Where wasthe Regional Conference on ‘Innovations in Citizen Centric Services Deliveryrecently held? ?->(Show Answer!)

1. Where wasthe Regional Conference on ‘Innovations in Citizen Centric Services Deliveryrecently held?

Answer: Jaipur

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MCQ-> The current debate on intellectual property rights (IPRs) raises a number of important issues concerning the strategy and policies for building a more dynamic national agricultural research system, the relative roles of public and private sectors, and the role of agribusiness multinational corporations (MNCs). This debate has been stimulated by the international agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), negotiated as part of the Uruguay Round. TRIPs, for the first time, seeks to bring innovations in agricultural technology under a new worldwide IPR regime. The agribusiness MNCs (along with pharmaceutical companies) played a leading part in lobbying for such a regime during the Uruguay Round negotiations. The argument was that incentives are necessary to stimulate innovations, and that this calls for a system of patents which gives innovators the sole right to use (or sell/lease the right to use) their innovations for a specified period and protects them against unauthorised copying or use. With strong support of their national governments, they were influential in shaping the agreement on TRIPs, which eventually emerged from the Uruguay Round. The current debate on TRIPs in India - as indeed elsewhere - echoes wider concerns about ‘privatisation’ of research and allowing a free field for MNCs in the sphere of biotechnology and agriculture. The agribusiness corporations, and those with unbounded faith in the power of science to overcome all likely problems, point to the vast potential that new technology holds for solving the problems of hunger, malnutrition and poverty in the world. The exploitation of this potential should be encouraged and this is best done by the private sector for which patents are essential. Some, who do not necessarily accept this optimism, argue that fears of MNC domination are exaggerated and that farmers will accept their products only if they decisively outperform the available alternatives. Those who argue against agreeing to introduce an IPR regime in agriculture and encouraging private sector research are apprehensive that this will work to the disadvantage of farmers by making them more and more dependent on monopolistic MNCs. A different, though related apprehension is that extensive use of hybrids and genetically engineered new varieties might increase the vulnerability of agriculture to outbreaks of pests and diseases. The larger, longer-term consequences of reduced biodiversity that may follow from the use of specially bred varieties are also another cause for concern. Moreover, corporations, driven by the profit motive, will necessarily tend to underplay, if not ignore, potential adverse consequences, especially those which are unknown and which may manifest themselves only over a relatively long period. On the other hand, high-pressure advertising and aggressive sales campaigns by private companies can seduce farmers into accepting varieties without being aware of potential adverse effects and the possibility of disastrous consequences for their livelihood if these varieties happen to fail. There is no provision under the laws, as they now exist, for compensating users against such eventualities. Excessive preoccupation with seeds and seed material has obscured other important issues involved in reviewing the research policy. We need to remind ourselves that improved varieties by themselves are not sufficient for sustained growth of yields. in our own experience, some of the early high yielding varieties (HYVs) of rice and wheat were found susceptible to widespread pest attacks; and some had problems of grain quality. Further research was necessary to solve these problems. This largely successful research was almost entirely done in public research institutions. Of course, it could in principle have been done by private companies, but whether they choose to do so depends crucially on the extent of the loss in market for their original introductions on account of the above factors and whether the companies are financially strong enough to absorb the ‘losses’, invest in research to correct the deficiencies and recover the lost market. Public research, which is not driven by profit, is better placed to take corrective action. Research for improving common pool resource management, maintaining ecological health and ensuring sustainability is both critical and also demanding in terms of technological challenge and resource requirements. As such research is crucial to the impact of new varieties, chemicals and equipment in the farmer’s field, private companies should be interested in such research. But their primary interest is in the sale of seed materials, chemicals, equipment and other inputs produced by them. Knowledge and techniques for resource management are not ‘marketable’ in the same way as those inputs. Their application to land, water and forests has a long gestation and their efficacy depends on resolving difficult problems such as designing institutions for proper and equitable management of common pool resources. Public or quasi-public research institutions informed by broader, long-term concerns can only do such work. The public sector must therefore continue to play a major role in the national research system. It is both wrong and misleading to pose the problem in terms of public sector versus private sector or of privatisation of research. We need to address problems likely to arise on account of the public-private sector complementarity, and ensure that the public research system performs efficiently. Complementarity between various elements of research raises several issues in implementing an IPR regime. Private