Economy

Answer : The outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), first identified in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, China, in December 2019 and since then having spread globally, has been recognised as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. India is widely affected by this pandemic. Taking into consideration its severe intensity, seen in the context of India having the highest rate of density population in the world, the Governments, both at Union and State levels, commenced necessary actions on war footing to prevent the spread of this pandemic. It was all the more so when it is known that this deadly disease has no medicinal cure.

The effect of Coronavirus is badly felt and noticed in the world’s most developed countries like the USA, Britain and Germany etc. Obviously, India was bound to be affected not only because of its domestic slowdown but also because of international recession. Learning the lessons from the developed countries like Spain and Italy, India put all its machinery and material into motion to curb and/or prevent the disease. What started as one day ‘Janta Curfew’ by the Prime Minister of India and lockdowns by some of the state governments, the entire country was declared to be under lockdown in March and the same continued for months.

The impact of coronavirus pandemic on India has been largely disruptive in terms of economic activity as well as a loss of human lives. Almost all the sectors have been adversely affected as domestic demand and exports sharply plummeted with some notable exceptions where high growth was observed.

Since agriculture is the backbone of the country and a part of the government announced essential category, the impact has been low on both primary agricultural production and usage of agro-inputs. Several state governments allowed free movement of fruits, vegetables, milk, etc.

The contribution of the Aviation Sector and Tourism to our GDP stands at about 2.4% and 9.2% respectively. The Tourism sector served approximately 43 million people in FY 18-19. Aviation and Tourism were the first industries that were hit significantly by the pandemic. The common consensus seems to be that COVID will hit these industries harder than 9/11 and the Financial Crisis of 2008.

There has been a significant amount of changes in the telecom sector of India even before the COVID 19 due to brief price wars between the service providers. Most essential services and sectors have continued to run during the pandemic thanks to the implementation of the ‘work from home’ due to restrictions. Increased broadband usage had a direct impact and resulted in pressure on the network. Demand has been increased by about 10%. However, the Telecom companies are bracing for a sharp drop in adding new subscribers.

The pharmaceutical industry has been on the rise since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in India, the largest producer of generic drugs globally. With a market size of $55 billion during the beginning of 2020, it has been surging in India, exporting Hydroxychloroquine to the world, esp. to the US, UK, Canada, West Asia etc. In future, India as Pharma hub has potential to supply coronavirus vaccines tothe world.

The Indian Oil & Gas industry is quite significant in the global context – it is the third-largest energy consumer only behind USA and Chine and contributes to 5.2% of the global oil demand. The complete lockdown across the country slowed down the demand of transport fuels (accounting for 2/3rd demand in the oil & gas sector) as auto & industrial manufacturing declined and goods & passenger movement (both bulk & personal) fell. Though the crude prices dipped in this period, the government increased the excise and special excise duty to make up for the revenue loss, additionally, road cess was raised too.

For the Indian economy, private consumption and investment are the two biggest engines for growth. During the first quarter of 2020, private consumption ― accounting for 59% of India’s GDP ― declined by 27%, while investments by private businesses fell by 47%. India’s net exports turned positive due to sharp compression in imports. During the quarter, government spending increased by 16%, but it was not adequate to compensate for the decline suffered by other engines of growth. Except for agriculture, all the major sectors of the economy were badly hit. Significantly, labour-intensive sectors such as construction, real estate, retail trade, transport and manufacturing contracted sharply during this quarter.

In view of the scale of disruption caused by the pandemic, it is evident that the current downturn is fundamentally different from recessions. The sudden shrinkage in demand & increased unemployment is going to alter the business landscape. Adopting new principles like ‘shift towards localization, cash conservation, supply chain resilience and innovation’ will help businesses in treading a new path in this uncertain environment.

The government should commit to spending billions of dollars to better fight the health crisis and to fast-track economic recovery from the COVID-19-induced recession. Injecting billions of dollars into the economy now to save a $2.9 trillion economy is the most effective way out of this crisis.

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Answer : With so many events happening throughout the year, Indian economy has seen some major ups and downs. From the demonetisation shock to the landmark GST passage, recent economic reforms are significant and are of far reaching importance. In the most surprising and unspeculated move of 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 announced the decision to withdraw Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bank notes in a bid to crack down on black money.The government issued new Rs 500 and introduced Rs 2,000 note as replacement.

