"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." - Aldous Huxley

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*Decision of the Lok Sabha to send the National Medical

Commission Bill to a standing committee for a relook

*Bill aims to overhaul the corrupt and inefficient MCI.

*MCI regulates medical education and practice.

*NMC will replace MCI.

*It aims to reign corruption with the help of independent Medical Advisory

Council.

*It will give them more power.

*Members of NMC will be member of the council.

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*Bridge course allowing alternative-medicine practitioners to prescribe

modern drugs.

*One motivation could be to plug the shortfall of rural doctors by

creating a new cadre of practitioners.

*The shortfall of MBBS doctors is partly due to the fact that many of them

seek a post-graduate degree to improve career prospects.

*There is plenty of evidence that MBBS doctors and nurses can do more

than they are legally allowed to do.

The trick is to base these innovations on evidence.

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Doctors call off strike after govt. defers Bill

*The Indian Medical Association (IMA) called off its 12-hour strike on

Tuesday after the government referred the controversial National

Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, tabled in the Lok Sabha, to a Standing

Committee.

*The strike was to have lasted from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and doctors, who

were members of the IMA and its associated bodies, were to boycott out-

patient departments. “The strike is called off as the Bill has been

deferred,” said K.K. Aggarwal, former president, IMA. “Our next step

would be to convince the Committee of the many flaws in the Bill.”

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*Questions are being raised: whether his entry will

worsen the cult of hero worship and charisma-

driven politics in Tamil Nadu; whether he is laying

the ground for right-wing politics to take root in

what was until now inhospitable terrain for it;

whether he is self-driven or being pushed by other

forces.

*He says the present system is not right and needs to be changed; that

there is political degradation in Tamil Nadu; that the State has become a

laughing stock; that rulers have become looters; and that if he did

nothing to stem the rot even at this stage, he would be wracked by guilt

till his death.

*It is the ease with which film personalities, both the famous and the

also-rans, enter public life and are seen as natural political leaders.

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*It is true that the two main parties have done their bit to render

elections devoid of issues by their election-time promises of freebies

and, in recent years, rampant voter bribery.

*As cynicism envelops the State, it is useful to remember that the only

vacuum in Tamil Nadu today is the absence of a strong personality.

*Democracy can survive without such personages. All it requires is that

individuals and institutions play the roles expected of them in adhering

to the law and the Constitution.

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*Recall the circumstances. Ten days previously, Mr. Modi had addressed the Combined Commanders Conference aboard INS Vikramaditya.

*He had declared: “India is engaging Pakistan to try and turn the course of history, bring an end to terrorism, build peaceful relations, advance cooperation and promote stability and prosperity in our region.”

*The Indian and Pakistani National Security Advisers, Ajit Doval and Nasser Khan Janjua, had met in Bangkok to work on the modalities for the way forward, so we can presume that the Pakistani Army was more or less on board.

*Two years ago, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an impromptu stop-over in Lahore to reach out to the then Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, during the wedding of his grand-daughter, it was Christmas Day, December 25, 2015..

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*Kulbhushan Jadhav: message of peace was torn to shreds in that metal

container with a glass panel where India and Pakistan conducted fishbowl

diplomacy.

*Sushma Swaraj informed Parliament that what eventually happened in

the Pakistan Foreign Office when Jadhav’s wife and mother were allowed

to briefly interact with him in highly restrictive circumstances was a

“departure from the agreed understandings between the two countries in

the conduct of this meeting.”

*The Ministry of External Affairs also declared that “prior to the meeting,

the two governments were in touch through diplomatic channels to work

out the modalities and format. There were clear understandings…”

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*But the larger point remains that Pakistan has not allowed consular access to Mr. Jadhav — that is, Indian diplomats in Islamabad have not been able to visit him in prison and record his version of how he came to be in Pakistan’s custody, etc.

*It may not come as a surprise if it turns out that Mr. Jadhav was indeed a spy, but even that needn’t detain us here. The issue here is the message that Pakistan is conveying.

*From the debriefing the Ministry of External affairs got from his mother and wife, it appeared to them that the alleged spy was “under considerable stress and was speaking in an atmosphere of coercion.” Moreover, his appearance had also raised questions of his health and well-being.

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*Recent history of the Indian Science Congress Association suggests

that it most often makes news for matters other than science.

*It was meant to be a forum for scientists to present topical

research, get funds and serve as a platform for science to reach

out to the broader public.

*“Pomp and ceremony take precedence over substance. Over the years, the Congress has been reduced to an occasion where the inaugural session appears to be the raison d’être for the meeting.” -P. Balaram, then the director of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, wrote in Current Science, which he edited.

*A first step would be to go back to its roots of being a stage for science than a podium for politics.

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*Fiscal Deficit — the amount by which its expenditure exceeds

revenue.

*Eight months into the financial year, or until end November, the

Union government’s fiscal deficit had already overshot the

year’s budget target by a significant D65,573 crore.

*Expenditure has grown at faster pace: biggest contributors

*Variability with several ministries still significantly underutilising theirbudget allocations over the first eight months.

*Sluggishness in revenue receipts can be explained by GST implementation

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Electoral bonds for political donations notified

*Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday outlined the basic contours of the electoral bonds scheme announced during the 2017 Budget, including their denominations, validity, and eligibility of the purchasers.

