Discuss the merits of government’s decision to bar taxpayers earning more than Rs 10 lakh per annum from availing of subsidy on LPG cylinder sales. (200 Words)

Government has finally changed its status quo of voluntary “Give it up” slogan to mandatory debarring citizens who have income above 10 lakh per annum to avail LPG subsidy. This is said to be a major step to restructure the overall method of subsidy. 
Few merits are:
1) Beginning of progressive structure for subsidies.
2) Fund saved can be used for other basic necessities of life like Health, Agriculture whose share in Budget has been low.
3) Would lead to lesser consumption of LPG & subsequently lesser wastage in households devoid of subsidy.
4) Nearly all LPG is through imports, CAD can be expected to go further low.
5) Misuse of subsidized cylinders to be stopped.
6) Will make the government to think on other subsidies which may also be removed like electricity, etc.

Apart from this, Government should take more steps to reduce the reliance on LPG & switch to cleaner forms of fuels whose funds can be taken from the cash subsidy saved in the new scheme. Creating a team for R&D should now be the immediate step by Government as the LPG prices are not expected to stay low in years to come, and with the growth of GDP along with depreciation of rupee, 10lpa income slab might not be sufficient in years to come.

Critically analyse the merits and demerits of Facebook’s “Free Basics” service offer in India. (200 Words)

Free basics is an initiative by Facebook where certain Internet services will be provided free of cost to everyone. In India, reliance Telecom has partnered with Facebook where Facebook will act as a gatekeeper and Reliance will be the service provider.

Demerits of Free basics:
-Free basics covers selected websites and ignores other websites and content providers. Thus it goes against principle of net neutrality.
-In the long run free basics can be misused for price manipulation for providing same services which once used to be free.
- It also helps one particular service provider, for example Reliance telecom will use it for promoting its services thus discriminating other service providers like BSNL, Aircel, Airtel etc.
-The nexus between "service providers" and "content providers" might be misused for anti-state propaganda.

Merits:
-Its not neutral internet if majority doesn't have access to it.Free basics will work on this principle.
-India is a large country where basic internet services are still to be made available to millions and especially to the rural India.Hence free basics will make an inclusive internet regime. This ultimately will lead to people empowerment.
-Recently GoI launched Digital India program. Free basics will help in making this programme effective by providing last mile connectivity.

Thus the debate boils down to "access" vs "neutrality". In absence of " access to internet " there is a lack of "internet inclusiveness" where as violating net neutrality will ultimately create a "digital caste system". Given India's current digital ambitions free basics certainly augments the government work,besides being pro-poor. However it goes wrong on many commercial and regulatory fronts. Hence first a strict regulatory regime, periodic government scrutiny over contents being provided and having a say over the websites selection should precede before allowing any such initiative.

Criticas argue that there are many different ways by which internet can be made available to vast majority of unconnected people in developing countries rather than opting for Facebook’s Free Basics offer. Discuss. (200 Words)

The different ways other than the zero rating apps which can make internet accessible for all are-

1.Some amount of data should be provided free of cost or at discounted rates and the companies paying for it should get only a 'brought to you by' attribution.This model is being practiced in many African countries and Middle Eastern countries.

2.People watch ads in order to get access to other websites.Mozilla is working with Grameenphone in Bangladesh where users get 20 MB data free after watching short ads.

3.When financially well off people recharge their internet account, they can be asked to donate small amounts of money (Rs 1 to Rs 10) for providing internet services to the poor.

4.Donating money towards free internet access for the poor should be encouraged as a part of CSR initiative of the telecom companies.

5.Effective utilization of the Universal Service Obligation Fund which has been lying unutilized as indicated in the recent CAG report.

6.Even modification in the zero rating schemes like delinking free internet access from specific content and limit it by volume or time.

7.Increasing competition and countering monopolies will automatically reduce the cost of access to internet and even the poor will be able to afford it.

