The Hindu Editorials PDF

THE HINDU EDITORIAL VOCABULARY (01 Feb- 15 Feb, 2018)
For a clean judiciary: the importance of in-house mechanisms
The process to remove Justice Shukla shows the importance of in-house mechanisms
With an in-house committee concluding that a judge of the Allahabad High Court had committed judicial
impropriety (अनुपयुक्तता) serious enough to warrant his removal, the subject of corruption in the higher
judiciary is in the news. Justice Shri Narayan Shukla had come under adverse (प्रततकूल) notice before a
ne
Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra last year. The Bench had found he had
violated a restraining (तनर धक) order from the apex court by allowing the GCRG Memorial Trust,
Lucknow, to admit students. The Supreme Court observed that the Bench headed by Justice Shukla had
violated judicial propriety. The CJI formed a three-member committee, comprising Chief Justices Indira
Banerjee of the Madras High Court and S.K. Agnihotri of the Sikkim High Court and Justice P.K. Jaiswal of
the Madhya Pradesh High Court, to examine his conduct. The committee has now found substance in the
allegations and that the judge had deviated from the “values of judicial life”. It is unfortunate that Justice
Zo
Shukla has not tendered his resignation or sought retirement, the options available to him to avoid the
ignominy (बदनामी) of impeachment in Parliament. His position has paved the way for the CJI to
recommend his removal.
The allegations against him appear to correspond to the claims in a first information report registered by the
CBI against another medical college trust and alleged middlemen, including a retired judge of the Orissa
High Court, that there was a plot to influence (प्रभावित करना) public servants to obtain favourable orders.
ng
The allegation had set off a storm in the judiciary, as some orders related to medical colleges in Uttar
Pradesh were also passed by Supreme Court Benches headed by Chief Justice Misra himself. The climactic
event was the unprecedented (अभूतपूि)व press conference at which four senior-most judges alleged the CJI
had departed from convention while using his power to draw up the roster. It is important for the institution
that the charges against Justice Shukla are properly investigated. It may have a sobering (संयत कर दन िाला)
ki
effect on those who desire that the institution be cleansed as well as those who feel there is an unwarranted
onslaught (घातक आक्रमण) on it. The process of removing a judge is too elaborate and somewhat
cumbersome (दख ु दायक). However, an in-house finding may help hasten it in flagrant (कुप्रससद्ध) cases. The
n
possibility of getting a motion passed in Parliament is brighter, and the charge of the process being misused
for partisan ends is reduced. The removal of a serving judge is undoubtedly a sad development, but one that
the institution should not fight shy of in appropriate cases. That internal mechanisms work with due regard
Ba
for institutional integrity is something that should be welcomed.
1. Impropriety: Failure to observe standards of honesty or modesty; improper behaviour or character.

Synonyms: wrongdoing, misconduct, dishonesty, corruption, unscrupulousness, illegitimacy,
unprofessionalism, irregularity
Antonyms: appropriateness, correctness, decency, decorousness, decorum, fitness, properness,
propriety, rightness, seemliness, suitability, suitableness
2. Adverse: opposed to one's interests
Synonyms: counter, disadvantageous, hostile, inimical, negative, prejudicial, unfavorable,
unfriendly, unsympathetic, untoward
Antonyms: advantageous, favorable, friendly, positive, supportive, sympathetic, well-disposed
Visit: http://banking.currentaffairsonly.in Page 1

3. Restraining: to keep from exceeding a desirable degree or level (as of expression)
Synonyms: bridle, check, constrain, contain, curb, govern, hold, inhibit, keep, measure, pull in,
regulate, rein (in), control, rule, tame
Antonyms: lose, emancipate, free, liberate, loose, loosen, release, spring
4. Ignominy: the state of having lost the esteem of others
Synonyms: discredit, disesteem, dishonor, disrepute, disgrace, infamy, obloquy, odium, opprobrium,
reproach, shame
Antonyms: esteem, honor, respect, admiration, appreciation, estimation, regard
5. Influence: to act upon (a person or a person's feelings) so as to cause a response
Synonyms: impact, impress, affect, move, reach, strike, sway, tell (on), touch
Antonyms: bore, jade, pall, tire, weary, underwhelm
6. Unprecedented: not known or experienced before
Synonyms: fresh, novel, original, strange, unaccustomed, unfamiliar, unheard-of, unknown, new
ne
Antonyms: familiar, hackneyed, old, time-honored, tired, warmed-over
7. Sobering: Creating a more serious, sensible, or solemn mood.
8. Onslaught: A fierce or destructive attack.
Synonyms: assault, attack, offensive, aggression, advance, charge, onrush, rush, storming, sortie,
sally, raid, descent, incursion, invasion, foray, push, thrust, drive, blitz, bombardment, barrage, salvo,
storm, volley, shower, torrent, broadside
Zo
Antonyms: defense, defensive, guard, shield, opposition, resistance, protection, security, shelter
9. Cumbersome: difficult to use or operate especially because of size, weight, or design
Synonyms: awkward, bunglesome, clumsy, clunky, cranky, cumbrous, ponderous, ungainly,
unhandy, unwieldy
Antonyms: functional, practicable, practical, serviceable, useful
10. Flagrant: very noticeable especially for being incorrect or bad
Synonyms: blatant, conspicuous, egregious, glaring, gross, obvious, patent, pronounced, rank,
striking
ng
Antonyms: imperceptible, inconspicuous, unnoticeable, unobtrusive, inconsequential,
inconsiderable, insignificant, slight, small, trifling, trivial
A year of Trump: how much has changed in the past year?

