{"id":13941,"date":"2018-01-03T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-03T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=13941"},"modified":"2018-01-02T11:30:29","modified_gmt":"2018-01-02T06:00:29","slug":"answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-january-2-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-january-2-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Answers: Mains Marathon \u2013 UPSC Mains Current Affairs Questions \u2013 January 2, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/mains-marathon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Archives<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Q.1) Highlight the important areas on which India should concentrate for a successful \u201cMake in India 2.0\u201d. (GS-3)<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Introduction: <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Government of India is soon to announce the foreign trade policy review.<\/li>\n<li>A shift in India\u2019s manufacturing and export strategy has been signalled.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><u>Important areas to be concentrated for a successful \u201cMake in India 2.0\u201d: <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If the manufacturing in India needs to continue then there is a need to give a\u00a0<strong>thrust to the exports.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Increasing the price of crude<\/strong>\u00a0could reduce our competitiveness sizably and affect the export of the country.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The appreciation in the rupee<\/strong>\u00a0takes its hit straight away on the exports while increasing the imports and widening the current account deficit.<\/li>\n<li>Even though India has done well in Ease of Doing Business, but its\u00a0<strong>cross border trade quantity is very low.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>India should make a stronger bond with China for it is the chief\u00a0<strong>supporter of free trade<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The Centre should also\u00a0<strong>back labour-intensive sectors<\/strong>\u00a0and it should be of<strong>\u00a0low technology and low cost.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The real reforms for should be made in\u00a0<strong>the district and state<\/strong>\u00a0level that has to\u00a0<strong>drive employment.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>There should be a\u00a0<strong>global brand for exports.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The government should also keep a strict check on price rise.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><u>What are the other sectors has been proposed for Indian export business?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>At present India is exporting:<\/li>\n<li><strong>Engineering goods,<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Capital good and<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Gems and jewellery<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>But now, there is a need to focus on the\u00a0<strong>sub-sectors<\/strong>\u00a0of the present export sectors:<\/li>\n<li><strong>Automobiles and automobile components<\/strong>\u00a0under engineering goods.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Labour intensive sectors<\/strong>\u00a0in manufacturing and also in exports.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Textile sector\u00a0<\/strong>has a lot of potential.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><u>Way ahead:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The government needs to put in money\u00a0<strong>to push infrastructure<\/strong>\u00a0if exports have to be increased.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Improvement in warehousing infrastructure<\/strong>\u00a0would also counter inflation concerns due to seasonal factors such as poor monsoon rains.<\/li>\n<li>India needs to\u00a0<strong>adopt an open, stable and reliable export policy<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Q.2) Discuss the hurdles India is facing in achievement of self-reliant defence manufacturing? What needs to be done to achieve the aim of attaining self-reliance in design development and manufacturing in defence sector? (GS \u2013 3)<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Introduction:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>India&#8217;s defense sector is at a very crucial juncture in its expansion cycle driven by modernization plants, increased focus on security and India&#8217;s growing attractiveness as a market for defense manufacturing.<\/li>\n<li>In terms of manufacturing the market is dominated by defense public sector undertakings and ordnance factories which have not performed to the expectations so far.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><u>What are the hurdles in defence manufacturing in India?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The root cause of the failure of defence manufacturing in India is the <strong>systematic failure<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>There is a lack of <strong>accountability<\/strong> or what can be called as <strong>structural deficiency<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>private sector is yet to be benefitted<\/strong> from the reforms of Make in India scheme for they <strong>aren\u2019t given concrete orders <\/strong>to move ahead with the scheme<\/li>\n<li>There is<strong> no complete privatisation of defence PSUs. <\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The designing capability in defence sector is <strong>only limited to small and medium projects handled locally. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><u>What needs to be done? <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The government has <strong>taken several steps<\/strong> over the years to fire upthe defence manufacturing sector with anaim to become self-reliant.<\/li>\n<li>The main key to manufacture defence weapons is to have a <strong>design of own.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>In this regard, <strong>IDDM (Indigenously Designed and Developed and Manufactured Equipment) <\/strong>encourages indigenous designing and production.<\/li>\n<li>Several othersteps such as <strong>relaxation in offset policy and FDI norms<\/strong> have also beentaken to attract foreign players<strong>.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Strategic partnership policy<\/strong> has alsobeen rolled out to create capacity inthe private sector on a long-term basis.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The military must be made responsible<\/strong> for any and every defence related projects undertaken.<\/li>\n<li>The government should make sure that <strong>private sector has a definite role<\/strong> to play in defence.<\/li>\n<li>There must be allowance to <strong>export from private firms<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Q.3) Moody\u2019s has upgraded the India\u2019s credit rating. What are the factors behind India\u2019s credit rating upgradation and why these credit ratings cannot be said accurate? (GS\u20133)<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Introduction: <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Moody\u2019s has upgraded the GOI\u2019s rating as local and foreign currency issuer\u00a0<strong>from Baa3<\/strong>(with a positive outlook)<strong>\u00a0to Baa2<\/strong>\u00a0(with a stable outlook).<\/li>\n<li>This is an upgrade from previous lowest credit rating to a rating with moderate credit risk of medium grade.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><u>Factors behind India\u2019s credit rating upgradation:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The upgrade is the consequence of recent\u00a0rise of<strong> India in World Bank\u2019s Ease of Business Index\u00a0<\/strong>from 130 (in 2017) to 100 (in 2018).<\/li>\n<li>Higher ranking in this index implies <strong>simpler regulations for businesses and stronger protection of property rights.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Similar to a person applying for a bank loan with good credit profile, good Moody\u2019s ratings make it\u00a0<strong>cheaper for Indian companies to raise a loan\u00a0<\/strong>from abroad.<\/li>\n<li>It reduces the interest cost regime (viz.\u00a0<strong>cost of capital gets cheaper<\/strong>), which is\u00a0<strong>helpful for entrepreneurs<\/strong>as well.<\/li>\n<li>Many recent government reforms like\u00a0<strong>GST<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>Insolvency Act<\/strong>being put into action and announcement of\u00a0<strong>bank recapitalization<\/strong>\u00a0(which increases bank\u2019s ability to lend) have taken place.<\/li>\n<li>This gives a\u00a0<strong>sense of support to foreign investors<\/strong>that a code is present and it is being implemented by the government.<\/li>\n<li>Moody\u2019s is looking as a positive signal for the path which has been set for <strong>growth and development<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>As an impact of this upgrade,\u00a0<strong>market also reacted positively<\/strong>showing a boost in SENSEX and NIFTY as well as appreciation in rupee. This shows a boost of confidence in the market.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><u>Reasons behind why credit ratings cannot be said accurate: <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It may have some positive things like creation of more jobs, but <strong>fiscal deficit of the nation needs to be looked at.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Rating agencies look at\u00a0<strong>long-term stability of policies.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>These ratings <strong>do not look at short term uncertainties<\/strong> which are part of discussions for a common voter in an upcoming election<\/li>\n<li>Rating agencies <strong>see how quickly the government can correct any shock or depressions.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Archives\u00a0 Q.1) Highlight the important areas on which India should concentrate for a successful \u201cMake in India 2.0\u201d. (GS-3) Introduction: The Government of India is soon to announce the foreign trade policy review. A shift in India\u2019s manufacturing and export strategy has been signalled. Important areas to be concentrated for a successful \u201cMake in India&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-january-2-2018\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Answers: Mains Marathon \u2013 UPSC Mains Current Affairs Questions \u2013 January 2, 2018<\/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-13941","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":"","cached_date":1704929984},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13941","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=13941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13941\/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=13941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}