Dear Students,
Please note that mains test UTM03 is already live in student portal. The questions are as follows-
- “Constitution of India is the embodiment of human values and ethical principles”. Elucidate.
- In light of the Satwant Singh and the Maneka Gandhi case, compare and contrast “procedure established by law” vis-a-vis “due process of the law”.
- Discuss the constitutional basis of right to privacy. Is right to privacy sacrosanct?
- Many eminent jurists noted the Kesavananda Bharati case as the ‘the Indian Constitution of the future’. Elucidate.
- What do you understand by “data democracy”? Discuss it in light of the “Internet bill of rights” as enacted by Brazil. Do you think it is time for India to enact such a law?
- Elections in India have become a continuous process and political parties with stakes in various states are constantly preparing for one election or the other. Discuss the problems associated with frequent elections and suggest a way forward.
- Judiciary, in recent years is increasingly being criticized for actively encroaching upon the powers of legislative and executive authorities. The judiciary must retain a fine balance between Judicial Activism and Judicial Over-reach. Elucidate.
- Discuss the constitutional underpinning behind “Prohibition of Alcohol”. Do you think only a prohibitive law is enough to save Indians from “Alcoholism”? According to you, what should a holistic plan must entail in this regard?
- Even after a quarter of a century of their enactment, the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) are yet to achieve their full potential. Do you agree? Discuss in light of various issues associated with PRIs in India and suggest measures.
- India has too many children but too little childhood. In light of this statement analyse the various legal and policy related loopholes in Indian context and suggest a way forward.
- What do you understand by judicial accountability? Discuss and suggest a way forward to inculcate judiciary accountability in Indian jurisprudence.
- Critically analyse IPC Section – 377 in light of the recent developments with respect to LGBT rights and comment on the judicial judgements pertaining to it.
- The union cabinet has recently passed the draft Surrogacy (Regulation) bill, 2016, which bans commercial surrogacy in India and allows altruistic surrogacy to a qualified set of couples. Critically analyse provisions of the bill and put forth your views on surrogacy.
- What do you understand by rights based approach? Do you think it is helping India better itself to be a more just and inclusive society. Analyse with examples and list out the benefits of this approach, if any.
- Do you think cultural rights should supersede democratic rights? Discuss it in the light of Article 371A of constitution of India.
- What do you understand by “Purposive interpretation” of a law or section of a law? Discuss it in light of the recent pronouncements by Supreme Court of India with regards to Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
- Discuss the key objectives of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. Also bring out the challenges in its implementation.
- What do you understand by pressure group? Discuss their role in a vibrant democracy?
- Life Exists, therefore it has a right to exist; Death exist, therefore it has a right to exist too .In light of this statement analyse the legal entanglement surrounding Euthanasia in India.
- Do you think the contention that fundamental duties should be legalised is well founded? Give valid arguments with regards to your understanding and stance on this issue.
You can join the Mains test here- Click Here
Thank You
UPSCTREE
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Petrol in India is cheaper than in countries like Hong Kong, Germany and the UK but costlier than in China, Brazil, Japan, the US, Russia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, a Bank of Baroda Economics Research report showed.
Rising fuel prices in India have led to considerable debate on which government, state or central, should be lowering their taxes to keep prices under control.
The rise in fuel prices is mainly due to the global price of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel) going up. Further, a stronger dollar has added to the cost of crude oil.
Amongst comparable countries (per capita wise), prices in India are higher than those in Vietnam, Kenya, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela. Countries that are major oil producers have much lower prices.
In the report, the Philippines has a comparable petrol price but has a per capita income higher than India by over 50 per cent.
Countries which have a lower per capita income like Kenya, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Venezuela have much lower prices of petrol and hence are impacted less than India.
“Therefore there is still a strong case for the government to consider lowering the taxes on fuel to protect the interest of the people,” the report argued.
India is the world’s third-biggest oil consuming and importing nation. It imports 85 per cent of its oil needs and so prices retail fuel at import parity rates.
With the global surge in energy prices, the cost of producing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products also went up for oil companies in India.
They raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10 a litre in just over a fortnight beginning March 22 but hit a pause button soon after as the move faced criticism and the opposition parties asked the government to cut taxes instead.
India imports most of its oil from a group of countries called the ‘OPEC +’ (i.e, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Russia, etc), which produces 40% of the world’s crude oil.
As they have the power to dictate fuel supply and prices, their decision of limiting the global supply reduces supply in India, thus raising prices
The government charges about 167% tax (excise) on petrol and 129% on diesel as compared to US (20%), UK (62%), Italy and Germany (65%).
The abominable excise duty is 2/3rd of the cost, and the base price, dealer commission and freight form the rest.
Here is an approximate break-up (in Rs):
a)Base Price | 39 |
b)Freight | 0.34 |
c) Price Charged to Dealers = (a+b) | 39.34 |
d) Excise Duty | 40.17 |
e) Dealer Commission | 4.68 |
f) VAT | 25.35 |
g) Retail Selling Price | 109.54 |
Looked closely, much of the cost of petrol and diesel is due to higher tax rate by govt, specifically excise duty.
So the question is why government is not reducing the prices ?
India, being a developing country, it does require gigantic amount of funding for its infrastructure projects as well as welfare schemes.
However, we as a society is yet to be tax-compliant. Many people evade the direct tax and that’s the reason why govt’s hands are tied. Govt. needs the money to fund various programs and at the same time it is not generating enough revenue from direct taxes.
That’s the reason why, govt is bumping up its revenue through higher indirect taxes such as GST or excise duty as in the case of petrol and diesel.
Direct taxes are progressive as it taxes according to an individuals’ income however indirect tax such as excise duty or GST are regressive in the sense that the poorest of the poor and richest of the rich have to pay the same amount.
Does not matter, if you are an auto-driver or owner of a Mercedes, end of the day both pay the same price for petrol/diesel-that’s why it is regressive in nature.
But unlike direct tax where tax evasion is rampant, indirect tax can not be evaded due to their very nature and as long as huge no of Indians keep evading direct taxes, indirect tax such as excise duty will be difficult for the govt to reduce, because it may reduce the revenue and hamper may programs of the govt.