In the following weeks RBI introduced several rules in relation to withdrawal limit, deposits and exchange. Countless black money was retrieved, raids were conducted and even national banks were scrutinised.

It has been the boldest reform and the government claims that it definitely will bring long-term benefits at the cost of short-term setbacks.

Again in a unanimous decision on August 4, 2016, the Rajya Sabha approved the crucial 122nd Constitutional amendment to turn the Goods and Services Tax Bill into a law. The bill got 203 votes in favour and none against after years of debate and deliberation. This marked the biggest tax reform in Indian history since Independence as it brought all indirect taxes under one uniform tax system.

Following its passage, the Centre set up a GST Council that focused on other aspects of the tax such as exemptions, threshold compounding and control. On November 4, the GST Council finally agreed on a multi-layered rate structure as 0 per cent, 5 per cent , 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent, a departure from popular international practice of having one rate of tax for all goods and services.

The departure of the RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan created a buzz in the media with BJP member Subramanian Swamy’s tweets only adding to the stir. In a series of twitter mentions and comments, Swamy said Rajan was “mentally not fully Indian” for his decisions as RBI Governor and that he raised interest rates making it hard for small and medium industries to take loans.

Meanwhile, Raghuram Rajan’s Chicago University colleague and co-author, Luigi Zingales said that the Reserve Bank of India Governor was being attacked for “fighting the inefficiency of the banking system” and for taking on the crony capitalists in the country.

In a first, the Government set up a Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), a 6-member panel, to raise transparency in rate-setting decisions of the Central bank by featuring 3 members from the RBI (including the Governor) and three members selected by the Government.

The government’s decision to create the MPC was taken because the RBI had to consider multiple factors such as inflation, growth, employment, banking stability and exchange rate stability to make a rate decision.

Moreover, the RBI had to juggle the Government’s demand for lower rates and consumer’s agitation over high inflation and ended up focusing on different issues at different points of time.Therefore, the MPC seeks to achieve monetary policies taking into account fiscal indicators as well.

Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had taken a tough approach to clean up the bad loans that have plagued the Indian banking sector saying that the Central bank should’ve carried out this task earlier.

In October, the newly appointed RBI chief Urjit Patel said the RBI would be firm but pragmatic in dealing with bank Non Performing Assets (NPAs) so that the economy does not face lack of credit to support growth. And thus, the deadline to clean up the banks’ balance sheets is March 2017.

In June 2016, the Centre introduced the new civil aviation policy, a first integrated policy for the aviation sector since Independence. The policy included subsidised airfares, capping excess baggage and cancellation charges and promoting regional connectivity.

In October, the Government launched its UDAN scheme, acronym for Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik, that will make flying affordable for common man. Indian Railways have already conducted trial runs ofthe super-fast Talgo train to save on travel time and solar-powered coaches under its go green initiative are just to name a few.

On November 24, the Indian rupee fell to a fresh life-time low of 68.86 against the dollar over sustained foreign capital outflows.

With expectations of protectionist policies by President-elect Donald Trump, US bond yields began rising that fuelled a rally in the US greenback. This had urged investors to withdraw from emerging markets like India towards the US dollar.

The government also decided that Union Budget will be presented on the first working day of February next year in a departure from the colonial practice of being presented on the last working day of February.

Additionally, the Government will not present a separate railway budget but will in fact include it in the main budget, ending a 92-year-old British-era practice.

In February 2016, India overtook China as the fastest growing major economy in the world amid a failing global economy. In May, India’s GDP grew 7.5 per cent year-on-year between January and March, faster than the previous quarter’s 7.3 per cent.

In June, India’s GDP grew further to 7.6 per cent, retaining the fastest growing economy title. In the following months even as India’s GDP dipped to 7.1 per cent it still managed to stay ahead of China’s 6.7 per cent growth.

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Answer : E-commerce is a win-win situation for the consumer and the product/service provider. The various advantages E-Commerce offers to them can easily be elicited. The distinct advantages e-commerce can offer to the consumers include but are not confined to them only. Consumers have a much wider choice available on the cyber market. They bear lower costs for products due to increased on-line competition among sellers. Because of wide-scale information dissemination, consumers can compare products, features, prices and even look up reviews before they select what they want. They enjoy wider access to assistance and to advice from experts and peers.

