GD Topics: Revision Notes

Assessors reward relevant, sourced content, structure, building on others, moving the group forward, clear communication and balanced positions; airtime alone earns little. Make each contribution with PREP (point, reason, example, point) in 30–45 seconds. Structure topics by stakeholders, time horizons, PESTLE or for–against–middle path. Enter by linking to the last speaker, handle dominant speakers by summarising and redirecting, invite quiet members, and summarise fairly. In case GDs, agree the problem before solutions: clarify, diagnose, options, recommend, measure. In abstract GDs, interpret quickly into business or HR themes.

The 70-hour (Narayana Murthy, 2023) and 90-hour (L&T chairman, 2025) remarks and the 2024 EY Pune death made hours a national issue; India already has some of the longest average weeks (ILO), and the OSH Code caps the week at 48 hours. For: catch-up economies worked long hours; start-ups and crises need intensity. Against: output per hour falls sharply beyond about 50 hours (Pencavel, 2014); health, safety and exclusion of women; productivity comes from capital, technology and skills; South Korea cut its maximum from 68 to 52 hours in 2018. Position: manage outputs, not hours; intensity should be voluntary and periodic.

The WEF projects 170 million jobs created and 92 million displaced by 2030 (net +78 million) with about 39% of core skills changing; TCS cut about 12,000 roles in 2025 while hiring freshers. For: rules-based HR tasks are already automated and HR ratios will fall. Against: judgement, trust, negotiation, investigations, change and ethics stay human, and AI creates new HR work (reskilling, governance, bias audits, DPDP). Position: AI replaces tasks, not the function; HR shifts to analytics, design and advisory work and leads AI adoption for the workforce.

NITI Aayog projects gig workers rising from 77 lakh (2020–21) to 2.35 crore (2029–30). The SS Code funds social security through aggregator contributions (1–2% of turnover, capped at 5% of payouts) with e-Shram registration and 90/120-day eligibility; Rajasthan (2023) and Karnataka (2025) have state laws; the UK’s Uber v Aslam (2021) made drivers “workers”. For employee status: dependence and algorithmic control resemble employment. Against: flexibility is why many choose it; costs could shrink opportunities. Position: a third category with portable social security, earnings floors, algorithm transparency and fair deactivation appeals.

Four-day week: legal as a compressed week within 48 hours where states allow; a UK reduced-hours pilot (61 firms, 2022) mostly continued. For: retention, well-being, commute savings. Against: 12-hour days are tiring and risky in plants; continuous operations and client-hour work don’t fit. Position: pilot in suitable knowledge-work teams, no national mandate.

Right to disconnect: law in France, Portugal and Australia; only private member’s bills in India. For: blurred boundaries, burnout, juniors can’t refuse. Against: global time zones, enforcement, lost flexibility. Position: company norms first, plus a minimal legal protection against penalties for not responding after hours.

Menstrual leave: Karnataka grants one paid day a month (women 18–52, no certificate); Bihar since 1992; Zomato from 2020; the Supreme Court calls it policy and warns of hiring bias. For: health need, reduced stigma. Against: hiring bias, stereotypes, privacy. Position: include it in a broader health and flexibility policy, monitor bias, consider social-insurance funding.

Return to office: IT firms tightened attendance; TCS linked variable pay to it in 2024. For: learning for juniors, culture, security. For flexibility: retention, women’s participation, wider talent pool, commute savings. Position: purposeful presence with anchor days by role, measuring outcomes not attendance.

Labour Codes: in force 21 November 2025, central rules 8 May 2026; most central unions except BMS protested. Pro-employer: 300-worker permission threshold, standing orders at 300, statutory fixed-term employment, universal strike notice, contract-labour threshold 50, decriminalisation. Pro-worker: universal minimum and floor wage, gig social security, FTE gratuity after one year, reskilling fund, appointment letters, union recognition, women’s night-shift safeguards, uniform wage definition. Position: flexibility traded for coverage and clarity; outcomes depend on state rules and enforcement.

Unions: weak in private services, strong in PSUs, banks, ports, mining and auto; recognition fights continue (Samsung, 2024); gig associations are forming; India hasn’t ratified ILO 87/98. Position: the need for collective voice is rising while its form shifts to enterprise unions, associations and digital organising.

Moonlighting: Wipro terminated about 300 employees in 2022; Infosys allowed approved side work; restraints during employment are generally upheld, post-employment restraints limited by Contract Act s.27. Position: allow disclosed, non-competing work; ban competitor work and misuse of time, assets or information.

Quotas for women: female LFPR about 42% (PLFS 2023–24) but thin representation in senior management; one woman director rule; Norway’s 40% board quota. For: speed, role models. Against: tokenism, stigma, pipeline untouched. Position: targets with accountability plus pipeline fixes (returnships, sponsorship, flexible senior roles, parental leave, pay audits, safe travel).

Loyalty: attrition 17.7% in 2024; early-career switching is common. Position: loyalty is reciprocal and conditional; design for internal mobility, tours of duty and alumni networks.

Pay transparency: the EU directive (June 2026) requires ranges in job ads and gap reporting. For: fewer unexplained gaps, trust. Against: privacy, conflict, pay compression. Position: publish ranges by grade, explain decisions, audit equity.

Skills over degrees: for: degrees predict performance weakly and skills tests widen access; against: degrees signal persistence and some professions are regulated. Position: degrees as one signal, validated skills assessments and apprenticeships as alternative routes.

Ethical layoffs: Indian retrenchment requires notice, 15 days’ pay per year and the reskilling fund (permission at 300+); Better.com’s 2021 Zoom layoff shows the cost of impersonal handling. Position: last resort after redeployment and VRS, fair criteria, personal communication, severance above the minimum, extended health cover, outplacement and care for those who stay.