Increasing the income of people through higher economic growth is a long term solution to make internet accessible to all.

In India, electricity and telecom sectors provide a contrasting picture when it comes to profitability and debt management. Examine why telecom sector has done well in India and what electricity sector can learn from telecom’s experience. (200 Words)

India's telecom and electricity sector provide glaring contrasts: the former has succeeded the latter in terms of both profitibility and debt management. This comes as a surprise since telcommunication was introduced much later than electricity sector.

The possible reasons can be:
1.About 90% services in telephony are prepaid which saves it from unpaid services.
2.Most of the undertakings in telephony is done by private investors. Unlike public investments,these are hasty and involve less procedures.
3.Ease of infrastructure sharing.
4.Injection of new services from time to time,such as WiFI and Wimax.
5.Multifarious services such as health,education etc depend on telecommunication for their progress

Power sector can succeed by learning from telephony in following ways:-
1.Use of prepaid electricity cards to ensure that no electricity units go unpaid
2.Better debt management,achieving targetted total susbsidy by P&Q susbsidies
3.Compulsory metering to measure each and every unit used.
4.Ensuring that genuine competitors are available in market for power distribution.
5.DISCOMS can be encouraged to take up projects by settling tariff-cost issues.
6.Greater use of electricity in fields of infrastructure,telephony which can expand its base
Power sector can be one of the biggest benefactor of revenue to the economy. Such a sector should not be waded away due to solvable anomalies.

As the RTI starts its second decade, it is argued that India’s government should ensure that information provision has a more impersonal face and this requires the government to invest in a data infrastructure that will allow it to go from passive to active transparency. What do you understand by active transparency? Why automation is needed in RTI? Discuss. (200 Words)

PASSIVE VS ACTIVE TRANSPARENCY
Passive transparency means sharing the minimum amount of information possible, and requires communities to seek that information out.
Active transparency on the other hand is proactive, it involves making information widely available by government to public.

Benefits of Active Transparency vis a vis passive transparency :
1) Citizens can directly access data without filing requests = direct empowerment of civil society in a democracy.
2) Researchers can use this data for a range of purposes + policy evaluation.
3) Unlike passive transparency, it is impersonal in nature.

Automation is primarily needed in RTI to promote operational efficiency and active transparency. It can be done by means of technical inputs, smart policy design based on collaboration, and use of agile methodology to keep projects from going astray.

It’d keep all stakeholders informed + involved in a timely manner for all the initiatives of government. Moreover it’s also important for Sustainable Development Goal of revitalising the global partnership for development-which initiates availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data. Therefore by attaining automation in RTI, we’ll promote active transparency which in turn will ensure operational efficiency of all other initiatives. In this light, e-governance, citizen charters and digitalisation are positive steps by Indian government.

As India is becoming a major destination for start-ups, sectors like e-commerce or mobile payments are attracting strong interest among entrepreneurs and investors whereas health, clean-tech, agriculture and education sectors are neglected. Examine why and also suggest what type of start-ups can contribute in these sectors. (200 Words)

The second decade of second millennium is turning out to be an era of technology startups.

These startups can contribute immensely to sectors such as health-care, agriculture and education sectors owing to the link than technology can create between them as explicated by the following:

--These sectors are least developed in terms of technology. Startups can fill the gaps
-- Sectors such as education have huge scope and are multidimensional. A tech startup can enter into tasks such as providing MOOC projects to digitizing the education curriculum

-- Sectors such as health-care have tremendous money involved and the startups can burgeon using the same
-- The government is providing the incentives in the form of facilities and concessions for startups to jump into such sectors

Following are the type of startups that can contribute:
-- Aggregator apps in healthcare that can bring doctors or hospitals on the same platform for customers
-- Systems that can digitize the education curriculum saving time and paper of the various stakeholders
-- Platforms that disseminate information of various aspects including seeds, fertilizers etc. to the farmers
-- Companies that can partially automate the cleaning process of municipalities hashing all the data on an online platform
Technology startups along with government incentives will no doubt pave the path to a better future for India in all respects.

