ISS (Statistical Services) English: Questions 158 - 158 of 259

Describe in Detail

Make a precis of each of the following two passages in about one-third of the original length, using your own words. State the number of words used and suggest a suitable title to each.

(Note: The precis must be written only on the special sheets provided for the purpose, writing one word in each block. The sheets should be fastened securely inside the answer-book). (30 Mark)

Average life expectancy in India jumped up by 1·6 years in the decade up to 2008, according to the latest data released by the Registrar General of India. Since this was also the period when economic reforms had the maximum impact, it gives the lie to an idea that’s caught the fancy in public discourse - that reforms benefited only a tiny elite, leaving the rest of India’s population untouched (or even worse off than before, going by some versions). The steady improvements inlife expectancy at birth of the average Indian to 66·1 years by 2008 highlights steady improvement in overall living conditions and the general success of reforms.

What makes these gains more impressive are their inclusive character, with women and the rural population making more substantial gains? While women’s life expectancy improved faster to 67·7 years, that of men rose more slowly to 64·6 years. This is especially significant given that life expectancy of women had lagged that of men till the early 1980s. While the overall gains indicate access to more nutritious food and health care and better hygiene, the larger improvements in the life expectancy of women indicate a faster dip in the mortality rates of the girl child. Similarly, greater life expectancy gains in the rural sector show that the benefits of higher growth were not restricted to urban areas, as many choose to believe.

It is of course necessary that the government design policies which make the benefits of reform percolate faster and deeper. The focus has to be on easing the ways of doing business and pushing up investments to enable growth to pick up. Only a substantial enlargement of the manufacturing sector base, by ushering in more flexible labour regulations and improving the supply of a skilled and trained workforce, land and quality infrastructure, can provide employment to the millions who join the workforce each year. The solution, therefore, is more reforms, not less. But the big question remains - will the direction and pace of the reforms have broad

public acceptance?