Prashant Mavani, is an expert in current affairs analysis and holds a MSc in Management from University of Surrey (U.K.). Above all he is a passionate teacher.

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• Ordinance: President and Governor/s can promulgate ordinance when the legislature is not in session.• Co-extensive power with the legislative power. • Same force and effect as of a law• Not a discretionary power• 6 weeks max validity before reassembly of house

• The Rajasthan ordinance making it a punishable offence to disclose the names of public servants facing allegations of corruption before the government grants formal sanction to prosecute them.• It is a grave threat to media freedom and the public’s right to know.• Two-year prison term (first time a section prescribing punishment for disclosure is being introduced

in India)• Maharashtra has similar laws but with no clause of punishment.

• Layers of shields being added by the government. • The Supreme Court verdict of May 2014 striking down a statutory provision for prior

government clearance for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe against officials of the rank of joint secretary and above is the touchstone.

• Anti-corruption legislation in India seems to be in a state of unacceptable flux.• No one can object to genuine measures aimed at insulating honest officials from

frivolous or motivated charges of wrong-doing.www.studyiq.com

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• Multiple terror attacks that killed at least 200 people in Afghanistan.

• From single armed insurgency not it has to fight at multi level.• Taliban targets government and ISIS is targeting sects

• The U.S. has made several promises vis-à-vis Afghanistan.• 16 years of war: We are still clueless

• Bring Taliban on table is an option recommended by many diplomats• USA under Obama was willing to talk, but• American drone campaign against their leaders• Afghan’s weakness• Pakistan’s dual play

• The latest wave of Taliban attacks occurred days after officials from four countries — the U.S., China, Pakistan and Afghanistan — met in Oman, seeking ways to revive peace talks.• The attacks are a message from the Taliban that they are least interested in talks.• An outright military victory in Afghanistan appears remote, given the Taliban’s swelling

networks and the support they enjoy in rural areas.• But an outright victory looks impossible for the Taliban too as long as the U.S. remains

committed to Afghanistan. www.studyiq.com

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• Curb any enthusiasm India, until the U.S. policy compass itself is more settled

• The policies of the Trump administration have thus far defied a clear reading.• White House, U.S. military establishment, and State Department on different pages.

• It is no secret that Mr. Trump, Mr. Tillerson and other decision makers have often been at odds over policies on Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Qatar, climate change, etc.• “I wake up the next morning, the President’s got a tweet out there,” Mr. Tillerson told The

New York Times, a circumstance that saw the U.S. President praise Saudi Arabia for its moves to isolate Qatar, even as Mr. Tillerson travelled there to play the part of neutral mediator.

• The contradiction in U.S. policies is even more significant for India: Iran and Afghanistan• The Chabahar question

• USA’s sanction on Iran is not going to be in favor of India

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• Human activities, the collective choices we have made to deploy fossil fuels and change land uses, are responsible for the release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and associated global warming.• In 2016, the earth’s temperature was 1.3°C warmer than in pre-industrial times• Even if countries take the action they promised at the Paris climate change conference in

2015, the world would be about 3°C warmer by 2100, well above the 2°C temperatureguardrail to avoid dangerous climate change.

• Current pattern of increasing emissions: grew @ of 2.6% per year during 2000-2015• ‘Negative emissions’: ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or even change

the earth’s radiation balance through geoengineering.

• Methods1. Better agricultural practices that leave carbon in the ground, use of biochar, undertaking

afforestation and reforestation.2. Bioenergy for fuel in combination with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).3. Suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and increase carbon dioxide absorption by the

oceans are also being explored, but their long-term implications are not clear.4. Injecting cooling aerosols at a large scale in the atmosphere, but these geoengineering

technologies pose huge risks and are also not long-term solutions.

• If we fail with negative emission we will hit 4°Cwww.studyiq.com

• Negative emissions also create a moral hazard problem, where we expect (future) others to bail us out while we continue to lead profligate lives.

• There are clear evidences from all over the world with several seasons of intense storms, droughts, floods, fires and their aftermath, meaning that any further delay in reducing emissions would put at risk many more lives, livelihoods and investments for decades to come.

• Policies therefore need to support practices

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International

National

Individual

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Opposition has no authority to question EC, says Modi

• The Prime Minister hit out at Congress for making allegations against the Election Commission with regard to announcement of elections in Gujarat.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asserted that the process of taking important decisions regarding economic reforms will continue.• Financial stability will be maintained while undertaking reforms.

• For the development of Marine field, Mr Modi announced that government is planning to build Maritime University and Maritime Museum in Lothal.

• He said, Sagar Mala project alone will provide around one crore jobs.

• Mr Modi said, without proper connectivity, the economic development of a nation slows down. • He said, the government is focusing on port infrastructure.

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GST rate structure needs rejig, says Hasmukh Adhia

• Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has said a complete overhauling of GST rates is needed to reduce the burden on small and medium businesses.

• He said wherever the government finds that there is a big burden on small and medium businesses and the common man, it will bring down the rates.

• He said, only then there will be a better compliance and acceptability of GST.

• Mr Adhia said GST, which amalgamates more than a dozen Central and state levies like excise duty, service tax and VAT, will take about a year to stabilise.

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In Dhaka, Sushma calls for safe return of Myanmar nationals

• India has said that Rohingya refugees who have poured into Bangladesh recently must be taken back by Myanmar from where they have been displaced.

• In a press conference in Dhaka, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said, India is deeply concerned at the spate of violence in Rakhine state of Myanmar.• She said normalcy will only be restored with the return of the displaced persons to Rakhine

state.

• The conference was also attended by her Bangladeshi counterpart Abula Hassan Mahmood Ali who said, India was urged to contribute towards exerting sustained pressure on Myanmar to find a peaceful solution to the crisis, including return of Rohingyas to their homeland.

• Mrs Swaraj said, New Delhi and Dhaka are determined to protect their societies from the threat of ideologies of hate, violence and terror by adopting a zero tolerance policy.

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Bhitarakanika has reasons to cheer

• Forest authorities are excited over a slight increase in the number of tourists.

• Bhitarakanika continues to be one of the best natural abode for the estuarine crocodile.

• The forest department has come across 80 crocodile nests in their wild habitats in 2017 compared to 75 in 2016 and 70 in 2015.

• According to the National Park authorities, mammals found in the place include leopards, wild boars, fishing cats, hyenas, sambar deer and Gangetic dolphins. Reptiles include olive ridley sea turtles, crocodiles, water monitors, pythons and king cobras.

• Around 166 species of birds have been spotted in the park.

• Bhitarakanika is one of the richest storehouses of mangrove genes.

• Researchers have come across 11 of the 70 mangrove species in Bhitarakanikawhich were at an elevated threat of extinction around the world.

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Abe sweeps to big win in snap election

• Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito, have secured enough seats in today's general elections to maintain what is known as an absolute stable majority.

• It will allow the parties to maneuver legislation through the Lower House smoothly.

• The governing coalition has passed the threshold of 261 seats. With an absolute stable majority, it will have the ability to chair all standing committees and fill a majority of seats

• A win in the election raises Shinzo Abe's chances of securing a third three-year-term.

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Questions

1. Name the States of India having which are having both Upper House and Lower House.

2. Provide atleaset 3 benefits of International North South Trade Corridor

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