ki
The American President has confused everybody with his State of the Union speech
In delivering his first State of the Union speech on Capitol Hill, President Donald Trump spoke of many
small victories that he chalked (चिन्ह बनाना) up to his administration’s record over the past year. Yet the
n
biggest surprise to many may have been the fact that they saw before them a Commander-in-Chief who
unwaveringly (दृढ़तापूिवक) stuck to the script and eschewed (छ ड़ना) his usual provocative style on social
Ba
media. While “Twitter Trump” has lashed out at Democrats on immigration reform and the federal
government shutdown earlier in January, “Teleprompter Trump” issued a generous call for bipartisanship in
policymaking. Where Mr. Trump has actively promoted, on social media, Russian involvement in resolving
problems with North Korea, Syria, Ukraine and terrorism, he said in his Congressional address that Russia
and China were rivals that challenged U.S. economic interests. Most strikingly, Mr. Trump assured his
audience that prospective immigrant families would benefit from his proposed reform, yet just three months
ago he had vowed (संकल्प) on Twitter that the Extreme Vetting Programme for migrants from certain
countries was being stepped up to fourth gear. The divergence (असहमतत) between Mr. Trump’s two
assessments of the current scenario is troubling also because the softer version of Americana he outlined in
the State of the Union speech is in stark contrast to his inaugural speech a year ago when he famously spoke
of “American carnage”. The question is, how much has really changed in the intervening year?

Considering his administration’s successes first, at the top of the list is the passage in Congress of his tax-cut
proposal that he claimed put more money back into American workers’ pockets and built the foundations of
a stronger economy. Leaving aside the fact that it was the 12th largest tax cut in post-World War I history,
and not the largest as Mr. Trump claimed, it is quite likely that his voter base appreciates his adherence
(अनुपालन) to the Republican fiscal mantra. On the linked subject of growth and jobs, the economy
expanded by 2.3% in 2017, which is less than it did in 2014 or 2015. Mr. Trump’s first year saw more than
two million jobs created, yet that falls short of any of the last six years of his predecessor’s tenure. Mr.
Trump’s decision to revoke the previous administration’s decision to shut down the U.S. prison in
Guantánamo Bay may have been a throwaway to policy hawks, but it could turn out to be self-defeating to
the extent that it serves as a recruitment tool for terrorist groups. While Americans will continue to debate
these complex questions of domestic policy, the attention of the world, including India, must have been on
Mr. Trump’s call to end the sought-after visa lottery and “chain migration”. Given the context of a
ne
hardening immigration policy, which could potentially affect legal migration, these remarks will likely make
the American Dream seem like a mirage to separated loved ones and hopeful professionals on distant shores.
1. Chalked: to explain (something) as being the result of something else

Synonyms: accredit, ascribe, attribute, credit, impute, lay, put down
Antonyms: fall short (of), miss, lose
2. Unwaveringly: not varying
Zo
Synonyms: even, invariant, steady, unchanging, undeviating, unvarying, uniform
Anotnyms: changing, deviating, nonuniform, unsteady, varying
3. Eschewed: to get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery
Synonyms: avoid, dodge, duck, elude, escape, evade, finesse, get around, scape, shake, shirk, shuffle
(out of), shun, weasel (out of)
Antonyms: accept, court, embrace, pursue, seek, welcome, catch, contract, incur
4. Vowed: a person's solemn declaration that he or she will do or not do something
Synonyms: oath, pledge, troth, promise, word
ng
5. Divergence: a movement in different directions away from a common point
Synonyms: bifurcation, divarication, divergency, separation
Antonyms: convergence, accord, agreement
6. Adherence: a physical sticking to as if by glue
Synonyms: adhesion, bonding, cling
Antonyms: unsticking
ki
Promise and delivery: on Union Budget 2018
Arun Jaitley’s Budget will be judged by whether it can bridge the gap
n
If the Union Budget is construed as an annual tug-of-war between populism and fiscal prudence (बवु द्धमान),
arguably it is the latter that prevailed in the past four budgets tabled by the NDA. However, populism seems
Ba
to have gained an upper hand in Arun Jaitley’s latest effort. Despite exceptional buoyancy (हलकापन) in
direct tax revenues (18.7% growth in FY18) and record disinvestment proceeds (₹1 lakh crore), shortfalls in
GST mop-ups and dividend receipts have forced the Finance Minister to ease off on fiscal consolidation as
mandated by the FRBM Act. The Budget has reported a fiscal deficit of 3.5% (of GDP) for FY18 and
pegged it at a high 3.3% for next year. The Economic Survey prepared the ground for a deviation, yet the
actual numbers surprised the markets. Armed with a war chest of ₹24.4 lakh crore in budgeted receipts for
FY19, Mr. Jaitley has homed in unerringly on the root causes of distress — unremunerative farm incomes,
unemployment, lack of social security nets and the squeeze (तनि ड़कर तनकालना) on the middle-class
taxpayer.

