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* Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) reiterated that there
cannot be discriminatory treatment of websites on the Internet by
service providers.
*TRAI warned providers against the practice of blocking certain websites and
tinkering with content speeds.
*TRAI’s decision comes in the wake of international focus on the U.S.
Federal Communications Commission’s decision to scrap regulations on
service providers imposed during the Obama administration.
*Infrastructure that serves as the backbone of the Internet has not come
without huge investments by private service providers.
*concerns of service providers should not be dismissed altogether
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*So any regulation that severely restricts the ability of companies to earnsufficient returns on investment will only come at the cost of the welfareof the public.
*The new policy, for instance, will still allow companies to justify the costs incurred in providing niche content to consumers.
*Interestingly, it has left it, with important caveats, to the government to decide on services that count as “specialised” and deserve exceptional treatment by regulators.
*Policymakers will also need to think hard about creating an appropriate legal framework to prevent the capture of regulation by special interests.
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*Put simply, Net neutrality creates rules of the road for a free and open
Internet.
*It requires that barriers should not be created by telecom and Internet
service providers for user choice by limiting their power to discriminate
between content providers and different classes of content.
*Supreme Court: has stated that the power to license spectrum and
telegraphs is held by the government as a trustee of public interest.
*“as natural resources are public goods, the doctrine of equality, which emerges
from concepts of justice and fairness, must guide the state in determining the
actual mechanism for distribution of material resources.”
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*The Internet today affords millions of Indians with an immediate
audience without the traditional costs of distribution.
*In the absence of Net
A. Fragment net community
B. Diversity of choice
C. Right to speak
D. Ability to receive knowledge
*To restrict any public policy measure, especially something as important
as Net neutrality, to a restricted group of experts without a chance of
public engagement betrays elitism.
Differential Pricing Regulation issued on February 8, 2016
“As observed by the Supreme Court, in the Secretary, Ministry
of Information and Broadcasting v. Cricket Association of
Bengal, (1995) 2 SCC 161, para 201(3)(b) allowing citizens the
benefit of plurality of views and a range of opinions on all
public issues is an essential component of the right to free
speech. This includes the right to express oneself as well as
the right to receive information as observed by the Supreme
Court in theIndian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Pvt. Ltd. v.
Union of India, (1985) 1 SCC 641 case.”
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*Enacting a law prohibiting torture is both a moral imperative and a
pragmatic necessity.
*The Union government has informed the Supreme Court that it is
seriously considering the 273rd Report of the Law Commission, which has
recommended that India ratify the United Nations Convention against
Torture and pass a law to prevent torture and punish its perpetrators.
*A petition filed in public interest by former Union Law Minister Ashwani
Kumar
*complained about the delay in India ratifying the UN Convention, which it
had signed in 1997
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*India has made many requests for extradition of offenders from other countries, and the absence of an anti-torture law may prevent these countries from acceding to India’s requests.
*extradition courts in the United Kingdom refused to send two persons to India to face trial
*Custodial violence continues to be prevalent in the country.
*Conditions in India’s prisons
*recent example of a bus conductor being forced to confess to murdering a schoolchild
*The Prevention of Torture Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in 2010 to address the problem, but it lapsed after it was referred to a Select Committee in the Rajya Sabha.
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*The Supreme Court did not allow itself to be converted into a khappanchayat
*In khap panchayats, the woman accused of breaking the so-called honour code is never allowed to speak.
*‘Love Jehad’
*The case reveals how deeply the current climate created by sectarian ideologies based on a narrow reading of religious identity has pushed back women’s rights to autonomy as equal citizens.
*The NIA wanted the court to study the documents it claimed it had as evidence before they heard Hadiya.
*The Kerala government gave an additional affidavit in October stating that “the investigation conducted so far by the Kerala police has not revealed any incident relating to commission of any scheduled offences to make a report to the Central government under Section 6 of the National Investigation Agency Act of 2008.”
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*It was the courage of her conviction that stood out.
*She wanted to be treated as a human being.
*She wanted her faith to be respected.
*She wanted to study.
*She wanted to be with her husband.