The Union government has decided to amend the law in order to guarantee women working in the private sector 26 weeks’ maternity leave, up from the 12 weeks they are now entitled to. Discuss the merits of this amendment and also examine if India should also consider amending the act to provide similar leave to fathers. (200 Words)

The Union government’s recent decision to amend the law to increase the maternity leave to 26 weeks is a commendable step and has various merits for the women and also society at large. They are.

1) Six months of breast feeding since birth is recommended to gain complete immunity and nutrition. This amendment would enable women to breast feed their child for a longer duration.

2) Reduce child illness occurring mainly due to lack of proper care in the initial stages

3) Nurturing by women could no way be equated to any form. Elongated mother care would also enhance child’s mental ability.

4) Creates stress free mind for women, in turn increases the performance in both professional and personal activities

5) Also helps women to build up their carrier and help in achieving desired positions.

6) Longer maternity leave will also help employers to retain expertises

7) It also increases loyalty and commitment of employee towards the organizations.

8) At last, it also strengthens the relationship between mother and the child.

In a contemporary society, where both men and women are engaged in occupational activities, providing similar kind of provisions to father would indeed build up family relationship. Many countries such as Japan, Korea, Norway, Swedan and many European countries are providing similar provisions. Certain studies also have shown that fostering child by father at the initial stages would strengthen their bond.And, this could also eliminate disagreements between parents with regard to child care. Hence results in stable family structure.

Write a note on the objectives of and sources of funds for National Investment and Infrastructure Fund. (200 Words)

National Investment and Infrastructure fund is a fund created by the Government of India for enhancing infrastructure financing in the country.

 The primary objective of NIIF is to maximize economic impact mainly through infrastructure development in commercially viable projects, both greenfield and brownfield, including stalled projects. It could also consider other nationally important projects, for example, in manufacturing, if commercially viable.

Other objectives may include:

-- Overseas ties and materializing Make in India scheme as it attracts foreign investors
-- Service provisions to the investors
-- Structuring and framing the investment models and their monitoring
-- Advisory objective to provide guidance to infrastructure projects

NIIF is not a single entity, it may contain more than one fund set up as Alternate Investment Funds. Following are the sources of this fund:

-- Government can provide upto 20000 crore per annum into these funds making 49% share of the total corpus
-- Sovereign/ quasi-sovereign/multilateral/bilateral investors
-- Cash-rich Central Public Sector Enterprises
-- Domestic pension and provident funds, National Small Savings Fund

Do you think Computer-based testing (CBT) should be introduced in our education system on a larger scale? Examine the merits and demerits. (200 WOrds)

As we progress into future with more access and advancement to technology, obvious attempts will be made to computerize and automate processes to minimize human effort. Computer-based testing is one such method to make a switch from pen and paper mode exam in our education sector.
It has following advantages:
1. Strict authentication and security features like CCTV and biometric at test centres enables protection against cheating and leakages.
2. Exam can be held in multiple sessions and can be rescheduled if required and ensures quick publish of results.
3. Saves a lots of paper used in conventional testing method.
4. We can leverage India's IT prowess and provide employment to many and reduce burden on school centres and their staff to conduct exams.

However, few demerits have checked its adoption on large scale by education institution:
1. Arranging for huge and expensive infrastructure requirement may not be possible for most of them.
2. Multiple exams with multiple question papers prevents institution as well as students to adopt CBT as claim of differential difficulty for different participant is always there. Normalization of scores is itself a complex process.
3. Most of the students don't get practice on CBT and making a switch to CBT is seen as a risk.
4. It is difficult to conduct subjective test where a student has to write long answers.

As of now, for objective type evaluation can be introduced on large scale for entrance exams and is already being done for exams like JEE, GATE and international exam like SAT, GMAT etc. But it will take time before the institution are capable enough to adopt CBT on large scale.