With this in mind, Mr. Jaitley has announced a laundry list of ameliorative (सुधारक) measures. While his
intent is clearly welfarist, resource constraints (कृत्रिमता) have forced him to rely significantly on extra-
budgetary resources and external agencies to give life to many proposals. If they fail to materialise, it can
lead to a gap between promise and delivery. Consider agriculture. After asserting that minimum support
prices (MSPs) should cover all crops and assure farmers 1.5 times their production cost, food subsidy
allocations for FY19 have been upped by a relatively modest ₹29,041 crore. A ‘fool-proof’ mechanism has
been mooted (वििार करना) to avoid market prices falling below MSPs, but it is left to the Niti Aayog to
work out the modalities (त र-तरीका). Setting up farmers’ markets is similarly a great idea to free small
farmers from the tyranny of Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs), but the project gets a mere
₹2,000-crore allocation.
ne
The ambitious rural package in this Budget brings in free gas connections to three crore new households,
free electricity connections to four crore homes, two crore new toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission,
higher micro-irrigation coverage, and so on. But of the massive outlay of ₹14.34 lakh crore required to
bankroll these grandiose (आडंबरपण ू )व plans, as much as ₹11.98 lakh crore is expected to be met from extra-
budgetary resources. A similar template has been used in social sector schemes. The National Health
Protection Scheme, to provide a ₹5 lakh health cover to 10 crore households, is a much-needed social
Zo
security intervention to benefit poor households that rely overwhelmingly (ज़बदव स्त ढं ग स) on private health
care. But there is little clarity on modalities. The entire clutch (सिकंजा) of proposals on improving learning
outcomes, providing universal health coverage and alleviating the lot of minorities and girl children is
expected to be funded through a mere ₹16,000-crore increase in allocations to ₹1.38 lakh crore.
Infrastructure appears to be one of the few sectors where the funding problem has been addressed, with
PSUs bankrolling a significant proportion of the ₹5.97-lakh crore outlay for FY19.
ng
While being liberal in its announcements for rural India, the Budget has been frugal (अल्पव्ययी) in its
giveaways to the middle class and the corporate sector. Expectations of an increase in the basic exemption
limit on income tax have been belied (झुठलाना); instead, a standard deduction of ₹40,000 is back for
salaried taxpayers. While it is only fair that the salaried pay income tax on their net income (after expenses)
as the self-employed do, this deduction (which also replaces transport and medical reimbursements) is too
ki
small to establish real parity. The clamour (क लाहल) for an across-the-board cut in the basic corporate tax
rate from 30 to 25% has also been ignored, with the cut limited to mid-size companies (up to ₹250-crore
turnover). Though this will benefit the overwhelming majority of corporate tax filers, how this impacts the
n
competitive edge of India’s largest companies in the global context will be debated. Especially so, since the
U.S. recently slashed its corporate tax rate to 21% and European nations average 20%. For the salariat and
the corporate sector, the increase in education cess will offset some of the gains from these tax cuts. Senior
citizens have benefited, particularly from the tax relief on interest from bank deposits and post office
Ba
schemes, which has been hiked from ₹10,000 to ₹50,000 a year. These interest payouts are also exempt
from the vexatious (अफ़स सनाक) TDS provisions. This relief renders senior citizens far less vulnerable
(आघात य ग्य) to steadily dwindling (घटाना) interest rates on bank deposits and small savings schemes; it
also helps them to continue relying on fixed-income instruments to cover living expenses. This relief may
reverse the unhealthy trend of risk averse (अतनच्छुक) savers shifting wholesale from bank deposits to
market-linked options such as equity mutual funds, in search of higher returns.
The imposition of 10% long-term capital gains tax on profits from shares and equity mutual funds could
dampen (तन त्साह करना) market sentiment in the near term, but is unlikely to have any structural impact on
domestic equity flows. Equities are favoured by the relatively affluent (धनाढ्य) savers and alternative
financial instruments such as bonds and fixed deposits invite far higher tax incidence. Moreover, the bulk of
new allocations flowing into Indian equities in the last two years have come from retail investors, most of
them saving for the long term. It is unlikely that they will beat a hasty retreat from shares or mutual funds
just because of a modest levy. Overall, the Budget has a sense of direction that is difficult to find fault with.
If some of the proposals seem half-hearted or are not taken to their logical end, it may be the result of
revenue constraints. It is to be hoped that as the revenue base improves and GST collections stabilise, future
budgets can put the finishing touches on the welfare proposals.
1. Prudence: The quality of being prudent; cautiousness.

Synonyms: wisdom, judgement, good judgement, judiciousness, sagacity, shrewdness, advisability,
common sense, sense, caution, cautiousness, care, carefulness, canniness, chariness, wariness,
circumspection, thrift, thriftiness, providence, good management, careful budgeting, economy, canniness,
ne
frugality, abstemiousness
Antonyms: brashness, carelessness, heedlessness, incaution, incautiousness, recklessness, unwariness,
abruptness, hastiness, impetuousness, precipitousness, rashness, suddenness
2. Buoyancy: cheerful and optimistic attitude or disposition.

