The bad news is time flies. The good news is you re the pilot. -Michael Althsuler

The bad news is time flies. The good news is you re the pilot. -Michael Althsuler

*Last lap before 2019 general election *Union cabinet has approved a series of changes in Foreign Direct Investment *49% overseas ownership, including by a foreign airline, in Air India. *CCEA: some 6months ago decided for strategic disinvestment *Air India: accumulated debt of about D50,000 crore *Lucrative long-haul international routes *40 wide-bodied aircraft *Relaxation: more detailed commercial assessment by players *Fiscally constrained government: union budget and lagging far behind in strategic disinvestment target

*100% FDI: Single Brand Retail Trading under the automatic route *The five-year holiday on the 30% local-sourcing requirement is expected to give companies setting up shop here adequate time to identify, train and even technologically assist in the creation of local supply chains. *November 2015, when the Centre changed tack and opened up single brand retail to 100% FDI. *An early decision would have helped, given the sector s potential for job-creation and technology upgradation. Still, better late than never.

*Narendra Modi s visit to Israel last year *This month Israeli PM is going to visit India. * DE-HYPHENATE relations with Israel and Palestine.

*Focus so far: bilateral ties *defence and strategic partnership *India accounts for 41% of Israel s defence exports *Counter-terrorism cooperation remains a cornerstone of India-Israel cooperation *MoUs: * UNGA on December 21: U.S. for recognising Jerusalem as the Israeli capital *India s position can only be explained by a desire to reassert its leadership role on the multilateral stag

*This is in keeping with the special place and moral position India has always assumed on the peace process, and its support to a just solution. *It is also a rejection of the false equivalence often built between Palestine and Kashmir, or comparisons between de-hyphenating the India-Pakistan relationship and the Israel-Palestine issue. *More to the point, the government appears to have affirmed that in calculating the national interest, it is necessary to value the role of India s leadership on the international stage as well. *The road to India s prosperity may well run through Jerusalem, but the road to its leadership aspirations on the world stage cannot bypass Ramallah either.

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*Free and compulsory education of children in the 6 to 14 age group in India became a fundamental right when, in 2002, Article 21-A was inserted in the 86th Amendment to the Constitution. *This right was to be governed by law, as the state may determine, and the enforcing legislation for this came eight years later, as the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2010, or the RTE Act. *There are clauses in the Act which have enormous catalytic potential but that have gone largely untouched and unnoticed. *A focus on three of these provisions can result in an immediate and discernible impact.

*Onus to ensure free and compulsory education lies on the state. *However, the compulsory and state liability part needs to be imbibed by the educational bureaucracy, which is now lacking. *State governments and panchayats, would aggressively ensure that each child is brought into the schooling system and also retained for eight years, it has been business as usual. *Even seven years after its enactment, there are still children on the streets, in fields and in homes. *As children out of the fold of schooling are the most hard to reach, the solutions have to be localised and contextualised. *RTE Act prescribes basic minimum standards for a school such as provision for toilets, drinking water and classrooms.

*The most critical requirement, which has also got the least public attention, is the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR). *Education Department s data, under the Unified District Information System for Education (U-DISE) database 2015-16, 33% of the schools in the country did not have the requisite number of teachers, as prescribed in the RTE norms, for PTR at the school level. *The percentage of schools that were PTR-compliant varied from 100% in Lakshadweep to 16.67% in Bihar. *This did not factor in subject-wise teachers at the upper primary level as this is treated differently in each State. *All other forward-looking provisions of the Act such as continuous assessment, a child learning at her own pace, and no detention policy are contingent on a school with an adequate number of teachers.

*No meaningful teaching-learning is possible unless trained teachers are physically present at school. *Teachers also need to avail of leave or undergo training. *In States with an adequate overall number of teachers, their positioning or posting requires rationalisation according to the number of students. *The third provision is that the academic calendar will be decided by the local authority, which, for most States and Union Territories, is the panchayat. *This would not only exponentially increase attendance and teaching-learning but also strengthen local panchayats, being closest to the field, to take ownership of their schools *A law is as good or as bad as its implementation.

*When nations came together in the modern era to form a global alliance for peace, it was decided that the United Nations should have two working languages English and French. *Chinese, French, English, Russian and Spanish were the UN official languages, but by subsequent resolutions over the years, all five became working languages too. *In 1973, Arabic was adopted by the General Assembly as an official and a working language. *To make Hindi an official language A) Support from 129/193 members B) As per rules, these 129 countries will have to pay for expenses. *As a country known for its linguistic pluralism, India should not give an impression on the global stage that it has one pre-eminent language.

In a first, collegium picks woman lawyer as SC judge *In a historic decision, the Supreme Court collegium, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, unanimously recommended the name of senior advocate Indu Malhotra for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court. *This is the first time a woman lawyer has been recommended for direct elevation from the Bar. Ms. Malhotra is a reputed senior advocate practising in the Supreme Court. *Sources said the collegium also recommended the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court, K.M. Joseph, who had quashed President s rule in that State, for the SC judge s post.

