MRECW Students E- Learning Point Computer Security Student (CSS)

GD Topics & Answers

1. 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 at least three years...etc The future -will it only have coalitions ,emerging political trends...etc...

2. 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 centralized 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.....

5. 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.....

6. 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.....

7. 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...


8. 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.....

9. Borderless worlds-Dream or reality?

The following points could be discussed under this topic:

Globalization 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. Europe has shown a step in this direction with EU but its feasibility remains to be seen. So while people clamor for globalization, they still think only in terms of their national interests...etc...

10. 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 recognized 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.

8 things you should NOT do in a Group Discussion

Group Discussion, abbreviated as GD is a form of many-on-many discussion. It has become an inseparable part of admissions to management institutes and your selection in campus interviews. GD is held to identify certain traits that the companies and the institutes like to see in their employees and students. Let’s take a look at the traits which the evaluators look out for in a candidate during the GD.
Knowledge

Whatever you do in a GD, your knowledge about the subject can’t be replaced by anything else. You are required to talk in A GD but a talk that doesn’t contain substantial value doesn’t hold any meaning. Be a voracious reader to increase your knowledge on various subjects. T.V., Newspapers, magazines, News portals etc. could be your good sources of knowledge.
Alertness and presence of mind

In a GD you are required to carefully listen to the other person’s thoughts and keep an argument, example or a supportive statement, fact, example ready to participate in the discussion. Here comes into picture your alertness and ability to think & act immediately. As you participate in a GD, make sure that you sit with an attentive mind and keep taking down the relevant points put forward by others.
Communication

You have a lot of good points to put across but if you can’t communicate them clearly, you won’t stand a chance to impress the evaluators. Practice to communicate in a clear and effective way.
Confidence

Your self confidence adds a lot of value to your candidature. Look at every group member as you speak, avoid too much hand movement and looking at evaluators.
Leadership and team skills

Your participation in a GD clearly establishes not only your Leadership skills but also your capability to work in a team. To meet the objectives, a good leader has to be a team player.
Goal Orientation

As so many people participate in a GD the chances of discussion moving from the subject are high. Your focus on goal can get you some extra points.

Now, as you are being evaluated for the above discussed traits, you must the things that can work to your disadvantage and might cost you the selection. Following are the things that you must avoid to do as being a part of the GD:
Initiating the discussion without proper subject knowledge

Though initiating the discussion helps you get immediate attention of the evaluators but if you start the discussion with irrelevant details, it works to your disadvantage. Start first only if you know the subject well otherwise wait for others to start and get a feel of the subject before entering into the discussion.
Snatching other’s chance to speak

Give other group members a chance to speak. Talking more won’t get you through the GD In fact it will give the evaluators a feeling that you are not a team player. Making short and relevant contributions of 20-30 seconds 3-4 times in the discussion is enough. Give other members also a chance to speak.
Interrupting others

Let the other person finish off his comment before you speak. Interrupting others is counted as a negative trait. Remember, it is a discussion not a debate. Don’t jump at the conclusions. Listen carefully to the other person before putting your point across.
Dialogue

In a GD you are expected to communicate with all the members of the group. Do not keep looking at one person while talking. Establish eye contact with all the members of the group. It is a many-on-many discussion not one-on-one.
Shouting or dominating

Keep you emotions under control. Do not try to dominate the group or let your emotions rule you. Sometimes it might happen that a group member might say something which hurts your emotions for example a comment on your race or religion, make sure that you do not get into an argument. Your focus should be to effectively meet the goals of GD topic.
Show off

You have to put across your knowledge on the subject during the GD but you have to be very careful about the thin demarcation between showing off and knowledge sharing. For e.g. Using statistics and facts during the GD is a good thing to do but you must not over do it to nauseate the group members.
Low Self Confidence or Insecurities

As we have seen earlier, one of the traits evaluated during GD is your self confidence. Do not hesitate to speak confidently. You might be short of ideas or knowledge on the subject. Listen to others and put across your thoughts in a clear and audible voice. Make sure that you make eye contact with all the group members.
Slang and negative gestures

GD is a formal discussion. Avoid informal words and negative gestures. For e.g. avoid words like gonna, wanna, ya etc. Similarly avoid gestures like pointing fingers, knocking the desk with the pen.

If you ensure that you do not commit these mistakes during the GD, you will not have to worry about the negative marks and your chances of getting through it also become bright.