased since last 5 years
3. Beef is the biggest contributor to our revenues.

While these are encouraging trends, there are several challenges to the meat market:

1. State policies – Banning on slaughter in states like Maharashtra will lead to decline in industry.

2. Quality – India fetches less value per kilogram of meat as compared to other countries. The quality needs to be enhanced by both:
a. Breeding techniques
b. Encouraging feed-fodder cultivation

3. Slaughter houses – There is lack of organized slaughter houses in the country. Further, even established slaughter houses are far from modernization and hygiene. Therefore, the industry is far from potential.

4. Epidemics – Frequently occurring epidemics cause huge losses. Our disease verification and reporting system is still not satisfactory.

5. Diversity – The ecosystem (policies, funding, markets) etc. for other meat products like goat, sheep and other poultry sector is not well developed as that for beef.

6. Lack of domestic market.

India needs to overcome these challenges by increased funding, modernization and developing a domestic market as well. This industry can be a big support in poverty alleviation.

Analyse the significance of recent recent agreement signed between the governments of India and the United States to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) for both the countries. (200 Words)

FATCA agreement between both the countries herald a new platform for mutual cooperation that will benefit both the countries---

1. economic significance--- india-us agreement on FATCA will foster genuine investments contributing to positive growth. The tax compliance will bring legitimate revenues to both the countries that will benefit the fiscal situation of both the countries.

2. money-laundering---the tax evasion has important linkage with money laundering and illegal proceeds. Terrorism financing are now using sophisticated financial channels to find anti-state activities. Checking such proceeds by regulating tax information will bring both the countries closer in counter-terrorism efforts.

3. public diplomacy---such agrrement will let the country to engage with private institutions and non state actors, becoming a tool of public diplomacy promoting international cooperation

4. bandwagon-effect----india and US are among the top 3 economies of the world.Both are showing uptrends in growth projections. Such treaties will force other countries to sign similar treaties to economically engage with india and america. Therefore, this will bring more economic regulation in globalised world.

however, we should keep in mind that India is having complex anti-money laundering law. It still does not have a comprehensive legislation on enforcement, prosecution and attachment of propert. The confusion surrounding the need for making the names of tax-evaders public and the question of time and stage of starting prosecution in investigation process discourage other countries to cooperate.

In layman words, explain the relationship between genes and cancer. (200 Words)

Genes are the part of DNA(De-oxy Ribose nucleic acid) which tell the cells what to do and how much to grow and when to die.
Cancer is the accumulation of the mass of cells because of the uncontrolled growth of the cells of a particular area.
Thus, Cells grow uncontrolled when there is some abnormality in the functioning of genes that control the growth of the cell. This abnormality in the gene is called a mutation in the gene which can be acquired from environmental factors or can be transferred from parents.
There are two genes in a cell which are linked to cancer-
a. Oncogenes- Proto-oncogenes are responsible for the growth of the cell and it direct the cell to grow. When there is some mutation in the Proto-oncogene then it causes a huge growth of cell which leads to cancer. This 'bad' Proto-Oncogene is called Oncogene.
b. Tumor suppressive gene- They slows down the growth of the cells and thus there non functioning can also lead to the cancer.
Genes are also used to detect and treat the cancer i.e If we can find because of which gene cancer is happening than we can stimulate or stop that gene to work. Eg: brain cancer is treated by the suppression of ETS factors which control the growth of cells.

Critically evaluate the performance of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme in Indian states and examine the challenges faced by the scheme in meeting its objectives. (200 Words)

ICDS Since its inception in 1975 has focused on supplemental nutrition, pre-school non-formal education of children ( 3-6 years),immunization,antenatal care (ANC) of pregnant women,referral services and growth-checkups.

It expanded rapidly in its scope and coverage, and today it covers approximately 7.6 million pregnant women and lactating mothers and around 36 million children less than six years of age.However,based on individual focus,a few states like Kerala and Odisha have done better than other states like M.P,Bihar and Rajasthan.

Though immunization activities under ICDS have appreciable and its coverage has increased many folds since inception,there are issues -

1. Lack of basic amenities and infrastructure and low pay to AWW/AWH- Many Anganwadi centers do not have proper infrastructure including clean water and proper space.Continuance of low stagnated wages to AWW/AWH does not help either.

2. Lack of awareness and education - It has been a major stumbling block specially in rural areas.It has led to less than expected coverage.

3.Budget cuts - Severe budget cuts for ICDS ( including the recent cut of nearly 50%) has left the scheme in tatters.

4.Lack of state's institutional support and outsourcing to private players- In many states,a couple of constituents of the scheme (including nutritional related requirements ) have been outsourced to private players,leading to issues of ineffective implementation.

5.Little focus on pre-school formal education,health education and nutrition - While other parts of scheme have been given adequate attention,these remain to be largely ignored.

Thus,since the scheme focuses on holistic development of the children and women (specially pregnant and lactating), constituting nearly 70% of the vulnerable group in the society,we need to streamline legislative,administrative and civil societal efforts along with strengthening PRIs so that the scheme attains its objectives.

Critically comment why construction of toilets and stopping the practice of open defecation in India is important from sociological viewpoint. (200 Words)

Ans1:
India is home to 60% of thw world population that defecate in the open. The effects and implications of open defecation has multidimensional effects on society--

1. dignity of women---girl child and women feel embarrassed due to such a practice. Their dignity is linked to their self respect. Women will feel empowered if they have access to safe toilets.

2. health of family--- toilet has positive effects on health. it has direct relation with poverty alleviation. family gets into debt bondage as a result of high health expenditure. the use of toilets will add to the healthy living of the family

3.caste equations--- open defecation and cleaning of human waste become a source of caste discrimination and inequality. As a result, lower castes are made responsible for inhuman practice of cleaning the waste. Toilets will curb such a practice and empower lower castes

4. village based development.--- india has its pride in villages. Adarsh gram yojna insist on sustainable village based development which requires social solidarity. Building community assets like toilets which will benefit the entire population will encourage democratic development.

however, we must consider the loopholes in such governmnet schemes. As toilets are being built closer to upper caste families, thus personalizing the schemes meant fot the community. Toilets need access to water, which are not plentily available and if it is, it is not allowed to lower class and castes. the human agency which is the actual implementing agency is still sceptical of utility of toilets. Such scheme will be successful only with active community participation.

Ans2:
50% of indian population still defecates in the open. This has several consequences - social, economic, health and safety. It's importance from a sociological perspective are :

1) Open defecation by women is detrimental to their safety and health. It raises the risk of Adverse pregnancy outcomes.
2) Open defecation practiced mostly by lower castes. Hence, it adds to their already adverse socio and economic levels.
3) Open defecation is an important means to intiate discussion and in changing men's mindset about women's issues. Brides asserting compulsory toilets to marry is a case in point.
4) Constrcution of toilets has a liberating effect on women. Allowing them to concentrate on other issues.
5) An asset specifically created for women would increase men's respect towards female households demands and issues.
6) Open defection pollutes nearby water bodies which are livelihood to certain communities.
7) Improvement in children health and consequently rise in their productivity has positive societal consequences.