companies do not produce new varieties and inputs entirely as a result of their own research. Almost all technological improvement is based on knowledge and experience accumulated from the past, and the results of basic and applied research in public and quasi-public institutions (universities, research organisations). Moreover, as is increasingly recognised, accumulated stock of knowledge does not reside only in the scientific community and its academic publications, but is also widely diffused in traditions and folk knowledge of local communities all over. The deciphering of the structure and functioning of DNA forms the basis of much of modern biotechnology. But this fundamental breakthrough is a ‘public good’ freely accessible in the public domain and usable free of any charge. Various techniques developed using that knowledge can however be, and are, patented for private profit. Similarly, private corporations draw extensively, and without any charge, on germplasm available in varieties of plants species (neem and turmeric are by now famous examples). Publicly funded gene banks as well as new varieties bred by public sector research stations can also be used freely by private enterprises for developing their own varieties and seek patent protection for them. Should private breeders be allowed free use of basic scientific discoveries? Should the repositories of traditional knowledge and germplasm be collected which are maintained and improved by publicly funded organisations? Or should users be made to pay for such use? If they are to pay, what should be the basis of compensation? Should the compensation be for individuals or (or communities/institutions to which they belong? Should individual institutions be given the right of patenting their innovations? These are some of the important issues that deserve more attention than they now get and need serious detailed study to evolve reasonably satisfactory, fair and workable solutions. Finally, the tendency to equate the public sector with the government is wrong. The public space is much wider than government departments and includes co- operatives, universities, public trusts and a variety of non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Giving greater autonomy to research organisations from government control and giving non- government public institutions the space and resources to play a larger, more effective role in research, is therefore an issue of direct relevance in restructuring the public research system.Which one of the following statements describes an important issue, or important issues, not being raised in the context of the current debate on IPRs?
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MCQ-> Read the passage carefully and answer the questions givenWill a day come when India’s poor can access government services as easily as drawing cash from an ATM? . . . [N]o country in the world has made accessing education or health or policing or dispute resolution as easy as an ATM, because the nature of these activities requires individuals to use their discretion in a positive way. Technology can certainly facilitate this in a variety of ways if it is seen as one part of an overall approach, but the evidence so far in education, for instance, is that just adding computers alone doesn’t make education any better. . . . The dangerous illusion of technology is that it can create stronger, top down accountability of service providers in implementation-intensive services within existing public sector organisations. One notion is that electronic management information systems (EMIS) keep better track of inputs and those aspects of personnel that are ‘EMIS visible’ can lead to better services. A recent study examined attempts to increase attendance of Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANMs) at clinics in Rajasthan, which involved high-tech time clocks to monitor attendance. The study’s title says it all: Band-Aids on a Corpse . . . e-governance can be just as bad as any other governance when the real issue is people and their motivation. For services to improve, the people providing the services have to want to do a better job with the skills they have. A study of medical care in Delhi found that even though providers, in the public sector had much better skills than private sector providers their provision of care in actual practice was much worse. In implementation-intensive services the key to success is face-to-face interactions between a teacher, a nurse, a policeman, an extension agent and a citizen. This relationship is about power. Amartya Sen’s . . . report on education in West Bengal had a supremely telling anecdote in which the villagers forced the teacher to attend school, but then, when the parents went off to work, the teacher did not teach, but forced the children to massage his feet. . . . As long as the system empowers providers over citizens, technology is irrelevant. The answer to successfully providing basic services is to create systems that provide both autonomy and accountability. In basic education for instance, the answer to poor teaching is not controlling teachers more . . . The key . . . is to hire teachers who want to teach and let them teach, expressing their professionalism and vocation as a teacher through autonomy in the classroom. This autonomy has to be matched with accountability for results—not just narrowly measured through test scores, but broadly for the quality of the education they provide. A recent study in Uttar Pradesh showed that if, somehow, all civil service teachers could be replaced with contract teachers, the state could save a billion dollars a year in revenue and double student learning. Just the additional autonomy and accountability of contracts through local groups—even without complementary system changes in information and empowerment—led to that much improvement. The first step to being part of the solution is to create performance information accessible to those outside of the government. . . .According to the author, service delivery in Indian education can be improved in all of the following ways EXCEPT through:
