"Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them

is what makes life meaningful." - Joshua J. Marine

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*For more than 22 years, Tamil film star Rajinikanth fed the expectation of his entry into politics without fulfilling it.

*In 1995, when he spoke up against AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa.

*With Jayalalithaa’s death, however, his political ambition found a new life.

*He held a series of meetings with his fans as if to test his support base.

*There is no denying Mr. Rajinikanth’s mass appeal, but as in the case of AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa, he doesn’t seem to have a clearly defined ideological position or political programme.

*Change leader for politics in Tamil Nadu

*Charisma is a powerful force in Tamil Nadu politics

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*Finance Ministry’s warning to potential investors in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

*Since 2013: RBI has issued 3 warnings.

*A new, attractive investment area has opened up that few have enough information about.

*Bitcoin: price shot up by well over 1000% & fluctuated wildly

*Sudden entry of many: quick and easy profits.

*90% of the currencies are scams

*India must be careful to differentiate between cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology

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*Cryptocurrencies: it is anonymous, non-fiat and goes against the GoI’s

drive against black money.

*Blockchains: basically digital ledgers of financial transactions that are

immutable and instantly updated across the world, are worth looking at

as aids to ease doing business.

*They have the potential to greatly streamline payment mechanisms and

make them transparent.

*The inter-ministerial panel on cryptocurrencies will take a call on their

future.

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*Incidents, especially since the early 1990s, have radically altered both reality and our imagination.

*“Secular people,” he declared, “do not have an identity of their parental blood.” “We (the BJP),” he added, “are here to change the Constitution,” making it quite clear that in his, and his party’s, belief secularism was a model unworthy of constitutional status.

*Mr. Hegde’s comments + RSS = ultimate aim the recognition of India as a Hindustate.

* In which, secularism lies not at the constitution’s bedrock, but entirely outside the document’s aims and purposes.

*Far Right: India has never been a secular state

*Constitution, did not contain the word “secular” (42nd amendment)

*They argue that even Baba was against inclusion of word secular in CoI

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*A motion moved by Brajeshwar Prasad from Bihar to have the words

“secular” and “socialist” included in the Preamble.

*Constituent Assembly explicitly rejected a motion.

*To them, any republic that purports to grant equality before the law to

all its citizens, that purports to recognise people’s rights to free

speech, to a freedom of religion and conscience simply cannot be un-

secular.

*Secularism, as would be clear on any morally reasonable analysis, is

inbuilt in the foundations of constitutionalism, in the idea of a

democracy properly understood.

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*Constitution doesn’t acquire its secular character merely from the words

in the Preamble, but from a collective reading of many of its provisions,

particularly the various fundamental rights that it guarantees.

*Any move, therefore, to amend the Constitution, to remove the word

“secular” from the Preamble, before we consider whether such a change will

survive judicial review, will have to remain purely symbolic.

*Broader project that is already underway: endeavour here is to steadily strike

at the secular values that the Constitution espouses.

*Negating this mission: thwarting any efforts to amend the Constitution & even

more critically, by working towards building a contrary public opinion.

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*Two differing visions of secularism: one that called for a complete wall

of separation between state and religion, and another that demanded

that the state treat every religion with equal respect.

*ultimately it was the latter vision that prevailed

*K.M. Munshi wrote, “was inappropriate to Indian conditions and we had

to evolve a characteristically Indian secularism… We are a people with

deeply religious moorings. At the same time, we have a living tradition of

religious tolerance — the results of the broad outlook of Hinduism that

all religions lead to the same god… In view of this situation, our state

could not possibly have a state religion, nor could a rigid line be drawn

between the state and the church as in the U.S..”

*Rajeev Bhargava: maintenance of a “principled distance” between state

and religion.

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*What is still holding our nation back from achieving large-scale global academic excellence?

*It is important to look inward and ask whether our academics display an adequate ethical commitment to excellence.

*It is rarely appreciated that excellence is an ethical issue.

*We think of it as something arising from people of calibre coupled with

sufficient resources.

*But how do successful nations spot such people and resources and enable

them to achieve their potential? The answer: there is a sincere and

stated commitment to cultivating excellence as a goal.

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*Consider this advertisement put out by Stanford University recently.

*In such institutions, once an excellent candidate is identified, the

institution does everything to convince her/him to accept the offer.