Sociologically, proper sanitation has beneficial effects on the women, children and lower castes specifically. Hence, we can say eliminating open defecation has an inclusive societal impact.

Geography Revision

1. The names of the glaciers and passes that lie in Great Himalayas

Answer

Glaciers in the Great Himalayas — Gangotri, Chaturangi, Bhagirathi, Kharak, Satopanth, Kamet, Milam and Pindari.
Passes in the Great Himalayas — Karakoram pass, Shipkila pass, Nathula, Bomdila pass.

2. The  name of  the states where highest peaks are located.

Answer

Mountain peaks - States
Kanchenjunga - Sikkim
Nanga Parbat - Jammu and Kashmir
Nanda Devi - Uttarakhand
Kamet - Uttarakhand
Namcha Barwa - Assam

1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below :
(i) A landmass bounded by sea on three sides is referred to as
(a) Coast

(b) Island 

(c) Peninsula 

(d) None of the above.

► (c) Peninsula

(ii) Mountain ranges in the eastern part of India forming its boundaries with Myanmar
are collectively called :
(a) Himachal

(b) Uttaranchal 

(c) Purvanchal 

(d) None of the above

► (c) Purvanchal

(iii) The western coastal strip south of Goa is referred to as
(a) Coromandel

(b) Konkan 

(c) Kannad 

(d) Northern Circar

► (b) Konkan

(iv) The highest peak in the Eastern Ghats is
(a) Anai Mudi 

(b) Kanchenjunga 

(c) Mahendragiri 

(d) Khasi

► (c) Mahendragiri

2. Answer the following questions briefly:

(i) What are tectonic plates?
(ii) Which continents of today were parts of the Gondwana land?
(iii) What is bhabar?
(iv) Name the three major divisions of the Himalayas from north to south.
(v) Which plateau lies between the Aravali and the Vindhyan ranges?
(vi) Name the island group of India having coral origin.

Answer

(i) Large fragments of the Earth’s crust torn due to the rising currents are called tectonic plates.

(ii) South America, part of Africa (south Africa including Madagascar), part of Asia (India, Arabia, Malaya), Australia and Antarctica continents were parts of the Gondwana land.

(iii) The Bhabar is that narrow belt of the plain which is covered with pebbles and lies along the foothills of the Shiwaliks from the Indus to the Teesta.

(iv) The Great or the Inner Himalayas or the Himadri, the Middle Himalayas or the Himachal, and
the Outer Himalayas or the Shivaliks.

(v) The Malwa plateau lies between the Aravali and the Vindhya Ranges.

(vi) Lakshadweep Islands is the island group of India having coral origin.


3. Distinguish between
(i) Converging and Diverging Tectonic Plates.
(ii) Bhangar and Khadar
(iii) Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats

Answer

(i)

Converging Tectonic Plates	Diverging Tectonic Plates
When tectonic plates move towards each other, they are called converging plates.	When tectonic plates move away from each other, they are called diverging plates.
They collide or crumble or one of them slides under the other while moving towards each other.	They do not collide or crumble while moving away from each other.
Converging plates cause folds.	Diverging plates cause fractures in the crust.

(ii)

Bhangar	Khadar
These are the older alluvium or old soil and form the largest part of the Northern Plains.	The newer and younger deposits of the flood plains. Renewed every Year.
Lies above flood plains of rivers.	Is newer, younger deposit of flood
Presents a terrace like feature.	Contains calcerous deposits locally known as Kankar.
Less fertile	More fertile

(iii)

Western Ghats	Eastern Ghats
Mark the western edge of the Deccan Plateau	Mark the eastern edge of the Deccan Plateau
Continuous, can be crossed through the passes only.	Discontinuous, irregular and dissected by rivers draining into the Bay of Bengal.
Higher; average elevation is 900−1600 meters	Lower; average elevation is 600 meters
This range is a source of many large rivers.	No big river originates from this range.
It experiences orographic rain mostly in summer due to the summer monsoons. The climate is hot and moist.	It receives rain both in summer and winter, especially in winter through winter monsoons. However, here the rain is lesser than the western strip.
Soil is highly fertile. Rice, spices, rubber and fruits like coconuts, cashew nuts etc. are grown	Soil is not as fertile as western ghats. Rice, ground nuts, cotton, tobacco, coconuts etc. are grown

4. Describe how the Himalayas were formed.

Answer

According to the Theory of Plate Tectonics, the Earth's crust was initially a single, giant super-continent called Pangea. Its northern part was the Angara land and the southern part was the Gondwana land. The convectional currents split the crust into a number of pieces, thus leading to the drifting of the Indo-Australian plate after being separated from the Gondwana land, towards north. The northward drift resulted in the collision of the plate with the much larger Eurasian Plate. Due to this collision, the sedimentary rocks which were accumulated in the geosyncline known as theTethys were folded to form the mountain system of western Asia and  Himalaya.

5. Which are the major physiographic divisions of India? Contrast the relief of the Himalayan region with that of the Peninsular Plateau.

Answer

The major physiography divisions of India are :
(i) The Himalayan Mountains
(ii) The Northern Plains
(iii) The Peninsular Plateau
(iv) The Indian Desert
(v) The Coastal Plains
(vi) The Islands

The Himalayan Region	The Peninsular Plateau
Young fold mountains made from the uplift of the strata formed by the sedimentary rocks.	Created from igneous and metamorphic rocks after splitting of Gondwanaland.
Consists of the loftiest mountains and deep valleys	Consists of broad and shallow valleys, and rounded hills
The ranges have I-shaped and U-shaped valleys.	It has horsts, rift valleys and troughs.
It is the origin of perennial rivers.	It has rainfed, seasonal rivers.
From the point of view of geology, this region forms an unstable zone	This region forms a stable zone

6. Give an account of the Northern Plains of India.

Answer

The Northern Plains have been formed from the alluvium that the mountain rivers deposited
here. This turned the soil on the surfaced land fertile for growing a rich harvest of variety of
crops. This led to the development of the Indus River Valley Civilisation. The rich soil was
further aided by favourable climate and constant water supply from the rivers. Between the
mouths of the Indus and the Ganga-Brahmaputra, the North Indian Plain covers a distance of
3200 km. It is 300 to 150 km wide at some places. The North Indian Plains have the Indus
river system in the west and the Ganga-Brahmaputra river system in the east. The first includes
Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Satluj. The Indus flows into the Arabian Sea. The second includes Ganga, its tributaries and the Brahmaputra which combine as Meghna as they drain into the Bay of Bengal. They form the world’s largest and fastest growing delta. The difference in relief has led the North Indian Plains to be divided into four zones : (i) Bhabhar, (ii) Tarai, (iii) Bangar and (iv) Khadar.

7. Write short notes on the following.
(i) The Indian Desert
(ii) The Central Highlands
(iii) The Island groups of India

Answer

(i) The Indian desert lies towards the western margins of the Aravali Hills. It is an undulating sandy plain covered with sand dunes called barchans. This region receives very low rainfall below 150 mm per year (15 cm) . It has arid climate with low vegetation cover. Streams appear during the rainy season. Soon after they disappear into the sand as they do not have enough water to reach the sea. Luni is the only large river in this region.

