Descriptive Dec08

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BANK P.O. EXAMS SPECIAL

■ Global Financial Crisis ■ Skilled Workforce for Development ■ Empowering Street Kids ■ Strengthening Rural Job Scheme

Global Financial Crisis Descriptive Questions are asked in Bank P.O. Recruitment Exams. The purpose of these tests is to assess the writing and expressing capabilities of the candidate, as well as assess his/her knowledge about various issues.

In what ways could the global financial crisis impact Indian economy? The observation or cryptic comment that ‘when America sneezes the rest of the world catches cold’ may be partially enable and partially not. Being the largest economy, if anything goes terribly wrong on the American financial front, countries, big and small, cannot remain unscathed from its ill effects. There is both optimism and a cautious call to those who hold the reins of financial institutions, manufacturing and service sectors in India to remain vigilant as the unpredictable developments on the global economic scenario unfold. There is no denying that no country has become an economic power of any consequence during the post-World War II period without the US help. As the US economy convulses from financial turbulence now or in future, the dreaded “R” (Recession of the Thirties of the previous century) word has perhaps already kicked in. We should always bear in mind that the unfolding crisis has reverberated in domestic share markets. Nervous foreign investors have already withdrawn billions from the markets in 2008. It is feared that other capital inflows like Foreign Direct Investments may also slow down. Since India’s economy in general and financial sector in particular has become increasingly integrated with the rest of the world, it would be unrealistic to expect the slowdown in the US and the world economy to not have any influence whatsoever on this country. The crisis in international capitalism holds a number of important lessons for India. It sends out a warning signal to ardent advocates of liberalisation that blind faith in the virtues of market forces correcting

economic imbalances may be highly misplaced. The importance of strengthening regulatory institutions for banks and insurance companies has already been underscored by recent developments in the US. If Companies in general and the software industry in particular, were to lose their lustre, it would be a long wait for the next star to appear in the East.

Skilled workforce for development The demand-supply gap between the skilled and the non-skilled workforce in India could retard its fast and sustained economic development. Comment. Despite the fact that global economic meltdown could and would impact economic growth in varying degrees, India cannot afford the slow-down in economic development. Since the economies of the world, both developed and the developing, have been closely integrated with one another, there are fair chances that the process of economic growth and alleviation of poverty programme may be hit for a while, but for a country like India, with its vast natural resources and huge manpower potential, there should be no big hurdle and hassel in its march towards becoming an economic power in the years to come. In order to turn our dreams into reality, there is an urgent need to think of ways and means for India Inc and academia to collaborate for preparing a world-class, competent, talented and innovative workforce. Our wide rural-urban divide, and the quality of education available, the paucity of talent is indeed becoming a cause for concern. The demand-supply gap is already being felt by India’s burgeoning Information Technology industry and

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Descriptive Questions

BANK P.O. EXAMS SPECIAL fears of the gap widening in the future are being examined carefully so that we may not be caught in the maze of demand-supply chasm. What stares us in the face are the growing skills gap and insufficient availability of high-quality college education and the galloping pace of country’s service-driven economy, which is growing faster than most countries in the world. In order to overcome this glaring gap, percentage of youth going in for higher education has to be increased/improved quite substantially. Problems associated with the dearth of competent and qualified faculty, funding, language, outdated syllabi have to be properly analysed and addressed to in a time-bound framework. The time is ripe for us now to remodel the Indian education system by various programmes, joint initiatives and other measures by individuals, the government, industry and academia. Such activities have the potential to play an important part in plugging the talent gap in future. Training individuals for the jobs of the future and allowing to visualise what is possible today will not only make a difference in their lives but will enrich our communities now and for years to come.

Empowering street kids There is an urgent need to empower and rehabilitate street kids to insulate them from falling into wrong hands. Comment. If our problems are aplenty, we have the requisite potential too to solve them provided there is visible concern and compassion for those who are deprived and dispossessed of parental love and social security. In the category of street kids we can include waifs runaways, orphans and the like. Leaving them to their fate and turning our faces away from them is not only an invitation to our own peril, but also

a blot on our being called civilised. The longer the street kids are exposed to exploitation and insecurity, the larger gets the scars in the form of these very kids becoming anti-social elements in later life and posing a grave threat to social harmony, peace and poise in individual lives. The first step to tackle the problem is to open vocational training centres exclusively for them. This way their energies would be used properly and they would become productive members of our society. Both the government and the NGOs will have to come forward to shoulder this responsibility. When the proposal gets going there is no doubt that these kids would prove their worth and social relevance by exhibiting a sense of confidence and self-worth. In this way they would prove their usefulness as worthy citizens ready to face the world and generate livelihood for themselves and their family. The training so envisaged could be given in various trades, such as electrician, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanic, cutting, tailoring, computer technician and so on. For the proper development of these unfortunate children, facilities like games and cultural activities should be made an integral part of the agenda of empowerment and rehabilitation. Like other school going children, the street kids should also be provided with nutritious diet during their training.

if taken in the right earnest, can go a long way in plugging the loopholes and leakages. In order to make rural employment scheme successful the authorities should put in place an “evaluation mechanism” and involve legal aid cells to create awareness among the people who are going to be benefited from these schemes. The need to mobilise public opinion along with the media for the proper and purposeful implementation of the programmes, as also to plug all loopholes and leakages that come to notice, is urgent, immediate and highly imperative. Since a ‘faulty design’ of any scheme, however august it may be, would result in failure, improvement of the programme would have to be a continuous process. Periodic evaluation should serve as feedback for improving the implementation process from top to bottom. The rural poor have to be educated that the programme was not simply supply driven but had granted to them the right to “ask, seek and get guaranteed employment. Under no circumstances should they be allowed to be exploited or taken for a ride by officials or contractors. The legal services authorities have an obligation to give free legal aid to aggrieved persons. Lok Adalats should take a pro-active role in this regard and a concerted action plan by the vast network of State legal service authorities can stand as bulwark against any exploitation or irregularity.

Strengthening rural job scheme Suggest some effective measures to plug loopholes and leakages in the implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. There is no denying that there are “loopholes and leakages” in the government’s Programmes that guarantees employment for the rural poor. The following measures,

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