Suggested GD Topics:

1.         Is coalition politics here to stay?

2.         Does India need a dictator?
3.         Is India moving away from a secularist state?
4.         Education in India - or the lack of it
5.         What ails Indian sports?
6.         The Age of Information
7.         Is Philosophy just an armchair theory?
8.         Success is all about human relations
9.         Borderless worlds - Dream or reality?
10.      Quality is a myth in India.
11.      Education and success - Is there a correlation?
12.      We don't learn from history, we repeat it
13.      Do we need a global policeman?
14.      Indian villages - our strength or our weakness?
15.      Agrarian Economy in India - boon or bane
16.     if there were no armies in the world......
17.     Indian customs - are we in a time warp?
18.    "How green was my valley........". Is  nature paying the price ?
19.    Management Education - Is it necessary  to succeed in business
20.    The role of NGOs  in economics and politics
21.    NGOs - Do they serve peoples interests or are they pressure groups?
22.    Death of  Socialism
23.    Role of women in development
24.    Kids today are not what they used to be
25.    Casteless India - A pipe dream
26.    Should Trade Unionism be banned in India
27.    Repeated elections - Should taxpayers pay for it?
28.    Indian bureaucracy - foundation strengths or colonial hangovers?
29.    In India, the whole is less than the parts - Do we lack in team spirit?
30.    Generation X - Drivers of our future or are they our lost souls?
31.    Do we need a cut in the defence budget?
32.    "Dot.com" companies - Is there room for everyone?
33.    Artificial Intelligence - Will man be ever replaced by machines?
34.    if I were to choose my person of the millennium...
35.   All the world is a stage....
36.   when managers become Hamlets...
37.   If Patel were our first Prime Minister.......
38.   Materialism - Have we sold our souls to the Devil?
 39.   You've come a long way, baby - The rise and rise of feminist power .
40.   Role of ethics in tobacco industry, liquor industry etc.
41.   Should gambling be legalised in India?
42.   Are we unfit for Democracy?
43.   Survival tools for the new millennium
44.   Examinations - has it killed education
45.   Cultural Invasion through the air waves
46.   Should doctors be tried in Consumer Courts
47.   Abortion and Euthanasia - Is it morally right for society
48.   Are beauty pageants neccessary?
49.   The relevance of Gandhism today
50.   India and the WTO
51.  Did India handle the hijack issue properly?
52.   Is E-Commerce the best thing for India
 

Is coalition politics here to stay?

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

Nature of coalition politics.Indecisiveness of elections. No particular party is

getting the peoples mandate.Advantage of coalition politics in enabling formation
of government. Flipside of coalition politics- a party with a handful of seats
become powerful.Government falls before tenure. Fresh elections each time.
Suggest a way out of this problem, for e.g.: once a party pledges support to a
coalition, it will not withdraw its support until it has watched a governments
performance for atleast three years...etc The future -will it only have coalitions,
emerging political trends...etc...

Does India need a dictator?

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

The current political structure.Drawbacks of it.Bureaucracy, layers in decision

making, anarchy. Dictatorship would mean centralised power and faster decision
making.But, country run on whims and fancies of an individual.Freedom on
individuals could be clamped ..etc.. Present a balanced argument for and against
and take up your position on the issue. C h e t a n a S

Is India moving away from a secularist state?

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

Define secularism.Constitution calls our country such a state, but how things have
changed over the last 50 years.Spread of nationalism. Division into majority and
minority groups-e.g. benefits given to minority groups perceived as a threat by
others. Role of non-tolerant neighbors in fuelling fundamentalism. It is a passing
phenomenon. We have the national character to overcome this.. Points along these
lines can be discussed.

Education in India-or the lack of it.

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

Discuss current education system. Discuss our sociological structure.Poverty

which forces kids to drop out to supplement family income.Vicious circle-poverty
due to lack of education and vice versa.Suggest solutions to get out of this-for e.g.,
governments are doing a commendable job with the midday meal schemes but we
need more of such efforts. Going down further, why restrict it to government
alone? why cant private people, NGOs and other voluntary bodies come forward to
do the same? How about tapping corporate funds for such causes .....etc.

