MIDDLE EAST BIAS

The Middle-East Bias
The divisions within the international community over how to deal with events in
the Arab world, particularly Libya, underscore the sensitivity that has accrued
around the issue of intervention in a sovereign nation. The problem now is what
to do in the event of a stalemate in Libya, with fighting continuing, and
comparatively under-equipped opposition forces unable to take advantage of the
air strikes and push back Gaddafi's forces.
The idea of a de facto divided country is being bandied around as a possibility.
That, per se, would be undesirable. It would recall the Iraq experience -
difficulties associated with continually enforcing a no-fly zone and sanctions - as
well as invite charges of western countries working to keep oil flowing from
opposition areas. True, with Gaddafi having issued ominous threats, and his
forces attacking opposition-held cities, the immediate need was to stop a
bloodbath.
But the West has remained quiet on, and maybe passively colluded with, Saudi
Arabia's intervention in Bahrain. If the underlying principle of the widespread
protests in the region has been the removal of autocratic regimes, that applies
just as well to Bahrain as to Libya. The Saudis may have sent in their forces
under the legality of a regional pact, but that does not take away from the fact
that Bahrain is also witnessing protests for democracy.
There is an open but never-admitted partisan approach, based on big-power
strategic considerations, at work in the region. That ambiguity has also reflected
itself in India's stand on enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya. After abstaining
from the vote at the UN, New Delhi has voiced opposition to the air strikes being
carried out against forces loyal to Gaddafi but has remained largely silent on the
clampdown against peaceful protestors in Bahrain.
The cause of freedom and democracy must be upheld unreservedly. True, tribal
complexity, like in Yemen and Libya, might complicate the picture. But an
international consensus on first exerting pressure, and using force only to prevent
civilian deaths, while seeking a negotiated, peaceful transition, must emerge.

GENERAL GK QUESTIONS

1. The 2008 NAM summit was recently held at
(A) Tehran
(B) Colombo
(C) New Delhi
(D) Lahore
2. Who among the following was recently appointed the United Nations
High Commissioner for human rights?
(A) Navanethem Pillay
(B) Dayana Mendoza
(C) Vijay Nambiar
(D) None of these
3. Which country has the highest number of internet users today?
(A) China
(B) USA
(C) India
(D) Japan
4. Google recently launched its own online encyclopedia. What is the
name of this project?
(A) Wikipedia
(B) Knol
(C) Encyclopedia
(D) None of these
5. Dr Ram Baran Yadav was in news recently for
(A) being the first President of Republic Nepal
(B) being first Prime Minister of Nepal
(C) winning the Magsaysay Award
(D) winning the Kalinga Award
6. What is Space Ship Two?
(A) World's first civilian passenger spacecraft
(B) NASA’s lunar explorer
(C) ESA's craft to study Mars
(D) None of these
7. Sir Richard Branson was in news recently. Who is he?
(A) Founder of Virgin group of companies
(B) Winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics
(C) Winner of the Booker Prize
(D) None of these
8. Europa is a moon of which planet?
(A) Mars
(B) Saturn
(C) Pluto
(D) Jupiter
9. The WTO Ministerial Meeting of 30 trade ministers was recently held
at
(A) Geneva
(B) Stockholm
(C) Paris
(D) Seattle
10. Who won the Men's singles title at Wimbledon this year?
(A) Rafael Nadal
(B) Roger Federer
(C) Andy Roddick
(D) None of these
11. Who won the Men's singles title at French Open this year?
(A) Rafael Nadal
(B) Roger Federer
(C) Mahesh Bhupathi
(D) None of these
12. Which country won the Azlan Shah Hockey tournament in 2008?
(A) Spain
(B) Argentina
(C) Netherlands
(D) India
13. Which country won the Euro Cup 2008 Football tournament?
(A) Spain
(B) Germany
(C) Italy
(D) France
14. According to the worldwide Corruption Perceptions Index, which
country is the least corrupt in the world?
(A) USA
(B) Finland
(C) Myanmar
(D) Denmark
15. India recently made aviation history by sealing a $51 million deal with
which country for the sale of seven Dhruv advanced light helicopters.
(A) Egypt
(B) Israel
(C) Ecuador
(D) Vietnam








Answer Key
1.(A) 2.(A) 3.(A) 4.(B) 5.(A) 6.(A) 7.(A) 8.(D) 9.(A) 10.(A)
11.(A) 12.(B) 13.(A) 14.(D) 15.(C)

CAN BENGAL CHANGE?