Synonyms: cheerfulness, cheeriness, happiness, light-heartedness, carefreeness, brightness, gladness,
Zo
merriment, joy, bounce, effervescence, blitheness, sunniness, breeziness, jollity, joviality, animation,
liveliness, life, sprightliness, jauntiness, ebullience, high spirits, vivacity, vitality, verve, sparkle, zest
3. Squeeze: to apply external pressure on so as to force out the juice or contents of

Synonyms: crush, express, mash, press
Antonyms: decompress, expand, open, outspread, outstretch
4. Ameliorate: Make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better.

ng
Synonyms: make better, better, upgrade, refine, enhance, boost, build on, help, raise, revamp, brush up,
polish up, perk up, tweak, improve, make better, better, make improvements to, enhance, help, benefit,
boost, raise, amend, refine, reform
Antonyms: damage, endamage, harm, hurt, impair, injure, spoil, tarnish, vitiate, blemish, blight, deface,
disfigure, flaw, mar
ki
5. Constraints: A limitation or restriction.

Synonyms: restriction, limitation, curb, check, restraint, control, curtailment, damper, rein
Antonyms: disinhibition, incontinence, unconstraint, gratification, indulgence, overindulgence, self-
indulgence
n
6. Mooted: open to question or dispute

Synonyms: arguable, controvertible, disputable, doubtable, doubtful, issuable, debatable, negotiable,
questionable
Ba
Antonyms: accomplished, certain, hands-down, inarguable, incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable,

indubitable, irrefragable, positive, questionless, settled, sure, unanswerable, unarguable, unchallengeable,
undebatable, undeniable, unquestionable
7. Modalities: A particular mode in which something exists or is experienced or expressed.
8. Grandiose: large and impressive in size, grandeur, extent, or conception

Synonyms: august, baronial, epic, gallant, glorious, grand, heroic (also heroical), Homeric, imperial,
imposing, magnific, magnificent, majestic, massive, monumental, noble, proud, regal, royal, splendid,
stately
Antonyms: humble, unheroic, unimposing, unimpressive, average, common, mediocre, ordinary, run-of-
the-mill, second-rate, insignificant, measly, paltry, petty, puny, trifling, trivial

9. Overwhelmingly: to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress
Synonyms: crush, devastate, floor, grind (down), oppress, overcome, overmaster, overpower, prostrate,
snow under, swamp, whelm
Antonyms: dehydrate, dry, parch, drain
10. Clutch: a number of things considered as a unit

Synonyms: array, assemblage, band, bank, batch, battery, block, bunch, clot, clump, cluster, clutch,
collection, constellation, grouping, huddle, knot, lot, muster, package, parcel, passel, set, suite
Antonyms: individual, single, entity, item, single, unit
11. Frugal: careful in the management of money or resources

Synonyms: economical, economizing, provident, scrimping, sparing, thrifty
Antonyms: prodigal, profligate, spendthrift, squandering, thriftless, unthrifty, wasteful
ne
12. Belied: to give a misleading impression of
Synonyms: contradict, be at odds with, call into question, give the lie to, prove to be false, show to be false
Antonyms: betray, represent
13. Clamour: A loud and confused noise, especially that of people shouting.
Zo
Synonyms: din, racket, loud noise, uproar, tumult, babel, shouting, yelling, screaming, baying, roaring,
blaring, clangour
14. Vexatious: causing annoyance
Synonyms: abrasive, aggravating, bothersome, carking, chafing, disturbing, exasperating, frustrating,
galling, irksome, irritating, maddening, nettlesome, nettling, peeving, pesky, pestiferous, pestilent,
pestilential, pesty, plaguey (also plaguy), rankling, rebarbative, riling, annoying, vexing
Antonyms: delightful, pleasing
ng
15. Vulnerable: being in a situation where one is likely to meet with harm
Synonyms: endangered, exposed, open, sensitive, subject (to), susceptible, liable
Antonyms: insusceptible, invulnerable, unexposed, unsusceptible
16. Dwindling: to make smaller in amount, volume, or extent

Synonyms: abate, de-escalate, dent, deplete, diminish, downscale, downsize, drop, decrease, ease, knock
ki
down, lessen, lower, reduce

Antonyms: aggrandize, amplify, augment, boost, enlarge, escalate, expand, increase, raise
17. Averse: having a natural dislike for something

n
Synonyms: allergic, antipathetic

Antonyms: friendly, sympathetic, tolerant, understanding, admiring, appreciative, charmed, delighted, fond,
pleased, tickled
Ba
18. Dampen: to make or become slightly or moderately wet

Synonyms: bedew, damp, moisten
Antonyms: dehumidify, dehydrate, desiccate, parch, scorch, sear
19. Affluent: having goods, property, or money in abundance