*Loss of the candidate to a rival institution is considered a serious failure,

as excellence is seen to be a precious commodity, with the heads of such

institutions held accountable.

*In India, in contrast, excellence is at best one of multiple criteria in

faculty hiring.

*In some places, excellence can actually go against the candidate.

“We seek exceptional individuals who can develop a world-class program of research, and have a strong

commitment to teaching at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.”

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*While academics freely criticise personality cults in the political sphere,

they are happy to cultivate those of their own.

*A few individuals, possibly achievers in their younger days, grow into

collectors of awards and fellowships and dominate organisations and

committees.

*Conflict of interest is another, rarely highlighted, problem.

*For example, within an institution, the leader may provide partisan support for

their own subject of expertise and restrain the progress of rivals.

*In the ethics of excellence, ignorance cannot be an excuse.

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*The old tale that Indians instinctively behave like crabs, pulling others

down, still has well-deserved traction in academia.

*One is the rank and file of academia which tends to be more professional

than ours.

*Personality cults are met with a sharp push back and conflicts of interest

are openly challenged.

*Even when disputes take place, excellence does not take a back seat.

*The other corrective comes from the top; institution leaders are

evaluated by their funding and accreditation agencies, and made aware

that their future leadership opportunities are diminished by every petty

action and slipshod committee work.

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*Perhaps 2017 will be remembered as the year when the liberal economic consensus on free markets and globalisation was finally buried in its homelands, the U.S. and U.K.

*No other period in human history has seen as many people lifted out of absolute poverty as in the three decades since the mid-1980s.

• World’s two most populous nations, China and India, made rapid strides

in terms of economic growth in this period.

• China, which embraced openness and internal reform more vigorously

than India, has been the bigger beneficiary.

• The fact is that more than half a billion people have been lifted out of poverty

in a single generation

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*Job losses but what about cheaper prices of goods and services?

*Blaming immigrants: Who runs Silicon Valley or Academic world

*A closed world means missed opportunities and a longer journey out of poverty for those who continue to remain poor.

*We first have to free our domestic market from crony capitalism.

*India and China hold the key to the emerging global political economy.

*RCEP, BBIN, BIMSTEC, ASEAN

*India, China and the rest of the region need to look beyond rivalry and defensiveness

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*Triple talaq Bill

*Supreme Court’s judgment in August

*Bill indicates that it is meant to give effect

to the court’s judgment, which it claims had

failed to produce any deterrent effect in

reducing the practice of triple talaq across

the country.

*“Illegal Divorce”: triple talaq is simply not a divorce in the first place.

*Criminalising the utterance of triple talaq.

*Entitled to a subsistence allowance and custody of minor children.

*These provisions belong to a Bill that regulates divorce, not marriage.

*Asymmetry between Men and Women is fixed by SC anyways.

*Not everything that is arbitrary or unlawful is, or in this case should be, criminal.

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‘U.S. foolishly gave money to Pakistan’

*U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to stop aid to

Pakistan. “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33

billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us

nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe

haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No

more!,” he tweeted on Monday morning.

*Following the tweet, Pakistan PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi met Foreign

Minister Khawaja Asif and called a special meeting of the Cabinet on

Tuesday. Speaking to Geo TV, Mr. Asif said: “We have already told the

U.S. that we cannot do more.... We are willing to give account for every

penny the U.S. has given us in the war against terrorism. President Trump

is making Pakistan a scapegoat for its own failures in Afghanistan.”

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Jaish-affiliated J&K militant recorded video before attack

*The pre-attack video of the 16-year-old local fidayeen (suicide attacker),

Fardeen Ahmad Khanday, sent the security agencies into a tizzy on

Monday, as one more unidentified body of a militant was recovered from

the Pulwama encounter site, taking the toll to eight.

*Son of a serving policeman, Khanday, a resident of Tral, asked youth to

wage jihad in the eight-minute video, which emerged on social media.

“By the time this video reaches you, I would be a guest in heaven,” he

said.

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China-hand Gokhale to be Foreign Secretary

*The government has announced the name of Vijay Gokhale, an officer

with formidable experience on China and the East Asian neighbourhood,

as its next Foreign Secretary.

*Mr. Gokhale, a 1981-batch officer, currently Secretary (Economic

Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, will take over from S.