They enjoy saving in shopping time and money. Consumers also avail of fast services and delivery of products and services. They also have the convenience of having their orders delivered right to the door step. Finally, consumers are driven to e-shopping in hordes as even branded goods cost less on the Net.

It also brings advantages to the suppliers and companies. It minimizes inventory cost. E-commerce venture need not maintain huge inventories or expensive retail showrooms. Their marketing and sales force is a fraction of that of traditional mortar-based businesses.

E-commerce can minimize inventory costs by adopting just-in-time (JIT) system enhancing the firm’s ability to forecast demand more accurately. It can improve customer services. It has been found that providing both customer and after-sale services account for up to 10 per cent of the operating costs. By putting these services on-line under e-commerce, these costs get reduced, on the one hand, and simultaneously the quality of services also gets improved, on the other.

High quality customer relationship called” “customization” is crucial for retaining custom­ers in the e-commerce environment. That is the reason why customer Relationship Management (CRM) has become the buzzword which everybody is talking of now. E-commerce provides ample opportunity for CRM solution and, in turn, in establishing better relationship with the customers.

It becomes absolutely necessary for the company to enhance customer loyalty. Otherwise the customer, who is full of choices, can jump from one website to another. If company is to stay in business then it will have to deliver the products or services to customers as they want, when they want, and how they want.

It reduces distribution costs as well. The Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) based on Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) study has revealed that the time needed to process an order declined abruptly by a minimum of 50 per cent to a maximum of 96 per cent. It is really amazing.

It helps business globalize. E-commerce by minimizing costs enables companies especially small ones to make information on its products and services available to all the potential customers spread over worldwide. This is well confirmed by Amazon. Com. founded by Jeff Bezos, the largest bookstore in the net by taking away a large amount of sales from the traditional booksellers. In India, the experience of reinfusion-on-the- net presents the similar case.

It helps market products more quickly. By taking the entire product design process online, drawing partners and customers into the process and removing the traditional communication barriers, companies can bring products and services to market far more quickly.

Internet commerce solutions allow customer to reduce the costs of sales and open new markets, speed and simplify order accuracy, approval, and processing, tracking and delivery and improve decision making, leverage existing investments in infrastructure, business systems and repositions and link manufacturers with suppliers on the same network.

But there is another side of the coin also. Some businesses are less suitable for electronic commerce. Such businesses may be involved in the selling of items which are perishable or high-cost, or which require inspection before purchasing.

Most of the disadvantages of electronic commerce today, however, stem from the newness and rapidly developing pace of the underlying technologies. These disadvantages will disappear as electronic commerce matures and becomes more available to and accepted by the general population. But still E-Commerce offers more than it harms.

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Answer : Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail means foreign direct investment in the Indian retail business. The retail business can be either a single brand retail business or multi brand retail.At present, foreign direct investment (FDI) in pure retailing is not permitted under Indian law. Government of India has allowed FDI in retail of specific brand of products. But the major concern is regarding the government’s decision to allow FDI of 51% under multi brand retail.

Now FDI would allow foreign companies to bring in the necessary investment to upgrade the retail sector infrastructure across the country. Since their focus would be profit they would set up efficient supply chain management systems to ensure that product deliveries are on time. The emphasis would be on reduction in wastage of food items.

This would bring down the food prices which have been a major cause of inflation in the country as well as a source of public dissent against the government. The farmers would get a better price for their produce for two reasons. It would also lead to the removal of the middle men which would provide additional revenue to the farmers (the retail chains would buy directly from the farmers).

Contractual farming would mean improved and efficient farming practices as well as higher output and better prices. It would also generate employment opportunities in the wake of improved supply chains that would be set up to cater to these retail stores. It is mandated in the policy that 50% of any investment over a $100 million would be in the backend infrastructure which would benefit by creating jobs as well as infrastructure for a developing country like India.

