A large library will serve us more than a big tv. Robin Sharma

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*Last week, the 19th federal government shutdown in U.S. history went into force.

*A federal shutdown occurs when lawmakers fail to agree on a spending bill, and cannot even sign off on a stopgap funding measure that might keep the government machinery humming for a few more months.

*Impact of this SHUTDOWN*Furlough of many hundreds of thousands of government workers

*Closure of national parks with a potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue,

*A possible overall macroeconomic cost of several billions of dollars in terms of productivity loss associated with the cessation of multiple public services.

*Congressional dysfunction stemming from bitterly partisan politicking.

*Republicans refused to compromise on: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

*September 2017: President Donald Trump revoked his predecessor’s executive order to protect these children, the so-called DREAMers, from deportation.

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Re-election in the November 2018 mid-term election

*Democrats to be obstructionist, or as putting undocumented workers

ahead of national security.

*Republicans may lose votes for failing to keep the government working

despite controlling the Senate, House of Representatives and the White

House.

*Too much is at stake for not only the nearly 11.3 million undocumented

workers but also the nearly 1.5 million temporary foreign workers,

among whom are 500,000 to 700,000 H-1B visa holders, the majority of

them from India.

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*India remains woefully short of its potential

*Whatever our excuses*Yes, we are a difficult country to govern, none ever coped with so many

competing diversities, rights and claims, in such huge proportions — and through democracy.

*This makes it all the more necessary to employ common sense, vision and judgment, balance and largeness, and above all reason.

*“The whole essence of… Parliamentary Government lies in the intention to make the thing work… [its] strength… is exactly measured by the unity of political parties upon its fundamental objects.”

*Our parties compete to prevent things working

*Our social tensions need sensitive healing, but suffer ever harsher divisiveness

*Our political institutions and processes need to address rising challenges but sink ever deeper inbackwardness;

*Our administrative machinery desperately needs efficiency but corrodes into dysfunctionality;

*We live in a turbulent, dangerous world but have neither time nor expertise to attend to it.

*Our security challenges become more complex while both our conceptual and procedural drawbacks retard our response-capabilities.

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*Countries worldwide find existing governmental systems unable to cope with contemporary challenges or people’s expectations, some even with basic needs.

*Particularly alarming is the condition in democracies, where the ideals and concepts, the very essence of their being, are threatened.

*North America

*European states

*Post colonial countries

*Democracy depends on the Enlightenment’s ideals —*the ceaseless expansion of liberty and equality,

*the impartial functioning of impersonal law and institutions,

*the reconciliation of society’s differences by accommodative compromise,

*above all the primacy of reason.

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*We gave ourselves a great system but have not known how to keep it up

to standard.

*“A government must be fitted to a nation as much as a coat to the

Individual… what may be good at Philadelphia may be bad at Paris and

ridiculous at Petersburg.”

*We need a planned, determined push to make our system work and

modernise.

*“Forget the excuse that politics is the art of the possible, remember

leadership is the art of making even the impossible possible.”

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*Turkey has long threatened to enter Syria

and clear out the forces of the U.S.-backed

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

*The SDF was created in 2015.

*Various Syrian Kurdish political forces and their military wing, the

People’s Protection Units (YPG), and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ).

*It was not possible for Kurds to tackle ISIS on its own.

*US and Russia needed a partner on the floor.

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*.

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*“Rojava”: It means “Western Kurdistan” and asserts the ambitions of the

Kurdish population towards the region as well as for a future

independent Kurdish state that would encompass land in Iraq (Eastern

Kurdistan) and Turkey (Northern Kurdistan).

*The attempt by Iraqi Kurds in 2017

*Turkey has not acted alone as Mr. Erdoğan sought assurances from all the

major players in northern Syria before he sent in his troops.

*Will there be anyone willing to go to the United Nations to ask Turkey to

call off its war.

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*Congress leader Shashi Tharoor recently questioned in Lok Sabha the purpose of making Hindi an official language at the United Nations.

*Last year, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiahtermed the three-language policy as “notreasonable.”

The three-language policy

*In the sixties, when the language policy ran into rough weather, the three-language formula was conceptualised as a modus vivendi (an acceptable solution).

*Parliament passed the Official Language Resolution in 1968, stipulating that a “modern Indian

language, preferably one of the southern languages”, be studied in Hindi-speaking areas (along with

Hindi and English) and that Hindi be studied in areas where it is not spoken (along with the regional

languages and English).

*The three-language policy was meant for the entire country.

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*Committee of Parliament on Official Language (CPOL)

*117 recommendations and the President approved more than 95% of them.

*Hindi Fluency in ACR

*Recommendation No. 107 reads: “In order to end the dominance of English (not

its use), such schools should not be given recognition by the government which

do not impart education in Hindi or mother tongue.” So on and so forth.

