"The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your

dreams." - Oprah Winfrey

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*Victory of Mr. Dinakaran in by-poll as an independent candidate.

*Many of the MLAs and MPs in the ruling faction of the AIADMK owe their allegiance to Mr. Dhinakaran and the Sasikala family.

*R.K. Nagar result could set off another round of churn in the AIADMK; many of the MLAs may now see the Sasikala family as the only force that could keep the party together and command wider voter support.

*The result in R.K. Nagar might not be the final word on the political legitimacy of the Sasikala family, but the voters have surely set Tamil Nadu on the path of a prolonged period of political instability.

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*The meeting between the Special Representatives of India

and China the 20th so far, was unique for a number of

reasons.

*The talks came more than 20 months after the last round,

reflecting a period of extreme strain in India-China ties,

including the 70-day troop stand-off at Doklam this year.

*Previous meetings had followed each other within a year.

*Also, at the recent Communist Party Congress, Mr. Yang

was elevated to the Political Bureau, and this is the first

time the Chinese side has been represented by an SR of

such seniority.

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*Two sides were best poised to move ahead in the three-step process that was

part of the Agreement on ‘Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the

Settlement of the India-China Boundary Question’ in 2005

1. Defining the guidelines for the settlement of border disputes

2. Formulating a framework agreement on the implementation of the guidelines

3. Completing border demarcation

*The SRs were given an extended mandate after meetings between Prime

Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping this year, and thus went well

beyond the remit of discussing the resolution of boundary issues.

Guided by: ‘Astana consensus’ that “differences must not be allowed to

become disputes”

Xiamen: India-China relations “are a factor of stability” in an increasingly

unstable world.

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*Border Defence Cooperation Agreement was signed in 2013.

*Since then, there has been a steady decline in relations in all spheres.

A. More transgressions

B. People-to-people ties have suffered amid mutual suspicion

C. China’s forays in South Asia

D. India’s forays Into South-East Asian sea lanes

BRI

CPEC

NSG

FTA with Maldives

USA defence

relations

Quad

Opposing BRI

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*Through the resolution adopted with 128 in favour to nine against, with

35 abstentions, the 193-member UNGA expressed “deep regret” over

“recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem” and stressed that

Jerusalem “is a final status issue to be resolved through negotiations in

line with relevant U.N. resolutions,” between Israel and Palestine.

India’s stand

*The goal is to transform India from being a ‘balancing power’ to a

‘leading power’ on the international stage.

*U.S. President Donald Trump’s National Security Strategy released

recently offers support for this aspiration of India to emerge as a

‘leading power.’

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*Continuing adherence to its traditional policy of nonalignment. But a more appropriate interpretation of the vote is possible within the framework of India’s leading power ambitions.

*India supported a move by Mauritius to take its sovereignty claims over the British-controlled Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), against the wishes of the U.S.; the second was in November when India won a seat on the ICJ, in spite of active opposition from the U.S.

*Abstaining was not an attractive option for an aspiring leading power.

*India can be great friends with the U.S. and Israel and still disagree with them on some issues.

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*Will the long years of waiting to recognise the identity of transgender persons finally end in this winter session of Parliament with the passing of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2016?

*The community has laid stress on the point that for them, dignity, respect, and access to health care are non-negotiable basic rights.

*Self-identification should be the sole criterion for gender recognition legally without the need of any other psychological, medical, or “expert” intervention.

*Self-declared identity should also form the basis for access to social security benefits and entitlements.

*The community maintains that the basic principle of “nothing about us, without us” must be applied for all trans and hijra rights, health and welfare activities.

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*The community has rejected the setting up of district screening

committees to recognise transgender persons as they say they are not

objects or people with a contagious disease who need to be medically

screened.

*Their argument, and rightly so, is that a medical assessment violates

their right to self-identification and gender autonomy which are

protected under the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed by the

Constitution.

*Many do not want to be labelled as transgender or third gender but

instead recognised legally by their self-identified gender of “male” or

“female”.

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*An effective enforcement mechanism is vital for the adjudication of anti-discrimination claims brought forward by transgender persons.

*66% of them live in the rural areas

*Low literacy level: 46%

*In 2014, the Supreme Court in National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India pointed out that reservation is one of the time-tested ways of enabling historically disadvantaged populations to join the mainstream.

*Hopefully the Bill will provide protection to transgender persons from violence and stigma which is a major factor.

*Hijra gharanas and practise the traditions of “mangti” and “badhai”

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*Several transgender persons have made a mark in the beauty and fashionindustry, joined the police force, the academic world and even the IndianNavy, there is need for a comprehensive survey on the socio-economic status of the community.

*Transgender identity is not yet recognised in criminal law, whether as the third gender or as a self-identified male or female.

*Finally, the community wants mental health counselling support and free gender transition surgery facilities in government hospitals. There are other issues that worry transgender persons such as their right to property, adoption, marriage, pension, and care for the old and the disabled. Some of these issues may be resolved when the Bill, taking note of their concerns, is passed.

*The Bill could be the first big step towards equality and their recognition in the mainstream.

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*In the early 1990s, global corporations pushed the major trading powers of the time — the U.S., the European Union (EU), Japan and Canada — for a General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) agreement that would vastly increase access for their products in foreign markets.

*1994 Marrakesh agreement: a success for these countries.

*The “farm subsidisers” of the U.S. and EU agreed to bring agriculture under GATT rules.

*In exchange the developing countries had to pay up front by reducing import duties on manufacture, opening their markets to services, and agreeing to strict protection of intellectual property rights.