(ii) The part of the peninsular plateau lying to the north of the Narmada River covering a major area of the Malwa plateau is known as the Central Highlands. The Vindhyan range is bounded by the Central Highlands on the south and the Aravali range on the northwest. The flow of the rivers draining this region, namely the Chambal, the Sind, the Betwa and Ken is from southwest to northeast, thus indicating the slope. The Central Highlands are wider in the west but narrower in the east.  The eastward extensions of this plateau are locally known as the Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand. The Chotanagpur plateau marks the further eastward extension, drained by the
Damodar River.

(iii) India has 2 main island groups, namely Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar island.
The Lakshadweep consists of many small islands located opposite the Kerala coast in the
Arabian Sea. The islands of this group are formed of coral deposits called ‘atolls’ in
Malayalam which refer to their ring or ‘horse-shoe’ shape. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands,
on the other hand, are larger in size. They are more in number and more widely scattered.
There are about 200 islands in the Andaman group and 19 islands in the Nicobar group.

Map Skills

On an outline map of India show the following.
(i)Mountain and hill ranges – the Karakoram, the Zaskar, the Patkai Bum, the Jaintia, the Vindhya range, the Aravali, and the Cardamom hills.
(ii) Peaks – K2, Kanchenjunga, Nanga Parbat and the Anai Mudi.
(iii) Plateaus, Chotanagpur and Malwa
(iv) The Indian Desert, Western Ghats, Lakshadweep Islands

Answer

Project/Activity

Locate the peaks, passes, ranges, plateaus, hills, and duns hidden in the puzzle.Try to find where these features are located. You may start your search horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

Answer

Vertical

CHOTANAGPUR
ARAVALI
KONKAN
JAINTIA
MALWA
NILGIRI
SHIPKILA
VINDHYA
BOMDILA
SAHYADRI
SATPURA

Horizontal

NATHULA
CARDEMOM
GARO
KANCHENJUNGA
ANAIMUDI
EVEREST
PATLI

ગ્રીસ બચે તો પણ ગમે ત્યારે યુરો ઝોનને વેરવિખેર કરશે

આખરી નિર્ણય તો ગ્રીસની પ્રજાનો જ રહેશે

યુરોપિયન દેશોને ગ્રીસરૃપી ડોશી મરવા કરતાં રશિયા-ચીનરૃપી જમ ઘર ભાળી જવાનો ડર વિશેષ રશિયાએ તો ગ્રીસને યુરો ઝોનમાંથી નીકળે તો મદદ કરવાનો ઇશારો પણ કર્યો




