GD TOPICS

1. TOPIC: TELECOM SECTOR TROUBLE IN INDIA: GOOD OR

BAD FOR ECONOMY
STARTING:
 India is currently the world’s second-largest telecommunications market with a subscriber
base of 1.20 billion and has registered strong growth in the past decade and half. The Indian
mobile economy is growing rapidly and will contribute substantially to India’s (GDP).
 India ranks as the world’s second largest market in terms of total internet users. The number
of internet subscribers in the country increased at a CAGR of 45.74 per cent during FY06-
FY19 to reach 636.73 million in 2018-19. The internet subscribers reached 687.62 million till
September 2019. Total wireless data usage in India grew 10.58 per cent year-on-year to
19,838,886 terabytes between July-September 2019.
 Over the next five years, rise in mobile-phone penetration and decline in data costs will add
500 million new internet users in India, creating opportunities for new businesses.

Some of the developments in the recent past are:

 As of January 2020, more than 542 banks have been permitted to provide mobile banking services in
India.
 In December 2019, Airtel disclosed its plans to invest US$ 2.86 billion in its business as a part of
company’s annual target.
 As per report by Ericsson, India has the world’s highest data usage per smartphone at an average of
9.8 GB per month.
 As of August 2019, Jio's IoT platform is ready to be commercially available from January 2020.
 In August 2019, commercially launched Jio GigaFiber as wired broadband service.
 During the first quarter of 2018, India became the world’s fastest-growing market for mobile
applications. The country remained as the world’s fastest growing market for Google Play downloads in
the second and third quarter of 2018.               
 Bharti Airtel is planning to launch 6,000 new sites and 2,000 km of optical fiber in Gujarat in 2018-19.
 Vodafone India and Idea Cellular have merged into ‘Vodafone Idea’ to become India’s largest telecom
company, as of September 2018.


SOME POINTS:
 Government Initiatives
The government has fast-tracked reforms in the telecom sector and continues to be
proactive in providing room for growth for telecom companies. 
Achievements
Following are the achievements of the government in the past four years:

 Department of Telecommunication launched ‘Tarang Sanchar’ - a web portal sharing information on

mobile towers and EMF Emission Compliances.
  Value of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions crossed 1 billion-mark and witnessed transaction
value of Rs 1.91 lakh crore (US$ 27.33 billion) in October 2019.
 As of July 2019, India achieved 100 per cent digitisation of cable TV network.
 Six-fold increase in Government spending on telecommunications infrastructure and services in the
country – from Rs 9,900 crores (US$ 1.41 billion) during 2009-14 to Rs 60,000 crores (US$ 8.55 billion)
(actual + planned) during 2014-19.
 Over 75 per cent increase in internet coverage – from 251 million users to 446 million
 Country-wide Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) coverage doubled – from 700,000 km to 1.4 million km

CONCLUSION: TelcoMS are a necessary part of any future
consumer proposition, regardless of who owns the platform. The
path forward is leveraging this strength while navigating the
potholes of regulation, changing technology and consumer
dynamics.
 The number of internet subscribers in the country is expected to double by 2021 to 829 million The
Indian Government is planning to develop 100 smart city projects, where IoT would play a vital role in
development of those cities.
 2. TOPIC: Coronavirus : ‘black swan’ of global economy;
how it impacts india
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a former options market broker was the first to suggest the term
“Black Swan,” which is used to emphasize unpredictable, rare events that have the
potential to deeply affect the financial world and global economic systems.

STARTING: The COVID-19 pandemic is the defining global health crisis

of our time and the greatest global humanitarian challenge the world has
faced since World War II. The virus has spread widely, and the number of
cases is rising daily as governments work to slow its spread. India has
moved quickly, implementing a proactive, nationwide lockdown, with the
goal of flattening the curve and using the time to plan and resource
responses adequately
Worldwide coronavirus cases pass 4 million, death toll over 277,000 across the world including
49k in India due to the global spread of Corona Virus – Covid19 that originated from China,

SOME POINTS:
The total number of cases in India, infected by Corona Virus have gone up to 49k and the death
toll has gone up to 2700 as on 14 may , 2020. 

Air travel has been one of the hardest-hit industries in the world

Latin America's second-biggest airline, Avianca, driven to bankruptcy by
coronavirus

Tourism and Hospitality Sector

MakeMyTrip co-founder and CEO Deep Karla in a recent group interaction told
that the tourism sector was the first to get disrupted by the impact of Covid-19 and
will be the last to see a resumption of activities.
 A report from last month had already predicted the Indian tourism and
hospitality sector to lose more than over 3.8 crore jobs
 The lethal coronavirus pandemic has not just created a medical emergency but also
an employment crisis across the country. 