Public servants are likely to confront with the issues of “Conflict of Interest”. What do you understand by the term “Conflict of Interest” and how does it manifest in the decision making by public servants? If faced with the conflict of interest situation how would you resolve it? Explain with the help of examples. (150 Words)

Conflct of interest is a situation that has the potential to undermine the impartiality of a person because of the possibility of a clash between the person's self-interest and professional interest or public interest.

Since a public servant has immense responsibilities and powers simultaneously, this phenomenon can manifest in his decision making whenever he portrays partiality towards a person or an organization or puts his personal interest above public welfare.

A public servant should resolve any such situation thinking about the public good first. For example, an IPS officer gets to know that one of his relatives is caught in a serious crime in the region of the former’s ambit. In such a conflict, the officer tends to save his relative, but in order to be impartial as a public ‘servant’ he should deal with the case by the rule of law.

Similarly, an IAS officer has the option to be partial for a political boss who rewards him with greater authorities and promotion. But, while displaying non-partisanship, he should deal with every project keeping public interest in mind.

Critically comment on the Ayodhya dispute and its implications on national unity. (200 Words)

What is Ayodhya Dispute:- It is political, social and religious dispute between two groups(Hindus and Muslims) over a plot of land in Ayodhya.

Reasons:-
1) Hindus Claim that the place is the birthplace of Ram (one of their most revered deities) and the Babri Mosque a was built after the destruction of a Hindu temple by a Muslim invader in the 16th Century.

2)Muslims say they offered prayers at the mosque until December 1949, when some people placed the idols of Ram under the cover of darkness in the mosque. The worship of the idols began soon after.

With many Twists and turns in History the mosque was Demolished on 6th December 1992 by some Protagonists of Ram Temple.

Recent Events:-

Wounds of Babri Demolition have not healed up yet,We all remember the events that followed 6th December 1992 when Babri Masjid was Demolished by 200000 Karsevaks. Recent arrival of engraved stones in Ayodhya, for a future Ram temple at the site where the Babri Masjid once stood are all pointing towards some form of mishappening.

How Ayodhya Dispute can destroy National Unity:-

1)Communal Riots of a high scale may follow which will deteriorate the peace, unity and integrity of the nation.

2) Religion is a very sensitive matter, sentiments of the people are attached so the dispute can create a deep valley between Hindu and Muslims.Building up a temple may radicalize the two communities, which will divide India into 2 major groups Hindus and Muslims.

3)This will create fear, distrust and suspicion in the minds of the Minority community which will not allow them to integrate with nationhood.

However Ayodhya dispute settlement can Strengthen National Unity:-

1) SC is yet to give verdict on the Ram Janmbhoomi case,till that time no construction can be done. If SC gives a just and Fair decision over the issue encompassing the interests of both the parties then definitely wounds of Babri Demolition will heal quickly and will bring the two communities closer.

2)Ayodhya Dispute's Just settlement will increase the trust and confidence of Minority (Muslim) community in the Indian Democracy and will help in their integration with the nationhood.

3) If Dispute is settled permanently, then it might decrease the number of Hate speeches which we often hear.

4) Ayodhya issue dispute settlement will definitely help in lowering of Parliament disruptions which take place every now and then over the issue.

Govt. should intervene and prevent VHP and other radical groups from doing any such activity that will harm Unity and integrity of the nation. At the same time SC should give more time to the issue and give a just and fair decision and help in building an integrated nation.

