Prashant Mavani, is an expert in current affairs analysis and holds a MSc in Management from University of Surrey (U.K.).

Transcription

1 Prashant Mavani, is an expert in current affairs analysis and holds a MSc in Management from University of Surrey (U.K.). Above all he is a passionate teacher.

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6 The conflict that broke out in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk between Iraqi government troops aided by Shia militias and the Peshmerga, the military wing of Iraqi Kurdistan, this month is a reminder of the divisions that run deep in the country. Both government troops and the Peshmerga are part of the coalition that is fighting the Islamic State in Iraq. They are also American allies. The alliance between the Kurds and Baghdad is tactical rather than strategic. Masoud Barzani, President of Iraqi Kurdistan, wanted to mobilise the momentum created in the battle against the IS in favour of independence. Referendum in late September Prime Minister Haider al-abadi rushed troops to retake Kirkuk. Mr. Barzani s move was politically counter-productive as he is not in a position to achieve independence for Kurdistan. Baghdad has sent a tough message to Erbil by sending troops to Kirkuk: if the Kurds go ahead with plans to secede, it would invite a strong military response.

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8 Eleven-year-old Santoshi Kumari died of starvation in Jharkhand s Simdega district this month. Her ration card was not Aadhaar card-linked, preventing her from receiving any food ration from the Public Distribution System (PDS) for several weeks. Our society runs on paperwork. Bureaucracy came into being after the birth of scripts in ancient civilisation. More than writing, it was this method of retrieval that led to efficiency. In our brains, data are organised freely. In libraries, banks and offices, we need librarians, clerks and accountants to organise data. In time, this leads people to be reprogrammed to start thinking like machines, reading and retrieving data, rather than thinking like humans. Bureaucracy is new in developing countries. The Indian villager accesses the state through a local leader. Societies carry a historical burden of norms and customs. Mostly informal in nature, these institutions cannot be changed overnight. In diverse societies, bureaucracies have to be contextual, and therefore emotional.

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10 Soon after several women publicly alleged that Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein had sexually assaulted them, the hashtag #MeToo went viral on social media. Thousands of women (and men) are still recounting their experiences of sexual harassment. Now, an initiative on Facebook by a young student of law has sparked off a massive debate on sexual harassment in academia. The list on Facebook names 69 Indian academics and their institutional affiliations and is still being updated as more claims are being made. Critics: Due process is important, they said, even if it is harsh and often tilted against the complainant. The list is important for many reasons. For the first time women have found a common platform to collectively break their silence, especially in academia where there is an un-breachable power structure between student and teacher. Since the most powerful are often invested in this conspiracy of silence, breaking the silence does not transgress institutional procedures as it is only in a selfcritical and sensitised atmosphere that women can openly exercise their agency to lodge formal complaints.

11 The list also aims to fix standards of conduct within academia. Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley, among others, have instituted guidelines for student-teacher interactions which also prohibit consensual relationships between them. We need both quasi-judicial bodies such as the one in Jawaharlal Nehru University (Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment) and preventive mechanisms like the code of conduct manuals in Harvard and Berkeley to further the cause of gender justice. The logical response to this organic eruption of testimonials is to fill the gaps in institutional support structures instead of hitting back at the campaign even if some of the allegations have not been established.

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13 The meeting of the UN high-level political forum on sustainable development (HLPF) took place in New York from July to discuss the progress made on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. Forty-three member nations presented their report cards in the form of voluntary national reviews (VNRs). In the VNRs, countries generally outlined how well they have performed. Barring some countries in Latin America and Europe and possibly a few in other regions, stress on critical areas and ways to address them was missing. The reviews show that countries have taken steps to incorporate SDGs in their national plans and policies and identified polices which already include some of the goals. Except in Europe, and some other countries like Brazil and Japan where governments incorporated the inputs of civil society, the process remained largely non-inclusive or superficial. There was also a visible lack of awareness among civil society actors across the world about the mechanism and processes of VNR. The shadow reports prepared by civil society on SDGs find that the scale of inequality is constantly rising while governments austerity measures of cutting public investment in the social sectors is continuing. This is worrying as the UN Secretary General s report finds that in 2016, only 45% of the world s population was protected by some social protection system. The HLPF process needs to be strengthened by formalising multi-stakeholder consultations, discussing critical challenges, and making the ministerial declaration mandatory for nations to fulfil.