Synonyms: rich, deep-pocketed, fat, fat-cat, flush, loaded, moneyed (also monied), opulent, silk-stocking,
wealthy, well-endowed, well-fixed, well-heeled, well-off, well-to-do
Antonyms: destitute, impecunious, impoverished, indigent, needy, penniless, penurious, poor, poverty-
stricken
For a clean judiciary: the importance of in-house mechanisms

The process to remove Justice Shukla shows the importance of in-house mechanisms
With an in-house committee concluding that a judge of the Allahabad High Court had committed judicial
impropriety (अनुपयुक्तता) serious enough to warrant his removal, the subject of corruption in the higher
judiciary is in the news. Justice Shri Narayan Shukla had come under adverse (प्रततकूल) notice before a
Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra last year. The Bench had found he had
violated a restraining (तनर धक) order from the apex court by allowing the GCRG Memorial Trust,
Lucknow, to admit students. The Supreme Court observed that the Bench headed by Justice Shukla had
violated judicial propriety. The CJI formed a three-member committee, comprising Chief Justices Indira
Banerjee of the Madras High Court and S.K. Agnihotri of the Sikkim High Court and Justice P.K. Jaiswal of
the Madhya Pradesh High Court, to examine his conduct. The committee has now found substance in the
allegations and that the judge had deviated from the “values of judicial life”. It is unfortunate that Justice
ne
Shukla has not tendered (नजर दना) his resignation or sought retirement, the options available to him to
avoid the ignominy (अपकीततव) of impeachment in Parliament. His position has paved the way for the CJI to
recommend his removal.
The allegations against him appear to correspond to the claims in a first information report registered by the
Zo
CBI against another medical college trust and alleged middlemen, including a retired judge of the Orissa
High Court, that there was a plot to influence public servants to obtain favourable orders. The allegation had
set off a storm in the judiciary, as some orders related to medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh were also passed
by Supreme Court Benches headed by Chief Justice Misra himself. The climactic event was the
unprecedented press conference at which four senior-most judges alleged the CJI had departed from
convention while using his power to draw up the roster. It is important for the institution that the charges
against Justice Shukla are properly investigated. It may have a sobering (संयत कर दन िाला) effect on those
ng
who desire that the institution be cleansed as well as those who feel there is an unwarranted onslaught
(घातक आक्रमण) on it. The process of removing a judge is too elaborate and somewhat cumbersome
(दखु दायक). However, an in-house finding may help hasten it in flagrant cases. The possibility of getting a
motion passed in Parliament is brighter, and the charge of the process being misused for partisan ends is
reduced. The removal of a serving judge is undoubtedly a sad development, but one that the institution
should not fight shy of in appropriate cases. That internal mechanisms work with due regard for institutional
ki
integrity is something that should be welcomed.

n
1. Impropriety: the quality or state of not being socially proper

Synonyms: inappropriateness, incorrectness, indecency, indecorousness, indecorum, indelicateness,
unbecomingness, unseemliness, untowardness
Ba
Antonyms: appropriateness, correctness, decency, decorousness, decorum, fitness, properness, propriety,

rightness, seemliness, suitability, suitableness
2. Adverse: opposed to one's interests
Synonyms: counter, disadvantageous, hostile, inimical, negative, prejudicial, unfavorable, unfriendly,
unsympathetic, untoward
Antonyms: advantageous, favorable, friendly, positive, supportive, sympathetic, well-disposed
3. Restraining: to keep from exceeding a desirable degree or level (as of expression)
Synonyms: bridle, check, constrain, contain, curb, govern, hold, inhibit, keep, measure, pull in, regulate,
rein (in), control, rule, tame
Antonyms: liberate, loose, loosen, unleash, air, express, take out, vent
4. Tendered: easily injured without careful handling
Synonyms: delicate, fragile, frail, sensitive
Antonyms: hardened, inured, strengthened, tempered, toughened