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MCQ-> Read the following passage carefully and answer these question. Certain words/phrase have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the question.Over the last three centuries, the world economy has evolved from a predominantly agriculture-based system to a digital economic system. The earlier economies were mainly agrarian. In this era, capital did play a role, as did technological innovations such as the plough, the steamboat or the train. But land and labour were more critical.With the industrial revolution, the global economy was primarily driven by the ability to produce goods for the mass market. This led to the industrial economy where capital and labour were the most important drivers. In the service economy, the wealth created by services exceeded the wealth created through manufacturing. Here, the ability of the service provider to establish a sound business gave him access to additional capital. This evolved into a global economy where goods and services were traded across international borders, with little restriction. ln this period, capital started flowing across border on all large scale for the first time.The last five years have seen the advent of the digital economy where technology is becoming the driving force. With information being the driver of value and wealth creation, information logy is becoming the key to success in a growing number of industries. In the digital economy, the power of innovation and ideas gained the upper hand over direct access to capital.The Indian economy is in a unique in terms of its economic evaluation. While manufacturing and service industries in India cannot freely access capital, the new breed of IT:- based industries have access to venture capital and private equity. The country's potential in this emerging sector has opened the doors to capital inflows that are still not available to traditional industries.There are two key trends which will boost the democratization of capital, either directly as funding sources or indirectly.More effective capital market routes---especially for information - based and software companies.This is already happening rapidly. A market that was supposed to be stagnating with no public offering from the manufacturing sector in the first quarter of the fiscal year may see as many see as many as 20-25 new software issues this year. Numerous internet and e-commerce companies are tapping funds through the capital market. For the financial intermediaries as well as for the investing public, dot com or 'info' initial offerings are fast becoming attractive to investment alternatives to traditional manufacturing or financial sector offers.With more effective capital markets, for high potential IT stocks, 'critical mass', which in the industrial economy' was primary in ensuring a company's ability to raise capital, will cases to matter. This underlines the manner in which a burgeoning digital economy has led to a redeployment of capital from a concentrated segment to the smaller knowledge entrepreneur.A greater number of venture capitalists actively seeking to fund budding knowledge entrepreneurs. Along with the rise in Net entrepreneurs one has seen the emergence of a new breed of venture capitalists who recognize the potential that resides in these ideas. The emergence and strengthening of the virtual economy necessitates sources of funds at the' ideation' stage where business plans may still be at the in fancy stage and potential not clearly identified.This need is being fulfilled by the incubator funds or the angle investors who hand-hold internet startups and other info tech ventures till the stage at which they can attract bigger investors. Instead of looking at high risk but big ventures, this genre of venture capitalists are looking at investments in companies which have the potential of excellent valuations in the future on the strength of their ideas.which as the following has been related as most crucial in agro-based economy ? 1.Capital steamboat and trains. 2.Technological innovations like plough,etc. 3.Labour and land....

MCQ-> Study the given information carefully and answer the given questions : Seven plays -A, B, C, D, E, F and G – are to be held on seven consecutive days (starting on Monday and ending on Sunday) not necessarily in the same order. Only one play can be held on one day. Only two plays will be held after play G. Only two plays will be held between play F and play G. Only three plays will be held between play B and play E. Play B will not be held on Sunday. Play A will be held before play D and play C (not necessarily immediately before). Play C will be held after play D (not necessarily immediately after).Play D will be held on which day?
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MCQ-> Study the given information carefully and answer the given questions : Auditions for a show were held in seven different cities of India – Chennai, Bangalore, Cochin, Mumbai, Delhi, Bhopal and Kolkata, not necessarily in the same order, during the first seven months of the year 2011 (starting in January and ending in July). The auditions were held only in one city during a month. Auditions in only four cities were held between the Kolkata audition and the Cochin audition. The Kolkata audition was not held in June. Only one audition was held between the Kolkata audition and the Bangalore audition. The Chennai audition was held immediately after the Kolkata audition. The Delhi audition was held immediately before the Bhopal audition. The Bhopal audition was not held in May.How many auditions were held between the Mumbai audition and the Chennai audition ?
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