Recently the Vijay Kelkar Committee on public-private partnership (PPP) has made many recommendations to review and revive PPP model in India. Discuss its important recommendations. (200 Words)

The Vijay Kelkar committee was constituted to review the PPP model and make recommendation to revive the sector,as the PPP model has not been able to perform as expected to various constraints .The following recommendation were given by the committee

Institutional Capacity
--It was recommended to establish 3P India as to support PPP activities as was announced in the Budget 2014-15
--To establish Infrastructure PPP Adjucation Tribunal and Infrastructure PPP Project Review Committee to settle disputes and review projects respectively

Models for PPP
--It has rejected the Swiss Challenge model for PPP projects because of lack of transparency.
--The one size fits all approach of the Model Concession Agreement should be replaced with sector specific models

Government Responsibility
--It requires the government to come with PPP Policy with backing from Parliament.
--The Prevention of Corruption Act must be amended to differentiate between genuine errors and corruption

Other recommendation
--Small projects should not be built with PPP
--Issue Zero Coupon Bonds for easy credit availability.
--Public sector should not be given PPP projects and private sector must be encouraged.
--PPP model should be introduced in other sectors as well

Thus if India needs to transform from a low income country to a high income country without being trapped in the middle income zone it need to reform the PPP for faster growth.

“The time has come to review the utility of not just Minimum Export Prices (MEPs), but also other restrictions on movement, storage and marketing of agricultural produce.” Do you agree with this view? Substantiate. (200 Words)

Ans:-Agriculture sector has been riddled with many problems relating to ad-hoc policies and inefficient systems that handle the movement, storage and marketing of food grains and appropriate steps are required on each of these fronts. Such an argument is being made because:

1)Minimum Export Prices-An ad-hoc policy is followed for hiking or reducing the MEP which affects farmer in adverse way because of poor realization of prices. A long term policy keeping interests of farmers in mind and the international market prices should be the way forward

2)Movement- The inter-state restrictions on movement of food grain prevents moving the grain from surplus to distress regions and thus affect the social security of people. Such barriers should be eliminated through use of Article 301 to 307 in Indian constitution that promotes free movement

3)Storage-FCI is under the hands of central government and has no autonomy. Decisions with regard to storage of excessive food grains or emptying the warehouses with rotten food grains are not in hands of FCI. Government should provide adequate autonomy to FCI to take such decisions in order to prevent pilferage of food grains.

4)Marketing-Farmers face problems of low price realization in Agriclutral Produce Marketing Comittees ‘Mandis’ and are not able to sustain themselves. The model APMC act that promoted the participation of private sector has not been implemented by all the states and the monopoly of APMC continues. Placing thrust on contract and direct farming to allow the farmer to fetch better process should be the way forward.

Agriculture sector promotes the food security of every individual in the nation and need to be provided with adequate care and support to keep it sustainable.

A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) committee on financial inclusion headed by Deepak Mohanty has suggested that the government should transfer cash directly to persons instead of giving subsidies, and should replace interest subvention on agriculture loans with affordable universal crop insurance scheme. Explain with examples how these recommendations, if implemented, will bring about financial inclusion. (200 Words)

Ans:-The RBI panel has mooted to bring radical changes to the existing policies pertaining to rural farmers. The major recommendations include Direct Benefit Transfer and replacing interest subvention with universal crop insurance scheme. Such moves are expected to further the goal of financial inclusion because:

1)DBT will ensure that farmers have to open bank accounts to obtain the cash benefits
2)Financial gains made from elimination of intermediaries can be used to move into the currently unbanked regions

Transfer of LPG gas cylinder subsidies, the pilot projects in case of Public Distribution systems in Andhra Pradesh , MNREGA payments in Jharkhand and pension distribution in Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Maharashtra and Chandigarh have already proved the mettle of DBT in the noble objective of financial inclusion.

Similarly, replacement of interest subvention with universal crop insurance scheme will make the farmers open bank accounts for getting the compensation in case of loss of crops. The Modified NAIS has the added benefit that it is available to small farmer holders and not restricted to borrowers only and thus even the marginalized farmers will be able to take benefits. The subsidy amount recovered from rolling back interest subvention can be easily used to provide better insurance facilities and hence deepen the penetration of insurance sector.

Financial inclusion prevents the farmers from clutches of moneylenders and the recommendations are a step forward in this direction.