5. Ignominy: the state of having lost the esteem of others
Synonyms: discredit, disesteem, dishonor, disrepute, disgrace, infamy, obloquy, odium, opprobrium,
reproach, shame
Antonyms: esteem, honor, respect, admiration, appreciation, estimation, regard
6. Sobering: Creating a more serious, sensible, or solemn mood
Synonyms: clearheaded, straight, abstemious, abstinent, dry, teetotal, temperate
Antonyms: drunken, fried, gassed, hammered [slang], high, inebriate, inebriated, intoxicated, juiced [slang],
lit, lit up, loaded [slang], looped, oiled [slang], pickled, pie-eyed, plastered, potted [slang], ripped [slang],
sloshed [slang], smashed [slang], sottish, soused, sozzled, squiffed (or squiffy), stewed, stiff, stinking
[slang], stoned, tanked [slang], tight, tipsy, wasted [slang], wiped out [slang]
7. Onslaught: the act or action of setting upon with force or violence
Synonyms: aggression, assault, attempt, blitz, blitzkrieg, charge, coup de main, descent, offense (or
offence), offensive, onset, attack, raid, rush, strike
ne
Antonyms: defense, defensive, guard, shield, opposition, resistance, protection, security, shelter
8. Cumbersome: difficult to use or operate especially because of size, weight, or design
Synonyms: awkward, bunglesome, clumsy, clunky, cranky, cumbrous, ponderous, ungainly, unhandy,
unwieldy
Antonyms: functional, practicable, practical, serviceable, useful
Zo
Get cracking: on implementing 'Modicare'
The Centre must draw up an implementation roadmap for the new health scheme
The NDA government lost precious time in its first three years in initiating (पहल करना) a health scheme
that serves the twin purposes of achieving universal coverage and saving people from high health care costs.
ng
It announced two years ago in the Budget a health protection scheme offering a cover of ₹1 lakh per family,
but ultimately that did not extend beyond ₹30,000. Fresh hopes have been raised with the announcement of
Ayushman Bharat in Budget 2018. The plan has the components of opening health centres for diagnostics,
care and distribution of essential drugs as envisaged (उल्ल्लखखत) in the National Health Policy, and a
National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) to provide a cover of up to ₹5 lakh each for 10 crore poor and
ki
vulnerable families for hospitalisation. These are challenging goals, given the fragmented (अंि) nature of
India’s health system. Some States already purchase health cover for the poor, but do not regulate private
secondary and tertiary care services or treatment costs. The task before the Centre, which has provided
₹3,200 crore for the programme areas, is to now draw up an implementation roadmap.
n
Developing countries that launched universal health coverage schemes over a decade ago, such as Mexico,
had to address some key challenges. These included transfer of resources to provinces, recruitment of health
Ba
personnel, and purchase and distribution of medicines to the chosen units. All these apply to India.
Moreover, the steady growth of a for-profit tertiary care sector poses the additional challenge of arriving at a
basic care package for those who are covered by the NHPS, at appropriate costs. A national health system
will also have to subsume (सल्ममसलत करना) all existing state-funded insurance schemes. This will give
beneficiaries access not just within a particular State but across the country to empanelled (सि
ू ी में
सल्ममसलत करना) hospitals. In the case of the local health centres that are planned under the Ayushman
Bharat programme, there is tremendous potential to play a preventive role by reducing the incidence and
impact of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Such centres can dispense free
essential medication prescribed by all registered doctors and procured (प्राप्त) through a centralised agency.
But the efficiency of a large-scale health system depends on strict regulation. The early experience with
state-funded insurance for the poor shows that some private hospitals may resort to unnecessary tests and

treatments to inflate claims. Determination of treatment costs by the government is therefore important. This
will also aid those with private health insurance, since it eliminates information asymmetry (असमसमतत)
and provides a comparison point. The Centre must share details of the next steps.
1. Initiating: Cause (a process or action) to begin.

Synonyms: begin, start off, commence, take action on, usher in
Antonyms: close (down), phase out, shut (up)
2. Envisaged: to form a mental picture of
Synonyms: conceit [chiefly dialect], conceive, conjure (up), dream, imagine, envision, fancy,
fantasize, fantasy, feature, ideate, image, picture, see, vision, visualize
3. Fragmented: A small part broken off or separated from something.
Synonyms: piece, bit, particle, speck
ne
Antonyms: doctor, fix, heal, mend, patch, rebuild, recondition, reconstruct, renovate, repair
4. Subsume: to have as part of a whole
Synonyms: carry, comprehend, contain, embrace, encompass, entail, involve, number, include, take
in
Antonyms: exclude, leave (out), miss out [British], omit
5. Empanelled: Enrol (someone) on to a jury.
6. Procured: Obtain (something), especially with care or effort.
Zo
Synonyms: obtain, acquire, get, find, come by, secure, pick up, get possession of
Antonyms: forfeit, lose, give up, hand over, part (with), relinquish, surrender, yield
7. Asymmetry: Lack of equality or equivalence between parts or aspects of something; lack of
symmetry.
Synonyms: lack of symmetry, non-uniformity, unevenness, crookedness, lopsidedness, contortion,
deformity, jaggedness, raggedness, cragginess, indentation
ng
Desert defeat: on Congress victory in Rajasthan
The Rajasthan bypoll victory has given the Congress a ray of electoral hope
By elections are not clear pointers to the direction of the political wind, even when they are held close to a
ki
general election. A host of local factors are often at play, and selection of candidates and civic grievances
(सिकायत) exercise as much influence on the voter’s mind as do livelihood concerns and governance issues.
Even so, the results of the Rajasthan byelections would have jolted (वििसलत) the ruling BJP. The Congress
n
not only won the two Lok Sabha seats and the lone (अकला) Assembly seat, but it did so with impressive
margins. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election the BJP made a complete sweep of Rajasthan, winning all 25 seats.
The Congress’s recovery of some of the lost ground reflects a general dissatisfaction with the Vasundhara
Ba
Raje government. Ms. Raje seems to have paid the price for an imperious (असभमानी) attitude that alienated
(विमुख) large sections within her own party. True, Rajasthan voters have not given either the BJP or the
Congress two consecutive terms since the BJP returned to power in 1993. But the Modi wave of 2014 was
supposed to have changed the political narrative, with the BJP emerging as a pan-Indian party and the
natural party of government. The BJP has lost some Assembly elections since 2014. However, Bihar 2015
was arguably a mere blip (रडार लक्ष्य), more on account of a coming together of a motley (विसभन्न प्रकार का)
mix of opposition parties than on account of any erosion in its base. Punjab 2017 was written off as the
Akali Dal’s loss rather than the BJP’s own. But in Rajasthan, as in Gujarat where the BJP scraped through in
late-2017, the two national parties will be in a straight contest. A defeat can mean only one thing: the BJP is
slipping in approval ratings in the run-up to 2019.