ગ્રીસની કટોકટીમાં ગ્રીસ કરતાં પણ યુરોપીયન યુનિયનના અસ્તિત્વનો સવાલ વિશેષ મહત્વનો થઇ ગયો છે, કેમ કે ગ્રીસની જેમ આર્થિક મુશ્કેલીમાં આવી ગયેલા અન્ય યુરોપીયન દેશો પણ હાથ ઊંચા કરી દે તો તેના છાંટા પૂરા વિશ્વ પર તો ઉડશે જ પણ યુરોપીયન યુનિયનના તો મૂળીયા હચમચાવી આ સંગઠનનું વિઘટન થઇ જાય તો પણ નવાઇ પામવા જેવું નહીં હોય.ગ્રીસની બેન્કો બંધ કરી દેવાઇ ,મૂડી નિયંત્રણો લદાયા અને અનેક તાકીદના પગલા લેવાયા તે જ એક્ઝીટનો અણસાર આપતા હતા.રવિવારે રેફરેન્ડમ લેવાના નિર્ણયે યુરોઝોન અને આં.રા. લેણદારો સાથે વધુ વિચારવિમર્શ માટેના દરવાજા બંધ કરી દીધા ,કદાચ વિચાર વિમર્શ ચાલુ પણ રહે તો પણ આખરી નિર્ણય તો ગ્રીસની પ્રજાનો જ રહેશે અને તે પણ બહુમતી પ્રજા જે સરકારોના શિર્ષાસનોના લીધે એવી આર્થિક સંકડામણમાં આવી ગઇ છે કે ના છૂટકે નાદારી આવે તો પણ દેવાની રકમ પાછી નહીં આપીએ એવુ કહેવાની હદે આવી ગઇ છે.
નાણાકીય યુનિયનમાંથી ગ્રીસ નિકળી જાય પણ કસ્ટમ્સ યુનિયનમાં ચાલુ રહે તો એ પૂર્વ યુરોપીયન દેશો તથા બ્રિટનના જેવું સ્ટેટસ ધરાવશે.એ સ્ટેટસથી ઉક્ત દેશોને તો લાભ જ થયો છે.ગ્રીસને પોતાના ચલણને લોન્ચ કરતાં થોડો સમય જરૃર લાગે પણ તે પછી તે ચલણનું અવમૂલ્યન કરી વિદેશોની મદદ લઇ શકે તથા ઘણા અગત્યના નિર્ણયો સ્વબળે યુરોઝોનના ઓછાયામાં રહ્યા વગર લઇ શક્શે.આઇએમએફ ગ્રીસને નાદાર જાહેર કરે તો એ આવી નાદારી નોંધાવી ચૂકેલ ઝીમ્બાબ્વે,ક્યુબા અને સોમાલિયાની જમાતમાં આવી જશે.જોકે લોકશાહીમાં માનતા રાષ્ટ્રોની ગ્રીસ તરફ કુણી લાગણી જરૃર છે અને અમેરિકા તો હંમેશા કોઇપણ ભોગે ડેમોક્રસીને બચાવવા પ્રયત્નશીલ હોય છે એ ગ્રીસના માટે એક પ્લસ પોઇન્ટ ગણાય.ગ્રીસનો અમુક વર્ગ તો ગ્રીસની લોકશાહી માર્ગે ચૂંટાયેલી સરકારને પાડવાની કેટલાક દેશો અને આં.રા. સંસ્થાઓની આ ચાલ હોવાનું જણાવે છે.આ વર્ગ તો જોરશોરથી જણાવે છે કે ગ્રીસની પ્રજાને તેમના નિર્ણય લેવા દો બ્રસેલ્સથી ગ્રીસનું રિમોટ કંટ્રોલ તો ક્યારે ય થવા નહીં દેવાય! શાસક પક્ષ સિરીઝા ૩૬ ટકા મત મેળવીને સત્તા પર આવ્યો છે અને સત્તા પર આવ્યા પછી તેણે જે લોકપ્રિય પગલા લીધા છે તેની અસરે પક્ષ વધુ બળવત્તર થવાની સંભાવના છે.
ગ્રીસના વડાપ્રધાન એલેક્ષીસ સિપ્રાસે ભારે જોખમ ખેડીને પાંચ પાંચ મહીનાઓ સુધી લેણદારોને એક યા બીજા બહાને ખો આપીને મામલો છેક જૂનના અંત સુધી ખેંચ્યો છે.જોકે તેમાં તેઓ જવાબદાર સરકાર અને અઘરા નિર્ણયો લેતી સરકારની છાપ રેફરેન્ડમનો આશરો લઇને ઊભી કરી શક્યા નથી અને કદાચ હમણા તેમણે પોતાની ખુરશીના ભોગે પણ કરકસર સામે નહીં ઝૂકવાનો નિર્ધાર કર્યો હોવાનું જણાય છે.તેમના આવા સ્ટેન્ડ માટે તેમના પક્ષના હાર્ડલાઇન ડાબેરીઓનું દબાણ હોવાનું પણ કહેવાય છે.ટીકાકારો તો એમ પણ કહે છે કે જો તેઓ દેશના લાંબાગાળાના હિતચિંતક હોત તો જાન્યુઆરીમાં સત્તાપર આવતા વેંત જ તેમણે લેણદારો સાથે ગંભીર ચર્ચાઓ શરૃ કરી દીધી હોત પણ આ દિશામાં ગંભીર પ્રયાસો કરવાના બદલે તેમણે તો ટાઇમ પાસ કર્યો અને જૂનની ડેડલાઇન પહેલા મેમાં જ રેફરેન્ડમ લેવું જોઇતું હતુ તે કર્યું. વિરોધપક્ષો તો કહે છે કે ગ્રીસને યુરોઝોનમાંથી બહાર કાઢવાના નિર્ધાર સાથે જ સિપ્રાસ સરકાર સત્તા પર આવી હતી.હમણા સુધી ગ્રીસે તેના લેણદારો સાથે કોઇપણ બાંહેધરી આપતા કરારો કર્યા નથી.
આ સમગ્ર કટોકટીમાં રેફરેન્ડમમાં સરકારનો કરકસર વિરોધી પગલાઓ સાથે વિજય થાય તો વહેલી મોડી ગ્રીસની યુરોસંધમાંથી અને લાંબે ગાળે યુરોપીયન યુનિયનમાંથી એક્ઝીટ નક્કી મનાય છે પણ જો યુરોપ બ્લોક તરફી તત્વોનો હાથ ઉપર રહે તો વર્તમાન સરકારમાં લોકોને વિશ્વાસ ન હોવાનું તારણ નિકળશે અને ટૂંક સમયમાં જ નવી ચૂંટણીઓ થવા માટેના દરવાજા ખુલી જશે.જોકે બંન્ને કિસ્સામાં ખુરશી પર ચિટકી રહેવાનો મોકો વર્તમાન વડાપ્રધાનને મળી રહેશે એવું એમના પક્ષના લોકોનું માનવું છે.એક વાત તો નિશ્ચીત છે કે સિપ્રાસ લોકશાહી રક્ષક અને ગરીબોના બેલી તરીકે આ સમગ્ર પ્રક્રિયામાંથી બહાર આવશે.
ગ્રીસમાં બેંકીંગ ચક્રો થંભી ગયા અને શેરબજારનાં શટર ડાઉન થઇ ગયા ં છે અને તેનું અર્થતંત્ર ઇન્ટેન્સીવ કેર યુનિટમાં પહોંચી ગયું છે ત્યારે યુરોપે વધુ સાવધાન થઇ જવાની જરૃર છે.આઇસીયુમાંથી બહાર આવનાર ગ્રીસના અર્થતત્રનું કદ નાનું થઇ જશે અને તેનું નવુ સ્વરૃપ લોકો માટે પચાવવું મુશ્કેલ પણ હશે પરંતુ એ લાંબાગાળે સમૃદ્ધિ માટેના દ્વારો ખોલી નાંખશે.આજની ક્ષણે તો જોકે ગ્રીસના સિનિયર સીટીઝનોની હાલની હાલાકી ઓછી થાય એ બાબત પર ભાર મુકાય એ પણ એટલું જ જરૃરી છે કેમ કે પ્રખ્યાત અર્થશાસ્ત્રી લોર્ડ કેઇન્સે કહ્યું છે કે લાંબાગાળામાં તો આપણે સૌ મૃત છીએ.