What ails Indian sports?

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

A nation of 950 million, we fail to produce great champions barring the occasional
Vishwanathan Anand or Geet Sethi. Sports system steeped in bureaucracy.
Overriding popularity of cricket leading to neglect in other sports.Traditionally,
sports not accorded much importance by us as a career. Need to develop sports
from the primary school level- "catch em young". Various incentives to be given to
budding sportsmen like academic credits, sports in lieu of a few other subjects etc.
Development of sports infrastructure, making it amenable and affordable...etc.....

The Age of Information.

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

Today a plethora of sources to provide information-Newspapers, radio,

Television,Internet etc.   Information available at the touch of a button. Greater
decision making power to the individual. Also easier decision making for the
individual. Information is the key to ones success today. One who is more
informed forges ahead. The flipside-information overkill. At times deciding is
tough due to too much information ...etc.....

Is Philosophy just arm chair theory?

(This is an example of an abstract topic which is thrown up to students once in a

while by the examiners)

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

Talk  what you know about this topic . Talk of its relevance in day to day life( or
irrelevance if you feel so..). Talk of its influence in literature e.g. Influence of Kant
on the romantic poets especially Wordsworth or of Bacon, Voltaire et al  on the
"Enlightenment" period etc. Talk of its influence in politics e.g. Influence of
Nietszche on Hitler and subsequent genocide during Nazi regime etc. Talk  of
ethics and morals and their importance in life. talk of Indian philosophy. the Gita.
Discuss whether we use any of these in our lives and their importance in moulding
our values...etc...

Success is all about human relations

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

The most important skill for success in to have people on your side. One can get a
lot of work done by superiority and hierarchy but one cannot be a leader of men
unless one maintains excellent human relations.Its importance not only in
professional life but personal life too.Knowledge and expertise does one no good if
one cannot maintain proper human relations...etc.

Borderless worlds-Dream or reality?

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

Globalisation of business.Opening up of the various economies. Cross cultural

exchanges. More and more people getting an opportunity to work in different lands
among different peoples and absorbing a bit of their values and culture.This leads
to greater tolerance and understanding of others' problems. The other side-people
despite all this have nationalistic and regionalist chauvinism. A world divided into
first, second and third worlds. People still talk of "their" economy and not world
economy. Europehas shown a step in this direction with EU but its feasibility
remains to be seen.So while people clamour for globalisation, they still think only
in terms of their national interests...etc...

Quality is a myth in India.

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

The Indian products and manufacturing techniques. Why are we unable to sustain
against global competition.Our mindset towards quality. Indian attitude of "chalta
hai" which leads to an undemanding customer which in turn lets people get away
with substandard products and services. Today competition is forcing our industry
to adhere to global standards so we are getting there in terms of quality. Examples
of our software industry which is recognised for its ability to meet global standards
etc. Since the topic is general, we can extrapolate it to our quality of life-the air ,
the water , the facilities we have, the infrastructure we have, the services we get
and put up with ....etc......

Education and success-Is there a correlation?

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

This is a topic which provides ample scope for dialectics. One can argue for and
against it. One of the best examples is Bill Gates who went on to become the
richest man in the world despite dropping out of hid education. Closer home we
have the example of Dhirubhai Ambani. What a person learns and what he really
wants to do has no correlation many a times. A person succeeds only if he likes
what he does.The argument for education will be that, in practice, it is your marks
and qualifications that opens doors for you. While one can become successful
without education, education brings about a richness in one's life. One is able to
appreciate many facets of life due to the extended knowledge that education
provides. It opens a new window and provides a different perspective towards
things, ability to distinguish between ethical and unethical, moral and amoral
....etc. http://www.ChetanaSinterview.com

We don't learn from history, we repeat it

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

Relevance of history. Reminder of our past telling us what to do and what not to
do. Still we have numerous examples which have occurred again and again  for e.g.
Time and again we have had innumerable wars and bloodshed,  Hitler made the
same mistake as Napoleon and Napoleon in turn the same ones as Alexander and
all the three wanted to rule the world, countries making similar mistakes in world
war II as they did during world war I ....etc....