*“Electoral bonds would be a bearer instrument in the nature of a promissory note and an interest-free banking instrument,” the Minister said in the LokSabha. “A citizen of India or a body incorporated in India will be eligible to purchase the bond.”

*Electoral bonds can be purchased for any value in multiples of D1,000, D10,000, D10 lakh, and D1 crore from any of the specified branches of the State Bank of India. “The purchaser will be allowed to buy electoral bonds only on due fulfilment of all the extant KYC norms and by making payment from a bank account,” Mr. Jaitley said. “It will not carry the name of the payee.”

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*The bonds, aimed at increasing transparency in political funding, will

have a life of 15 days during which they can be used to make donations

to registered political parties that have secured not less than 1% of the

votes polled in the last election to the Lok Sabha or Assembly.

*The bonds shall be available for purchase for a period of 10 days each in

the months of January, April, July and October, with an additional 30

days to be specified by the Central government in the year of a general

election.

*“The bond shall be encashed by an eligible political party only through a

designated bank account with the authorised bank,” he said.

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Fears over FRDI Bill misplaced: govt.

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*In yet another clarification about the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill, the government has said depositors will be given preferential treatment in the event of liquidation of a bank, and the controversial bail-in clause will be used only with the prior consent of depositors.

*The clarification also said the bail-in clause would not be applied to public sector banks, and it would be a tool of last resort — when a merger or acquisition is not viable — in the case of private sector banks.

*The government reiterated its implicit guarantee for the solvency of public sector banks.

*Under current laws, deposits with banks are insured up to ₹1 lakh. Under the FRDI law, the Resolution Corporation is empowered to increase this deposit insurance amount.

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Maharashtra simmers as protests turn violent

*Pune district and several parts of Maharashtra remained on edge on

Tuesday, a day after violent clashes marred the bicentenary celebrations

of the historic 1818 battle of Bhima-Koregaon.

*The aftershocks of the violence were felt across several districts in

western Maharashtra as well as the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions as

protesters from Dalit groups, social outfits and Ambedkarite parties

blocked roads.

*Thousands of protesters blocked a major arterial highway in Eastern

Mumbai as well as a railway line.

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When Rajya Sabha meant business

*It was a day of records for the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. After 15 years, all listed questions were answered and all Zero Hour and special mentions by the members completed.

*“The Rajya Sabha today [Tuesday] made history,” its Chairman, M. Venkaiah Naidu, said as the members thumped the desks. “Your cooperation is good, so my operation was very smooth … that’s why the House was able to set this record,” he said.

*He rebuked the members for skipping the session. Though they had the liberty to skip question hour, if they had asked a question they should be present in the House, considering that so many man-hours were dedicated to preparing the replies.

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Rajya Sabha passes Bankruptcy Code Bill

*The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code

(Amendment) Bill, 2017, which bars unscrupulous persons from misusing

the provisions of the code.

*The Bill, which replaces an ordinance promulgated last November, was

cleared by the Lok Sabha last week.

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Sushma to go on tri-nation tour

*Beginning the groundwork for the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit later this month, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will visit Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore from January 4 to 8.

*The three-nation visit is likely to cover India’s annual plans for the region and include the launch of the Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas for the ASEAN countries.

*“On all three legs of her visit, the External Affairs Minister will share with her interlocutors relevant information about the forthcoming ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit, which marks 25 years since the establishment of dialogue partnership between India and ASEAN,” said a statement

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Ministry gives final nod for Barak missiles, bombs

*The Defence Ministry on Tuesday gave the final approvals for the procurement of 131 Barak missiles for the Navy and 240 precision-guided munitions (PGM) for the Indian Air Force (IAF), together estimated at D1,714 crore.

*“This PGM is a variant of the KAB PGMs the IAF has in service and employed by Su-30 fighter jets. It is a regular procurement through the revenue expenditure. Due to the value of the contract, the approval of Defence Ministry was required,” a defence official said.

*Last April, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), under the then Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, had cleared the procurement under “Buy Global” category of procurement procedure from Rafael Advance Defence Systems Ltd. of Israel at a cost of ₹460 crore.

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Don’t blame us, Pakistan tells U.S.

*In its first official reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump’s allegations,

Pakistan said that Washington should not blame Islamabad for the

collective failure of countries in Afghanistan.

*It added that blaming allies certainly does not serve the shared objective

of achieving lasting peace in Afghanistan and the region.

*After Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi headed the emergency

meeting of National Security Committee, a statement issued stated that

the committee is deeply disappointed with some of the recent

statements articulated by the American leadership.

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‘Warming may turn quarter of earth arid’

*Over a quarter of the world’s land could

become significantly drier even if global

warming is limited to the target of two degree

Celsius, according to scientists including one of

Indian origin.

*The change would cause an increased threat of

drought and wildfires.

*Aridification is a serious threat because it can

critically impact areas such as agriculture,

water quality, and biodiversity.

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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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1. Arrange them in terms of their area size. (Descending order)

A. BALI

B. JAVA

C. KALIMANTAN

D. IRIAN

E. JAYA

2. Richest country in terms of Thorium reserves?

A. China

B. Pakistan

C. India

D. Iran

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PrashantTMavani