Again FDI in retail will not benefit the farmers since the large foreign companies will squeeze them for lower prices in order to earn higher margins. The large foreign companies work on wafer thin margins since they offer their goods at low prices. In that scenario they would procure their goods at the lowest possible price to get the maximum benefit. Loss of livelihood for millions of small time traders who would not be able to compete with the large foreign players in terms of prices (foreign companies have deep pockets which the small Indian traders cannot match).Manufacturing sector would suffer since the foreign players would source their products from international markets in order to get low prices. The policy states that State Governments can take a decision about FDI in retail. But FDI is not a State Policy matter. Hence this is not possible. The central government will take the final call.

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Answer : In a developing economy like India, prices usually display an upward trend. But if prices keep rising persistently, they cause great hard­ship to the people. They spare neither the rich nor the poor, neither the producers nor the consumer. They make a economic activities uncertain and unstable, causing great unrest in the minds of the people.

Prices are expressed in terms of money. When the rupee or any other currency buys much less than what it used to, and more is to be paid for practically every item, then the problem of rising prices comes into being. In economic terminology it is known as ‘Inflation’. Where the balance between money supply on the one hand and goods and services on the other is disturbed, a critical problem arises. If money supply increases more than goods and services available, prices will rise.

The fixed-income groups like salaried people, wage-earners and pensioners are the most helpless victims of inflation. As prices rise, their real income gets eroded. The additional dearness allowance which the government sanctions from time to time proves of no use to them, because their purchasing power actually goes down. Inflation induces businessmen to invest their money in non­productive assets like gold and land whose real worth is not affec­ted by rising-prices. High prices also adversely affect the exports of the country and distort the balance of foreign trade.

Numerous factors can be cited to explain price rise in India. First, our economic planning has suffered from serious drawback, right from the beginning. During the various Five-Year Plans, while the public expenditure persistently increased, the production targets were never realized. Secondly, this forced the Government to resort to deficit financing. The resulting imbalance inevitably led to infla­tion. The Third, major factor responsible for price rise is that due to great emphasis laid on heavy industries in our Five-Year-Plans, agriculture and consumer goods industries, which produce the items required by the people, have received insufficient attention.

People are more worried about the short-term effects on their daily food supply than on long-term effects on their health. 71 percent of voters consulted in a recent poll were preoccupied with rising food prices. In fact it takes a heavy toll on the vote bank of the incumbent government. Opposition Parties makes it a political tool to bring down the government. It was the rising price of the onion that had brought down the Vajpayee government-a fact no one can afford to forget. Our government is quite conscious of the magnitude and implications of the problem. What we now need is a strict enforcement of these steps.

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Answer : India’s economic growth has accelerated significantly over the past two decades and so, too, has the spending power of its citizens. India is a big country that consists of various segments of consumers, based on income, class and status. Real average household disposable income has roughly doubled since 1985. With rising incomes, house- hold consumption has soared and a new Indian middle class has emerged.

The combination of rapidly rising household incomes and a robustly growing population has led to a striking increase in overall consumer spending.

By 2025, however, the global segment will wield 20 percent of total spending and the new middle class will come to dominate, controlling 59 percent of India’s consumption power.

Today, despite their lower incomes, rural households, due to their majority share of the population, are collectively India’s largest consumers-57 percent of cur- rent consumption is in rural areas versus 43 percent in cities.

However, by 2025 the Indian consumer market will largely be an urban affair, with 62 percent of consumption in urban areas versus 38 percent in rural areas. Urban areas will account for over two-thirds of the future growth in the Indian market despite the fact that even in 2025; urban areas will have only 37 percent of the population.

Today the largest categories of Indian spending are food, beverages, and tobacco (FB&T); transportation and housing. By 2025 this will still be the biggest category, although its share will have dropped from 42 percent to 25 percent. Transport and health care will be the second and third biggest markets respectively.

Communications, which accounts for only 2 percent of spending today, will be one of the fastest expanding categories with growth of over 13 percent a year (on an aggregate basis). Other categories that will see annual growth of over 8 percent include transportation, personal products and services, health care, and education and recreation as these categories evolve into sizable markets.

These facts show the continuous increase in the rise of Indian middle class, not only urban but also rural middle class. Indian middle class is forecast to be the next set of target customers for the MNCs all over the world and expected to be the world’s fifth largest consumer market. Spending patterns of Indians and their sensibilities is a major study of most investors right now.