Caught in between

*English has become a global language.

*Many non-Hindi Indian languages are older than Hindi and their speakers

are justly proud of their rich cultural and literary heritage.

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*The government announced

*Emigration Check Required: Orange Passport

*Emigration Check Not Required: Dark Blue Passport

*ECR passport-holders are those who, among other things, have not passed their matriculation examination or are not income tax payees.

*Ministry of External Affairs has decided that it will no longer be printing the name of the spouse/father/legal guardian on the last page of passports.

*This will create a situation of discrimination.

*Can the world’s largest democracy allow a document, issued in the

name of its President, to divide it on the basis of economic or social

capital?

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On the run for 10 years, IM co-founder arrested

*The Delhi police on Saturday arrested Abdul Subhan Qureshi

*Alleged co-founder of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) and operative of the

Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), who was on the run for the

last 10 years.

*Qureshi had allegedly masterminded the 2008 Gujarat serial blasts.

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Loya death will be examined objectively, says CJI Bench

*The Bench restrained other High Courts from entertaining any petition in

connection with Justice Loya’s death.

*.

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Two States call for SC rethink on Padmaavat

*The Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh governments on Monday said States

are the best judges of what constitutes a threat to public order and

urged the Supreme Court to rethink its decision allowing Padmaavat to

be screened in theatres.

*The States invoked Section 6 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952, to argue

that the law provided for the State to finally decide whether exhibition

of a movie would trigger public unrest.

*Gujarat and Rajasthan issued notifications prohibiting the screening of

the film.

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EC pulled up for backing simultaneous polls

*At a meeting of a parliamentary committee on Monday, lawmakers questioned the Election Commission about its recent statements endorsing simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies, saying it does not have the mandate to decide the issue.

*“Our parliamentary system of governance does not permit simultaneous polls. What is the guarantee that all the State governments and the Union government elected on the same day will survive for the next five years,” asked a member who attended the meeting.

*“How can they seek simultaneous elections? It is not for them to decide; the call has to be taken by Parliament and the Assemblies,” the member said.

*There had been simultaneous elections until 1967, but the pattern changed after the

dissolution of some Assemblies through the imposition of President’s rule under Article 356.

*The Law Secretary explained the steps needed to amend the Constitution to facilitate simultaneous polls.

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Less nationalism, more connectivity: ASEAN leader

*Connectivity projects can grow in the region only if there is a “politicalatmosphere”, and “nationalist rhetoric” is reduced, Chutintorn Sam Gongsakdi, Thailand’s Ambassador to India

*10 leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations assemble in Delhi for the 25-year commemorative summit on January 25 and as chief guests of the Republic Day parade.

*“We have to find a solution to India’s concerns about [the RCEP opening the door for] China trade as well ... we have to stop the lip service to ASEAN India ties and actually negotiate this through,” Mr. Gongsakdi said.

*Maritime security, terrorism and cybersecurity will be highlighted in the joint statement, along with the “3Cs” of commerce, connectivity and culture, officials said.

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*.

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Prabhu urges better India-ASEAN connect

*Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu on Monday called for

greater trade and investment engagement between India and the ten-

member ASEAN bloc, especially in agriculture as well as minerals and

ocean resources, and suggested the creation of India-ASEAN regional

value chains in these segments.

*Speaking at the ASEAN-India Business and Investment Meet and Expo, Mr.

Prabhu also pitched for easier movement of professionals and skilled

workers between India and ASEAN countries to boost services trade as

well as investment.

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Modi arrives in Davos for annual WEF

*Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday arrived here to attend the

World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meet where he would share his

vision for India’s future engagements with the international community.

*Mr. Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to attend the summit in two

decades, would deliver the opening plenary address at the summit on

Tuesday.

*He would meet Swiss President Alain Berset on Tuesday and host a dinner

for global CEOs. He is also scheduled to have a meeting with Swedish

Prime Minister Stefan Lofven.

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1. Name the last Mauryan emperor

A. Jalok

B. Avanti Varma

C. Nandi Vardhan

D. Brihadratha

2. Kautilya was Prime Minister of

A. Chandragupta Vikramaditya

B. Ashoka

C. Chandragupta Maurya

D. Raja Janak

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1. Which of the following countries, sheep out number people by 20 to 1 and have right of way on the roads?

A. Russia

B. Australia

C. New Zealand

D. Mongolia

2. Cork oak, Jarrah, Karri, Cedar, Squoia trees are found in

A. Tropical rain forest

B. Mediterranean forest

C. Tropical monsoon forest

D. Coniferous forest

3. Which country is reliant on a single export of oil/petroleum?

A. South Africa

B. Namibia

C. Nigeria

D. Zimbabwe

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