What are the root causes of farm distress in India? Why do you think state interventions have failed to halt farmer suicides in parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka? Critically analyse. (200 Words)

Ans:-Despite various Govt policies farmer suicides are still increasing alarmingly. Main reasons for farmers' distress are:
1) Farm Size: Impact on economy. Farm population per hectare has increased and per capita income has declined.
Solution lies in ensuring higher productivity per hectare of crop area.
2) Rampant Urbanization : Decline in farm land due to diversion of land to non-agricultural use.
Farm mechanization is difficult without pooling of land for joint use of machinery.
Balance has to be struck to ensure primary character of crucial agriculture is not disturbed.
3) High Input Costs: Crops failures burden the farmers hugely. Subsidized fertilizers,seeds etc should be targetted and rationalised. Direct Benefit Transfer would be helpful in this case.
4) Rain-fed agriculture: Bad monsoon adversely impacts the produce.
Despite various policy measures like "Zero Suicide District" Osamanabad, Reason why state intervention has failed to stop farmer suicides in Maharashtra and Karnataka:
1) Discrepancy in the data recorded by State Govt and center creates lacunae at Govt level to tackle the issue.
2) Lack of skills to opt for alternative employment when farming seems non-profitable.
3) Insufficient Minimum support price and rising debts.
Proper counselling of farmers giving them emotional support in time of crisis ,motivating them to opt for minimum water usage crops , increasing the number of crops under MSP,shift to sustainable agricultural practices and implementation of Crop insurance schemes can help in tackling famers' crisis in our Country.

A task force on agriculture, set up by the National Institution for Transforming India Aayog or NITI Aayog, has suggested a number of measures intended to raise agricultural productivity and make farming lucrative. What are these suggestions? Critically comment on them. (200 Words)

Ans:-The task force on agriculture set up by the NITI Aayog has suggested the following to reform the agriculture sector-

1.Careful use of GM technology to produce varieties of pulses and oil seeds.

2.Replacing MSP mechanism with a deficiency payment system.

3.Easy land leasing to allow farmer with non viable land holdings to exit the farming sector and consolidating these non viable land holdings to make them viable.

4.Encouraging ' contract farming'.

5.Adopting a cooperative model for fruits and vegetables similar to that adopted in case of milk.

6.Deregulating the urea subsidies and providing direct subsidies to the farmers.

7.Enabling farmers to frequently upgrade their seeds.

8.Judicious use of Essential Commodities Act so that investment in storage facilities is not deterred.

9.Making food processing industry a major export industry.

10.Encouraging agriculture research with the help of private investment.

However-
1.Reservations about the GM technology still exist and their impact on ecology has still not been fully brought out.

2.Deficiency Payment system may act as a disincentive for farmers to work hard and its impact on tribals and casual labourers will be limited.

3.Providing cash subsidies to the farmers will not be viable unless each one of them has a bank account.

4.Leasing land from small farmers without proper rehabilitation will make his survival difficult as agriculture is a livelihood issue in India.

5.Contract farming may lead to exploitation of the illiterate farmers if the contracts are made to the disadvantage of farmers.

What are the criticisms made against universal health insurance subsidy schemes? Are they valid? Critically examine. (200 Words)

Ans:-The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system based on the JAM trinity has proved successful for subsidies for schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojna, LPG Gas Cylinders' Pahel, etc. However, there is an inherent difference between the DBT system in such schemes and the DBT system as proposed in the Universal Health Insurance subsidies. In the former, the subsidies are transferred directly to the beneficiary for having spent so much amount over and above what would have been the subsidized price. But in the Universal Health Insurance subsidies, the beneficiaries will have to transfer such received amount to those who offer medical services to them. This makes the Hospitals a proxy beneficiary while the individual seeking medical help is only utilizing the services by paying what he obtains from DBT. It may cause problems due to the following reasons:

- The out of pocket expenses will end up being the same as a 'universal' scheme of subsidies puts everyone on the same foot. Hence, the hospitals will be assured of the DBT amount and will expect the same additional expenses from the patients as before.
- The DBT does not tackle the primary problem, that is, access to medical care. In rural areas, private hospitals have no presence, and the public hospitals have mediocre health facilities.
- The private hospitals may tend to increase the treatment by various complications due to the lure of money. A similar situation like the hysterectomies surgeries in Andhra Pradesh may arise.

