Let there be pain, let there be suffering. Go through the dark night, and

you will reach to a beautiful sunrise. It is only in the womb of the dark

night that the sun evolves. It is only through the dark night that the

morning comes. ~ Osho

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*.

Cape crossing The Navy’s first all-woman crew of Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini hoists the tricolour on

Friday after crossing Cape Horn through the Drake Passage, one of the most difficult stretches to navigate.

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*.

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*.

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*Timeline:

* 1992: Establishment of diplomatic ties

* 2003: Ariel Sharon visits India

* 2015: Pranab Mukherjee visits Israel

* 2017: Modiji visits Israel (1st PM to do so)

* 2018: Netanyahu visits India for 6 days

*Future: strategic partnership

*Close personal equation

*Kite flying, Taj Mahal, Chabad

House

*Business synergy: Size and Scale of India and Sharpness and Edge of Isreal

*Peace Process: Frank talks and India’s stand

*Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who as the custodian of the holy sites in Jerusalem

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*Medical Council of India (MCI) has outlived its utility and should be reformed or replaced.

*Govt seeks to replace it with National MedicalCommission

*Things should be clear, direct and workable.

*Regulatory body should regulate only.

*Formulating policy: Done by Parliament

*Policy: inputs from a number of sources, preferably with different points of view.

*Fundamental flaw NMC: lack of clarity on its function

*National Medical Commission Bill, 2017

*“powers and functions of the commission”, the phrase “lay down policy” occurs

repeatedly.

*The Commission is also expected to “assess the requirements in healthcare,

including human resources...”

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*Such complex tasks, which require inputs from multiple agencies, will be

done poorly, if at all, by the commission.

*The Commission should only be expected to monitor and regulate the

training of health-care personnel and maintain professional standards.

*What type of medical practitioners should the country train?

*Ans should be provided by the Government

*The failure of successive governments to promote scientific medicine

and integrate the best of indigenous systems into one unified system

has led to unhealthy competition among the various streams of medicine

in India.

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*1 scientific system of medicine: combining all that is proven

*Who should the members of the Commission be?

MCI: Rent-seeking

Proximity with Government

Expensive elections

*The election process should be reformed, not replaced.

*Sections of society: Must for viewpoints

*Only nominated members: You get Yes Boss kind of people

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Medical Education

*High-cost private education

*Objective: Universal Medical Care

*State governments first issue a certificate of essentiality.

*In the end, policy decisions should be decided by policymakers, and not

bureaucrats.

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* :accusing Pakistan of “lies & deceit” in return

for “33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15

years”

*Policy of South Asia by USA

*Post-9/11: American warned Pak at that time

that if you don’t cooperate then it would bomb

Pakistan “back to the stone age”.

*U.S. is losing ground in this region:It is steadily losing its Afghan war,

losing ground to China in the region, and China is increasingly interested

in politically managing the potential outcomes of the Afghan war.

* has so far made the best use of

*Mr. Trump’s officials will eventually soft-pedal.

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*.

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*Afghan to have election this year.

*China-Pakistan-Russia axis

*Iran

*The one U.S. ally that has immense influence in Pakistan is Saudi Arabia with which India also maintains a close relationship. The question then is two-fold: Will the Americans choose to use Riyadh to put pressure on Islamabad, and will the Saudis want to do that at a time when China-Saudi relations are on the uptick?

*End of the indirect influence for India on Pak

*China-Pakistan ties: could push India further to the wall.

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Office of profit: EC wants 20 AAP

MLAs disqualified

*In a setback to the AAP government

in Delhi, the EC on Friday

recommended to President Ram

Nath Kovind that 20 of its MLAs be

disqualified for holding offices of

profit.

*The EC’s counsel is binding on the President.

*The controversy was triggered

when 21 AAP MLAs were appointed

Parliamentary Secretaries in March

2015.

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*.

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India admitted to Australia Group

*India on Friday joined the Australia Group, saying the membership will

be mutually beneficial.

*The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India’s entry into the group,

which aims to prevent proliferation of biological and chemical weapons,

would ensure a more secure world.

*“The Australia Group decided to admit India as its 43rd participant. India

would like to thank each of the participants. Its entry would be mutually

beneficial and further contribute to international security and non-

proliferation objectives,” MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, praising

the role of the former head of the group Jane Hardy.

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*Earlier, in a separate statement, the Australia Group said India’s

membership would help to counter the “spread of materials, equipment

and technologies that could contribute to the development or acquisition

of chemical/biological weapons.”

*Diplomats said the entry is a show of support from the international

community for India’s non-proliferation records.

*India joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016 and

the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) last year.

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‘Differences over Doklam resolved’

*A day after it denied reports that China had changed the ‘status

quo’ at Doklam, the government on Friday appeared to shift its

stand slightly, saying it had “used mechanisms” to “resolve

misunderstandings” with China.

*The comments came even as China repeated its old claims on

controlling all of Doklam, and accused India again of “illegal

transgressions” there last year. “We are, of course, keeping a

constant vigil on the developments [which have a bearing] on

India’s security and taking all necessary steps to safeguard it,”

said MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.

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SC stands firm on Padmaavat

*The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea to cancel the Censor Board certificate given to the movie Padmaavat.

*A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra dismissed submissions made by advocate M.L. Sharma that exhibiting the movie in certain States would be an open invitation for violence.

*“This is a constitutional court. Maintaining law and order is not our job. That is the job of the State. Prayer is rejected,” Chief Justice Misraorally observed.

*Mr. Sharma had sought cancellation of the U/A certificate granted by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to the film on various grounds, including the provisions of the Cinematograph Act.

*“Yesterday [Thursday], we passed a reasoned order,” Chief Justice Misraobserved. The film is scheduled for national release on January 25.

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Centre compiling ‘liveability index’

*Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday announced the

commencement of the country’s first-ever “liveability index” to rank 116

cities.

*An official said the result of the exercise would be announced in June.

*“The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has decided to

assess the liveability standard of 116 Indian cities, which

include the identified Smart Cities and a few more cities

with a population of over 1 million,” he said.

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U.S. to beat Saudi in oil production

*The U.S. is set to overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s number two oil

producer after Russia this year, as shale companies ramp up drilling, the

International Energy Agency (IEA) said.

*Crude production of 9.9 million barrels per day in the U.S. was now at

the highest level in nearly 50 years, “putting it neck-and-neck with Saudi

Arabia, the world’s second largest crude producer after Russia”, it said.

*Crude recently rose above $70 per barrel for the first time since 2014

after OPEC and non-OPEC countries agreed to extend their combined

cutbacks until the end of this year.

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‘Ease of data access is driving compliance’

*Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said the

ease with which corporate data is available online had put pressure on

companies to ensure compliance.

*It was also helping in preventing improprieties due to the fear of the

possibility of such wrongdoings being detected, he said, unveiling the

National CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Data Portal and Corporate

Data Portal.

*“It’s now all open to public gaze (which) has its own advantages. There

is a pressure to make sure that compliance takes place. Everyone

realises that if there is any impropriety, the possibility of it being

detected is going to be very high,” Mr. Jaitley said.

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*.

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Questions

1. Which one among the following is the largest temperate dessert of the

world?

A. Patagonian

B. Taklamakan

C. Iranian

D. Turkmen

2. Tsunami of 2004 was the result of

A. Subduction of Indian plate below Eurasian plate

B. Subduction of Indian plate below Burmese plate

C. Subduction of Eurasian plate below Indian plate

D. Subduction of Burmese plate below Indian plate

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