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*Former Revenue Secretary N.K. Singh, who has been appointed chairman of the Commission. *He held preliminary discussions on its wide-ranging terms of reference and decided to hold expeditious consultations with stakeholders at all administrative levels as well as with political parties. *Think tanks and academics will be consulted.

*Submit its report by October 2019 *giving the government a little over a quarter to consider and implement its recommendations *14th Finance Commission s recommendation: divisible pool of taxes to 42% from the previous 32% level one-size-doesn't-fits-all New India 2022:

*The Centre is committed to compensating States for any revenue losses arising out of GST implementation till June 2022, thus covering nearly half the period for which the Commission is to recommend a formula. *Its mandate includes formulating performance-linked incentives for States on a range of desirable outcomes such as attaining a replacement rate in population growth, deepening the GST net and improving the ease of doing business.

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*National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Crime in India 2016 *Presents a dismal picture of the key performance statistic with only 47% convictions in Indian Penal Code (IPC) crimes at the national level. *Delhi provides an interesting case study, where there is no political interference and the Police Commissioner reports to the Lieutenant Governor, and not the Chief Minister. *With a population smaller than Mumbai, it has two times the number of police stations. *1,90,876 persons were sent to trial last year, there were only 9,837 IPC convictions in the year *In Delhi only 58% of those arrested were chargesheeted, while in Mumbai, more persons were chargesheeted than were arrested for IPC crimes. *In Delhi, 13,803 crimes against women were reported and no chargesheets filed in 4,371 cases (32%); in Mumbai with 5,128 crimes reported against women, final reports were filed in only 15% of cases. * The key statistic of police performance is not merely correct reporting and recording but chargesheets and convictions, as this impacts on criminal behaviour.

*The Delhi Police website says that it is perhaps the world s largest metropolitan police force. *There is a need to distinguish between accountability and operational responsibility.

*We do not have separate wings for investigation of crime and for law and order. service or force *The criminal justice system should be limited to crimes under the IPC, while enforcement of administrative law and social legislation requires a different approach involving summary trials, changing societal attitudes and modes of behaviour. *The effectiveness of prisons is now being questioned. *The main purpose of criminal administration should be the prevention of crime, and the police cannot be an instrument of social change. *Administrative measures and fines levied by honorary and executive magistrates will change behaviour better than penal action.

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*After that traumatic year, three dates, three events, shook Indian pluralism again. Gandhi s assassination January 30, 1948; the Babri Masjid demolition December 6, 1992, and the unveiling of V.D. Savarkar s portrait in Parliament House February 26, 2003 *The first was murder, the second vandalism, the third a celebration. *India is One Nation and Ishvar Allah two names, among other ones, for the One.

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*Last week, the U.S. protested at the World Trade Organisation against China s bid for recognition as a market economy. * use of state subsidies in China distorts market prices. *Beijing insists that under Section 15 of the Protocol of Accession, the country s upgrade as a market economy was automatic on the completion of 15 years of its WTO membership in 2016. *Several nations have endorsed China s position in return for bilateral cooperation in trade and investments in infrastructure projects. *Section 15(1)(i) places the onus on Chinese firms to prove that they were operating under conditions of a competitive market economy in the manufacture and sale of relevant products.

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Supreme Court refuses to defer Ayodhya case hearing *The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused requests by appellant parties from the minority community to defer the hearing in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute till after July 15, 2019, that is, post the next general election. *On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the demolition of the 16th century Babri Masjid *The appeals are against a September 2010 judgment by the Allahabad High Court for a three-way partition of the disputed site. Drama at high-voltage hearing The high-voltage hearing on Tuesday had moments of sheer drama from the court commanding a lawyer, who spoke out of turn, to go stand in the corner to three senior advocates attempting to walk out in protest. In the middle of the hearing, lawyers for the appellants Kapil Sibal, Rajeev Dhawan and Dushyant Dave expressed their difference of opinion by deciding to leave the courtroom.

Delhi court verdict in 2G case on Dec. 21 *A Delhi court on Tuesday fixed December 21 for pronouncement of judgment in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case. *Special judge O.P. Saini announced the date in the presence of the accused and counsel for the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate. *The court asked all the accused to be present that day. *Former Telecom Minister A. Raja, DMK Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi and others are facing prosecution in the case. *The court will pronounce judgment in two cases related to the scam: one is of corruption charges and the other filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Govt. announces Rs8,450 crore package to boost exports *The government on Tuesday announced incentives worth Rs 8,450 crore to boost exports of goods and services mainly from labour-intensive segments and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and to increase employment generation and value-addition. *The incentives were announced as part of the mid-term review of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP). *The move comes at a time when India s shipments shrank in October the first after 14 consecutive months of positive growth due to the impact of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). *The FTP for the period 2015-2020 had set an ambitious target of $900 billion for India s exports of goods and services by 2019-20.

Dispose of pleas to debar MPs in 3 months *Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu has, in his order disqualifying senior Janata Dal (U) MPs Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar from the Rajya Sabha. *In the specific case of Mr. Yadav, Mr. Naidu said in his order that, in a democracy, it is a rule of the majority and the voice of the majority that will have to be accepted in case of a dispute regarding the leadership of a legislature party/group and Shri Yadav has failed to prove with documentary or other evidence that his group commands majority support within the JD(U) legislature party in the Rajya Sabha.

Pak. textbooks glorifying war: UNESCO *The Global Education Monitoring Report 2017-18 of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), released on Monday, expresses concern over school textbooks in many countries glorifying war and military heroes rather than teaching peace, non-violence and reconciliation. *Emphasising that textbooks shape young minds powerfully as they trust them as a prime source of knowledge, the report says, However, textbooks in many countries fail to deal comprehensively with concepts that are crucial for social cohesion and political stability, including peace and non-violence.

UAE set to open more consular offices in India *The United Arab Emirates will open several consular centres in India, said the Ambassador of the Gulf nation on Tuesday and reaffirmed his government s intention to revitalise the the country s infrastructure with $75 billion investment from its sovereign wealth fund. *Apart from renewed focus on diplomatic and consular contacts, the envoy said that his country stands with India on counter-terror cooperation firmed up with the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to UAE in August 2015. *The UAE sovereign wealth fund known as Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has been a major subject that both sides have been trying to harness.

China, India vow to protect globalisation *Top economic planners of India and China on Tuesday set the goal of leading a new wave of globalisation by synchronising their emerging economies. *NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar and his Chinese counterpart Li Wei, president of the Development Research Council (DRC) the Chinese Cabinet s top official think tank began talks based on a firm common understanding. *He said Chinese investment in manufacturing could generate large-scale employment in India. *Besides, India could benefit from Chinese experience gained from innovation-based fourth industrial revolution that focussed on advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and internet-of-things. India could learn from China s rich experience in developing infrastructure.

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UAE and Saudi form new group, separate from GCC *The UAE on Tuesday announced it has formed a new economic and partnership group with Saudi Arabia, separate from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a move that could undermine the council amid a diplomatic crisis with Qatar. *It wasn t immediately clear how the development could affect the six-member GCC meeting, which is expected to focus on the Qatar issue. *Half of the GCC members are boycotting Doha.

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Answers: 1) Mr Hadi 2) Senior most SC Judge 3) MTCR: Opens new door Questions 1) Nicolo de Conti, the Italian traveler visited Vijaynagar empire during the times of a) Devaraya I b) Devaraya II c) Kirshnadev Raya d) Achyuta Raya 2) Soil that owes its colour to oxides of iron is a) Regur b) Bangar c) Laterite d) Alkaline