But despite this there are also many examples which have not been repeated ( or
rather not brought out to the fore as they were not repeated). This could mean we
have indeed learnt from history and avoided those mistakes. In fact that has been
the purpose of teaching history so as not to repeat them. Today fear of war is
directly due to the record history places before us...etc....

Indian villages-our strength or our weakness?

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

A typical Indian villages and its myriad problems. Lack of basic amenities and
infrastructure. their contribution to the economy both in goods and services vis-a-
vis their urban counterparts. they could be an even bigger drivers of our economy
if they are made self reliant by improving infrastructure and reducing the general
disparities between cities and villages ...etc...etc

Agrarian Economy in India-boon or bane

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

Speaking for the topic one can argue the following- time and again it has made us
self reliant in food. This increases our bargaining power tremendously in the world
economy. Internally also food prices can be kept low and this will have a direct
bearing on inflation. This would bolster the economy and provide us freedom from
world bodies and other nations.

Against the topic-agrarian economy is at the mercy of climatic conditions. A bad

summer, monsoon, or winter could bring the nation down. It will have a spiral
effect as increased prices will lead to inflation and problems associated with it.
World bodies and other nations will dictate terms..etc....

If there were no armies in the world......

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

Wishful thinking indeed! It would be the key element for world peace. There will
be no instrument to wage a war. It will also remove fear and distrust among
various nations. We wont have a defence budget. This means more funds
channelised into other productive areas. Reduced terrorism and very little separatist
groups

But the disadvantage could be imposition by one group, anarchy, laissez faire
politics, lawlessness..etc..

Do we need a global policeman?

The role of some countries in "disciplining" others. Assuming on itself to decide

what is right and what is wrong for the whole world. Bullying others into
submission by its sheer economic power. Overriding the brief of world bodies in
world politics C he ta naS

Suggest alternatives like more authority to world bodies like UN etc which is more
representative of everyone's interests. More assertiveness to be shown by other
nations to such policing nations . making more nations self reliant so that we have
less of "Big Brother" Syndrome....etc.....

Indian customs-are we in a time warp?

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

Some undesirable practices over a long time. Dowry- prevalent even among the
educated class, Sati- recent example of a lady in North India, Child marriages- still
prevalent in backward areas etc. Reason on why do we still follow such customs.
Traditional subjugation of women-present even in big cities among upper class
society. Allied problems due to such customs- intolerance, fundamentalism,
exploitation, etchttp://www.ChetanaSinterview.com

Suggest ways out of this like education the masses, indicating the outmodedness 
and irrelevance of such practices today...etc...

"How green was my valley........".Are we paying the price of nature?

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

As every one tries to be one up on the other in the race for industrialisation,
deforestation is taking place on a large scale. This effect is more pronounced in
developing countries. It has made a perceptible difference in the last 50 years with
rising temperatures. Global warming. Greenhouse effect. Ozone layer depletion. El
Nino type effects. Similarly it has affected other living beings-both plant and
animals driving many of them to extinction..etc...

But people have realised it now. A lot of NGOs and voluntary bodies are working
on it. Infact there is even a Greens party in Germany which has been winning
elections using the environmental plank...etc....

Management Education-Is it necessary  to succeed in business

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

This is again a topic where we can have for and against arguments. There are many
examples of great visionaries and leaders in business who have succeeded without
any formal  management education. People have simply done it by their will,
passion and desire. But management education has also produced many bigwigs. A
management education gives a perspective towards analysis and problem solving.It
enables one to take decisions in a scientific manner, it enables you to handle the
stress and strains of a demanding job...etc...

The role of NGOs  in economics and politics

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

NGOs have become very powerful today. They have a major role to play in politics
as they swerve peoples opinion. They enjoy a lot of support and goodwill of the
people. They can also make or break a business. They protect the interests of the
people and represent a collective voice against anything that goes against their
interests. Most of the times NGOs are more capable in securing a fair deal for the
general good. Also the NGOs have shown that they are in a better position to
handle social issues than most governments ...etc..