ગ્રીસમાં જોકે એક સપ્તાહમાં બેન્કો બંધ હતી ત્યારે દેશમાં આંતરિક ધોરણે ઇન્ટરનેટના માધ્યમથી લેવડદેવડ ચાલુ રાખવાની તથા દુકાનોમાં કાર્ડથી પેમેન્ટની છૂટના કારણે લોકોને થોડીક રાહત થશે.ફંડ્સ વિદેશમાં ટ્રાન્સફર કરવા માટે સરકારી મંજૂરી જરૃરી હોવાનું સરકારે જાહેર કર્યું હતુ.તે જ રીતે વિદેશોના ડેબીટ કાર્ડથી ગ્રીસનાં એટીએમમાંથી ઉપાડ પર પણ કોઇ પ્રતિબંધો લદાયા ન હતા.સ્થાનિકો માટે ૬૦ યુરો અથવા ૬૫ ડોલરની દૈનિક ઉપાડની મર્યાદા મુકાઇ હતી.પેન્શન પેમેન્ટને આવા નિયંત્રણોમાંથી બાકાત રખાયું હતુ.
ગ્રીસ નાદાર થાય તો યુરોપમાં વર્ગવિગ્રહ થાય અને તેમાં દક્ષીણ યુરોપના ગરીબ દેશો -પોર્ટુગલ,સ્પેન,ઇટાલી અને ગ્રીસની સામે ઉત્તર યુરોપના અમીર દેશો -જર્મની,ફીનલેન્ડ અને લક્ઝમબર્ગ મોરચો માંડે એવી ચર્ચા સંભળાય છે.ગ્રીસ પછી પોર્ટુગલ પડવાની અટકળો પણ થઇ રહી છે.
૨૦૦૮માં યુરોપ નાણાકીય કટોકટીમાં સપડાયું ત્યારે સૌથી ખરાબ હાલત ગ્રીસની થઇ હતી.છેલ્લા પાંચ વર્ષમાં આ દેશની જીડીપીમાં ૨૫ ટકાનો ઘટાડો નોંધાયો છે.આઇએમએફ,ઇસીબી અને ઇસીએ મળીને ગ્રીસને ૨૪૦ અબજ ડોલરની લોન આપી હતી.જોકે તેની સાથે કેટલીક શરતો પણ લદાઇ હતી.ગ્રીસે આ રકમનો ઉપયોગ વિદેશી દેવું ચૂકવવા માટે કરતાં લેણદારોના ભંવા ચઢી ગયા હતા.આ દેશનો આર્થિક વિકાસ દર માઇનસ ૬.૯ ટકા ચાલી રહ્યો છે.ગ્રીસની ઘણી કંપનીઓ નાદારી નોંધાવી ચૂકી છે.બેરોજગારીનો દર વધીને ૩૩ ટકાએ પહોંચ્યો હોવાની વાયકા છે.આમ તો પૂરા યુરોપના જીડીપીમાં ગ્રીસનો હિસ્સો બે ટકા કરતાં પણ ઓછો હોવાથી તેની એક્ઝીટની યુરોપ પર લોકો ધારે છે તેટલી વિપરિત અસર ન પણ થાય.જોકે યુરોપીયન દેશોને ગ્રીસરૃપી ડોશી મરવાના કરતાં રશીયા-ચીનરૃપી જમ ઘર ભાળી જવાનો ડર વિશેષ છે.રશીયાએ તો ગ્રીસને યુરોઝોનમાંથી નિકળે તો મદદ કરવાનો ઇશારો પણ કર્યો છે.
સમગ્ર વિશ્વમાં ગ્રીસનું કુલ સત્તાવાર દેવું ૨૪૨.૮ અબજ યુરો એટલે કે ૧૭૨૭૦.૩૬ અબજ રૃ.નું હોવાની ચર્ચા થાય છે.આમાં આઇએમએફ તથા યુરોપીયન સરકારોએ આપેલા બે બેઇલઆઉટ પેકેજો માઇનસ પરત ચૂકવાયેેલ રકમનો સમાવેશ થાય છે.આ પેકેજો નોમીનલ ૨૨૦ બિલીયન યુરોના હતા.યુરોપીયન સેન્ટ્રલ બેન્ક તથા યુરો ઝોનના રાષ્ટ્રોની મધ્યવર્તી બેન્કોમાં ગ્રીક સરકારના બોન્ડ્સની રકમનો પણ આ કુલ દેવામાં સમાવેશ થાય છે.
મળતી માહીતી મુજબ ખાનગી રોકાણકારો પાસે ૩૮.૭ અબજ યુરોના મૂલ્યના ગ્રીસ સરકારના બોન્ડો છે.૨૦૧૨માં ગ્રીસે દેવાનું સ્વેપીંગ કર્યું તેમાં આ ખાનગી હોલ્ડરોને ઓલરેડી ૭૫ ટકાનો માર પડી ચૂક્યો છે.ઉપરાંત ગ્રીસની બેન્કોને જ ગ્રીસ સરકારે ૧૫ અબજ યુરોના ટૂંકા ગાળાના ટ્રેઝરી બીલો જારી કર્યાં છે.
આઇએમએફે જો ગ્રીસ બીજો આર્થિક એડજસ્ટમેન્ટ પ્રોગ્રામ સરખી રીતે અમલ કરે તો કુલ ૪૮.૧ અબજ યુરોની રકમમાંથી ૧૬.૩ અબજ યુરો માર્ચ ૨૦૧૬ સુધીમાં આપવાનું વચન આપ્યું હતું.ઇસીબીની ગ્રીસ પાસેથી લેણી રકમ અંદાજે ૧૮ અબજ યુરો ગ્રીસના બોન્ડ સ્વરૃપે છે પણ જો ગ્રીસ યુરોઝોનમાંથી નિકળી જાય તો ફેસ વેલ્યુની મામૂલી રકમ જ આ બોન્ડ પેટે મળે તેમ છે.આમાંથી ૬.૭ અબજ ની રકમ જુલાઇ તેમ જ ઓગષ્ટમાં પાકે છે.
ઇસીબીએ ગ્રીસ બેન્કોને ૧૧૮ અબજ યુરોની પ્રવાહીતા પૂરી પાડી છે અને તેમાંથી ૮૯ અબજ યુરો ઇમરજન્સી લિક્વિડિટી મદદ તરીકે આપી છે.આ રકમ માટે આમ તો ગ્રીસની મધ્યવર્તી બેન્ક જવાબદાર છે પણ જો ગ્રીસ યુરોઝોનમાંથી નિકળી જાય તો એ જર્મની સહીતના અન્ય દેશોના માથે જાય એમ છે.
૪૫ અબજની યુરો બેન્ક નોટો પણ સરક્યુલેશનમાં છે જે ગ્રીસે હોનર કરવી જોઇએ.યુરોઝોનના રાષ્ટ્રોની પ્રથમ બેઇલ આઉટમાં ગ્રીસને ઉગારવા સરકારોએ ૫૨.૯ અબજ યુરો ગ્રીસને ધિર્યાં છે અને ૨૦૧૨ના બીજા પેકેજમાં એથેન્સને અત્યાર સુધીમાં ૧૪૧.૮ અબજ યુરોનું ફંડ આપ્યું છે.બેઉ પેકેજો મળીને સૌથી મોટુ એક્ષપોઝર જર્મનીનું ૫૭.૨૩ અબજ યુરો, તે પછીના ક્રમે ૪૨.૯૮ અબજ યુરો સાથે ફ્રાન્સ આવે છે.નબળા પડી ચૂકેલા ઇટાલી અને સ્પેને પણ ગ્રીસ પાસેથી અનુક્રમે ૩૭.૭૬ અબજ યુરો અને ૨૫.૧ અબજ યુરો લેવાના નિકળે છે.આમ ગ્રીસ પોતે તો ડૂબશે જ પણ સાથેસાથે ઇટાલી અને સ્પેન જેવા સોફ્ટ ટારગેટ દેશોને પણ લઇને ડૂબે એવો માહોલ સર્જાયો છે.
યુરો ઝોનના દેશોએ ગ્રીસને લોનોની પાકતી મુદત ૧૫થી ૩૦ વર્ષ લંબાવી આપી હતી અને ધિરાણો પરનું વ્યાજ પણ તેમની બોરોઇંગ કોસ્ટ પ્લસ ૦.૫૦ ટકા સુધી ઘટાડી આપ્યું હતુ.તે જ રીતે યુરોઝોન રેસ્ક્યુ ફંડમાંથી બીજા બેઇલ આઉટમાં અપાયેલ રકમ પર વ્યાજની ચૂકવણી ૧૦ વર્ષ સુધી નહીં કરવાનું મોરેટોરિયમ પણ આપ્યું હતુ.આટલું ઓછું હોય તેમ ગ્રીસે યુરોપીયનો પાસેથી દેવામાં વધુ રાહતની માગણી કરી છે અને તેને આઇએમએફનો ટેકો પણ છે.જોકે યુરોઝોનના દેશોની સરકારોએ ગ્રીસ તેનું બજેટ આકરું ન કરે તો ચર્ચાની ના પાડી હોવાનું સંભળાય છે.
ગ્રીસ તેના લેણદાર ઇટાલી અને સ્પેનને સાથે લઇને ડૂબે એ દિવસો દૂર નથી ત્યારે યુરો વિઘટનની લટકતી તલવાર ત્રાટકે તો એમાંથી બચવાના ઉપાયો આપણે હમણાથી શોધવા પડશે.

