1.

Summarize the content of the material in 250 words

The article throws light on the state of agriculture in India and the limited growth it has registered as %
GDP. The green revolution added to the cereal cultivation but the consumption patterns have changed
over the years. This along with a lack of soft & hard credit, insufficient manpower available, low yield
and decline in area under cultivation has led to low growth in agriculture. Contract farming is when a
farmer sells his produce under a forward contract with the buyer. Punjab and Andhra Pradesh have
already system in place for directing contract farming. Contract farming in India at present is
prohibitive & restrictive with Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee dictating terms in many
states. The Government of India is trying to introduce reforms in marketing of crops via model
legislation and reforming the APMC act at state level.
One of the key challenges being faced by Indian Government is spending on resources and subsidies
not reaching their beneficiaries. A major problem with subsidies in India is that they are provided on
non merit goods where consumption is rival and exclusion is possible, leading to cost recovery.
Government spending can be streamlined by fiscal discipline and efficient public spending. Direct
cash transfer (DCT) is the government transferring cash to the needy. It is an efficient strategy for
reducing poverty. It involves a large initial investment but the cost of DCT reduces with time. DCT is
also efficient in curbing corruption and reducing administrative costs.

2. Assuming all other factors remaining constant, what will be the effect of increase in Repo rate by RBI on
a. Loans given by banks to consumers
An increase in repo rates would lead to a higher interest rate for loans.
b. Deposits taken by banks from consumers
In case of fixed deposits, depending upon the magnitude of hike in repo rates the interest rate being
given by the bank may be lowered. If the percentage increase in repo rates is less, it may lead to no
effect on the fixed deposits.
c. GDP of the India
With an increase in repo rates the GDP of India will come down.
d. Inflation rate of India
An increase in repo rate would lead to a decrease in the inflation rates.



3. Write a short note on Ukraine debacle
The Ukraine Debacle is a term used to describe the bailout of Ukraine on the European Union just before
signing an accord. It is considered to be one of the biggest strategic mistakes of all times.
Background: In 1991 when the cold war was on, Ukraine declared its independence from USSR. Even after
separation Ukraine remained heavily dependent on Russia (then USSR) for oil & natural gas. Ethnic Russians
constituted 58% of Ukraines population as per 2001 census. In February 2010 Viktor Yanukovych was
declared as the winner of general elections. Back in 2004 he had been accused of widespread vote rigging and
owing to Orange Revolution, had to step down as the Prime minister. His pro Russian stance is well reported in
the media. His main rival in 2010 elections Yulia Tymoshenko is taken into custody for abuse of power and
sentenced to 7 year imprisonment.
The Bailout:


The talks of an agreement for closer ties of Ukraine & EU had been in place since 2008. However, the
sentencing of Yulia Tymoshenko in 2011 strained the dialogue. The EU had opposed her imprisonment and
later sentencing.
On 21 November 2013, President Yanukovych and his cabinet rejected Ukraine European Union Association
Agreement establishing political association between them. Ukraine also rejected the proposal to let Yulia
Tymoshenko leave the country for medical treatment.
The Impact: Widespread protests erupted by late November 13 and around 100,000 protesters gathered in
Kiev. By December Kiev had emerged as the centre of protests being termed by the media as a tent city
owing to the large number of protesters. On 26 November the Ukrainian President gave an interview where he
accepted the delay in accepting the agreement in the first place was due to Russia. Russia saw this agreement
as a security threat & had pressurized Ukraine to bail out. On 30
th
November 2013, the protestors were
violently dispersed leading to riots in early December.
On 17 December 13 Russia pledges a $ 15 billion (USD) relief package to Ukraine and reduce the gas prices
by one-third. President Yanukovych was removed from power by a revolution and an interim government
replaced him. New Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk signed the association agreement for political
terms in Brussels before the elections. Presidential elections in May elected Petro Poroshenko as the new
president. EU and Ukraine are supposed to sign the trade agreement on 27 June 2014.

4. Write a short note on Bitcoin and its future
Bitcoin is a virtual currency wherein each transaction is recorded on a public ledger in terms of bitcoin. It is
based on the vision of a peer to peer trustless transaction. The bitcoins do not have a single repository and can
be obtained in exchange for regular money, products and services and as rewards by individual involved in
recording transactions on the public ledger (mining). Mining since 2013 has emerged to be competitive and
special hardwares are designed to enable miners note transactions onto the public ledger.
As all transactions are recorded in a public ledger bitcoin has privacy issues. They do not have the option of
reversal of a transaction leading to security issues in its usage. Although a number of virtual currencies are in
place such as facebook credits, QQ coins they have no value for the outside world. Facebook credits have
revenue of $1 bn per year and QQ coins were so popular that the Chinese government had to crack down on its
usage. Bitcoin sees revenue of $ 30 mn in a day and a volume of $ 5mn. This leads to $ 2bn of bitcoin each
year. The thing which sets apart bitcoin from other virtual currencies is the power of speculation and non
existence of a controlling body.
On the future of bitcoin the world is divided in its opinion. A segment thinks of bitcoins as the new big thing.
With virtual currency getting a foothold, its role in fields like ecommerce shall be substantial. As it is based on
mistrust and a decentralized model it is free of hyperinflation, devaluation and credit bubbles. They are also
popular in war torn states & countries suffering from financial instability as no government can confiscate or
devalue bitcoin.
Another faction holds the opinion that the speculative nature of bitcoin shall lead to its downfall. Websites
such a Silk Road which led to the bust of first bitcoin bubble indicate the criminalized use of bitcoin. Another
issue with bitcoin is that they are highly sensitive to media. The value of bitcoin changes rapidly by websites
such as twitter and also the news media. The kind of returns one can get is high with bitcoin however the
safety issue and sensitivity take it far from being an ideal replacement for conventional money. The future of


