Real Estate

High costs of housing units and lack of affordability.
Increase income tax deduction limit for housing loans, given their prices in large cities.
Incentives for Green Housing projects.
Deletion of Dividend Distribution Tax for REITs.
By granting Infrastructure status for housing, the availability of priority funding would be greatly enhanced.
Real Estate Regulatory Legislation.
Swifter project approvals.

Taking stock of the defence sector

India remains the largest importer of defence hardware in the world. 

Issues:

• Most submarines currently operated by the Indian Navy are past their operational life, while the Indian Air Force is still saddled with MiG-21 aircraft of 1970s vintage. 
• Defence modernisation remains stuck in procedural and bureaucratic delays. Direct purchase of 36 Rafale jets from France. Time and cost overruns are typical of our procurement process.

Way to go:

• Opening up the defence sector to private players. 
• Creating a single window for defence licensing and FDI approvals for ensuring ease of business.  For example, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) (Deptt. of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance), which are currently under different departments/ministries, ought to be brought under one umbrella. 
• Accord infrastructure industry status to the defence sector, thereby paving the way for easier credit. 
• Cyber threat in the form of snooping virus present in imported defense systems exists. Indigenous software should be used.
• India should talk transfer of technology. India must insist on co-development and co-production of defence systems that it plans to buy from the U.S. The way we should go with the Americans has to be on the lines of the co-development and co-production of the state-of-the-art Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) with the Russians. India's decision to buy Apache helicopters without Transfer of Technology for local manufacture is unwise.
• Naresh Chandra Committee recommendations on Army reforms: Exploiting technology for intelligence gathering, setting up a NATGRID & NCTC , appointing a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). Reduce the communication gap between political leadership and armed forces community. 

Drug Pricing

The recent decision to remove customs duty exemption on the imports of ~70 drugs could also have a significant economic impact. India’s pharmaceutical industry suffers from a significant lack of competition. India’s drug pricing regime remains ripe for change. We need to ensure affordability of life-saving drugs. We must encourage a centralised procurement system, as utilised by Tamil Nadu, for purchasing drugs. Unethical and unfair drug selling practices, such as holiday trip offers and fancy gifts, used to influence doctors and key bureaucrats, need to be curbed.

Start-ups

Start Up India
Stand Up India
Income Tax exemption for 3 years. Do they earn during the initial 3 years. No
Regulatory clearances an issue
Single window clearance for start-up closure.
Taxation on Employee Stock Options should be rationalised.

Section 377

Naz Foundation Case, 2009: Delhi HC decriminalised Section 377 of IPC in the case of consensual adult sex in private.
Suresh Kumar Koushal Case, 2013: SC reversed the Naz Foundation judgement thereby violating the doctrine of equity, privacy and dignity guaranteed under Article 21, 14 and 15. Criminalisation under Section 377 exacerbates the spread of HIV. The judgement exhibited a total disconnect with the expanding horizon of human rights.
NALSA vs UOI case: SC recognised a 3rd gender status for transgenders.

Fiscal Consolidation

FRBM Act, 2003.
7th Pay Commission has recommended a 23.5% hike which would push up the fiscal deficit. OROP. Bank capitalisation.
Volume of taxes stuck in disputes.
The govt. should widen the tax base, rationalise tax rates.
Strategic sales of profitable state-owned companies.
De-control urea prices.
Expand JAM. Move over to cash transfers.
Discontinue obsolete CSSchemes .

Bad Loans

Creation of a public-funded asset reconstruction company (ARC)
Substantial debt write-offs have already been made by the banks.
Act tough on wilful defaulters.
The penal provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code need to be strengthened.
A key systemic cause behind such intense corporate debt distress and the accumulation of bad loans within the public sector banks is to be found in the premature euthanasia of the Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) in India. Following the recommendations of the Narasimham Committee-II, DFIs like the ICICI and IDBI, which were created in the post-Independence period to provide long-term finance for industry, were converted into universal commercial banks. The committee’s presumptions regarding the capacity and skills of the commercial banks and capital markets in India being sufficient in meeting the financing needs of the industrial sector have turned out to be gross overestimates. The govt. should revive the DFIs.

Delhi's municipal crisis

Municipalities are starved out of funds. There is no credible data available regarding resource utilisation at city levels which makes planning all the more difficult.
Way out:
Provide tax exemptions for municipal bonds.
Property tax, stamp duties, entertainment tax and profession tax need to be given to municipalities.
FRBM Act for Municipalities.
Audit of accounts of municipalities by CAs.
Address acute shortage of skilled staff in the revenue departments of municipalities.