યુરોપીયન દેશોના દેવા જીડીપી કરતાં કેટલા ગણા?


દેશ                     ડેબ્ટ-જીડીપી રેશીયો

ગ્રીસ                     ૧૭૫
ઇટાલી                  ૧૩૩
પોર્ટુગલ                ૧૨૯

આયર્લેન્ડ              ૧૨૪
સાયપ્રસ                ૧૧૨
બેલ્જિયમ               ૧૦૨
સ્પેન                      ૯૪
ફ્રાન્સ                      ૯૩
જર્મની                    ૭૮

આર્થિક બેહાલીનું ચિત્ર
છેલ્લા પાંચ વર્ષોથી ગ્રીસની કુલ રાષ્ટ્રીય ઊપજમાં સંકુચન જોવાયું છે અને હવે આ દેશ પર મંદીનો ભરડો વધુ કસાય એવું જણાય છે.મંદીમાં આર્થિક ચક્રો સાવ સ્થગિત ન થાય તો પણ અનેક સ્થાનિક આર્થિક પ્રવૃત્તિઓ મંદ પડશે એવો ડર રહે છે.આ દેશનો આં.રા.વેપાર માર ખાશે,દેવાનો ડુંગર વધતો જશે,સમાંતર અર્થતંત્રનો પ્રભાવ વધશે.હોસ્પીટલો અને એરલાઇન્સની તો દુર્દશા થશે અને એમને સપ્લાય મેળવતા નાકે દમ આવી જશે.પુરવઠો મળે તો પણ ક્રેડીટરોને પેમેન્ટ કરતાં કમર તોડ બોજો આવશે.મોટા પાયે ગ્રીસમાંથી લોકો ઉચાળા ભરી રોજી-રોટી માટે અન્ય યુરોપીયન દેશોમાં સ્થળાંતર કરી જાય એવી પણ શક્યતા છે.
ગ્રીસના પર્યટન ઉદ્યોગને પણ મોટો ફટકો બેસવાની ગણતરી મુકાય છે.માનવતાના દ્રષ્ટીકોણથી જોઇએ તો ગરીબાઇ માઝા મુકશે.હાલ ૨૬ ટકાનો બેકારીનો દર છે તેમાં જોરદાર વધારો થાય તો પ્રજા ભૂખમરાના ખપ્પરમાં હોમાવાની તલવાર પણ ગ્રીસના માથે લટકી રહી છે.સરકાર પ્રજાનો ખ્યાલ રાખવા જશે તો એની પોતાની આર્થિક નૈયા ડૂબવા લાગશે,રાજકીય ગરમાગરમી વધશે અને પૂરા યુરોપમાં આક્ષેપો-પ્રતિ આક્ષેપોનો આ મુદ્દાઓને લઇને નવો દૌર શરૃ થઇ જશે.ટૂંકમાં ગ્રીસનો નવો અવતાર ફંડામેન્ટલી અલગ જ હશે અને તેની આવનારી પેઢીઓ માટે ગ્રીસ સુનહરી સવાર લઇ આવશે.જોકે તે માટે સરકારે અંદાજપત્રીય પ્રક્રિયામાં આમૂળ પરિવર્તન કરી સામાજીક સુરક્ષા માટે વધુ ફાળવણી કરવા માટે કરચોરી અટકાવી કરમાળખાનો વિસ્તાર કરવો પડશે.વેપાર ધંધામાં મોનોપોલી તથા ઓલિગોપોલી તોડવી પડશે!

યુરો જેવી કોમન કરન્સીનો આઈડિયા જ જોખમી

૧.૬ અબજ યુરોની ચૂકવણી નહીં કરી શકતા ગ્રીસ આખરે ડિફોલ્ટ

જર્મની યુરો ઝોનના મુક્ત વેપારનો લાભ લેતું અને ગ્રીસના બજારમાં સસ્તી ચીજવસ્તુઓ મૂકતું. એટલે લોકો પોતાના દેશમાં બનેલી નહીં પણ 'જર્મન મેડ' ચીજવસ્તુઓ ખરીદતા. ગ્રીસના અર્થતંત્ર પર કારમો ઘા પડવાની એ શરૃઆત હતી

યુરોપના તમામ દેશોએ સમગ્ર યુરોપનું અર્થતંત્ર 'અત્યંત મજબૂત'કરવાના ઈરાદાથી યુરોપિયન યુનિયન (ઈયુ)ની રચના કરી હતી. આ યુનિયન એટલે નવમી ડિસેમ્બર, ૧૯૯૧ના રોજ એક કરાર કરીને યુરોપિયન દેશોએ એકબીજાના આર્થિક હિતો સાચવવા રચેલો શંભુમેળો

