Privatization of Indian Railways is a no brainer

 In July 2020, Indian Railways has invited private companies to run 151 passenger trains on 109 train
routes. Government of India is expecting Rs.30,000 crores private investment with this move. It was
announced that the private trains will start from April 2023.
 India’s first private train is Lucknow – New Delhi Tejas Express, which was inaugurated in October
2019.
Benefits:
 In general, with limited investment, developing countries give priority to the welfare of the citizens
over providing world-class facilities for them. So, it’s better to transfer that responsibility to private players to
create a win-win situation for all.
 Passengers will get access to world-class trains with better facilities, less transit time and more safety.
It was announced that these private are going to use modern technologies and require low maintenance. This
is a win-win situation for both the companies and passengers.
 At present, the demand for tickets is more than supply. Many times, people are forced to be in the
waiting list to travel in trains, without the certainty of the confirmation of seat. With private trains, supply can
meet the demand.
 Government of India said that these trains will be manufactured in India under the ‘Make in India‘
program. If that really happens, it will create many jobs and will uplift the economy, which is desperately
needed in the present time because of job losses due to pandemic.
 This can end the monopoly of Indian Railways. Private players can instil a competitive spirit and can
bring more facilities at affordable rates.
Challenges:
 This step can deepen the already existing inequality between rich and poor. Indian Railways clarified
that the fares in the upcoming private trains will be in the range of flight tickets. So the poor and middle class
may feel excluded.
 With the use of modern technologies, many jobs can become redundant. So, private trains may
not provide employment opportunities as many as the government trains provide.
 If they are not manufactured in India as promised, coaches and other equipment will be imported. In
that case, it will be a loss to India as it can lead to neo-colonization.
 Even though the announced private trains constitute only 5% for now, there is no guarantee that it
won’t be increased. If it is increased in the coming years, Indian Railways can suffer like BSNL & Air India,
which were pushed to near bankruptcy due to the competition from private players.
Conclusion:
Private investment will help in modernising railways. It will give us access to better facilities, less transit
time and more safety in trains. And it’s the government’s responsibility to regulate the prices and make the
journey in them affordable. It’s also important to upgrade the remaining trains too, so that common man will
not feel neglected and discriminated.

India is a country of literate, qualified but uneducated people

India is facing many issues. Some of them are major issues and need immediate attention. However, we
cannot pick one issue as the biggest problem of India. Because all the major issues are equally important and
mostly interlinked. The following problems are the major issues that India is facing. You can choose any of
the following to speak on this GD topic, and can support your stance with the impact it has on India.
1. Poverty :-
Causes :-
 Lack of education.
 Lack of employment opportunities.
 Natural Calamities such as floods and earthquakes can make people poor.
 Disease outbreaks.
 Expenditure on health. This is the most important reason for many middle class people slipping into
poverty.
 Government’s failure in uplifting the economic status of people.
 Disguised employment in agriculture.
 Agricultural crisis. Due to this, many farmers are slipped into poverty.
Impact :-
 Malnutrition, which impacts overall health. Again they have to spend their meagre earnings on
hospitals and hence forever stuck in the cycle of poverty.
 Illiteracy.
 Lack of skills.
 Unemployment due to lack of skills.
 Impacts country’s economy.
 Increase of crimes.
 No happy childhood.
Solutions :-
 Providing them support to improve their economic status.
 Providing access to quality education.
 Creating employment opportunities.
 Raising minimum wages.
 Affordable healthcare services.
 Keeping prices of basic necessities in check.
 Providing nutritious food to all for nominal prices.
4. Illiteracy :-
Causes :-
 Poverty.
 Lack of access to schools.
Impact :-
 Increasing gap between illiterates and literates in economic status & employment opportunities.
 Digital literacy needs basic literacy. Increasing digitisation in India makes them feel left out.
 Vulnerable for money scams.
Solutions :-
 Improving access to education.
 Providing incentives such as midday meal scheme to attend schools.

#METOO Movement is just a publicity stunt by attention seeking people

What is #MeToo :-
 ‘Me too’ phrase was first used in 2006 by Tarana Burke, a social activist to raise awareness on sexual assault.
She chose this phrase because she regrets not saying ‘me too’, when a 13-year old told her about the sexual abuse she
faced.
 In 2017, #MeToo hashtag became famous when Alyssa Milano encouraged women to share their sexual
assalut ordeal, so that everyone will know the pervasiveness of sexual abuse in society.
 In 2018, #MeToo became trending after a Bollywood actress Tanushree Dutta alleged that Nana
Patekar sexually harassed her in 2009. And she stated that she had to quit her career due to this incident.
 Tanushree Dutta inspired many and several women came out and named several sexual abusers among
celebrities. This movement strengthened when MJ Akbar was forced to resigned for the post of Minister of State for
External Affairs, when 16 women alleged that he has sexually harassed them.