A negative vote it may have been, but the verdict is also a vindication (अनुम दन) of the Congress tactic of
letting a young Sachin Pilot be its public face. Many in the party blamed the inability to close the gap with
the BJP in Gujarat on the failure to identify a youthful leader, and instead relying entirely on borrowed
leaders such as Alpesh Thakor, Hardik Patel and Jignesh Mevani to free it of a jaded (थकाया हुआ) look. If it
wants to beat the BJP, the Congress has to find a way to counter its strategy of turning every election into a
presidential contest between Prime Minister Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi. The byelection
results suggest the key to doing so lies in encouraging a youthful regional leadership to emerge in each
State. But if the BJP is slipping in Rajasthan, it is gaining in West Bengal: the party finished second behind
the Trinamool Congress in the Uluberia Lok Sabha and Noapara Assembly constituencies. With the collapse
of the Left Front vote bank, it is the BJP that is emerging as a challenger. But a second-place finish in West
Bengal is poor compensation. The BJP’s setback in Rajasthan has given the Congress a ray of electoral
hope, as the State goes to the polls later this year.
ne
1. Grievances: a lingering ill will towards a person for a real or imagined wrong
Synonyms: down [chiefly British], grudge, resentment, score
Antonyms: approval, endorsement (also indorsement), sanction
2. Jolted: a forceful coming together of two things
Synonyms: bump, collision, concussion, crash, impingement, jar, impact, jounce, kick, shock, slam,
Zo
smash, strike, wallop
3. Lone: being the one or ones of a class with no other members
Synonyms: alone, only, one, one-off, singular, sole, solitary, special, sui generis, unique
Antonyms: perennial, recurrent, repeated, adjacent, adjoining, communicating, contiguous,
neighboring, next-door, accompanied
4. Imperious: fond of ordering people around
Synonyms: authoritarian, authoritative, autocratic (also autocratical), despotic, dictatorial,
domineering, bossy, masterful, overbearing, peremptory, tyrannical (also tyrannic), tyrannous
ng
Antonyms: acquiescent, compliant, passive, resigned, submissive, yielding, amenable, docile,
obedient, tractable, humble, meek, modest, unassuming
5. Alienated: to cause to change from friendly or loving to unfriendly or uncaring
Synonyms: alien, estrange, disaffect, disgruntle, sour
Antonyms: appease, conciliate, disarm, mollify, pacify, placate, propitiate, reconcile
6. Blip: A small flashing point of light on a radar screen representing an object.
7. Motley: Incongruously varied in appearance or character; disparate.
ki
Synonyms: miscellaneous, disparate, diverse, assorted, sundry, varied, mixed, diversified,

heterogeneous
Antonyms: homogeneous, distinct, distinctive, individual, separate
8. Vindication: a setting free from a charge of wrongdoing
n
Synonyms: clearing, exculpation, exoneration, acquittal

Antonyms: conviction, castigation, censure, condemnation, denunciation
9. Jaded: depleted in strength, energy, or freshness
Ba
Synonyms: all in, aweary [archaic], beat, beaten, bleary, burned-out (or burnt-out), bushed, dead,
done, done in, drained, exhausted, fatigued, weary, knackered [British], limp, logy (also loggy),
played out, pooped [slang], prostrate, spent, tapped out, tired, tuckered (out), washed-out, wearied,
wiped out, worn, worn-out
Antonyms: unwearied, active, energetic, invigorated, peppy, strengthened, strong, tireless, vitalized,
weariless
The myth of post-truth