Can Bengal Change?
How the Trinamool can show it’s different
There will be some sighs as the Trinamool and Congress parties finally
seal their seat-sharing deal for the upcoming Bengal elections, the allies
sighing in relief, the incumbent CPM in resignation at the challenge posed.
With the Congress settling for 65 of 294 seats, some aspects of realpolitik
come to light. Aware of the crest Mamata Banerjee is riding, the Congress
has made a wise decision to not squabble over numbers but give in to its
more powerful regional partner. On its side, the Trinamool recognises the
advantages of the alliance, keeping the anti-Left vote together and
retaining its link with the national-level party. Why the last is a plus is
connected to the Left’s history in Bengal.
The CPM came to power in 1977, riding a tide of hope and achieving
accomplishments like Operation Barga, land transferred to sharecroppers,
while maintaining communal harmony in a state that experienced horrific
rioting at Partition. However, it also choked much of Bengal’s civil society,
party politics dominating everything – whether college entrances, job
allocations, law and order, the last a terror tactic used by party
musclemen snatching rights and resources. Bengal once held myriad
businesses and manufacturing. Over the years, faced with regimented
bullying, these dried up. Meanwhile, the state’s performance in poverty
reduction and education dipped, its fiscal debt rose, its professionals
migrated and the desperation around land intensified. Recently attempting
to rejuvenate industry, the Left blotted its copybook severely. Its ‘official’
goondas terrorised locals at sites like Nandigram, handing Mamata a moral
advantage.
Currently, while her own precise vision for Bengal’s development is yet to
fully emerge, Mamata’s electoral strategy has been astute. The Trinamool
first broke open the CPM’s rural bastion, performing well in panchayat, zila
and civic elections. It won over intellectuals, roped in software guru
Sabeer Bhatia to help its cyber campaign and announced FICCI secretarygeneral
Amit Mitra’s candidature, sending encouraging signals to industry.
In all this, its link with the Congress remains significant, for it sends a
message that Bengal’s days of isolation may be over. A government
working with the Centre, not constantly opposing it, could serve popular
aspirations well. The implementation of poverty reduction strategies, such
as NREGA, could improve in an environment divested of patronage politics
and ideological wars. And being linked to a party often in central
government, answerable to Parliament, could help reduce political violence
in the state. It is through moves like these that Mamata can show that the
Trinamool Congress isn’t just about realpolitik but also about real change,
providing the break that Bengal longs for.

QUIZ ON HONOURS AND AWARDS

G K Questions on Honors ad Awards
1. Who among the following was the first to win the Booker Prize?
(A) William Golding
(B) PH Newby
(C) JM Coetzee
(D) Peter Carey
2. Which one of the following awards instituted by KK Birla Foundation is
given to an individual for outstanding work on Indian philosophy, culture
and art?
(A) Saraswathy Samman
(B) Vyas Samman
(C) Shankar Puraskar
(D) Kalidas Samman
3. When was the Nobel Prize for literature instituted?
(A) 1956
(B) 1969
(C) 1972
(D) 1975
4. Contribution to which field is honoured by Dhanvantari award?
(A) Physics
(B) Space research
(C) Literature
(D) Medicine
5. Which of the following is India's highest honour in the field of literature?
(A) Vyas Samman
(B) Kalidas Samman
(C) Jnanpith Award
(D) Saraswathi Samman
6. Which one of the following is India's highest civilian honour?
(A) Bharat Ratna
(B) Padma Bhushan
(C) Padama Vibhushan
(D) Padma Shri
7. Who was the first to win the Nobel Prize for literature?
(A) Albert Camus
(B) Ernest Hemingway
(C) Knut Hamson
(D) Rene Sully Prudhome
8. Men from which nation have won the highest number of Nobel Prizes?
(A) England
(B) France
(C) America
(D) Italy
9. Which of the following awards is given to the Best Parliamentarian?
(A) Gujar Mal Modi Award
(B) JB Pant Award
(C) Nehru Award
(D) None of these
10. When did Amnesty International win the Nobel Prize?
(A) 1917
(B) 1949
(C) 1977
(D) 1982
11. Who was the first woman to win the Jnanpith award?
(A) Ashapurna Devi
(B) Mahasweta Devi
(C) Amrita Pritam
(D) Sarojini Naidu
12. In terms of prize money, which of the following is the highest literary prize
in India?
(A) Vyas Samman
(B) Saraswathy Samman
(C) Jnanpith Award
(D) Kalidas Samman
13. Which of the following awards was instituted by the Indian National
Congress in its Centenary Year?
(A) Gandhi Peace Prize
(B) Nehru Award
(C) Indira Gandhi award for National Integration
(D) Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award
14. Which one of the following awards was instituted by the KK Birla
Foundation?
(A) Saraswati Samman
(B) Kabir Award
(C) Kalidas Samman
(D) Jnanpith Award
15. When did Red Cross win the Nobel Peace Prize for the first time?
(A) 1917
(B) 1977
(C) 1949
(D) 1956












Answer Key
1.(B) 2.(C) 3.(B) 4.(D) 5.(C) 6.(A) 7.(D) 8.(C) 9.(B) 10.(C)
11. (A) 12. (B) 13. (C) 14. (A) 15. (A)