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Answer : India does not lack in renewable energy resources such as sunlight, biomass and wind. Ours is the only nation in the world to have a dedicated ministry for the same, the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES), which is now known as the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. The department is responsible for promoting renewable energy technologies, creating conducive environment for promotion and commercialization of these technologies, resource assessment, extension, etc.

India can definitely look towards using non-polluting renewable sources of energy. By doing so, it will not only meet the needs of the required power but will also create millions of jobs. India must think of wind, solar, biomass, hydro, geothermal and biogas as alternate sources of energy.

The power generation from renewable sources is rising from 7.8% in Financial Year-08 to 12.3% in Financial Year-13. India is the fifth largest wind energy producer in the world. Rest of the energy is constituted by small hydro power, bio-energy and solar energy.

India is new to wind power, which started in 1990s, but within a short span of time, our country has become the fifth largest country in terms of total installed capacity of wind power. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and West Bengal are the main states where wind power plants of different capacity have been installed. Out of total power of the country, 1.6% is generated through wind.

Solar energy is an inexhaustible source of energy available in abundance in India. Every year, India is showered with about 5,000 TWh of solar power. Power problem in India can be solved even by utilizing a tenth of this available resource.

India must shift towards using renewable energy from oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear power plants. the government must formulate favourable policies for the generation of energy from renewable resources. People or community using renewable resources must be benefitted with some incentives or schemes to popularize the use. India must have a dedicated research and development centre to develop, promote and increase the use of renewable source of energy.

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Answer : Liberalization means the dismantling of trade barriers between nations and the integration of the nations economies through financial flow, trade in goods and services, and corporate investments between nations. It resulted in the globalization of Indian economy. It has increased across the world in recent years due to the fast progress that has been made in the field of technology especially in communications and transport. The government of India made changes in its economic policy in 1991 by which it allowed direct foreign investments in the country.As a result the various beneficial effects of liberalization in Indian Industry are that it brought in huge amounts of foreign investments into the industry especially in the BPO, pharmaceutical, petroleum, and manufacturing industries. As huge amounts of foreign direct investments were coming to the Indian Industry, they boosted the Indian economy quite significantly.

The benefits of the effects of globalization in the Indian Industry are that many foreign companies set up industries in India, especially in the pharmaceutical, BPO, petroleum, manufacturing, and chemical sectors and this helped to provide employment to many people in the country. This helped reduce the level of unemployment and poverty in the country. Also the benefit of the effects of liberalization on Indian Industry are that the foreign companies brought in highly advanced technology with them and this helped to make the Indian Industry more technologically advanced.

The various negative effects of liberalization on Indian Industry are that it increased competition in the Indian market between the foreign companies and domestic companies. With the foreign goods being better than the Indian goods, the consumer preferred to buy the foreign goods. This reduced the amount of profit of the Indian Industry companies. This happened mainly in the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, chemical, and steel industries.

So the government of India must take steps in order to ensure that the changes in the structure of the Indian Industrial Sector are such that it facilitates globalization in a manner that is gainful and constructive for a country like India.

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Answer : Black economy is variously referred to as unaccounted economy, illegal economy, subterranean economy or unsanctioned economy. It is also called parallel economy as it runs parallel to the legitimate economy. For a proper understanding of black economy it would be appropriate if we first understand black money--the very basis of black economy. In a general way, one may define black money as the money that is generated by activities that are kept secret in the sense that these are not reported to the authorities.

The consequences of black economy in India have been widespread as well as far-reaching. The harm caused by them is not merely superficial but goes deep into the sociopolitical-economic structure.

The growth of black economy has greatly worsened the distribution of income in the society and has undermined the social fabric of the society. With the passage of time these disparities have got accentuated and have led to mounting discontent among the masses. The availability of black incomes with the triad and consequent inequalities of income, place a large amount of funds at their disposal. The easy money finds ready outlets in non-essential articles of conspicuous consumption. This has demonstration effect on all classes of people.

The black economy has serious macro and micro consequences. It worsens poverty and acts as a check on development. It has been estimated that due to black economy India has been losing 4 per cent potential rate of growth since mid-seventies. The employment generated by the black economy is unproductive employment. A large part of such employment, directly or indirectly, relates to illegality which then result in a large expansion of law and order, enforcement and intelligence apparatus, all of which is unproductive employment.The failure of planning and of specific policies like the compulsory education of children is closely linked to the rapid growth of the black economy. The government is unable to achieve the plan targets since the funds allotted are squandered away and whatever reaches the field is not enough to deliver the quality of services required. These distortions in the product-mix in favour of non-essential consumption have adverse effects on production and thus they defeat the objectives of planning.