*And most importantly, she wanted her freedom.
*Both sides claim they are happy with the order.
*The next court hearing is in January and the way the court order is implemented
will be clear by then.
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*Inter-faith Marriages
*The underlying assumption is that Hindu women who marry Muslims have
no minds of their own.
*This was clearly reflected in the regressive order of the Kerala High Court in May
this year which annulled Hadiya’s marriage. Among other most objectionable
comments it held that a woman of 24 is “weak and vulnerable”, that as per Indian
tradition, the custody of an unmarried daughter is with the parents, until she is
properly married.” Equally shocking, it ordered that nobody could meet her except
her parents in whose custody she was placed.
*Courts in this country are expected to uphold the right of an adult
woman to her choice of a partner.
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*The transgender community and its allies have erupted in anger over the decision of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to re-introduce the original Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 in the winter session of Parliament.
*Union Social Justice Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot felt the original version to be “good”, which is the only publicly available ‘justification’ to back its re-introduction.
*Despite resistance to the 2016 Bill followed by a year-long process to redraft it to reflect the demands of the community, the Ministry has taken the decision, and without a single change.
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*The transgender community saw the Supreme Court’s landmark decision
in NALSA v. Union of India as a victory, as it recognised that transgender
persons have fundamental rights.
*The judgment was followed by a private member’s Bill, the Rights of
Transgender Persons Bill, 2014, which was unanimously passed in the
Rajya Sabha.
*Instead of introducing it in the Lok Sabha, the Ministry uploaded its own Bill, the
Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2015, on its website in December for public
comments.
*The 2015 Bill, which was largely based on the 2014 Bill
*It did away with the national and State commissions for transgender persons and
transgender rights courts.
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*The Bill was fairly progressive since it granted a transgender person the
right to be identified as a ‘man’, ’woman’ or ‘transgender’.
*The Ministry’s decision to re-introduce the 2016 Bill disregards the pre-
legislative consultative policy which requires Ministries to grant a
minimum of 30 days for public comments and to place a summary of
feedback/comments received from the public/other stakeholders on
their website.
*The standing committee invited public comments and thereafter held
multiple rounds of consultations.
*Its report, released on July 22, 2017, criticised the 2016 Bill for its stark
deficiencies and recommended re-drafting the definition of a ‘transgender person’
to make it inclusive and accurate.
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*One area where the law of the jungle seems to prevail is the road, especially in cities.
*typically, two-wheelers and cars don’t consider lanes important.
*It’s like how we behave in queues — at shops, temples and cinema ticket counters
*Far less polluting and carbon-emitting, the electric car, however, poses a challenge to Indian driving practices.
*Instead of tamping down the technology, we can instead change our habits — be mindful of lanes, wait our turn, be polite and respectful of others and their needs, and make our driving smoother, as well as make best use of regenerative braking.
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*The impact that leaving the European Union (EU) would have on the island of Ireland.
*1998 Good Friday Agreement: 1960s to the 1990s, the period of deep civil and political unrest in Northern Ireland, that pitted largely Protestant Unionists against largely Catholic separatists — are in the past
*Membership of the EU has played a significant role in maintaining that environment with strong economic ties between Northern Ireland and the EU state of Ireland, as well as close personal links.
*Over 35,000 people cross the border between the two each day, while 1,77,000 lorries and 1.85 million cars cross each month.
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*Irish Taoiseach (or Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar issued a strong
ultimatum to Britain, insisting that Ireland needed written assurances
that there would be no hard border — including no physical infrastructure
on the border
*Ireland to pay for monitoring the border between the two countries,
with some observers drawing a parallel between her proposal and U.S.
President Donald Trump’s stance on Mexico.
*Australia: Food
*India: Professionals
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U.S. now within range of N. Korea’s nuclear weapons
*North Korea said it successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic
missile (ICBM)
*North Korea said the new missile reached an altitude of about 4,475 km
— more than 10 times the height of the International Space Station — and
flew 950 km during its 53-minute flight.