 Poverty pandemic
 According to a report by Press Trust of India, about 400 million people
working in the informal economy in India are at risk of falling deeper into
poverty due to the coronavirus crisis 
  Sectors impacted
 The decline in hiring activity is led by industries like hotel, restaurants, travel,
airlines (56 per cent), retail (50 per cent), auto and ancillary (38 per cent),
pharmaceutical (26 per cent), insurance (11 per cent), accounting and finance
(10 per cent), IT-software (9 per cent) and BFSI (9 per cent).
Automobile Sector:

 the automobile sector in India has been forced

 Working from home
 The nationwide lockdown has sent most people home, but that hasn’t stopped
work, which means balancing your work and home life


CONCLUSION: By the end of this pandemic, the

global job market might look nothing like it used to,
considering that  RBI governor stated that economic recovery in 2020 would be
slow.

As Experts feel that India has a good chance of becoming an attractive manufacturing hub
given the present situation, provided the government changes some of its trade policies to
bring down commodity prices. 

India has been following the same pattern in terms of mobile manufacturing in the country.
So, if one looks from this perspective, it provides a good opportunity for India."

data points to major job losses in INdia - despite

government stimulus - and the rest of the world.
 3. TOPIC: impacts of Technology on jobs : will Automation
& AI reduce or increase jobs

1. STARTING: Nowadays, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation is a buzz

topic. More specifically, the conversation revolves around the threat of Artificial
Intelligence taking over human jobs. 
2. 2. There is, however, no doubt that Artificial Intelligence is going to extremely
change the face of industry and employment. As technology becomes more
accessible and powerful, few areas are more at threat than others.

3. SOME POINTS: Robots might be great at organizing spreadsheets,

processing complex problems, and carrying out the series of tasks in the blink of
an eye .

BUT  care workers, nurses, and educators are a few examples of professions that are
secured by the machine revolution. In these regions, robots will assist human efforts,
instead of replacing them.

4. So without projecting too far into the future, we can ask the question, what jobs will
NOT be killed by AI?  So What are the qualities that humans have that cannot be
captured by AI? Perhaps creativity, emotional responses?
5. So perhaps researchers in academia will survive longer than most and
counselors/psychologists/case workers, and decision makers like CEOs who cannot
be predictable or error prone. And hopefully software engineers and algorithm
designers who develop AI systems.

1. CONCLUSION:
2. Technology changes the nature of jobs. Even though some jobs will become
redundant, technological advancement has the potential to create many more
employment opportunities than it eliminated.
3. Technology development is inevitable and technology can be a boon to the people if they can
adapt and update themselves with the latest tools.
 4. TOPIC: Citizenships (Amendment) Act 2019:
what,why,when & Whom; Relationship with NCR
explained
STARTING:
SOME POINTS:
CONCLUSION:

5. TOPIC: Free Metro ride for women : steps for women

empowerment or a practical Gimmick
STARTING:
SOME POINTS:
CONCLUSION
 6. TOPIC: Is India ready for cashless economy?
1. STARTING: Cashless payments are taking off in India, growing faster than in
other countries around the world.Digital transactions in India increased by 55% last
year, compared with 48% in China and 23% in Indonesia
2. India has more than 45 mobile wallet providers, and some 50 UPI-based wallet
providers, according to KPMG. There is still a lot of scope for growth,

3. SOME POINTS: Governments across the world have stepped up their fight against
cash. Cash is being increasingly viewed as a curse that mankind needs to rid itself of. The
goal is to move towards a cashless economy.
4. On 8th November 2016, our honourable prime minister of India,Shri Narendra Modi made
an announcement that the 500 and 1000 rupee notes would be banned. With this
announcement 86% of currency notes in India were just mere pieces of paper.
5.  The main objective was to curb black money and eliminate circulation of fake currency in
the Indian economy. India is a cash centric economy where less than 5% of all transactions
happen by money.

6. The coming decade could see introduction of new currencies. Digital money will lead to greater financial
inclusion — helping unbanked populations. It might lead to difficulties for older people, used to carrying
cash, and those living in remote areas.
7. A Cashless economy has its own set of challenges too! They are listed below:
7. Awareness and Education
8. India suffers from illiteracy and poverty. As a result, the majority of the population in India is
not aware of how to use the digital medium to transact. Even training them has limited utility.
Since they are not really educated, they can easily fall prey to rumors.

9. High-Speed Connectivity

10. India also has a problem with the availability of high-speed internet connectivity. A lot of
villages in India do not have uninterrupted electric supply till now. It would, therefore, be
impossible to transact digitally since internet connections and wi-fi connectivity will not be
present 
11. Loss of Freedom

12. The forceful introduction of a digital transaction is seen by many as a loss of their personal
freedom. It is an individual’s personal decision whether or not they want to hold their money in
banks or in the form of cash. The government can incentivize one form of transactions over
another. However, they cannot any form of transaction mandatory. That is a loss of financial
freedom and will get opposition from the masses.

