Impact of Demonetization on Indian Economy

Positive impact :-

A good part of black money is eliminated from the economy. This money
can be spent by Indian government for the development of country.
Post-demonetization, Indian government blocked many routes for black
money formation.
With increased transparency, trust on Indian Economy is increased.
Thereby foreign investments poured in.
Amid the fears of government moves, everyone is now ready to pay the
taxes. Hence more revenue for Indian government.
Due to the heavy usage of cash transactions, informal sector is the worst
hit by demonetization move. Though it suffered at first, many informal
organizations are now turning into formal organizations, which means
more transparency and more taxes for Indian Economy.
Demonetization move encouraged cashless transactions, which is a boost
to Economy.
As people are more likely to keep their money in banks, savings will be
increased.
With more money in banks, loans will be available to more people. With
increased loans, banks will be benefited by interests.

Negative impact :-

GDP growth was earlier estimated as 7.8%. Post-demonetization,

estimates are lowered to 7.1%.
Agriculture sector, small and medium scale businesses and informal
sectors are the worst hit by demonetization. It takes a lot of time for them
to recover from the losses. This has a negative effect on Economy.
 There is no guarantee that demonetization move will turn India into a
cashless economy.
Consumer demand was hit by demonetization, hence retail inflation fell
to 3.17% a multi year low. With this, growth of economy will slowdown.

Conclusion :-

Though the GDP growth will get hit for the year 2017, the effect of
demonetization move along with policies like Digital India, Benami Act, cap on
cash transactions will spur GDP growth in the coming years.
 Is India a secular country

Secularism is a hot topic of discussion these days not just for dinner time
discussions but also on prime time on major news channels and forms an
important part of the ongoing political debate. With the elections scheduled
next year, secularism is going to be at the epicentre of political debate and will
play an important role in deciding the voting patterns next year. This are the
points you can use in a GD on the topic of secularism and its relevance in
India:

Is India a secular country?

Well, yes and no. It depends on how you define secularism and what are the
various aspects of religious tolerance you want to take into account.

What is secularism?

As per the Constitution of India, discrimination against members of any caste,

creed, colour or religion is not allowed. India does not have an official state
religion and every person is free to practice, preach and propagate the religion
of their choice. Internationally, secularism has a more generalised definition
the state and religion (and the persons representing the two) are kept separate
from one another.

Is India secular Points in favour

The state does not favour any particular religion

Places of worship of all religions co-exist in the same areas across the
country
Equal right to exist and function is provided to all religious organisations
as long as their functioning does not go against the law of the land
All organisations in the country are mandated to provide equal
opportunities to people from all religious backgrounds
 The nation and the state have been kept separate from one another no
religious organisation with visible religious credentials/affiliations is
allowed to be a part of the administrative machinery

Is India secular Points against the motion

Secularism should be defined keeping in view the mind-set of the Indian

society and not merely what is stated in the constitution of India
The Indian society is still full of prejudices and bias against particular
religious communities
Caste based discrimination is still widely prevalent in the country and
secularism is also defined from the perspective of caste based
discrimination though it is often overlooked in India
Certain religions outfits do have religious affiliations
Secularism has become just a fancy word it has been grossly
misunderstood and misused by the political leaders of the country
Communal appeasement has become the norm rather than upliftment of
all irrespective of their religion
Political parties still use the ideas of communal appeasement to fake
secular credentials
Religious tensions and clashes are still widely prevalent in various parts
of the country and are fuelled by the politicians themselves for their
vested interests (give the examples of Kashmir, North-east India, Bengal
etc. and how the state machinery failed to do anything about the same).
 Reservations in India- Caste Based Vs Income Based

Santosh: Hello all, the topic given to us is Reservations in India: Caste based
Vs Income based. Reservations in India were brought primarily with the
objective of providing opportunities and better living standards for weaker and
under privileged sections of the society. Dr. B R Ambedkar fought for bringing
reservation system into Indian constitution to help economically various caste
people who were unable to have sufficient opportunities to grow.

Ashwin: That is true. It was also fought to have a fair representation in all
public institutions from all sections of the society which was not the case till
then. Lower castes were deprived of having a better chance in education, jobs
and many other things which led to caste based reservation. They were
primarily divided into Scheduled castes (SC), Scheduled tribes (ST) and other
backward castes (OBC).

Divya: I agree that they were not having enough opportunities so there was
need for reservation. However caste based reservation gradually led to huge
exploitation of the system both politically and socially. Instead of bringing
equality and growth in the economy this system has become inefficient and
uneasy to get away with.

Santosh: Thats true. Currently, we can see a lot of disparity in the way the
people have grown in these sections of the society. Irrespective of their
individual economic standards, these people are getting benefits which is not a
good sign when looked from the non-reservation peoples perspective.

Deepthi: Yes. I think there should have been constraints in the beginning itself
on implementing caste based reservation for a certain period and on ensuring
only the needed people get the benefits.
Ashwin: I think that is why we need to consider income based reservation
system which brings balance by helping people who are economically weak.

Kartik: Thats right. This helps in making sure that high income people are not
given excess benefits. However, Income is not the only criteria to look at who
should be provided with reservation. There are many parameters like social
environment, literacy rate, accessibility to quality education that defines who
needs reservation.