ઈન્ટરનેશનલ મોનેટરી ફંડને ૧.૬ અબજ યુરોની ચૂકવણી નહીં કરી શકતા ગ્રીસ આખરે ડિફોલ્ટ એટલેે કે દેવાળિયું જાહેર થઈ ગયું છે. ગ્રીસ યુરો ઝોનમાં રહે અથવા ના રહે તો તેની વૈશ્વિક બજારો પર જુદી જુદી અસરો થઈ શકે. જોકે, ગ્રીસની આર્થિક સ્થિતિ બગડી એ પછી સૌથી મહત્ત્વનો પ્રશ્ન એ છે કે, યુરો ઝોને પોતાની કોમન કરન્સી એટલે કે સામાન્ય ચલણ તરીકે યુરોનું સર્જન કર્યું એ કેટલે અંશે યોગ્ય છે?ગ્રીસ કટોકટી વખતે વિશ્વભરના માધ્યમોમાં ગ્રીસે ઈન્ટરનેશનલ મોનેટરી ફંડને ૧.૬ અબજ યુરોની ચૂકવણી કરવાની છે એ વાતની બહુ ચર્ચા થઈ છે. એનો અર્થ એ નથી કે, ગ્રીસનું દેવું ફક્ત ૧.૬ અબજ યુરો જ છે. આઈએમએફ સહિત વર્લ્ડ બેંક અને યુરોપિયન સેન્ટ્રલ બેંકે ગ્રીસ પાસે કુલ ૨૪૦ અબજ ડોલરના લેણાં નીકળે છે. આ આંકડા જોઈને જ કેટલાક વિશ્લેષકોનું માનવું છે કે, હવે ગ્રીસ પાસે યુરો ઝોનમાંથી બહાર નીકળીને પોતાનું નવું ચલણ અમલી કરવા સિવાયનો કોઈ જ ઉપાય બચ્યો નથી. ગ્રીસનું ભવિષ્ય જે હોય તે 'યુરો'નો વિચાર જોખમી છે કારણ કે, બેથી વધુ દેશો ભેગા થઈને કોમન કરન્સી અમલી કરે ત્યારે ગૂંચવાડાભરી સ્થિતિનું સર્જન કરે છે.
કોમન કરન્સી કેવી ગંભીર અને જટિલ મુશ્કેલીઓ ઊભી કરે છે એ આપણે તબક્કાવાર સમજીએ.
યુરોપિયન યુનિયનની રચનાનો ઈતિહાસ
યુરોપના તમામ દેશોએ સમગ્ર યુરોપનું અર્થતંત્ર 'અત્યંત મજબૂત' કરવાના ઈરાદાથી યુરોપિયન યુનિયન (ઈયુ)ની રચના કરી હતી. આ યુનિયન એટલે નવમી ડિસેમ્બર, ૧૯૯૧ના રોજ એક કરાર કરીને યુરોપિયન દેશોએ એકબીજાના આર્થિક હિતો સાચવવા રચેલો શંભુમેળો. આ વિચારના મૂળમાં યુરોપના તમામ દેશોની એક જ કોમન કરન્સી હોવી જોઈએ એ વિચાર હતો. આ વિચારના ભાગરૃપે ઈયુએ પહેલી જાન્યુઆરી, ૧૯૯૯ના રોજ એક મોનેટરી યુનિયન ચાલુ કર્યું. આ મોનેટરી યુનિયનનું કામ નવું ચલણ અમલી કરીને તેનું નિયમન કરવાનું હતું. આ મોનેટરી યુનિયને શરૃ કરેલું નવું ચલણ એટલે યુરો. આજે પણ વૈશ્વિક બજારમાં યુરો અત્યંત મજબૂત ચલણ છે. એક યુરોનું ભારતીય ચલણમાં મૂલ્ય સરેરાશ રૃ. ૭૦ છે.
યુરોની શરૃઆત નોન-ફિઝિકલ એટલે કે ટ્રાવેલર્સ ચેક, ઈલેક્ટ્રોનિક ટ્રાન્સફર અને બેંકિંગ વગેરે સ્વરૃપમાં કરાઈ હતી. શરૃઆતમાં યુરોપના ૧૧ મોટા દેશો આવા 'કાર્ડ યુરો'નો ઉપયોગ કરતા હતા. યુરોની સફળતાને પગલે એક પછી એક દેશો યુરો ઝોનમાં જોડાતા ગયા. આ દરમિયાન ગ્રીસે ૧૯મી જૂન, ૨૦૦૦ના રોજ પોતાનું મૂળ ચલણ ડ્રાચમા બંધ કરીને યુરોને સંપૂર્ણપણે અપનાવી લીધું. એ વખતે મોનેટરી યુનિયન માટે જરૃરી આર્થિક નિયમનના મુદ્દા હાંસિયામાં ધકેલાવાની શરૃઆત થઈ ચૂકી હતી. એ વખતે આખા યુરો ઝોનની નાણાકીય નીતિ યુરોપિયન સેન્ટ્રલ બેંક કરતી હતી. બીજી તરફ, ઈયુના તમામ સભ્ય દેશો પોતપોતાની નાણાકીય નીતિ અને બજેટ મુજબ ચાલતા જ હતા.
યુરોની પહેલી જંગી ચૂકવણીની અસર
વર્ષ ૧૯૯૦માં પશ્ચિમ અને પૂર્વ જર્મનીનું એકીકરણ થયું. આ દરમિયાન અત્યંત સમૃદ્ધ પશ્ચિમ જર્મનીએ વર્ષ ૧૯૯૦થી ૨૦૧૦ સુધી પૂર્વ જર્મનીના આધુનિકીકરણ માટે આશરે ૧.૬ હજાર અબજ યુરોની ચૂકવણી કરી. આ ભંડોળનો ઉપયોગ પૂર્વ જર્મનીએ માર્ગ-મકાન અને ફેક્ટરીઓ બાંધવા જેવા માળખાગત વિકાસની સાથે સાથે સરકારી સ્ટાફને પગારો, પેન્શન વગેરે ચૂકવવામાં પણ કર્યો. પૂર્વ જર્મનીને ફક્ત દસ વર્ષના ટૂંકા ગાળામાં મળેલી આ જંગી આર્થિક સહાયની ભરપૂર મદદ મળી અને એ પણ પશ્ચિમ જર્મનીના અર્થતંત્ર સમકક્ષ આવી ગયું. વર્ષ ૧૯૯૦થી ૧૯૯૫ દરમિયાન જર્મનીની લેબર કોસ્ટમાં ૧૭.૬ ટકાનો વધારો થયો હતો. એ વખતે યુરો ઝોનનું અર્થતંત્ર પણ લેબર કોસ્ટના ખર્ચને પગલે ૧૧.૫ ટકાની સરેરાશ એવરેજથી વિકસ્યું. જોેકે, લેબર કોસ્ટ ઊંચી આવવાના કારણે જર્મનીની નિકાસને મોટું નુકસાન થયું કારણ કે, જર્મની જેવા જ ઉત્પાદનો આંતરરાષ્ટ્રીય બજારમાં નીચા ભાવે ઉપલબ્ધ હતા, પરંતુ જર્મની ઊંચા ઉત્પાદન ખર્ચને કારણે ઓછી કિંમતે નિકાસ કરી શકે એમ ન હતું. આ સંજોગોમાં જર્મનીનો જીડીપી વર્ષ ૧૯૯૧-૯૩ દરમિયાન ઘટયો અને બેકારી દર પણ ૪.૨ ટકાથી વધીને ૮.૨ ટકા થઈ ગયો.
આમ, એક થઈ ગયેલા જર્મની સામે પણ મોટા આર્થિક પડકારો સર્જાવાની ધીમી શરૃઆત થઈ. એમાંથી બહાર આવવા જર્મનીએ આર્થિક સુધારાની ગતિ તેજ કરી, જેમાં પગાર-ભથ્થાંની ચૂકવણીનું આધુનિકીકરણ પણ સામેલ હતું. વર્ષ ૧૯૯૩થી ૨૦૦૦ દરમિયાન સરકારી કર્મચારીઓ પર ખર્ચાતા નાણામાં એક ટકાનો ઘટાડો થયો. એની અસર પ્રાઈવેટ ક્ષેત્ર પર પણ થઈ અને તેમણે પણ લેબર કોસ્ટ ઘટાડવા 'કોસ્ટ કટિંગ' ચાલુ કર્યું. આ સ્થિતિમાં બેકારીનો દર સતત વધતો ગયો. કોસ્ટ કટિંગને પગલે પ્રાઈવેટ ક્ષેત્રની લેબર કોસ્ટ વર્ષ ૧૯૯૫થી ૨૦૦૦ વચ્ચે ૩.૫ ટકા ઘટી ગઈ. એના કારણે વર્ષ ૧૯૯૩થી ૨૦૦૦ વચ્ચે જર્મનીના જીડીપીમાં નિકાસનો હિસ્સો ૩૩ ટકાથી ઘટીને ૨૨ ટકા થઈ ગયો. આમ, જર્મનીની વૈશ્વિક નિકાસ આશરે સાડા ત્રણ ટકા ઘટી ગઈ.