It is found by scientists that evaporating water can be used to generate power (Evaporation engine). How it can be done? Explain. (200 Words)

Recently Paris climate agreement (COP21) focusses on increasing use of renewable energy for power generation. In this aspect a new research by Colombia university scientists on evaporation engine may plays important role in future.

Sahin from Columbia University found new techniques of power generation from soil bacteria spores. These spores expand in moisture & contract in dry atmosphere. So by putting spores on long plastic tapes in humid conditions, sheet gets curved on absorbing moisture &opens up on other side to release moisture and cycle gets continued. Such open-close movement led to
push-pull force generation. So if connected with piston-rod arrangement, it produces electricity from generator by rotary motion.

This technique plays significant role as it’s capable of producing electricity from still water. So by placing long plastic sheets with
spores on reservoirs, reducing water vapour wastage it generates power. Also it’s found that such technique is much cheaper than other renewable sources like solar,wind energy.

But to bring technique from lab to actual reservoir,more research is to be done. For this initially more funding is necessary.So for implementation in future, Government as well as private sectors have to come forward for more research. Efficient implementation of such technique in futute helps India to achieve its sustainable development goal and also provide alternative option for costly solar power generation.

What do you understand by the Doha Development Agenda (DDA)? What is India’s stand vis a vis DDA? Examine. (200 Words)

The DDA or Doha Round is trade negotiations round among the WTO members which aims to revamp the existing trade regimes by harmonising the trade barriers and revised trade rules. It is majorly targeted at improving the trading prospects of developing countries.

India’s stand:
--- According to the WTO rule, subsidies must not exceed 10% of the value of foodgrains produced and calculated at the base price of 1986-88. This is biggest issues which India is negotiating as it provides huge subsidies to farmers through various
initiatives.
--- Limits on public stockholding to ensure developing countries do not dump their excess cereals at rock bottom prices in the international market is also a contentious issue.
--- Food security is the foundation upon which the UN’s MDG to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger stand; forcing developing countries and Least Developed Countries to agree to anything may compromise their right to food security.
--- Even government support to farmers in developed countries are way ahead of what developing countries can even afford to provide. For example, while India provides about $12 billion farm subsidy to its 500 million farmers, the US provides around $120 billion to its 2 million farmers.

Since India caters large number of people below poverty line, it is important that these issues are amended according to the dynamic needs of developing countries through enhanced market access, balanced rules, and well targeted, sustainably financed technical assistance and capacity-building programmes.

How do the virtues of trustworthiness and fortitude get manifested in public service? Explain with examples. (150 Words)

Ans:-Trustworthiness is a virtue of earning faith of others in oneself regarding some purpose. Fortitude is a display of courage in a difficult situation. These virtues are very important in public service owing to the nature of job where the foremost priority is to work for the welfare of people. Sometimes the public service involve challenging situations which would require a test of character for the incumbent.

For example, a fund for rehabilitation of neglected old-aged people is setup. In such a situation, if a person of dubious character is put in charge of that fund, then it may cause great tragedy for the concerned people, furthering their pain. Here a trustworthy person is needed to be made in charge of it.

In another example, suppose you are the SP of your district and a person has committed rape of a poor girl. Now that girl's family has come to the police station to lodge FIR but they were turned away as the accused was politically influential. When they come to you, you are also under pressure from the accused and high political levels. In this case, it would require courage to do the right thing even if it means transfer or some insignificant posting. Thus virtue of fortitude is desirable here.