Essays for IIM

[Important as role of media has been in limelight in India too] What was the Leveson Inquiry? ·          It was a public, judge-led inquiry set up by Prime Minister David Cameron to examine the culture, practice and ethics of the press. It was established in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal at the now-defunct News of the World tabloid. What did it look at? It looked at the relationship between the press and the public, including phone-hacking and other potentially illegal behaviour, and at the relationships between the press and the police and the press and politicians. What did Lord Justice Leveson recommend? He made broad and complex recommendations relating to how the press is regulated: ·          Newspapers should continue to be self-regulated - and the government should have no power over what they publish. ·          There had to be...

HOUSE ON DEAD-END STREET By Pratap Bhanu Mehta - The writer, president of the Centre for Policy Research, is contributing editor, ‘The Indian Express’   [The article appeared in the Indian Express] Politics won’t let Parliament live, democracy insists it can’t die Dear Citizens, I write to you, my creators, to put me out of my prolonged agony. The slow, torturous death to which I am being subjected could only have been imagined by the most unusual of scriptwriters. Even in my current misery, I am occasionally capable of a certain ironic detachment. I can say with perfect confidence that I am the only entity to have reached the kind of suspended existence that the great villain Ajit had imagined: Raabert, ise liquid oxygen mein daal do, liquid ise jeene nahin dega,oxygen ise marne nahin dega. I never knew what that meant until now: politics mujhe jeene nahin dega, democracy mujhe marne nahin dega(Politics will not let me live, democracy will not let me die). I am ...

1.        Educational System is quelling creativity in Indian children 2.        Should Nehru's temples of learning remain elitist 3.        Indian women should take up their husbands' surname after marriage 4.        Professional management is a mere rhetoric in family run businesses 5.        Reading pure science is a waste of time 6.        NGOs are yet to get their due in Indian society 7.        Is Barack Obama bringing change only to the US? 8.        Indian youth would do well to absorb positive western influence. 9.        "Both men and women need gender sensitivity courses." 10.    “India should move from a multi-party to a bi-party system.” 11.    Industrialization...

Inflation has an adverse impact on the real economy. The following points are worth noting 1.        High and persistent inflation imposes significant socio-economic costs . Given that the burden of inflation is disproportionately large on the poor, high inflation by itself can lead to distributional inequality. Therefore, for a welfare-oriented public policy, low inflation becomes a critical element for ensuring balanced progress. 2.        High inflation distorts economic incentives by diverting resources away from productive investment to speculative activities. 3.        Inflation reduces households saving as they try to maintain the real value of their consumption. Consequent fall in overall investment in the economy reduces its potential growth. 4.        As inflation rises and turns volatile, it raises the inflation risk premia in financial tra...

Do developed countries have a higher obligation to combat climate change? Global warming is the result of the massive emission of CO2 and other greenhouse gasses from the burning of fossil fuels throughout the industrial revolution, beginning in the 19th century. In attempting to address and solve global warming, many have asked whether developed nations – which led the industrial revolution and are responsible for most of the greenhouse gases now in the atmosphere – should bear a greater responsibility for combating climate change. This debate has been stimulated in large part by the Kyoto Protocol, which exempted developing nations such as China and India, from the same emissions-reductions obligations as developed countries. The principle underlying Kyoto is known as “common but differentiated responsibilities”, which continues as a centrepiece principle for those calling on Developed countries to assume a greater responsibility. China, India, and other developi...

1.        IPL is a death knell to Indian cricket 2.        Management is more about performance than people 3.        Should there be reservation for women in MBA colleges? 4.        Idiots Rule 5.        Ethics is the antonym of a successful business 6.        Economic development may not always lead to social development 7.        Mobile phones are a menace to the society 8.        Future wars will be fought over water 9.        Bollywood is capitalizing on people with disabilities 10.    In India mass mobilization can only be achieved through religion 11.    Some people work, others network 12.    Impact is more important than being true to oneself 13.  ...