Now the campus recruitment has started in many colleges, here comes another important step in acquiring

that elusive step towards selection - Group Discussions. I present here a few topics that I have collected
which I think will certainly help you all. These are topics that are generally asked or are likely to be asked.
Along with the topics I have also given the broad points along which these topics can be discussed.

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......

11. 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.......

12. 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....

13. 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

14. 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....

15. 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..

16. 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

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.....

17. 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, etc

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

18. "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....

19. 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...

20. 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.

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 defense 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 legalized 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 necessary?

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