LIGO

Gravitational waves are small distortions of the “elastic or fluid” space-time that travel at the speed of light, set off by the motion of massive objects in space-time. Space-time is, however, very “stiff” and it needs large masses and violent motions to bend it and set off gravitational waves.
Albert Einstein’s special theory of relativity came into conflict with the law of gravity. 
Einstein’s equations say that matter stresses and curves space-time as if it were elastic. Hence, the motion of the Earth around the Sun is described by the Sun curving space-time around it and the earth responding to that curvature very much like a heavy ball distorts the surface of a trampoline and a smaller ball moves guided by the contours of the distortion.
Chandrasekhar predicted that beyond the Chandrasekhar Limit, a massive star becomes a black hole. Another prediction of Einstein’s equations is that time ticks faster the farther you are from a massive body.
We are familiar with light, X-rays, radio waves that are all part of the electromagnetic spectrum. These waves are produced by the motions of electrically charged particles as predicted by James Maxwell. All hitherto knowledge of our universe is from these types of waves. Astronomers “see” the sky using various telescopes, which are sensitive to radio waves, light, X-rays, gamma rays, etc. However, electromagnetic waves can be blocked.

Scientists in various institutions in India have been members of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration.

Climate Change

Concerns:
It is feared that 1/4th of Earth's species could be headed for extinction by 2050.
Shifting of seasons and Frequent disasters.
Increasing global temperatures and rising sea levels. Heat stress can adversely impact labour productivity.
Changing agricultural patterns.
Increased cases of vector-borne diseases.
Alterations in Biogeochemical cycles.
Acidification of oceans.

Way Ahead:
Common but Differentiated Responsibilities.
Finance and Technology transfer. INDC (Bottom Up approach). Carbon Budget. India's INDC proposed at 21st COP, Paris.

• To reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33-35% by 2030 from 2005 level.
• To achieve 40% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030.
• To create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of C02 through additional forest cover by 2030.

Promotion of clean energy.

Enhancement of energy efficiency.
Enhance Carbon sink.
Adopt Sustainable lifestyles.
Reintroduction of Climate Smart Millets in diet as they are more tolerant to drought and heat.
Mangroves should be conserved as they serve as bioshields.
Pulses can help to fix nitrogen in the soil.
Urban planning to reduce heat islands.
Roof top solar projects
Canal top solar projects
Blending of ethanol and biodiesel.
Energy efficient home appliances.
Use of LED.
Phasing out of subsidies provided to fossil fuel consumption.
Clean Coal technology: Coal converted to syngas.

Gandhiji had said, "The Earth has enough for everyone's needs, but not everyone's greed."

Canada and Siberia will benefit from a small rise in temperature since this will help to prolong the duration of the crop.

An improved understanding of the dynamics of climate change has shifted the focus from economic development to sustainability of the development process.

Current share of renewable energy capacity is 13% of total generations.
National Solar Mission target is 100 GW installed capacity by 2022.(Gallium Arsenide and Carbon nanotubes have potential). The goal is to have 175 GW by 2022 from all renewable energy sources.
CO2 sequestration.

Transport: Lifeline for Development

The Sagarmala project of the government aims to make ports engines of growth. The govt. of India has decided to make 106 inland waterways as national waterways. Increasing the share of coastal transport given India's long coastline.
Increasing share of road transport. Need for more environment friendly transport modes like rail and water.Road Safety. Public transport should provide last mile connectivity. Connect rural areas by all-weather roads. Maintenance of rural roads is a challenge.

Dedicated freight Corridors: Western DFC (1500 km) will be from Dadri in UP to JNPT, Mumbai. It will pass through Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Eastern DFC (1800 km) will be from Dankuni in WB to Ludhiana in Punjab. It will pass through Bihar, UP and Haryana.

Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor.

One of the major concerns of transport infrastructure planning is the non availability of authentic data.
Indian Railways is the lifeline of the nation. Capacity enhancements in rail- Dedicated freight corridors, improved signalling, increasing speeds, design of toilets, expressways (Land acquisition an issue). Electrification of tracks. Satellite stations to reduce congestion at main stations. Accidents at unmanned level crossings. Train Protection and Warning Systems. Anil Kakodkar committee for rail safety. Fire detection system.
North Eastern region has huge untapped potential. Infrastructure development in the region would promote cross border trade.
There are a large number of airports which are not profit making. Our safety standards and the regulation behind them have come in for international notice as being inadequate. Air navigation services should be separated from airport management of the AAI. Airports provide the face of India. It is important that airports that bring in international passengers are of world class standards.Starting an airline business is diffcult. Very high taxation, 5/20 rule. There are just 3 regional airlines.
We have multiple ministries focused on their own modes of transportation. Structural reforms to help integrate policy making across the ministries.
Indian cities are facing severe congestion, deteriorating air quality, increasing incidence of road accidents.Rapid increase in urban population has led to rapid growth of motor vehicles. Smaller cities which do not have a good public transport are witnessing very rapid motor vehicle growth. It is essential to arrest this trend.
Expand metro networks.
Separate bicycle tracks and paths for pedestrians.
Intelligent transport systems and traffic management.
There are 12 Major ports and are Government owned under the Major Ports Trust Act, 1963. These ports operate as Trusts, except the port of Ennore which is a company under the Companies Act. This model of operating a port as a trust is not sustainable. Apart from this there are minor ports which are purely owned by State govts. under Indian Ports Act, 1928.
Kolkata port is the only riverine port in India.
Preference for diesel cars due to diesel subsidies.
Sulphur levels in fuel remain high, well above the maximum of 10 ppm.
Mashelkar Committee.
Phase out old vehicles.
Parking fees should be raised.
Emission and safety standards should be set up under the Motor Vehicles Act.
Green highways to be monitored by using ISRO's Bhuvan and GAGAN satellite systems.

