{"id":10359,"date":"2017-10-17T12:22:59","date_gmt":"2017-10-17T06:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=10359"},"modified":"2017-10-13T12:25:12","modified_gmt":"2017-10-13T06:55:12","slug":"answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-october-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-october-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Answers: Mains Marathon \u2013 UPSC Mains Current Affairs Questions \u2013 October 16"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/mains-marathon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Archives<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Q.1) What is Corporate governance? \u00a0What needs to be done in order to strength corporate governance in India? (GS-3)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ans:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recently, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">21-member Committee on corporate governance headed by banker Uday Kotak has submitted its report to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Meaning of Corporate governance:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Corporate governance<\/span> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is <\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">about promoting corporate fairness, transparency and accountability.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Corporate Governance deals with how a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">corporate is governed<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a set of system, processes and principles which ensure that a company is governed in the best interest of all stakeholders.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also helps in protection of shareholders interest, commitment of values and ethical conduct of business.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What need to be done in order to bring corporate governance into play?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Corporate social responsibility is important in this regard.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It helps in bringing social accountancy of firms towards the society at large while in turn pitching in their bit to help the government achieve socio-economic-political goals. It is significant in the following manner:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Clarity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Regarding the priorities of government thereby enabling corporates to channel the funds accordingly<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Autonomy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: To direct the receive to spend the fund<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Incentives<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Lack of incentives for complying with mandated provision.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Cooperation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Lack of cooperation and guidance from local bureaucracy to enhance the effectiveness of funds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>However, there are certain reinforcements that CSR bring in for corporates:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><b>Goodwill<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: helps in brand building and loyal customers and greater retention of employees<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>No penalization<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Government has not enforced any penalties in case of breach of targets thus avoided hurting the interests of donors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Conclusion:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Corporate governance is very essential for overall growth of the companies. Therefore, CSR is noble initiative to improve societal conditions especially to foster unity and inclusivity. Greater synergy by addressing the concerns of donor will go a long way in making far more effective.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Q2) The 14th edition of India-EU Summit was held recently in New Delhi on October 6. What were the positive outcomes of the summit? Why is it important for India \u00a0to cement its bond with the EU? (GS 2)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ans:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 14th edition of India-EU Summit held recently in New Delhi on October 6.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Introduction:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The EU was represented by President of the European Council, and President of the European Commission. While the India was represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The summit marked the 55th anniversary since the establishment of EU-India diplomatic relations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The leaders reviewed the wide-ranging cooperation under the India-EU Strategic Partnership<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Recognising that India and the EU are natural partners, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to further deepen and strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership based on shared principles and values of democracy, freedom, rule of law and respect for human rights and territorial integrity of States.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Positive outcomes of summit:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India and EU reaffirmed their commitment to a \u201crules-based\u201d international order and a \u201cmultipolar\u201d world.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is significant because U.S. moving towards reneging on several international deals.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two sides have agreed to enhance cooperation at multilateral and bilateral interactions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under the FTA, the issue of data adequacy and greater market access was discussed at length.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The leaders committed to work in a result-oriented and mutually beneficial manner to further strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership by deepening their trade cooperation, enhancing investment flows in both directions and broadening dialogue and engagement on global and regional issues, including climate change, as well as migration and the refugee crisis, and resolved to further strengthen their bilateral and multilateral cooperation in these areas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The leaders commended the strong engagement of the European Investment Bank in India in a wide range of key sectors, in particular in the field of climate action and renewable energy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Foreign Policy and Security Cooperation:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to an open, free, secure, stable, peaceful and a<\/span><b>ccessible cyberspace<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, enabling economic growth and innovation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They agreed that India and the EU, as the world&#8217;s largest democracies, need to support a <\/span><b>rules-based international orde<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">r that upholds agreed international norms, global peace and stability, and encourages inclusive growth and <\/span><b>sustainable development<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in all parts of the inter-connected and multipolar world. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The leaders strongly condemned the <\/span><b>recent terrorist attacks<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in many parts of the world, underlining their common concern about the global threat posed by terrorism and extremism.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening global non-proliferation efforts as highlighted at the I<\/span><b>ndia-EU Non-proliferation and Disarmament Dialogue in New Delhi on 18 July 2017.