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iam providing the hindu editorial page and vocabulary
happy reading................
TOPIC 1:Grand words, but sobering reality.
American
President Barack Obama struck a note of strong optimism
this week on his country’s bilateral engagement with India ,
emphasising in an interview the steady
economic and strategic convergence that
has occurred between Washington and New Delhi on his watch.
Indeed, Mr. Obama has held collaborative efforts with the governments of two
Indian Prime Ministers, first Manmohan Singh and now Narendra Modi, to an even keel. Not withstanding the periodic diplomatic kerfuffle or policy wrinkle,
most disruptively over Devyani Khobragade’s detention, bilateral bonhomie has held in areas as diverse as expanding
trade and investment, regional and multilateral cooperation, counter terrorism
coordination, military joint exercises, and most recently, policies to fight
climate change. Particularly with Mr. Modi at the helm,
the two countries have steadily added strategic depth to the bilateral
relationship, whether on the Indian Ocean Region, the Paris
climate change agreement, trilateral exchanges with partners such as Japan , or third-country development projects
such as those in the Africa region. Yet, some
uncomfortable, unanswered questions remain in this space, and they pertain to
terrorist attacks in India
emanating from across its western border,
to the paralysed civil nuclear agreement, and economic brawls that could, if unchecked, fuel spiralling
hostility.
Major
terrorist attacks in India — respectively in 2001 (the Parliament complex in
New Delhi), 2008 (multiple targets in Mumbai) and in 2016 (Air Force Station in
Pathankot) — have opened up a chasm of
suspicion between New Delhi and Washington, frustrating India’s foreign policy
mandarins over Islamabad’s perceived double-game with Washington. While the
U.S. President in the interview this week described the Pathankot attack as
“inexcusable”, it is a travesty of
justice that terror masterminds Hafiz Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Masood
Azhar are not under arrest despite New
Delhi submitting evidence of their complicity. The U.S. administration has leverage over Pakistan in the form of $13 billion
in military aid under the Coalition Support Funds programme, so why only use
words to chastise non-action on this front? Regarding India-U.S. civil nuclear
energy cooperation, Mr. Obama expressed the hope that in the year ahead there
would be deals for American companies to build new reactors; yet it is hard to
see how this would materialise given the insurance conundrum
stemming from India’s Nuclear Liability Law, which provides for legitimate
protection in the event of a nuclear accident. Finally, a troubling question
mark hangs over India , along
with China ,
remaining outside the framework of the U.S.-driven Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Exclusion from this trade framework may result in Indian firms losing market share
to TPP signatories. Add to this the spate
of mini-squabbles that have broken out
over intellectual property rights protection and compulsory licences in India , over visa restrictions in the U.S.
and a host of trade disputes that have reached the World Trade Organisation,
and Mr. Obama’s comment that the bilateral relationship had “absolutely not”
reached its full potential seems perfectly accurate.
VOCUBULORY:
1.optimism :hopefulness and confidence about the future or
the success of something.
2.emphasising :give special importance or value to
(something) in speaking or writing.
3.convergence: a location where airflows or ocean
currents meet, characteristically marked by upwelling (of air) or downwelling
(of water).
4.keel:supporting the framework of the
whole.
5.kerfuffle :a commotion or fuss, especially one caused by
conflicting views.
6.wrinkle:a slight line or fold in something,
especially fabric or the skin of the face.
7.bonhomie:cheerful friendliness; geniality.
8.helm:a tiller or wheel for steering a
ship or boat.
9.emanating :(of a feeling, quality, or sensation) issue or
spread out from (a source).
10.brawls:a rough or noisy fight or quarrel.
11.chasm:a deep fissure in the earth's
surface.
12.travesty:a false, absurd, or distorted
representation of something.
13. leverage :the ratio of a company's loan capital (debt)
to the value of its ordinary shares (equity); gearing.
14.conundrum :a confusing and difficult problem or question.
15.spate :a large number of similar things coming in
quick succession.
16.squabbles:a noisy quarrel about something
trivial.
TOPIC 2:A debate
beyond ‘clicktivism’
The consultation process set in
motion by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on the issue of
differential pricing of cellular data has set off a full-scale and no-holds-barred war of words
between the authority and Facebook. The spat came into the public domain last
week when TRAI released its e-mail exchanges with the social networking giant.
The telecom regulator is clearly concerned about the unabashed enthusiasm demonstrated by Facebook to utilise —
indeed, exploit — the consultation process to drum up support for its Free
Basics product. TRAI was scathing in its
criticism of Facebook’s high-intensity lobbying
exercise. The regulator minced no words,
and accused Facebook of converting its consultation process into a “crudely
majoritarian and orchestrated opinion
poll’’. Also, TRAI is convinced that the campaign by Facebook to defend its
free Internet platform “is wholly misplaced” as the consultation paper is only
on differential pricing for data services and not on any particular product or
service. The social networking giant has been collating
responses from users of its platform, and forwarding them to TRAI. Somewhere in
this process, Facebook felt that somebody with access to the TRAI e-mail
account had blocked the receipt of its e-mails. That accusation was enough to
provoke a confrontation with TRAI. More
than anything else, the stand-off between the two has brought the focus on the efficacy of the consultation process in an
environment where private enterprise is increasingly gaining greater clout.
Also, it raises serious questions on the lobbying practices followed to shape
outcomes in a consultation process, and the potential impact on policy
formulations.
Also read: All you need to know
about Differential data pricing
In the Information Age, where
communication enterprises are not just controlling but also redefining the way
we interact, it is imprudent and even risky
to let them have a free run in setting the policy agenda. The right to do
business does not automatically give them the freedom to misuse their platforms
to hijack policy initiatives by swaying
public opinion. By means of its action, Facebook clearly has walked into the
‘conflict of interest’ argument. In the wake of rising support for net
neutrality, Facebook launched a multi-million dollar campaign late last year to
support Free Basics, a re-branded version of its internet.org. How tenable is it for an interested enterprise like
Facebook to play a facilitating role in the consultation process initiated by
TRAI? The ‘template response’ that it has procured from its users naturally has
no articulation on the points made by TRAI. Moreover, Facebook cannot arrogate
to itself the right to represent users just because they use its platform. The
TRAI-Facebook face-off, unfortunately, has deflected the focus from the real
issue: what kind of Internet access will suit a country like India with over
a billion people? A solution must focus on providing maximum benefit to the
poor.
VOCUBULORY:
1.barred :prevent or prohibit (someone) from doing
something or from going somewhere.
2.unabashed :not embarrassed, disconcerted, or ashamed.
3.scathing:witheringly scornful; severely
critical.
4.lobbying:seek to influence (a legislator) on
an issue.
5.minced:walk with short quick steps in an
affectedly dainty manner.
6.orchestrated:plan or coordinate the elements of
(a situation) to produce a desired effect, especially surreptitiously.
7.collating :appoint (a member of the clergy) to a
benefice.
8.confrontation:a situation where two players or
sides compete to win a sporting contest.
9.efficacy:the ability to produce a desired or
intended result.
10.imprudent:not showing care for the
consequences of an action; rash.
11.swaying:control or influence (a person or
course of action).
12.tenable:able to be maintained or defended
against attack or objection.
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