Panchayati Raj

E-Panchayat project
A village with not less than 1500 population forms Gram Sabha and every adult becomes a member of it.
Way to go:
We need to encourage participation in Gram Sabha meetings which are currently thinly attended.
Reduce Control by bureaucracy: There are instances of harassment of Sarpanch by block level officials.
Very few Panchayats use their power to levy new taxes and are much dependent on State funds. Except Kerala, no other state has taken any positive step to devolve funds to PRIs.
Give untied grants; Certain schemes are not always appropriate for all parts of the state.
Link Devolution with Performance: The quality of work done by Panchayats should be monitored and graded. Future funds should be linked with their grade.

Spike in Pulses Prices

India is the largest producer, consumer and importer of pulses in the world. MP is the largest producer of pulses.
Production of pulses is less resource intensive.
They contribute to soil quality by fixing nitrogen in the soil.
MSP is not effective in pulses as MSP of pulses is below the market price.
Over the past two decades, the production of pulses have shifted from Northern India to South and Central India.
Policy planning and farm subsidies are excessively focused on grains ignoring pulses.

Way Forward:
Clamp down hoarding.
Introduce buffer stocks.
Strengthening futures trade also reduces price variation.

Khadi- Fabric of Freedom

Self reliance
Employment generation
Considerable export potential.
Modi recent appeal to the citizens to use at least one time of khadi in their daily life, fabric that knit an entire nation into a united struggle. PM's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) implemented by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is a statutory body.
It is the textile industry which made us Sone ki Chidiya.
Gandhiji wanted to promote small scale industries.

Skill India

Skill plays a pivotal role in unlocking human potential. As per the Labour Bureau Report 2014, the current size of India's formally skilled workforce is only 2%. Skill India mission aims to skill over 40 crore people by 2022. Govt. cannot accomplish this task alone. Private Sector, NGOs, Educational institutions etc. need to be involved in the process of skilling.
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana is being implemented through the NSDC. Monetary reward would be provided to trainees who are successfully trained and assessed. National Skill Development Corporation is a PPP formed in 2008 as a not for profit company under Companies Act. It acts as a catalyst in skill development by providing funding to enterprises and organisations that provide skill training, For every proposal funded by NSDC, 25% is invested by the training organisation and 75% is provided by NSDC in the form of soft loan at 6% interest rate. It is an initiative to provide vocational training to the youth.

NSDA is an autonomous body under Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

Debate on Intolerance

Shastrarth: Debate, superior intellect and logic.
Charvaka daily hurled abuses at the Vedas. The Hindu society did not throw stones on him. His dissenting philosophy was heard and recognised.
It was the Hindu psyche of tolerance that even after religion-based partition, India did not treat its minorities the way Pakistan did.
Intolerance is a spirit that is alien to the Indian genes.

Globalisation impact on women

All the pain and trauma of the globalisation process falls on the shoulders of women. Globalisation has enlarged the area of choices of women and has resulted in double burden for women because they have to work both at home and in the office. In villages, male members in the family have left home. As women are staying back in the villages, they are working double by doing agricultural activities and home routine work. Globalisation has given benefits to the skilled and educated and has harmed poor women. Work of women is largely un-remunerative.

Indo-Russia ties:

Joint manufacture of Kamov-226 T military attack helicopters in India. Russia has been upset at growing ties between India and the West. Russia is keen to expand its defence exports due to the stress its economy is facing on account of Western sanctions over Ukraine issue, falling energy prices, and the increasing cost of military operations in Syria. Trade in Diamonds-India is the world's largest processor and Russia is the world's largest supplier.

India-Africa relations

3rd India- Africa Forum Summit met in Delhi. 1st was held in Delhi and 2nd was held in Addis Ababa.

Descendants of African emigrants in India are known as Siddis. We have a shared past of struggle against colonialism and racial hatred. Liberation of Goa provided the impetus for the anti-colonial movements in the Portuguese territories of Africa. Countries of Africa are growing faster than almost any other region in the world.