Indian Governance and Policy

The Allahabad High Court verdict on the status of disputed land in Ayodhya was in the news in 2010-11. Which of the following issues received a unanimous verdict by the three judges? I. The disputed land should be partitioned between litigating parties II. The structure demolished in 1992 was a mosque III. A temple was demolished to build the mosque in 16^th century

Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct about the current political situation in Pakistan?

1. Parliamentary elections took place in February 2008 in Pakistan.
2. The result of the elections held could not be declared as the Pakistan is under State emergency.
3. Musharraf's friendly parties and leaders lost their seats in the elections.

As per the reports published in the newspapers some cement companies based in North-East States have decided to curtail their production. Which of the following is/are the reasons for the same?

1. Govt. of India has decided to curtail benefits of excise exemption to the cement manufacturers in these areas.
2. Because of erratic power supply the production has gone down substantially. Companies are planning to shift their plant to other locations.
3. Due to recent improvement in educational facilities there, trained and skilled labourers are not available.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

a. The extraction of minerals in India is possible only after obtaining due permission from the government. b. In the north-east India, minerals are owned by individuals or tribal communities. c. Coal mining in Jowai and Cherapunjee is done in the form of a long narrow tunnel, known as ‘Rat hole’ mining.

Which of the following statements regarding recent Government policy measures towards the public sector is/are true?

a. Restructuring and reviving potentially viable PSU’s.

b. Closing down of those PSU’s that can not be revived.

c. Bringing down government equity in all non strategic PSU’s to 50 percent or lower.

d. Fully protecting the interest of workers.

What is the initiative that has been taken by the UGC to clean up the unauthorised entrants?

Directions: The questions in this section are based on a single passage. The questions are to be answered on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage. Kindly note that more than one of the choices may conceivably answer some of the questions. However, you are to choose the most appropriate answer; that is, the response that most accurately and completely answers the question.

The decision of the University Grants Commission to defer a move to accommodate foreign higher educational institutions as deemed universities, is sensible, considering that starting universities generally requires Parliamentary sanction. Using the UGC to help entities from abroad make a covert entry would be grossly improper when the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010 has stalled in the Rajya Sabha. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development has raised several issues relating to the legislation and called for a centralised policy and regulatory regime. What needs to be done immediately is to curb the operation of many unauthorised entrants that are exploiting the prevailing policy vacuum. It is true that a large number of Indian students leave for foreign campuses every year to secure a degree. There is much to be gained, therefore, if the best universities abroad open campuses in India, and offer courses that live up to their reputation for academic rigour. For the student, such an option can mean much lower costs.

Evidently, the passing of a robust law is essential to make sure that exploitation of students by foreign institutions does not take place. What has happened so far in the area of technical education and management courses offered by foreign entities, under the rules of the All India Council for Technical Education, is far from encouraging. The Standing Committee says the AICTE rules have failed to regulate the activities of such institutions, and only a handful of unapproved entities have been proceeded against. A large number of foreign institutions operating twinning programmes partnered unaffiliated and unapproved domestic organisations.

As a result of such carpet bagging, the UGC has now initiated a clean-up by laying down that twinning or joint ventures can be undertaken only with the top 500 names in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and a similar list of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. This is a welcome advance over the present situation but no substitute for hard decisions on issues such as registration, transparent accreditation, socially-relevant medical education, faculty training, mutual recognition of degrees by the respective countries, and crucially, a check on profiteering. It must be emphasised that while an international education can expose some of India's youth to global excellence, equitable access to higher education will depend on a rapidly expanding public university system.

What according to the author has been happening due to the prevailing policy vacuum?

Directions: The questions in this section are based on a single passage. The questions are to be answered on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage. Kindly note that more than one of the choices may conceivably answer some of the questions. However, you are to choose the most appropriate answer; that is, the response that most accurately and completely answers the question.

The decision of the University Grants Commission to defer a move to accommodate foreign higher educational institutions as deemed universities, is sensible, considering that starting universities generally requires Parliamentary sanction. Using the UGC to help entities from abroad make a covert entry would be grossly improper when the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010 has stalled in the Rajya Sabha. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development has raised several issues relating to the legislation and called for a centralised policy and regulatory regime. What needs to be done immediately is to curb the operation of many unauthorised entrants that are exploiting the prevailing policy vacuum. It is true that a large number of Indian students leave for foreign campuses every year to secure a degree. There is much to be gained, therefore, if the best universities abroad open campuses in India, and offer courses that
live up to their reputation for academic rigour. For the student, such an option can mean much lower costs.

Evidently, the passing of a robust law is essential to make sure that exploitation of students by foreign institutions does not take place. What has happened so far in the area of technical education and management courses offered by foreign entities, under the rules of the All India Council for Technical Education, is far from encouraging. The Standing Committee says the AICTE rules have failed to regulate the activities of such institutions, and only a handful of unapproved entities have been proceeded against.

A large number of foreign institutions operating twinning programmes partnered unaffiliated and unapproved domestic organisations. As a result of such carpet bagging, the UGC has now initiated a clean-up by laying down that twinning or joint ventures can be undertaken only with the top 500 names in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and a similar list of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. This is a welcome advance over the present situation but no substitute for hard decisions on issues such as registration, transparent accreditation, socially-relevant medical education, faculty training, mutual recognition of degrees by the respective countries, and crucially, a check on profiteering. It must be emphasised that while an international education can expose some of India's youth to global excellence, equitable access to higher education will depend on a rapidly expanding public university system.