ગ્રીસ પર કારમો ઘા પડયો કેવી રીતે?
વર્ષ ૧૯૯૯માં યુરોપિયન યુનિયનનું મોનેટરી યુનિયન ચાલુ થયા પછી યુરોનો સૌથી મોટો લાભ જર્મનીએ લીધો. યુરો ઝોને યુરો અપનાવી લીધો હોવાથી કરન્સી માર્કેટની અફડાતફડીનું 'વેપારી જોખમ' બિલકુલ દૂર થઈ ગયું હતું. યુરોપિયન રાષ્ટ્રો એકબીજા સાથે ખૂબ સરળતાથી વેપાર કરી શકતા હતા કારણ કે, ખરીદી કે વેચાણ માટે યુરોમાં જ ચૂકવણી થતી હતી. જોકે, યુરો જેમ જેમ યુરો ઝોનમાં ફેલાતું ગયું એમ એમ ખબર પડી કે, જે દેશ ઓછામાં ઓછા ઉત્પાદન ખર્ચે ચીજવસ્તુઓ બનાવે તેની યુરોપના બધા દેશોમાં ઈજારાશાહી રહે. હવે બધા જ દેશોએ યુરોમાં જ ખરીદી કે વેચાણ કરવાનું હોવાથી કરન્સી માર્કેટનો લાભ પણ ના મળે. જેમ કે, અમેરિકામાં દાંતની સારવાર વધુ સારી થાય છે અને ભારતમાં પણ. આમ છતાં, અમેરિકનો દાંતની સારવાર માટે ભારત આવે છે કારણ કે, અહીં તેમણે રૃપિયામાં ચૂકવણી કરવાની હોવાથી સારવાર તેમને પ્રમાણમાં સસ્તી પડે છે. આ કારણોસર પશ્ચિમી દેશોના પ્રવાસીઓ ભારત આવે ત્યારે સારવાર કરાવવાની હોય તો તે પણ કરાવી લે છે.
યુરોપિયન દેશોમાં યુરો આવી ગયા પછી જે દેશ સૌથી સારા પગાર અને ભથ્થાં આપે ત્યાં લેબર ફોર્સ જતો રહે. પરંતુ આવું થયું નહીં કારણ કે, કોઈ પણ દેશના લોકોએ વર્ક વિઝા લઈને અન્ય દેશમાં જવું એટલું સરળ ન હતું. આ મુશ્કેલીનો ઉકેલ મોનેટરી યુનિયન લાવી શકે એમ હતું, પરંતુ એ પોલિટિકલ યુનિયન નહીં હોવાથી તેની સ્થિતિ દાંત-નહોર વિનાના સિંહ જેવી હતી. આમ, લેબર ફોર્સ વિના સૌથી કફોડી સ્થિતિ ઉદ્યોગ જગતની થઈ હતી.
આ મુદ્દો સમજવા એક ઉદાહરણ જોઈએ. દાખલા તરીકે નેવુંના દાયકામાં જર્મનીમાં પગાર-ભથ્થાં ખૂબ નીચા હતા અને તેમાં વધારો પણ ધીમી ગતિએ થઈ રહ્યો હતો, જ્યારે ગ્રીસમાં પગાર ધોરણો સારા હતા અને તેનો વિકાસ દર પણ ઊંચો હતો. આ કારણોસર જર્મનીના ઉદ્યોગજગતને ભરપૂર ફાયદો મળતો હતો કારણ કે, જર્મન ચીજવસ્તુઓનો ઉત્પાદન ખર્ચ નીચો હોવાથી યુરોપના બજારોમાં જર્મની સામે ગ્રીસના ઉત્પાદનો ટકી નહીં શકતા. ગ્રીસમાં લોકોના પગાર ઊંચા હોવાથી તેની વસ્તુઓ પણ મોંઘી હતી. જર્મની યુરો ઝોનના મુક્ત વેપારનો લાભ લેતું અને ગ્રીસમાં જઈને ચીજવસ્તુઓ બજારમાં મૂકતું. એટલે ગ્રીક લોકો પણ પોતાના જ દેશમાં બનેલી ચીજવસ્તુઓ નહીં પણ જર્મન મેડ ચીજવસ્તુઓ ખરીદતી. ગ્રીસના અર્થતંત્ર પર આ કારમો ઘા હતો.
મોનેટરી યુનિયન 'પોલિટિકલ' બન્યું
મોનેટરી યુનિયનની સ્થિતિ લાંબો સમય 'ખરાબ' ન રહી અને તે પોલિટિકલ એટલે કે રાજકીય રીતે મજબૂત યુનિયન બન્યું. હવે જર્મન લેબર ફોર્સ નોકરી કરવા ગ્રીસ જઈ શકતા હતા. જર્મન કંપનીઓ પણ લેબર ફોર્સને ગ્રીસ જતો રોકવા પગાર વધારવા મજબૂર થઈ. બીજી તરફ, ગ્રીસની કંપનીઓ સસ્તા જર્મન સ્ટાફનું લોહી ચાખી ગઈ. જર્મનીના લાખો અસંતોષીઓ પગારની લાલચ પછીયે ગ્રીસ જતો રહ્યો. આટલી અફડાતફડી પછી જર્મની અને ગ્રીસના અર્થતંત્રો માંડ સંતુલિત થયા હતા. હજુ પણ જર્મન કંપનીઓનો ઉત્પાદન ખર્ચ ગ્રીસ કરતા પ્રમાણમાં નીચો જ હતો. પરંતુ વર્ષ ૨૦૦૦થી ૨૦૦૯ સુધી જર્મનીની નિકાસ માંડ ૦.૫ ટકા જ વધી હતી.
આ સમયગાળામાં વૈશ્વિક નિકાસમાં ૧૧.૬ ટકા ઘટાડો થયો હતો પણ જર્મની સહી-સલામત હતું. વર્ષ ૨૦૦૮માં જર્મનીના જીડીપીમાં નિકાસનો હિસ્સો ૪૮ ટકા હતો. આ ફૂલગુલાબી ચિત્ર નીચી લેબર કોસ્ટને જ આભારી હતું. જર્મનીની નિકાસ વર્ષ ૨૦૦૦થી ૨૦૦૮ સુધી ૧૫૦ ટકા વધીને ૧.૫ હજાર અબજે પહોંચી ગઈ હતી. જોેકે, નિકાસમાં ૧૫૦ ટકાના વધારા પછીયે લોકોના પગારધોરણોમાં માંડ ૧૧ ટકાનો વધારો થયો હતો. જર્મનીના પગારધોરણો યુરો ઝોનની સરેરાશથી પણ ૧૫ ટકા ઓછા હતા, જ્યારે પિગ્સ દેશોથી આ આંકડો ૩૬ ટકા નીચો હતો. યુરોપમાં પોર્ટુગલ, આયર્લેન્ડ, ઈટાલી, ગ્રીસ અને સ્પેન સમૂહ 'પિગ્સ' તરીકે ઓળખાય છે. એક અંદાજ પ્રમાણે, ગ્રીસમાં ઉત્પાદિત કોઈ પણ ચીજની કિંમત જર્મની કરતા ૩૦ ટકા વધારે રહેતી. આ દરમિયાન મુક્ત યુરો ઝોનમાં ગ્રીસની આયાત તેની નિકાસ કરતા અનેકગણી વધતી ગઈ. આમ, મોનેટરી યુનિયને લેબર ફોર્સની મુક્ત આવનજાવનનો પણ ગ્રીસને ફાયદો ના મળ્યો.
એક થિયરી પ્રમાણે, કોમન કરન્સીનો વિચાર મૂળમાંથી જ ખોટો છે. બેથી વધુ દેશોની કોમન કરન્સીથી લાભ થવાના બદલે નુકસાન વધુ થાય છે અને જેને ફાયદો થાય છે એને અન્ય દેશના અર્થતંત્રના ભોગે ફાયદો થાય છે. કોમન કરન્સીના તરફદારોનું કહેવું છે કે, તમામ અર્થતંત્રોને ફાયદો થાય એવી રીતે આયાત-નિકાસ અને લેબર ફોર્સને લગતા નીતિનિયમો બનાવી શકાય, પરંતુ કોમન કરન્સીનો અમલ અત્યંત જટિલ પ્રશ્નોનું સર્જન કરતા હોવાથી તેના નીતિનિયમો બનાવીને અમલમાં મૂકવા જ લગભગ અશક્ય હોય છે.