CONCLUSION: : To sum it up, a cashless economy is still a distant dream in a country

like India. Although the merits far outnumber the problems, the lack of infrastructure makes it
impossible.
it requires sometime for India to take a transition towards Cashless economy. Meanwhile the
government of India has to address many challenges to meet the objectives of cashless economy.
The government has to provide internet facilities and financial literacy to all its people. While a
cashless economy is still not here, the move towards less cash economy is on the move

7. TOPIC: Abstract – Ethics or Profits

STARTING:
SOME POINTS:
CONCLUSION:

8. TOPIC: Sensex : Sensitivity has nothing to do with the

economy & society
STARTING:
SOME POINTS:
CONCLUSION:
9. TOPIC: Shortage of open spaces and playgrounds lead
to negative Tendencies in Children
STARTING:
SOME POINTS:
CONCLUSION:
10. TOPIC: Legality of Cryptocurrency in India?
STARTING: 1.A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that is
secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or
double-spend. 
2.The word “cryptocurrency” is derived from the encryption techniques which
are used to secure the network.
3. Cryptocurrencies face criticism for a number of reasons, including their use
for illegal activities, exchange rate volatility, and vulnerabilities of the
infrastructure underlying them. However, they also have been praised for their
portability, divisibility, inflation resistance, and transparency.
1. On March 4, the Supreme Court lifted the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI)
ban on cryptocurrency transactions. The RBI had imposed this ban since
April 2018, which curbed a wide range of cryptocurrency based activity in
India. Now, with this verdict, investors in cryptocurrencies and exchanges
that allow trading in them have got a new life. Will this work in favour for
both? Moneycontrol spoke to three crypto currency experts to get their
views.
4. Types of Cryptocurrency
The first blockchain-based cryptocurrency was Bitcoin, which still remains the
most popular and most valuable. Today, there are thousands of alternate
cryptocurrencies with various functions and specifications. Some of these are
clones or forks of Bitcoin, while others are new currencies that were built from
scratch.

Bitcoin was launched in 2009 by an individual or group known by the

pseudonym "Satoshi Nakamoto."1 As of Nov. 2019, there were over 18 million
bitcoins in circulation with a total market value of around $146 billion.2

SOME POINTS:
CONCLUSION:
 11. TOPIC: Innovations Vs Inventions : What Is more
important

STARTING:
Invention is the "creation of a product or introduction of a process
for the first time." Thomas Edison was an inventor.

Innovation happens when someone "improves on or makes a

significant contribution" to something that has already been
invented. Steve Jobs was an innovator.

Game-changing products are

often innovations not inventions
 innovation requires a broad set of marketing, technical and strategic skills.
 One of the most cited examples of Innovation is the Apple’s iPhone. It has revamped an
ordinary mobile phone and has innovated the existing product and technology to make it much
more useful for the people who are using it and has launched technological revolution.
 Innovation may not need a new discovery or newly created product but may add
tremendous value to the existing one
SOME POINTS:
Need for Invention
 Innovations are the cause effect of an invention. If there is no invention, no one can
improve upon it.
 No innovation can take place in case of no invention.
 Consider this analogy by innovator Tom Gratsy given to Huffington post 'If invention is a
pebble tossed in the pond, innovation is the rippling effect that pebble causes. Someone has to
toss the pebble. With no ripping effect of invention, a phase of stagnancy will come into play.

 inventions are a proof of the credibility of scientific knowledge..

 Inventions have unexpected results.

 Inventions should be the leading priority.

For an invention to produce excellent results it is necessary that no one else has
come up with the same or similar idea in that particular period of time.
 Invention is the building block for innovation.

 Inventions require skills.

An invention should be notably different from the others for it to gain importance.
For this companies have to indulge in a lot of research and experimentation, which
requires skills and right technique.

Example for Invention :-

Nikola Tesla – He was an eccentric inventor and an exceptional scientist who  made
major inventions like alternating current, remote control, neon lamps,3-phase power
and induction motor and many more which are used today in day-to-day life.


World can do with Innovation
 Innovation may not need inventions although new discoveries of the products are good
thing
 A country, a company or a society can move ahead even without inventions. For example
Japan did not invent a Car nor it invented a Television but has done so many innovations on the
existing products that it has become world leader in them.
 Innovation is all about the consistent improvement through research and practical
implementation of it.


 Innovation is a major contributor to the growth of a company.

Rapidly innovating organizations have an edge in terms of their growth. Even a

smaller scale company can grow by leaps and bounds if it is advancing its products
and services as per the needs of its customers.

 Innovation attracts the best talent.

 Innovaion requires a variety of skills.

 Innovation gives technical advantage.

 Innovation requires an extensive study and research , the result of which should be
superior to the competitors. Thus innovation is a complex process.

CONCLUSION: While invention and innovation might seem similar there is a

difference between both. While invention can be referred to as the basis, innovation can be
related to improvements. Thus it can be concluded that both have a vital part to play in
providing continued benefits to a company.