. P R O F I L E PRASHANT MAVANI MSc. in Management, University of Surrey (UK) Senior Faculty: StudyIQ Follow/Contact me: @PrashantTMavani Download PDF notes of this lecture from my FB Page
.P o s i t i v e Dream big. Start small. Begin now. S t a r t -Robin Sharma
Mind the perimeter: The security protocol at military installations must be speedily upgraded- The number of casualties in the terror attack on the Sunjuwan Army base in Jammu has risen to 7 after clearing operations. Attacked last Saturday by a small group of heavily armed terrorists. Worrisome aspect: repeated success of terrorists in infiltrating high-security military complexes Scant progress post Pathankot Air Force station attack India still relies heavily on putting more boots on the ground Soldier is fully backed by technology and calibrated security drills.
Suppressing history: Poland s Holocaust legislation highlights its continued shift to the far right - A new law in Poland that makes it a crime to blame the country for Nazi atrocities has reopened the Holocaust denial issue. Clearly, responsibility for the atrocities perpetrated against Jews during the Holocaust rests with the occupying Nazis, and not the people of Poland. Israeli lawmakers are for expanding the definition of Holocaust denial to include a refusal to admit the role of those who collaborated with the Nazis. Moreover, the resulting loss of Poland s voting rights in the bloc would be most ironic for a government that has staked its position on the assertion of national sovereignty on the EU stage.
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The ratings illusion: Nations give too much importance to credit rating agencies despite their structural flaws- The idea of rating an individual, an entity and even a nation has been there for aeons. Modern day credit rating agencies With a business model change such agencies were starting to charge both the investors and the entity covered. Yet, despite their vital role in the global financial world, rating agencies fail to inspire confidence. Moody s has been fined across various geographies for non-adherence to standard rating protocols.
- More importantly, such rating agencies can have a global impact, affecting the fiscal fortunes of nations, due to flight of capital, as witnessed during the East Asian crisis of the 1990s. In our development journey, we must utilise such rating agencies, preferably indigenous, to help clean house in our corporate sector. A fixed operating fee model may also be explored, thereby eliminating incentives to be the lowest-bidder with compromised quality. Outstanding ratings and sudden downgrades need to be subjected to greater supervision.
Can sanitation reduce stunting? Testing this hypothesis is hard, given how difficult it is to change toilet habits- Stunting = low height for age The trials, which implemented water, sanitation and hygiene WASH WASH interventions included replacing poor-quality toilets with improved ones chlorinating drinking water promoting hand washing all in an attempt to protect toddlers from the faecal pathogens that are believed to interfere with their growth. Bangladesh and Kenya are dramatically different from India.
- But when the trials ended, disappointingly, the researchers found these children were not taller than those who did not receive these interventions. India is the only country today in which over 50% of the rural population still defecates in the open. Bangladesh, while close to India in population density, brought down open defecation rates from 42% in 2003 to just 1% in 2016. Stunting is a complex problem. intestinal inflammation, possibly caused by exposure to faecal germs
- India s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) is an example of how difficult it is to change people s sanitation habits. Weigh the merits of sanitation against other interventions like nutrition. Several researchers have tried this, but have come up dry.
Crucible for civilisation: Since over a million years ago, the Indian region has not been deserted at any time - In 1863, British geologist and archaeologist Robert Bruce Foote discovered the first Palaeolithic stone tools from India at the Attirampakkam site, close to Madras. Africa: 140,000-120,000 years ago Early Middle Palaeolithic culture in India around 385-172 ka reframes Out of Africa models : 385,000 years ago One thing is certain: since over a million years ago, the Indian region has not been deserted at any time and has been the crucible of numerous civilisations including the Acheulean, Lower Palaeolithic and Middle Palaeolithic, up to 5,000 years ago.
Centre studying plea to ban PFI- Kerala has asked for a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI), a Muslim organisation that is mainly operating out of the State, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju has said. The issue was discussed at the annual DGP meet held in Madhya Pradesh s Tekanpur in January, where Kerala police chief Lokanath Behera gave a detailed presentation on the PFI s growth and activities in the State. The Enforcement Directorate plans to launch money-laundering investigations against activists of the Popular Front of India who face serious criminal charges, including cases under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Rs 11,500 crore scam rocks PNB, stocks hit- In what could be one of the biggest frauds in the Indian banking system, state-run lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) reported unauthorised transactions worth Rs11,500 crore in one of its branches in south Mumbai. The Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case in the matter, which involves Mumbai-based billionaire diamond merchant Nirav Modi. A case has been registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation against him and his business associates as well as a serving PNB official and a retired deputy manager of the bank.
Bacteria link to Kolkata diarrhoea outbreak- The diarrhoea outbreak reported from 10 wards in south may have been triggered by a bacterial growth in the drinking water supplied by the Municipal Corporation. State Director of Health Services Ajay Chakraborty said the preliminary report of tests conducted by the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine suggests a bacterial growth, but added that nothing conclusive could be said so far. According to sources in the State Health Department, faecal samples of patients sent from the Baghajatin State General Hospital have revealed presence of a pathogenic bacterial strain, E. coli.
SC may hear plea to take up two-child policy norm - The Supreme Court may hear a plea to direct the Centre to give a serious thought to the rise in population and adopt the two-child policy norm in family planning. The PIL petition filed by activist Anupam Bajpai said couples who followed the policy should be rewarded with incentives, while those who violated the norm should be punished by withdrawal of government facilities and concessions.
Rouhani visit signals balance in ties - Iranian President coming exactly a month after Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
India offers support for reconstruction of Iraq- India has called for a comprehensive political settlement and reconciliation in Iraq, at the International Conference for Reconstruction of Iraq in Kuwait attended by major world powers to chalk out a plan of recovery for the country. Union Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar, who is leading the Indian delegation, has announced that India will play its part in the reconstruction, and called for an end to global terrorism.
Israeli police name Tata in case against Netanyahu- Ratan Tata s office called it a grossly incorrect reference The name of Ratan Tata figures in the Israeli police recommendations seeking to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on graft charges, according to an Israeli media report, which was on Wednesday dismissed by the industrialist s office as grossly incorrect in its references about him.
Centre targets industry to save power- After success with LED, EESL aims at 6,000 MW savings by creating market for energy-efficient motors The Centre, through its company Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), is planning to replicate its success in the LED space in the commercial sector by creating a market for low-cost, energy-efficient motors, a senior official said. A large chunk of energy consumption goes to industry, S.P. Garnaik, national programme manager (CGM) at EESL told The Hindu. About 30-34% of the total energy consumption goes to the industrial sector, which is a substantial amount. And out of that, about 70% is electrical energy consumption. Most of this electricity consumption is due to the use of motor-driven systems, Mr. Garnaik added.
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