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15 Five-judge statute Bench to decide on Aadhaar validity The Supreme Court has said, a Constitution bench will be set up to hear a clutch of petitions challenging the Centre's decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for availing various services and welfare schemes. A bench, comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said a larger bench will commence hearing on the petitions in the last week of November. The apex court questioned the West Bengal government for filing a plea challenging the Centre's move to make Aadhaar mandatory for availing benefits of social welfare schemes. The court asked how a state can challenge the mandate of Parliament. It also asked the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to file the plea as an individual. Recently, a nine-judge Constitution bench had held that the Right to Privacy was a Fundamental Right under the Constitution. Several petitioners challenging the validity of Aadhaar had raised the issue that the scheme was violative of privacy rights.

16 Centre gets SC to freeze hearing on Article 35A The Supreme Court today adjourned the hearing of the plea challenging Article 35A of the Constitution by three months. The Article empowers the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define its 'permanent residents' and bestow on them special rights and privileges. The court's order came after the Centre told it that the Government has appointed a representative to hold talks with all stakeholders to resolve the Kashmir issue. Attorney General K K Venugopal contended that it was not the right time to proceed with the matter and sought six months' time before the hearing of the plea on the sensitive issue could start. The three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Mishra however, listed the matter for hearing after three months.

17 India, Italy vow to fight terror India and Italy signed six agreements in various fields, including Trade and investment, Railways and Energy. The agreements were exchanged in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Italy Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni in New Delhi. The two leaders held delegation level talks and reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral strategic partnership. In his joint statement after exchange of MoUs, Mr Modi said, several aspects of cooperation between India and Italy were discussed in the meeting. He said, regional and world affairs were discussed and India and Italy are on the same page in the fight against terrorism. He said, both countries are committed to fight unitedly against terror. Both nations are committed to enhance tourism and people-to-people ties and there is enough space to expand bilateral relations in many areas.

18 Arms Rules eased to woo investments The Government has liberalised the Arms Rules to boost Make in India manufacturing policy to promote employment generation in the field of manufacturing of arms and ammunition. The Home Ministry, in a statement said, the liberalised rules are expected to encourage manufacturing activity and facilitate availability of world class weapons to meet the requirement of the Armed Forces and Police Forces in sync with the country s defence indigenization programme. The rules will apply to licences granted by the Home Ministry for small arms and ammunition and licences granted by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, for tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, defence aircraft, spacecraft and warships of all kinds.

19 Jaitley-led panel to oversee PSB mergers Moving ahead with reforms in the public sector banking space, the government has constituted a Ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that will oversee merger proposals of state-owned banks. The other members of the panel include Railways and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Govt. walks the talk on banking reforms; constitutes Alternative Mechanism for PSBs consolidation; Finance Minister to head, Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar tweeted. While announcing the unprecedented Rs 2.11 lakh crore capital infusion roadmap for the public sector banks last week, Mr. Jaitley had said this will be accompanied by series of banking reforms over next few months. The constitution of Alternative Mechanism is a movement in that direction.

20 Centre extends last date for filing GST returns The government has extended the last date for filing of GSTR-2 or purchase returns for July to 30th of November to facilitate businesses and taxpayers. Earlier, the last date for GSTR-2 was to 31st of this month. GSTR-2 returns have to be matched with GSTR-1 which is the sales return. Finance Ministry has also extended the date of filing of GSTR-3 for the month of July to 11th of December. Earlier, the deadline was 10th of November.

21 IPS officer caught cheating in UPSC exam

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