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India and the EU reaffirmed their commitment to enhance <\/span><b>maritime security cooperation in the Indian Ocean<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and beyond. Both sides noted the recent joint manoeuvres <\/span><b>(PASSEX)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> between the EU Naval Force and the Indian Navy off the coast of Somalia, as a successful example of naval cooperation<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both sides agreed to enhance the <\/span><b>India-EU space cooperation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including Earth observation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India and the EU reiterated the importance they attach t<\/span><b>o human rights cooperation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including on gender equality and women empowerment in all spheres of life<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India and the EU reaffirmed their support for the continued full implementation of the <\/span><b>Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) regarding the Iranian nuclear issue<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regarding the situation in Syria, India and the EU reaffirmed the primacy of the <\/span><b>UN-led Geneva process<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and called for full support for the intra-Syrian talks with a view to promoting a political solution in Syria<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both sides underlined the importance of ASEM as an informal platform for connecting Asia and Europe. Both sides also agreed to give new impetus to ASEM in the run up to the next ASEM Summit to be hosted in Brussels, where the focus would be on tackling global challenges together.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Terrorism, Rohingya discussed:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adopting a Joint Statement on Cooperation in Combating Terrorism, both sides agreed to take decisive and concerted actions against globally proscribed terrorists and terror entities, including Hafeez Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Dawood Ibrahim, Lashkar-e-Tayibba, Jaish-eMohammad, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Haqqani Network, Al Qaeda, ISIS (Da\u2019esh) and their affiliates.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>India and EU also discussed the Rohingya crisis and urged Myanmar to implement the Kofi Annan-led Rakhine Advisory Commission\u2019s recommendations<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and work with Bangladesh to enable the return of the displaced persons from all communities to Northern Rakhine State.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Why India needs to cement its bond with the EU?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India and the EU should continue to welcome each other\u2019s leadership roles in the world, because of commonly shared values.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The EU is <\/span><b>India\u2019s largest trade partner<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and it is also, like India, wary of China\u2019s political (the summit declaration makes a reference to freedom of navigation principles) and economic dominance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The EU is concerned about China flooding global markets with inexpensive steel and its response to China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative has been lukewarm, but the strength of China\u2019s relationship with EU member states themselves is heterogeneous, with China trying to make inroads into Eastern and Central Europe through infrastructure investments.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With around \u20ac100 billion in bilateral goods and services trade last year, India and the EU have a lot to gain from a trade deal.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It will certainly pay for both India and the EU to keep each other close as they feel their way around the emerging international order.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Conclusion:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The European Union and India are natural partners. Every year, millions of Europeans come to India to discover this great country\u2019s many marvels. There is even a local cricket team in my native Luxembourg, made up largely of Indian players.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India is one of the world\u2019s fastest growing economies; the EU is the world\u2019s biggest open market and the world\u2019s second largest economy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the world\u2019s two largest democracies, it is now time for Europe and India to infuse their relationship with a liberal vision for a transformed global order<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Q.3) <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The digital revolution has made it possible for the services sector to deliver rapid growth and jobs more sustainably than the manufacturing sector. Discuss (GS-3)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ans:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The emergence of e-commerce platform is an example of how digital revolution can lower transaction costs, increase productivity as well as make it more inclusive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Digital revolution:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Expansion of digital technology can play a big role in improving rural access to banking.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Financial inclusion can be achieved through last-mile connectivity<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Financial services will help in medium-size cities, small towns, and villages to become new drivers of growth.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The digital revolution means it is possible for the services sector to deliver rapid growth and jobs more sustainably than the manufacturing sector.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Digital technology and growth:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The new industrial revolution and digital technological changes have changed the growth drivers in developing and developed countries.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These technological changes have enabled services to be the new driver of growth.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The digital revolution, by lowering transaction costs in services and overcoming problems of asymmetric information, has made services more dynamic than in the past<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The emergence of e-commerce platforms is an example of how digital revolution can lower transaction costs, increase productivity as well as make it more inclusive.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Internet-based businesses or services, fixed up-front costs can be high initially, but once the physical infrastructure is in place, each additional customer, user, or transaction incurs very little extra cost.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Developing countries are relying more on services and less on manufacturing as drivers of growth and job creation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Conclusion:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Digital revolution in India is significant as it promises to bring a multi-dimensional metamorphosis in almost all sectors of the society including service sectors. From digitization in governance to better healthcare and educational services, cashless economy and digital transactions, transparency in bureaucracy, fair and quick distribution of welfare schemes all seem achievable with the digital India initiative of the present Government.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A look at Government initiatives in various sectors in past three years show how digital revolution in India is not only changing the way society functions but also bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots of the country.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Archives Q.1) What is Corporate governance? \u00a0What needs to be done in order to strength corporate governance in India? (GS-3) Ans: Recently, 21-member Committee on corporate governance headed by banker Uday Kotak has submitted its report to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Meaning of Corporate governance: Corporate governance is about promoting corporate&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-october-16\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Answers: Mains Marathon \u2013 UPSC Mains Current Affairs Questions \u2013 October 16<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":2292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mains-marathon-answers","category-public","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/pen-paper-laptop.jpg?fit=1000%2C500&ssl=1","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":1700778334,"cached_date":1704659316},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}