Deepthi: Given high income, all those parameters can be achieved as they
become affordable. We also see that people with higher income move to other
places where they can afford better facilities and economic benefits. This
should be a reason why low income people should be given reservation.

Kartik: There is also chance that though the income sources are high, the level
of education one can get in the area is less qualitative, which impedes the
growth scope for high income people as well. We can see significant differences
in the growth rate between urban and rural areas in education and quality of
living though the income levels are same.

Divya: I agree with your point. Rural areas lack in awareness and efficient
resources which is a bane for healthy growth. But, with caste based reservation
also we face the same problem. Income based reservation is helping the people
in need for better opportunities whereas caste based reservation is letting the
people who doesnt really need help also have the extra benefits which is not
fair.

Ashwin: Caste based reservation is being exploited politically as well. Political

parties are creating agendas targeting their communities and creating a biased
environment. This became an instrument to gain votes and create parities
among people to form communities of their own and encouraging casteism.
Deepthi: Thats true. Recent Bihar elections are an example to see how caste
based reservation became a tool in elections as well. This is also creating
communal and regional divisions in many places which is detrimental to the
progress of the economy.

Santosh: I think loss of the ruling position also became an issue as political
parties and government are unwilling to change or scrap the reservation
policies at a large extent, which is not efficient in the current economic
scenario. Other countries provide opportunities to the people who deserve the
chance unlike ours.

Ashwin: we can say that compared to caste based reservation, Income based
reservation has better target segment which makes it preferable option from
the economy perspective. It is also imperative that we look at long term growth
which can be significantly productive in income based reservation though it
can still bring uneven results.

Kartik: I agree with your point. Political aspects make caste based reservation
inefficient compared to income based reservation. Both the reservation systems
have their advantages and disadvantages. For a country like India where
scrapping reservation doesnt seem like a viable option as long as politicians
are afraid of losing their power.

Santosh: We also can see a lot of talented people who doesnt fall under any
reservation category leave to other countries because of loss of opportunities to
them. We also are creating an environment where unequally skilled people are
enjoying the same benefits.

Deepthi: I think that will happen as long as we want to provide employment to

all sections of the country, which is needed to reduce the poverty and
unemployment levels.
Santosh: Yes. But, if real growth in the economy with equality and quality life
standards need to be achieved, Government should take the bold step of
providing opportunities, financial aid based on the income levels and not just
based on the caste which means creamy layers in the minority communities
should not be given excess benefits.

Conclusion

The issue is a complex one. In a country like India, to reduce the poverty and
employment level, weaker sections of the society needs to be provided with
financial aid or reservation. But, reservation based on caste can create many
conflicts like we face in the current scenario which is not beneficial to our
progress. Income based reservation can ensure that only people with less
income get the benefits they really need, though it also has the inclination
towards bringing inequality of opportunities as we move ahead. Living
dynamics in India are changing gradually and in order to ensure equality,
government should take the bold step of providing only financial aid based on
the income level to nurture the skills required to grab the opportunities
available.
 Love Marriage vs Arranged Marriage

Advantages of Love Marriage :-

Marriage is a life-long commitment. So, selecting life partner should be

in ones own hands.
Love is the base for any marriage. In love marriages, there will be no
question on whether love happens or not.
In Love marriages, couple knew each other very well and most probably
they already understood each other fully. Hence, there wont be much
conflicts.
People, who go for love marriage have more choices than those who go for
arranged marriage, because arranged marriages mostly happen in
between same caste/class/religion people.
Planned love lives results in happy families.
Generally, equality prevails in love marriages.

Disadvantages of Arranged Marriage :-

Arranged marriage is like a lottery. Love may or may not blossom

between the couple.
Couple do not know each other well, if they spend less time together
before marriage. If they have many differences to an extent that they
cannot live together, marriage will break.
In the name of arranged marriages, forced marraiges are still prevalent in
many parts of India.
Too much submissiveness to elders may restrict couple from divorcing,
even if they do not have love in between them anymore.
People who go for arranged marriage may not be that comfortable to
discuss everything in detail before marraige. This may cause problems
after marriage.
 Though divorce rate is less in arranged marriages compared to love
marriages, it cannot be said that they are happily married.

Conclusion :-

Whether it is love or arranged marriage, relationship will work only if both

the partners are serious and honest in the reationship. Life partner must be
selected according to their own will and not by force. These days, in Indian
arranged marraiges too people are taking time to learn about each other before
marriage, which is a sign of evolving society.
 Need of censorship on social media

For

- Certain pages can be seditious, defamatory to the institution of religion which

is not accepted in the plural society.
- It wont be good for the harmony of the country.
- Some of the social media which is put up on the internet is offensive either to
people or to a nation, and thus, requires censoring.
- Various sites play host to materials which could bring about a rift in the
society.
- It can be used for mass effects like, mass violence or creating mass chaos.

Against

- There is a very thin line between censorship and obstruction of freedom of

speech and expression.
- Laws and rules which are brought in the system should be followed which
would not require the need for censorship.
- India is a democratic country and if they censor these social networks then
they can hardly preach to dictators.
- There are many important services like rescue service, which rely on the
social sites for real time information, not providing it may cost many lives.
- Social media should not be treated differently from the other forms of media
like book or press. If they are not being censored then there is no need for
censorship on social media.