bitcoin is open for dialogue but one will have to wait to see whether advantages or disadvantages of this virtual
currency drive its growth.
5. Write a short note on the recent monetary policy
According to the first bi-monthly monetary policy statement 2014-15, the following decisions have been taken
a. The policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility has been kept unchanged.
b. The cash reserve ratio of scheduled banks is unchanged at 4.00% of net demand & time liability
(NDTL)
c. The liquidity provided under the 7-day & 14-day term repos has been increased to 0.75% of NDTL.
Liquidity provided by overnight repos under the LAF is decreased to 0.25% of NDTL with immediate
effect.
d. Introduction of a special term repo facility of 0.25 per cent of NDTL to compensate fully for the
reduction in access to liquidity under the ECR with immediate effect.
Lead indicators are pointing at sluggish growth rates in Indian Economy for the first quarter of 2014-15.
Owing to meteorological predictions of delay in monsoon, the agricultural sector looks at slow growth.
The April estimate of real GDP growth for b2014-15 is in line with the central estimate of 5.5%. Reduction
in the production of consumer durables and capital goods along with moderate corporate sales and non
gold imports shows a continued weakness in consumer demand and weakness. Retail inflation has
increased for two consecutive months in April. Indias current account deficit for 2013-14 has narrowed to
1.7% of GDP owing to a reduction in gold imports. In April 2014 the trade deficit narrowed sharply due to
positive export growth after 2 months of decline and shrinking of import demands. This is a positive sign
and as world trade gathers momentum the exports should improve further.
The CPI headline inflation has risen due to sharp increase in food prices. The RBI is committed to take the
economy on a disinflationary course with an aim of CPI inflation of 8% by Jan 2015 & CPI inflation of 6%
by Jan 2016.



6. Write the differences between WPI and CPI in India
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) Consumer Price Index (CPI)
WPI is based on the idea that wholesale price covered the
general idea of capturing all transactions carried out in the
domestic market.
CPI measures price change from the perspective of retail
buyer.
Latest WPI index has a basket of 676 items with 5482
quotations
Latest CPI has 200 weighted items.
Indicates headline inflation. Indicates inflation affecting an individual.
WPI is calculated on an all India basis. CPI includes urban and rural prices and state wise price


changes as well. It is calculated at specific centres and this
is then aggregated to an all India index.
WPI gives weightage to food products and energy
products. Miscellaneous items are not a part of WPI.
CPI gives weightage to food products energy products
and miscellaneous items
Only a single WPI is calculated. 4 CPIs are calculated for different set of workers namely
CPI for Industrial workers, CPI for agricultural labourers,
CPI for rural labourers & CPI for urban non manual
employees.
WPI is compiled & published by office of the Economic
advisor on a weekly basis.
CPI is compiled & published by the labour bureau on a
monthly basis.

7. Suggest measures of implementing E-voting option In India (preferably for working professionals and away
students) based on the successful models across the world
To ensure an inclusive voting system with high voter turnout, we can adopt an Estonia like model. In 2007
Estonia conducted its first e voting election.
Methodology: This voting system is built on the base of a national ID card. As India has introduced UID
scheme, it can be expanded for voting as well. UID has a good reach into the every nook & corner of the
country and it is one card whose data can be modified online without much hassle. However, the government
would have to make possession of Aadhar card mandatory for all the citizens.
A remote secure network is to be established for ensuring a secure way of voting via the internet. A citizen can
cast electronic vote a few days before the actual elections and gets the right to modify it till the date. On the
date of the election a citizen may choose to go to a polling station to cast his/her vote which would override
his/her e vote. A person cannot change their vote on the Election Day.
This methodology provides flexibility to professionals and students who are away from their home
constituencies and owing to the large pool of talented IT professionals, such a system can be designed and
easily implemented in India.

References
i. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/19/us-eu-ukraine-idUSBRE9BI0S420131219
ii. http://euobserver.com/foreign/122578
iii. http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/columns/2014/03/03/cold-war-over-russia-isn-zero-
sum/Df9VSHeJFpKUz3tRKDjUXJ/story.html
iv. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26248275
v. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine%E2%80%93European_Union_Association_Agreement#History
vi. http://news.rapgenius.com/Felix-salmon-the-bitcoin-bubble-and-the-future-of-currency-annotated
vii. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin
viii. http://www.forbes.com/sites/paularosenblum/2014/01/27/bitcoin-the-currency-of-the-future/
ix. http://eaindustry.nic.in/wpi_data_display/display_data.asp
x. http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=30911
xi. http://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=31329
xii. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_voting_examples
xiii. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_voting_in_Estonia