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Answer : The monsoon affects the Indian agriculture in a substantial measure and its impact is indeed very apparent. Therefore, a former Finance Minister referred to the country’s budget as “a gamble in monsoon rains.

India is popularly known as the land of monsoons. Scientifically speaking, monsoon winds are caused due to the difference in land and sea temperatures. The sweep of this wind system is set in the rhythm of summer and winter seasons. The land surface becomes comparatively warmer in summer and cooler during winter while the temperature at sea remains relatively constant.

As a result, massive convective air currents are set up over the land in summer. Cool and humid air from the sea surface travels towards the land to fill up the vacant space in the area of low pressure. The moisture-laden wind starts blowing from the sea towards the landmass during the summer season. In winter, the landmass is comparatively cooler and the slowing down process is called ‘retreating monsoon’.

The onset of monsoon is expected every year normally in the month of June. The Indian masses, especially the rural people, anxiously wait for the arrival of monsoon. The mass media also become careful in heralding the onset of monsoon. The coming of monsoon is in itself a spectacular phenomenon accompanied by heavy dark clouds, violent squeals and thunderstorms.

Surprising climatic incidence takes place during the pre-monsoon period. States like Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand and Bihar experience violent thunderstorms in April and May. This is the well known ‘North-Western Monsoon’, locally called ‘Kal Baisakhi’. These thunderstorms typify strong consecutive motion in the local atmosphere.

Whenever pre-monsoon cyclonic activities are severe and frequent, it is difficult to distinguish between pre-monsoon thundershowers and arrival of genuine monsoon rains. The progress of the monsoon in India can be conveniently traced to two of its branches namely, the Arabian Sea Branch and the Bay of Bengal Branch.

In the peculiar circumstances, the Indian farmer has no escape. He has to face the same devil each year at his field. This drama of mighty nature has been witnessed on a grand scale. Excessive monsoon rains lead to floods in several areas, while no rain in other parts results in severe drought and famine conditions. It is a well-known fact that success of Indian agriculture depends largely on the monsoon. The failure of monsoon to bring sufficient rain could well lead to a crisis of considerable magnitude. The scientists and technologists at this stage are not able to eliminate the conditions resulting in the failure of monsoon.

India is predominantly an agricultural country. Success or failure of crops in any year is always crucial for the development of Indian economy, which in turn controls the economy of the country. In 1950s and 1960s, Indian budget was regarded as a gamble on the monsoon rains. This holds good even now.

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Answer : Over the past two hundred years mankind has managed to do more damage to the environment through exorbitant use of fossil fuels.We have caused acid rain which affects our fauna, trees, and water systems, and we have depleted the ozone layer. Some cities have such dangerous level of pollution in the atmosphere that on certain days people wear masks (usually people who have respiratory illnesses). Incidents of respiratory related illnesses as well as non-smoking related lung cancer have increased with a strong correlation to the polluted atmosphere.

The second concern is the need to find replacement fuels because the people on earth are rapidly using up resources that can’t be replaced.Trees are being harvested at a rapid rate leaving topic soil uncovered and causing run off. The fuels like coal and oil are going to run out for future generations if something is not done.

The fuels were made by species that no longer exit after millions of years of time to decay and transfer.Time is no longer on mankind’s side.

The last primary concern is the condition of the ozone layer. The earth has always had a protective layer in the atmosphere which protected the plant from too much heat entering or exiting our planet. The carbon emissions have caused a hole that is still increasing in the ozone area.This has caused increased warming of our planet. The damage to our water system has been a result of pollution and the hole in the ozone layer. The hole in the ozone has caused ice burgs to melt.The ice burgs are a source of fresh water supply. Because of the damage of ice in the Polar Regions, species are losing their environment and dying off.