*The Marrakesh agreement also created the new Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) to adjudicate on trade disputes.

*All this would be overseen by the new WTO.

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*Under the DSB, the decision of a WTO panel could be rejected only by “a

negative consensus” (i.e. all member-countries present had to turn down

the ruling).

*A final verdict in favour of a complainant country entitled it to impose

penalties on the other country.

*And under the principle of cross-retaliation, these penalties, when

authorised, could be imposed on exports from a sector different from

where the dispute was located.

*This hurt the smaller countries and was to the advantage of the bigger

ones.

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*Less than 25 years after the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was

created, its future as a body overseeing multilateral trade rules is in

doubt.

*The failure of the recent ministerial meeting at Buenos Aires is only

symptomatic of a decline in its importance.

*It was also given powers to punish countries which violated rules.

*Since the late 2000s, the organisation has been unable to carry out its

basic task of overseeing a successful conduct of multilateral trade

negotiations.

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*For a brief while in the mid/late 1990s, the WTO seemed to be just the

kind of “super” international organisation that the major powers

wanted.

*U.S. wanted labour and environment standards included, the EU wanted

foreign investment, competition and government procurement.

*The entry of China into the WTO in 2001 also changed the picture.

*It expanded exports manifold to the EU and the U.S.

*Still, in 2001, Brussels allied with Washington to successfully push for

fresh trade negotiations even before the 1994 agreement had been

digested. A new round with the Doha Development Agenda (DDA),

covering old and new issues, was launched in the Qatar capital in 2001.

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*U.S., aided by a willing WTO secretariat, more or less killed the DDA in the late 2000s.

*The major powers now cherry-pick trade issues: 2014, trade facilitation (covering customs rules and procedures)

*They now use it to push for stand-alone deals as well as plurilateral deals(agreements involving a few and not all members of the WTO).

*At Buenos Aires, proposals were made for the WTO to take up “new issues” such as e-commerce, investment facilitation and trade and gender. These are all outside the DDA and of interest only to a select membership.

*No one should be happy about the turn of events. All countries need mutually agreed discipline on market access, customs duties, etc.

*Regionalism cannot be an alternative.

*India is on a better wicket with its food procurement and public stock holding policies protected within the WTO

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*Central Reserve Police Force lost 40 personnel in two Maoist attacks in the first half of 2017 in Sukma.

*Security forces are no longer reactive.

*The Maoist problem is not merely a law and order issue.

*A permanent solution lies in eliminating the root cause of the problem that led to the alienation of tribals in this area.

*MSP, Banks, Radio, Railways are being introduced in many LWE areas.

*Winning a psychological war against the Maoists remains an unfinished task.

*The paradigm of proactive policing and holistic development should ensure more such significant results in the future.

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*Violent acts, at the hands of a husband or a partner (intimate partner violence, or IPV), are distressingly common worldwide.

*The World Health Organisation estimates that almost one-third of all women who have been in a relationship have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner, which affects their physical and mental well-being.

*Strategies to address IPV have included legal reforms, awareness creation drives, and strengthening of women’s civil rights.

* India has experimented with many models of community dispute resolution mechanisms which have seen IPV as a public issue rather than a personal problem.

*The potential of large-scale groups of women, such as self-help groups (SHGs), becomes critical in the Indian context.

*Several NGOs have co-opted these models so that women can resolve cases of violence without getting entangled in tedious legal processes.

*SHGs must first become enabling spaces where the economic and social concerns of women are stated as priorities.

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Jadhav meets family in Islamabad

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House panel quizzes govt. on ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy

*Despite the recent Maldives-China Free Trade Agreement, the Modi government says it remains firmly committed to its “Neighbours First” policy and has bolstered defence cooperation with Male in the past year.

*Sources familiar with the proceedings of the Consultative Committee of Parliament on External Affairs, which met on December 21, said MPs from the Congress, the NCP and the Left parties said India’s ties with several South Asian neighbours faced challenges.

*Seeking an explanation on the situation in the Maldives, a senior MP supposedly asked: “Why is India unable to address concerns of an island nation whose size is equal to that of [the Delhi neighbourhoodof] Maharani Bagh?”

*The question created a stir at the meeting, which examined ties with Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar and Afghanistan.

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Centre moves SC against fixed term for police chiefs

*The Union government has filed an interlocutory application in the

Supreme Court to amend a 2006 order of the court that is being used by

the States to appoint “favourites” as Directors-General of Police.

*The Home Ministry moved the court earlier this month to seek clarity on

the order that ensures a two-year fixed term for the DGPs.

*A senior official of the Ministry said some States were misusing the order

and appointing officers about to retire, giving them a fixed term of two

years, irrespective of the superannuation date. The official said the

implementation of the order was not monitored effectively.

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* Long road ahead Rescue workers in the Philippines were struggling on

Monday to reach the remote areas hit by tropical storm Tembin, as the

death toll climbed to 230.

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1. Partition of Bengal came into effect on

A. 15 Aug 1905

B. 15 Sep 1905

C. 16 Oct 1905

D. 15 Nov 1905

2. What is incorrect about Buland Darwaja?

A. Built by Akbar in 1602

B. Built in Fatehpur Sikri

C. Built to commemorate Akbar’s victory on Mewar and Gujarat

D. All are correct

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Questions

1. In terms of History, the literal meaning of word Arya means

A. Superior

B. Learned

C. Priest

D. Warrior

2. Who established Ministry of Agriculture?

A. Alauddin Khilji

B. Momammad-bin-Tughlaq

C. Sher Shah Suri

D. Akbar

3. Identify:

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PrashantTMavani