Jaishankar when he demits office on January 28, a notification issued by

the Ministry of Personnel said on Monday.

*Mr. Gokhale was Ambassador to China before moving back to the Ministry,

and is widely credited with conducting delicate but tough diplomatic

negotiations in Beijing during the Doklam crisis.

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457 Indians in Pak. Jails + No cricket with Pak., says Sushma

*India and Pakistan on Sunday exchanged lists of civilian prisoners in each other’s custody, beginning the process of their release soon. The swap of lists came even as both sides completed the annual exchange of lists of nuclear installations under a 30-year agreement.

*“Even in the absence of a structured bilateral dialogue, both sides have released fishermen. In 2017, we have successfully secured the release and repatriation of 363 Indian fishermen, including 245 Indian fishermen who have been repatriated in the past six months,” Gen. (retd) V.K. Singh told the RajyaSabha.

*External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has hinted that any bilateral cricket series between India and Pakistan is unlikely unless Pakistan stops cross-border terrorism and firing.

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3,143 court halls coming up

*The Union government has set aside D3,320 crore for the completion of a Centrally sponsored scheme to develop infrastructure for the judiciary by

March 31, 2020.

*Centre said there were 5,984 judicial vacancies in the subordinate

judiciary. That is, the vacancies amount to 26.38% of the sanctioned

strength of 22,677.

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Real Estate Act yet to show teeth

*Only 20,000 housing projects have been registered under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, six months after the legislation seeking to protect the interests of homebuyers came into force last May. This is just a fraction of the under-construction and proposed housing projects promoted by private developers.

*The developer has to declare to buyers detailed information such as dates on which various government clearances are secured, floor plans, carpet area, progress in construction, and so on.

*All real estate projects have to be registered with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).

*Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry says only six States have set up permanent authorities, while 23 have set up interim ones.

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Rouhani plays down unrest as 10 die

*Ten people were killed overnight in the worst violence yet seen in Iran’s

protests.

*President Hassan Rouhani said the Iranian people would respond to

“rioters and lawbreakers”.

*“The people are absolutely free in expressing their criticisms and even

protests,” he said in a message on the state broadcaster. “But criticism is

different to violence and destroying public property.”

*Protest due to travel restrictions and sporadic blocks on mobile internet

and popular social media sites including Telegram and Instagram.

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1,400 cars destroyed in U.K. parking garage fire

*An estimated 1,400 cars were destroyed in a huge fire that raged

through a multistorey parking garage in the northern English city of

Liverpool.

*Police said initial reports indicate that an “accidental fire within a

vehicle caused other cars to ignite”.

*The blaze started on Sunday afternoon. There were no reported injuries

in the blaze.

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Steel, cement lead core sector growth to a 13-month high

*Activity in the eight core sectors of the economy accelerated to a 13-

month high of 6.7% in November, according to data released by the

Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Monday, with growth being

propelled by the steel and cement sectors.

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Second-largest rooftop solar unit

commissioned

*State-owned gas utility GAIL India Ltd. on

Monday said it had commissioned the country’s

second-largest rooftop solar power plant.

*The firm has installed a 5.76 MWp (Mega Watt

peak) solar plant at its petrochemical complex

at Pata in U.P., the company said in a statement.

*“With an expected PLF of around 15% annually,

over 79 lakh units of electricity is targeted to be

generated for captive use,” it said. PTI

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*.

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1. Which volcano is known as lighthouse of Mediterranean?

A. Vesuvius

B. Stromboli

C. Etna

D. Vulcan

2. Match the following

List 1 List II

A. Kalahari 1. Angola

B. Namib 2. Sudan

C. Nubian 3. Botswana

D. Atacama 4. Chile

ABCD

A. 1234

B. 3241

C. 1324

D. 3124

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1. Combustion of a candle is

A. Physical change

B. Reduction reaction

C. Endothermic reaction

D. Exothermic reaction

2. Rural bank that has got its name after a river

A. Prathana Bank

B. Varada Grameen Bank

C. Thar Anchalik Grameen Bank

D. None of the above

3. Which among the following is the exclusive jurisdiction of the State Government?

A. Customs Duty

B. Income Tax

C. Corporation Tax

D. Sales Tax

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PrashantTMavani