Fossil fuel use has also led to damage for species on the planet.For example; the oil spills that have happened have caused the death of many different species, polluted the water system, and destroyed habitats. Air pollution also affects animals. Therefore it is vital for mankind to find cleaner fuel resources to replace fossil fuels. Alternative energy possibilities include but are not limited to hydro energy produced by water movement, solar energy, wind energy harnessed from moving air, thermal energy found in underground heated systems and plant related fuels.

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Answer : Globalization refers to global alliance and reliance in the matters of trade, culture and economy. It heavily banks upon worldwide expansion and integration. Due to amazing innovation and rapid advancement in the field of information technology, the world has literally shrunk into a village today. Globalization has virtually swept away the political boundaries.

No distance is now big enough and no country or nation really foreign! Due to the staggering volumes of business and the astounding profits that come with it, even the most reluctant countries have opened up their doors to globalization. The ramifications of such a revolutionary change in policy are much bigger than one may think. The profound consequences and affects of globalization are already visible. In today’s world, globalization affects every area of our lives be it law, education, religion, medicine or technology. Since, globalization is largely about making loads of money and quick profits; utilitarianism is its chief ruling principle. The negative impact of such a highly profit-oriented new economy is colossal indeed.

Globalization has brought in a new kind of oppression in the form of flexibility, contracts, projects and ever-changing working conditions, instead of long-term steady jobs and income. The availability of cheaper labor abroad and the outsourcing are some of the factors that have made job security a thing of distant past.

Globalization causes erosion of jobs in the country and fuels unemployment. Since, the employers often threaten to take jobs abroad to save money; millions of employees in this country constantly face the fear of pay cuts and layoffs. Service and white-collar jobs are particularly vulnerable to this kind of a risk. Such an unpredictable scenario can cause serious emotional unrest and can disorientate an individual.

Globalization is also responsible for the ever-rising gap between the affluent few and the impoverished majority. The resulting feeling of despair and resentment can never augur well for the society. Globalization makes big multinationals and corporations powerful enough to seriously interfere with the policymaking of a country. Since, they can call shots;the interest of the common man tends to get seriously jeopardized. Globalization has also been criticized for contributing to the horrors of ecological risks and rising global inequalities. It is incumbent upon us to save ourselves and the future generations from the devastating effects of globalization. This resolve alone would “determine whether the 21st century marks the descent of our species into anarchy of greed, violence, deprivation, and environmental destruction that could well lead to our own extinction. Or the emergence of prosperous life-centered civil societies in which all people are able to live without want in peace with one another and in balance with the planet.

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Answer : Tourism plays a vital role in the economic development of a country. Tourism is the second largest foreign exchange earner in India. The tourism industry employs a large number of people, both skilled and unskilled. It promotes national integration and international brotherhood.

India has fascinated people from all over the world with her secularism and her culture. There are historical monuments, beaches, places of religious interests, hill resorts, etc. that attract tourists. Every region is identified with its handicraft, fairs, folk dances, music and its people.

The diverse geographical locales of India delight the tourists. The monuments, museums, forts, sanctuaries, places of religious interest, palaces, etc. offer a treat to the eyes. Every region is identified with its handicrafts, fairs, folk dances, music and its people. Some of the places that attract a huge number of tourists are Agr, Jaipur, Jhansi, Hyderabad, Nalanda, Mysore, Delhi, Mahabaleshwar, Aurangabad etc. Hardwar, Ujjain, Shirdi, Varanasi, Allahabad, Puri, Ajmer, Amritsar, Vaishno Devi, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Rameshwaram etc. are places of religious importance. Srinagar, Kullu, Manali, Dehradun, Nainital, Darjeeling, Ooty etc. are famous hill resorts.

Terrorism nowadays has become a global problem. Our country is also not an exception. The terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, Maoists attacks in West Bengal and Bihar, Bodo agitations in north-eastern hill areas greatly affect the tourism in our country. Kashmir is the paradise for domestic and international tourists. The terrorism in this valley not only affects the life of the common people but also the tourism, which is very important for the economy of the state. Necessary steps should be taken by the state government as well as central government to prevent this menace.

The tourist infrastructure in India should be strengthened. Airports and railway stations should provide information to the tourists about the tourist destination. Government owned hotels should be properly managed. The Government should also take steps for the maintenance for the tourist destination. Steps should be taken to restore the ancient splendor of the monuments. Sincere efforts could help to further develop the Indian tourism industry.

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