India confirms NSAs met in Bangkok *India today said talks and terror cannot go together but talks on terrorism can go ahead with Pakistan. *External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar also confirmed a meeting between National Security Advisors of India and Pakistan held on 26th of last month in Thailand. *Mr Kumar said, terror and cross border terrorism were the focus of the talks. *The spokesperson, however, made it clear that this should not be construed as dilution of India's position that talks and terror cannot go together. *He also said, there are several established mechanisms like DGMO and meetings between Pakistan Rangers and Indian BSF officials, through which the two nations can discuss the relevant issues.

India must seize the chance: U.S. *India is a leading power in the Indo-Pacific and should gear up to become an alternative manufacturing destination to China to attract U.S. business, said U.S. Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster. *United States has said, it is working with partners to secure India's Nuclear Suppliers Group, NSG membership. *Mr Juster said, India and US both have suffered horrific terror attacks and both have strong mutual interest in eliminating this menace. He said, President Trump has been clear that US will not tolerate cross border terror or terror safe havens anywhere. *America First and 'Make in India' are not incompatible and rather investing in each others markets will be mutually beneficial and it wil increase economic interactions and volume of trade.

SC asks for panels on Mullaperiyar dam *Despite the Centre s assurance that the Mullaperiyar dam is safe, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed it to constitute a special committee to prepare for disaster management for the 122-year-old dam. *A three-judge Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, also directed Tamil Nadu, which owns the dam, and Kerala, where it is located, to set up special committees to prepare disaster management plans.

Buddhism is basis of an early form of globalisation: Kovind *President Ram Nath Kovind has said, India's Act East policy aims at sharing not merely economic opportunities but at an integration of dreams and hopes of people of India and South East Asia. *Inaugurating the 4th International Conference on Dharma-Dhamma at Rajgir in Bihar, the President said, the timing of this conference is very appropriate as we are marking the 25th anniversary of the ASEAN-India Dialogue Partnership. *The President said, this conference is an attempt at enhancing understanding of the common roots and similarities of the diverse traditions of Dharma and Dhamma. He said, Buddhism was the basis for an early form of globalisation - and of inter-connectedness in our continent. *This is the vision that must inspire us in the 21st century as well and this is truly what has been described as the light of Asia.

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Space companies bet big on PSLV *At least three overseas space companies have bet big on the PSLV-C40 launch of Friday. They each have put a 100-kg-class microsatellite on it as a testbed of their potential future constellations. *The Cartosat-2 Series and 29 others will be inserted into a 505 kilometer sun-synchronous orbit after about seventeen and a half minutes since its lift off. *Later, the payload Microsat developed by the ISRO will be taken down to a lower orbit at 359 kilometer height and launched using the multiple engine switch-on method. *This will be the fourth time the novel method would be used by the ISRO for placing satellites in multiple orbits in a single flight. *It will also be one of the longest duration flights that will last for over two hours twenty two minutes into space.

Tax authorities attach benami properties worth D3,500 crore *The Finance Ministry on Thursday said that due to the Income Tax Department s intensive efforts, provisional attachment had been made in more than 900 cases of benami properties worth more than D3,500 crore. * The department is committed to continue its concerted drive against black money and action against benami transactions will continue to be intensified, the Ministry said in a statement. *Earlier, the department had stepped up action under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act that provides for provisional attachment and subsequent confiscation of benami properties. The Act also allows for prosecution of the beneficial owner, the benamidar and the abettor to benami transactions, which may result in rigorous imprisonment up to seven years and a fine up to 25% of fair market value of the property.

*The department had set up 24 dedicated Benami Prohibition Units under its Investigation Directorates all over India in May 2017, to ensure swift action in respect of benami properties, the Ministry said. *In five of the 900 cases, provisional attachments of benami properties amounting to more than D150 crore had been confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority, it said. In one such case, it was established that a real estate company had acquired about 50 acres of land, valued at more than D110 crore, using the names of certain persons of no means as benamidars. *In another case, post demonetisation, two assessees were found depositing demonetised currency into multiple bank accounts in the names of their employees and associates to be ultimately remitted to their bank accounts, the Ministry said, adding that the total amount attempted to be remitted to the beneficial owners was about D39 crore.

1. Discuss some features of Fundamental Duties that are enshrined in the Constitution of India. (250 words max) A. Some of them are moral duties while others are civic duties. For instance, cherishing noble ideals of freedom struggle is a moral precept and respecting the Constitution, National Flag and National Anthem is a civic duty. B. They refer to such values which have been a part of the Indian tradition, mythology, religions and practices. In other words, they essentially contain just a codification of tasks integral to the Indian way of life. C. Fundamental Duties are confined to citizens only and do not extend to foreigners. D. Like the Directive Principles, the fundamental duties are also nonjusticiable. The Constitution does not provide for their direct enforcement by the courts. Moreover, there is not legal sanction against their violation. However, the Parliament is free to enforce them by suitable legislation.

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