Changes brought by #MeToo revolution :-

 In many cultures, women are discouraged from speaking up against sexual harassment . In India, the situation is
even worse. The victim will be labelled as a sexual harassment victim throughout her life. She has to face victim
shaming too. #MeToo movement improved this situation. Now, women are encouraged to speak up.
 Many women who are facing sexual abuse now know that they are not the only victims . Often victims are
manipulated to such an extent that it is their fault to go through sexual abuse. And they are made to believe that it is
 better to be silent than to speak up and being labelled. Hearing these personal stories gives them strength to come out
and to complain against the sexual abuser. Many people now know that being a victim of sexual abuse is not something
to be ashamed of.
 Those who have power now think twice to use their power in a wrong way.
 Though very few, men are also sharing their sexual abuse experiences. ‘Adhyayan Suman vs Kangana Ranaut‘
case is an example of this. It is very important to spread awareness in society that men can also be victims of abuse.
 Many victims were silenced before as their abusers have power. Now, they are listened and understood. This is
a bug step towards their healing considering the intense mental trauma sexual assault survivors go through. This can be
evident in ‘Vinta Nanda vs AlokNath’ case. She wasn’t believed when she told her story 19 years back.
 In many cases, though victims followed legal procedure and filed a complaint, these incidents were not revealed
to public and hence abusers continued living their life normally despite committing the crime. Whereas victims were
further harassed to withdraw the complaint. Now with the power of social media, almost everyone is not willing to work
with proven sexual offenders.
 ‘National Commission for Women’ (NCW) dedicated a separate email id – ncw.metoo@gmail.com. Sexual
abuse victims can send a formal written complaints to this email id.

Negative side :-
 Using #MeToo movement, some people are making false allegations and maligning the reputation of innocent
people to take revenge or for other selfish motives. There are limitations to freedom of speech. People cannot just make
baseless allegations on anyone. Some were not even proceeding legally, they are just telling in social media and are
staying silent. People who accuse someone have onus on them to take part in trial if the opposite person do not accept
their side of the story. Without it, every man is at threat of being framed as a sexual abuser.
 Some people are anonymously sharing their stories and naming the offenders. This may turn into a dangerous
phenomenon anyone can malign someone else’s reputation without even revealing their identity.
 Recently POSCO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) act included boys too. But In India, there are no
laws for male sexual abuse victims if they are adults. This is very discriminatory towards one gender.
 These cases will undergo trail in courts for years. The overburdened Indian courts may not be able to do justice
to the victims legally. On top of that, there may not be any proofs in these type of crimes.
 As of now, only celebrities are utilising the MeToo movement. Common people are still silent and are scared of
victim shaming.
 Still some people are blaming the victim, and questioning their choices of work, clothes etc. Some are
assassinating the character of victim.
 After Nirbhaya incident, nothing has changed. #MeToo may also become like that.
 Several movie personalities are following double standards . On one side they are supporting Me Too
movement, and on another side they do item songs which depict women as an object of sexual desire.

What needs to be done :-

 Proven sexual offenders should be punished as soon as possible to send a positive message in society.
 Several Me Too stories are about child sexual abuse. Many didn’t even realize what was happening at the time
of incident as they were minors then. So many children across the world are facing sexual abuse. This was once again
reminded the importance of giving awareness to children on sexual assaults. Parents should teach their children to
openly communicate with them.
 The underlying cause of violence on women is that men and women are taught from a very young age that the
men are the stronger one and should be so. This puts immense pressure on young boys to be dominant and follows the
wrong theory of masculinity. Many young boys think women are of less value. In many families of India, male member
will be the head of the family. This also teaches them that they have this entitlement. It is very important teach the issue
of gender equality to young children.
 There should be punishment for those who make false allegations . But it will be very difficult because proving it
as a false allegation is also tough.

Conclusion :-
#MeToo movement brought a positive change in society. It is very tough for women to speak about the sexual
abuse they gone through. Most of the victims suffer the mental trauma throughout their lives. This encourages the
offenders to commit crimes repeatedly. Me Too has changed this situation for the better. It encouraged victims to speak
up and to heal in the process. It also made sexual offenders regret their actions, because now victims are speaking up.
Though some people are misusing the movement, this can be solved with a proper legal procedure.
The main success of Me Too movement is that it taught many people that it’s not their fault to be a sexual abuse
victim. This movement started shaming offenders instead of victims. Many people now do not want to be associated
with the proven sexual offenders. It is a big step towards reducing violence against women.  Behavioural change is
needed to further reduce these kind of crimes.