*The missile test came a week after U.S. President Donald Trump put
North Korea back on a U.S. list of countries it says support terrorism,
allowing it to impose more sanctions.
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Now, debate on ‘royal welcome’ for Ivanka
*India will benefit from the visit of Ivanka Trump, daughter of the U.S. President and Presidential Adviser, says the head of a key business chamber, dismissing criticism of the “royal welcome” Ms. Trump received.
*Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ms. Trump for a one-on-one conversationand hosted her at a grand banquet at the Falaknuma palace of the Nizams.
*Mr. Aghi said it was necessary to see Ms. Trump’s position not just as an adviser but also in terms of her influence with the U.S. President.
*“If you get more women professionals coming into the work environment then by 2025 you will see global growth rise by 12 trillion dollars. In India it would see a 3% rise in GDP if women were brought into the workforce to the potential,” he said.
*Speaking about the Indo-U.S. trade relationship, Mr. Aghi said that it could only jump from its current levels of $114 billion for goods and services (including $67.7 billion for goods trade) to the goal of $500 billion if India increases market access to U.S. companies.
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Singapore offers India logistical base
*India and Singapore on Wednesday agreed on greater cooperation and activity in the Strait of Malacca and the Andaman Sea even as the two countries concluded a wide ranging naval agreement for maritime cooperation including logistical support.
*The two countries concluded a bilateral agreement for navalcooperation, which includes maritime security, joint exercises and temporary deployments from the naval facilities of each other and mutual logistical support.
*The two countries also agreed to explore joints projects in research and development.
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New radio technology for Navy
*The Defence Acquisition Council on Wednesday approved the
procurement of more than 260 Software Defined Radios (SDR) for the
Navy at a cost of more than Rs490 crore.
*“This is the first indigenously designed and developed SDR to be procured by
any of the three services. These will replace the existing systems on-board
warships,” a defence source said.
*The development of the SDRs was carried out by the Defence Electronics
& Applications Laboratory of the DRDO. Bharat Electronics Limited will
be the the production Agency.
*This technology will improve information sharing and situational awareness
through secure voice communications and data transfer capabilities , the
source added.
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Govt. may meld Make in India with Invest India, says Prabhu
*The Centre is mulling a new approach that institutionalisesthe combined strengths of its ‘Make In India’ (MII) and ‘Invest India’ initiatives with an aim to streamline them for attracting more investments, including from overseas, in the manufacturing sector.
*The MII was unveiled in September 2014 to “transform India into a global design and manufacturing hub” while ‘Invest India’ is the government’s investment promotion and facilitation agency.
*Mr. Prabhu said even in the exports sector, “new products and new markets” are being considered for incentives, adding that “we are trying to work on a holistic strategy” to make India a global manufacturing and export hub.
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Indus civilisation flourished without a flowing river: study
*The Indus civilisation developed at about the same time as urban civilisationsdeveloped in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Archaeological evidence shows that many of the settlements in the Indus civilisation developed along the banks of a river called the Ghaggar-Hakra.
*But the new study, led by researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and Imperial College London, has now provided evidence that a major Himalayan river did not flow at the same time as the development of Indus civilisation urban settlements.
*This meant that 3,000 years later, when the Indus people settled the area, there was only an abandoned large river valley occupied by seasonalmonsoon river flow instead of a large Himalayan river.
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Answers
1. An aquatic plant introduced from America to check pollution turned out to be a troublesome weed in Indian water bodies. The name of this plant is
a) Opuntia
b) Aegilops
c) Richhornia
d) Pistia
2. The word Ecosystem was coined by
a) Charles Darwin
b) Robert Whittaker
c) Arthur Tansley
d) Ernst Haeckel
3. Name the Chairman of National Anti-Profiteering Authority?
*B N Sharma
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Questions
1. Who committed the most daring murder of Curzon Wyllie in 1909 in London?
a) BN Dutta
b) Ramprasad Bismil
c) Bhagat Singh
d) ML Dhingara
2. Which is not a Central Service?
a) Indian Police Service
b) Indian Foreign Service
c) Indian Audit and Accounts Service
d) Indian Revenue Service
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