BUDGET ROLLBACKS AND PROMISES

Budget Rollbacks and Promise
The smooth passage of the Finance Bill by Parliament was facilitated by the slew
of concessions extended by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. As many as 47
amendments to the original bill were passed. The concessions aggregate Rs.1,500
crore, a large portion of this attributable to procedural changes in the method of
levying and collecting taxes. For instance, the deferment by three months of a
new procedure to collect service tax on an accrual basis instead of on actual
receipts will mean less revenue than what was envisaged in the budget.
Manufacturers of readymade garments, especially those in the small-scale
segment, have got relief by way of higher excise duty abatement. By far, the
most anticipated announcement was the rollback of the 5 per cent service tax on
certain grades of hospitals and diagnostic services in the private sector. This
budget proposal drew a good deal of flak. Had it been implemented, it would have
increased the already high health care costs. However, while the government will
now forgo around Rs.300 crore, it was not just revenue considerations that were
behind the proposal. The idea of bringing the various entities in the booming
health care segment under the tax net has been around for quite a while.
Besides, as the Finance Minister said, the move was meant to prepare the ground
for the Goods and Services Tax (GST). It is unlikely that this sector will be
exempted when the GST is finally in place. The principal idea behind the GST and
the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) — the two key reforms measures — is to have a tax
structure with moderate taxes, minimum exemptions, and wide coverage.
Mr. Mukherjee has kept the promise which he made in the budget speech by
introducing a Constitution Amendment Bill to pave the way for the GST.
Essentially, the Bill seeks to give powers to the States to tax services and to the
Centre to levy duties beyond the factory gate. The Bill incorporates features that
seek to resolve the sharp differences between the Centre and the States over the
implementation of the far-going structural change. A GST Council, headed by the
Union Finance Minister and a GST Dispute Settlement Authority are proposed. In
bringing the Bill before Parliament, Mr. Mukherjee may have kept his word. But it
will be over-optimistic to expect the GST to become a reality on April 1, 2012.
The legislation, which will now go to a standing committee, requires two-thirds
support in both houses of Parliament and to be ratified by at least half the
number of State legislatures.

GK QUIZ ON CURRENT AFFAIRS

G K Quiz on Current Affairs
1. Who was recently re-elected the President of the People's Republic of
China?
(A) Hu Jintao
(B) Jiang Zemin
(C) Ma Ying-jeou
2. Who recently won the 'Person of the Year' award by the India Abroad
newspaper in New York?
(A) Indra Nooyi
(B) Mira Nair
(C) Deepa Mehta
3. Mr David A Paterson was in news recently for what reason?
(A) For being the first legally blind person to become the governor of a US
State
(B) For winning the Booker Prize
(C) For conquering Mt Everest
4. Who recently became the first ever woman to become the Speaker of
Pakistan's parliament?
(A) Fahmida Mirza
(B) Fahtima Bhutoo
(C) Razia Mirza
5. Who won the Femina Miss India Universe title in 2008?
(A) Parvathy Omanakuttan
(B) Simran Kaur Mundi
(C) Harshita Saxena
6. Who won the WTA Tour Player of the Year 2007 award?
(A) Maria Sharapova
(B) Justin Henin
(C) Venus Williams

7. Which Indian cricketer recently became the third cricketer in history to
score two triple Test centuries?
(A) Sachin Tendulkar
(B) Virender Sehwag
(C) Rahul Dravid
8. Who/what won the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, disarmament and
Development for 2007?
(A) Aung Saan Suki
(B) Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
(C) Medha Patkar
9. The Anglo-Dutch steel company Corus was recently taken over by
(A) ArcelorMittal
(B) Jindal Steel
(C) Tata Steel
10. Who is the President of India?
(A) APJ Abdul Kalam
(B) Somnath Chatterjee
(C) Pratibha Patil
11. Which is the first Indian bank to get approval to start normal banking
operation in China?
(A) Indian Bank
(B) State Bank of India
(C) Corporation Bank
12. Which Indian company manufactures automobiles for Mitsubishi?
(A) Tata Motors
(B) Bajaj Tempo
(C) Hindustan Motors
13. Which one of the following is the world's busiest port today?
(A) Port of Rotterdam
(B) Port of Shanghai
(C) Port of Singapore
14. For international payments, the Indian currency is linked to
(A) British sterling
(B) American Dollar
(C) International oil price
15. Which of the following countries is the top source of FDI inflows to India at
present?
(A) Mauritius
(B) USA
(C) UK






Answer Key
1.(A) 2.(B) 3.(A) 4.(A) 5.(B) 6.(B) 7.(B) 8.(B) 9.(C) 10.(C)
11.(B) 12.(C) 13.(C) 14.(B) 15.(A)

