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3 Ȧ R T I C L E S 1. Living in uncertain times: India needs strategic cohesion, and Government-Opposition dialogue is vital for this 2. The measure of tests: Allowing students to take JEE and NEET twice a year is logical 3. In need of a practical plan: The stage-wise and uniform timeline for lower judicial appointments is problematic 4. High on atmospherics: Punjab needs a sober, well-thought-out strategy to deal with drug abuse 5. Don t blame it on WhatsApp: A private company cannot and should not perform the duties of a democratically elected government 6. Divide and fool: After undermining mainstream media, the move is on to discredit protest itself 7. Cup of surprises: Upsets have set up the semifinals but all teams played superb football to get here

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6 . P R O F I L E PRASHANT MAVANI MSc. in Management, University of Surrey (UK) Senior Faculty: StudyIQ Download PDF notes of this lecture from my FB Page

7 Living in uncertain times Artificial Intelligence is threatening everything that we are aware of. Till very recently, North Korea was seen by the U.S., and much of the West, as the principal part of the axis of evil. U.S. has announced that North Korea no longer poses a nuclear threat, nor is it the biggest and the most dangerous problem for the U.S. Russia s Vladimir Putin is pitted against almost the entire Western world, and is being blamed for an array of human rights violations. Afghanistan is rocked almost daily by terror attacks by the Taliban West Asia is embroiled in several wars. Syria is the worst-affected and has almost ceased to be a state. Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have intensified. Tensions between Israel and the Muslim world have peaked.

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9 Germany, which appeared the most stable of European countries till recently, is in deep crisis politically and Chancellor Angela Merkel s government hangs by the proverbial thread. A fluid political situation prevails across much of southern Europe. Under President Xi Jinping, China, for instance, is making steady progress, despite the occasional dip in economic forecasts. Russia is, again, not constrained by contrarian pulls and pressures. It has entered into a strategic relationship with China, is seeking to consolidate its influence in Eurasia, and has been able to stand up to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the West. Absence of a debate of this nature in Parliament has a direct impact on the conduct of affairs of state. Lack of cooperation between ruling and opposition party

10 Early this year that U.S. President Donald Trump had announced suspension of military aid to Pakistan, and pointed an accusing finger at it for backing terror. U.S. has of late taken to upbraiding India on trade issues, lecturing it on reducing military ties with Russia, and insisting that it abide by U.S. sanctions on Iran. Despite the Wuhan summit, our relations with China remain equivocal. It is little understood, again, why many of our neighbours seem to be drifting away from India. The time has, hence, come for the government to seek out the Opposition to debate some of these issues inside Parliament, so that foreign policy, at least, remains on an even keel and is not buffeted by the cross-winds of adversarial party politics in the country.

11 High on atmospherics Punjab STF claimed to have arrested about 15,000 drug peddlers. It also claimed that the supply line of drugs had been choked. However, with the tightening of supply chains, many turned to cheaper and spurious drugs. The Punjab Cabinet has asked the Centre to amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of 1985 to include the death penalty for even first-time offenders. It followed this up with a declaration that all 3.4 lakh government employees would have to undergo a dope test. For instance, a regular user of heroin may test negative if he or she has abstained for three-four days. Families and teachers need to be put through counselling to identify potential victims and to watch for early signs of trouble. Such action requires an understanding of the situation, sincerity and patience.

12 Don t blame it on WhatsApp A serial killer painted in a luminescent green is on the loose and travels in the pockets of more than 200 million people in India. A debate has been framed around the growing use of technology by the ignorant masses and the responsibilities of a technology platform. This is a shallow understanding that distracts us from the harder, vexing questions on the sectarian discourse set by our political leadership, a deepening divide that is damaging fraternity within society, and the structural reforms necessary to restore law and order. Three facts 1. The first fact is that the government maintains no central data on public lynchings. The legal framework in India does not have any anti-lynching offences either. Paul Brass: organised political productions for dominance of one community over another

13 2. Opinion writing has often homogenised incidents into a factual straightjacket. In the lynching cases this year, it is claimed that the common factor is the use of WhatsApp to spread rumours relating to the abduction of children, ostensibly for the purpose of forcible organ harvesting. These grotesque details underplay and ignore the fact that the victims of mob lynchings are quite often members of nomadic tribes and religious minorities. They ignore pre-existing social tensions, asymmetry of social capital and power among groups, past instances of mob violence and killings, and the efficiency of policing. 3. Lynching without end, which collated data from 2015 to 2017 and was published last year The report indicates severe structural faults from a deficiency of laws to the absence of long-pending police reforms. As Paul Brass notes, it is the duty of public commentary to fix responsibility and penetrate the clouds of deception, rhetoric, mystification, obscurity and indeterminacy.

14 In need of a practical plan Recruitment to the lower judiciary has been under public scrutiny due to its failure to fill almost a quarter (23%) of vacancies that persist. The recruitment process of district judges is now the subject matter of a public interest litigation filed in the Supreme Court. SC: it highlighted the importance of a prescribed time-schedule for judicial service examinations and laid down stage-wise time lines for lower judicial appointments for civil judges (junior division) and district judges (direct recruitment) in 321 days and 183 days, respectively It ends up being a one-size-fit-all timeline Timeline applies uniformly to States, regardless of sanctioned strengths. Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra have a sanctioned strength of 62 and 1,118, respectively.

15 The study found that while Himachal could complete its cycle within an average of 178 days, it took 443 days for Maharashtra. If the timeline is strictly implemented, aspiring candidates will find it impossible to appear for examinations in multiple States. While the idea of a definite timeline is undisputedly a good one, it should be flexible to suit the administrative and resource capacities of different States. Further, and more importantly, the court needs to adopt a more datadriven, methodological basis for such a timeline.

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17 Important News SC says it is ready to go live, Centre moots a TV channel IISc, IIT-D chosen for special grants No review, Delhi bus rapists told Modi, Moon inaugurate world s largest mobile factory in Noida Johnson quits over May s Brexit plan Seven new wasp species found in Amazon forests

18 Answers- 1. Who was elected as President of Turkey in the presidential election in 2018? A) Tughut ojal B) Abdullah Gul C) Recep Tayyip Erdogan D) Muharrem Ince 2. When is the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking observed every year? A) 24 June B) 23 June C) 25 June D) 26 June 3. India extended how much amount of Line of Credit to Seychelles to allow it to buy defence equipment from India? A) USD 100 million B) USD 400 million C) USD 300 million D) USD 200 million

19 Questions- 1. India recently agreed to hold the first edition of naval exercise Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) with which neighbouring country? A) Nepal B) Bhutan C) Sri Lanka D) Bangladesh 2. The Financial Action Task Force has recently put which country on the grey list? A) Pakistan B) Syria C) Afghanistan D) Iraq

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