TROUBLED JAPANESE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

A possible breach at Japan's troubled nuclear plant has escalated the crisis anew,
two full weeks after an earthquake and tsunami first compromised the facility.
The development suggested that radioactive contamination may be worse than
first thought, with tainted groundwater the most likely consequence.
Japanese leaders defended their decision not to evacuate people from a wider
area around the plant, insisting that they are safe if they stay indoors. But
officials said that residents may want to voluntarily move to areas with better
facilities, since supplies in the tsunami-devastated region are running short. The
escalation in the nuclear plant crisis came as the death toll from the quake and
tsunami passed 10,000. Across the battered northeast coast, hundreds of
thousands of people whose homes were destroyed still have no power, no hot
meals and, in many cases, no showers for two weeks.
The uncertain nuclear situation delayed efforts to stop the overheated Fukushima
Dai-ichi nuclear plant from leaking dangerous radiation. Work was under way till
Saturday to inject fresh water into one unit, said Hidehiko Nishiyama, a
spokesman for Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, or NISA, amid
concerns about dumping large amounts of potentially corrosive seawater onto the
reactors. Low levels of radiation have been seeping out since the March 11 quake
and tsunami knocked out the plant's cooling system, but a breach could mean a
much larger release of contaminants. The most likely consequence would be
contamination of the groundwater. "The situation today at the Fukushima Dai-ichi
power plant is still very grave and serious. We must remain vigilant," a somber
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said. "We are not in a position where we can be
optimistic.We must treat every development with the utmost care."
The possible breach in the plant's Unit 3 might be a crack or a hole in the
stainless steel chamber of the reactor core or in the spent fuel pool that's lined
with several feet of reinforced concrete. The temperature and pressure inside the
core, which holds the fuel rods, remained stable and was far lower than what
would further melt the core. Suspicions of a possible breach were raised when
two workers suffered skin burns after wading into water 10,000 times more
radioactive than levels normally found in water in or around a reactor, NISA said.
Water with equally high radiation levels was found in the Unit 1 reactor building,
Tokyo Electric Power Co. officials said.
Water was also discovered in Units 2 and 4, and the company said that it suspects
that, too, is radioactive. Officials acknowledged that the presence of water would
delay work inside the plant. Radioactivity in seawater just outside one unit tested
some 1,250 times higher than normal, probably from both airborne radiation

released from the reactors and contaminated water leaked into the sea,
Nishiyama said.
But the amount posed no immediate health risk. Plant officials and government
regulators say that they don't know the source of the radioactive water
discovered at units 1 and 3 of the six-unit complex. It could have come from a
leaking reactor core, associated pipes or a spent fuel pool. Or it may be the result
of overfilling the pools with emergency cooling water.
The prime minister apologized to farmers and business owners for the toll the
radiation has had on their livelihoods: Several countries have halted some food
imports from areas near the plant after elevated levels of radiation were found in
raw milk, sea water and 11 kinds of vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower and
turnips.
Elevated levels of radiation have turned up elsewhere, including the tap water in
several areas of Japan. In Tokyo, tap water showed radiation levels two times
higher than the government standard for infants, who are particularly vulnerable
to cancer-causing radioactive iodine, officials said. The scare caused a run on
bottled water in the capital, and Tokyo municipal officials are distributing it to
families with babies. The nuclear crisis has compounded the challenges faced by a
nation already saddled with a humanitarian disaster.
Much of the frigid northeast remains a scene of despair and devastation, with
Japan struggling to feed and house hundreds of thousands of homeless survivors,
clear away debris and bury the dead. "It's still like I'm in a dream," said Tomohiko
Abe, a 45-year-old machinist who was in the devastated coastal town of Onagawa
trying to salvage any belongings he could from his ruined car. "People say it's like
a movie, but it's been worse than any movie I've ever seen." The official death
toll stood at 10,151, with more than 17,000 listed as missing, police said. With
the cleanup and recovery operations continuing, the final number of dead was
expected to surpass 18,000. Officials have evacuated residents within 12 miles
(20 kilometers) of the plant and advised those up to 19 miles (30 kilometers)
away to stay indoors to minimize exposure.
The U.S. has recommended that people stay 50 miles (80 kilometers) away from
the plant. Government spokesman Yukio Edano insisted that people living 12 to
20 miles (20 to 30 kilometers) from the plant should still be safe from radiation as
long as they stay indoors. But since supplies are not being delivered to the area
fast enough, he said that it may be better for residents to voluntarily evacuate to
places with better facilities. "If the current situation is protracted and worsens,
then we will not deny the possibility of (mandatory) evacuation," he said.
One Fukushima government official said that some commercial trucks were
refusing to enter the area because of radiation fears, resulting in a shortage of

goods. "We are not ordering people to leave. But we have told residents that we
will help you leave voluntarily," Takeshi Ishimoto said.