The assumption is that my truth is as good as your truth, and hence all truths are immaterial (अनािश्यक)
and irrelevant. Such extreme relativism (सापक्षिाद) is a problem. It has been remarked that ‘post-truth’ is
very different from similar terms with the prefix post-, such as post-colonialism and post-modernism. No
one who uses post colonialism or post-modernism argues that colonialism and modernism are no longer
relevant. However, the assumption behind ‘post-truth’ is that the concept of truth is no longer relevant.
Why is there no post-falsehood?
The philosophical (or, in my view, anti-philosophical) aspects of ‘post-truth’ cannot be covered in a column
— they would require a voluminous (वििाल-काय) thesis. However, it is worth asking: why do we not talk
of ‘post-falsehood’? After all, the opposite of truth is not post-truth but falsehood. In that case, if we can
ne
have an age of post-truth, we should be able to talk of an age of post-falsehood too. Having gone past truth,
we should also be able to go past its opposite: falsehood. This, however, is not the case.
Partly, this has to do with the nature of truth and how we have understood it across cultures. Truth is seen as
singular and fixed: it is generally felt that there can be only one truth, while there may be many falsehoods.
Hence, we feel that to go past truth is to go past a singularity, but to go past falsehood might well mean to
choose among multiple falsehoods.
Zo
There is another reason why ‘post-falsehood’ does not exist: strangely enough, it would come to mean
‘truth’. We instinctively (सहज-ज्ञान स) feel that to go beyond generic (जाततगत/ िगीय) falsehood is also to
reach truth. That is because the positivity of truth cannot exist without the negativity of falsehood. The
essential lie of ‘post-truth’ is exactly this: it is supposed not to suggest falsehood. But if there is no falsehood
on the other side of truth, then there is no truth either. ‘Post-truth’ dismisses the very possibility of truth —
and, by that act, it dismisses the existence of falsehood.
ng
In short, it dismisses critical and scientific thinking, which are based not on eternal truth, which is religion’s
penchant (इच्छा), but on a methodical and endless elimination of falsehoods. This is essentially what Karl
Popper meant when he stressed that a scientific statement needs to be falsifiable.
It is nevertheless (हालााँकक) interesting to stand the matter on its head and pose this question: if we cannot
ki
talk of ‘post-falsehood’, surely the fact that we are talking of ‘post-truth’ means that there is actually a
difference between truth and falsehood? And if that is the case, then, by definition, we can never have an age
of ‘post-truth’ — in the sense of equating truths and falsehoods.
n
Truths are contextual
On the other hand, belief in a singular, unchanging truth is also what has led to the mistaken notion of an age
Ba
of ‘post-truth’. That is so because the idea of one eternally (अनन्तकाल तक) fixed truth has been radically
(मूलतः) shaken over the past few centuries in different ways, most of which do not lead to extreme
relativism but instead to a kind of contextualisation. However, this necessary shaking of given and fixed
truths can be and is often converted into an extreme relativism by the loudly ignorant — a relativism in
which all truths seem relative to you as an observer, and not to the complex context of the observation. This
slippage inevitably (तनस्सन्दह) leads to talk of post-truth, especially in fields outside the hard sciences.
In fact, truths are contextual (प्रसंगाधीन) — not relativist — in hard science too: the ‘truth’ of subatomic
particles exists in the context of atoms, and the ‘truth’ of planetary systems in our universe exists in that
context. These are not necessarily exclusive contexts, but only a seriously confused student would expect the

rules that obtain within an atom to be the same as the rules that apply to our planetary system. This is what I
mean by contextualisation.
Relativism, on the other hand, or at least extreme relativism (for many versions of what is called ‘relativism’
are basically contextualisation), extracts the observer from the context and makes the observer’s version
paramount.
This is what lies at the core of ‘post-truth.’ The assumption is that my truth is as good as your truth, and
hence all truths are immaterial and irrelevant. Need I note the problem of such extreme relativism, for it puts
the observer outside a context, a context that can be and should be used to determine the ‘truth’ of his or her
observations. Truths might not be eternally fixed, but we do get closer to what is true by comparing and
contrasting our versions of it: to you it might be superman, to me it is a bird, but enough and better sightings
will ascertain that it is actually a plane.
ne
Hence, while one can argue about the details of evolution, the fact that both human beings and apes evolved
from a common ancestor is more true than the claim that human beings were directly handcrafted by a god.
There is overwhelming (अपररहायव) evidence of the former, and it can be dismissed only by stubborn
(अड़ड़यल) acts of belief (or disbelief).
Zo
However, one should not oppose the myth of post-truth by returning to older and faulty myths of fixed,
eternal truths. This too would block the necessary and fledgling (अनभ
ु िहीन) project of critical inquiry. We
need to maintain a balance between the dismissal of the difference between truth and falsehood and blind
acceptance of given truths. The future of humanity depends on our precarious (अतनल्श्ित) ability to
maintain this delicate balance.
ng
1. Immaterial: Unimportant under the circumstances; irrelevant.
Synonyms: irrelevant, unimportant, inconsequential, insignificant, of no matter, of no moment, of little
account, beside the point, not to the point, neither here nor there, inapposite, not pertinent, not germane
Antonyms: bodily, corporeal, material, physical, substantial, detectable, discernible (also discernable),
noticeable, observable, palpable, sensible, tangible, visible
2. Relativism: The doctrine that knowledge, truth, and morality exist in relation to culture, society, or
historical context, and are not absolute.
ki
3. Voluminous: of a size greater than average of its kind

Synonyms: big, biggish, boxcar, bulky, considerable, goodly, grand, great, handsome, hefty, hulking, husky,
largish, outsize (also outsized), oversize (or oversized), sizable (or sizeable), substantial, tidy, large
Antonyms: bantam, dinky, dwarf, dwarfish, little, puny, shrimpy, small, smallish, undersized (also
n
undersize), diminutive, half-pint, infinitesimal, Lilliputian, little-bitty, microminiature, microscopic (also

microscopical), mini, miniature, minuscule, minute, pint-size (or pint-sized)
4. Instinctively: Without conscious thought; by natural instinct.
Ba
Synonyms: automatic, instinctual, involuntary, knee-jerk, mechanic, mechanical, robotic, spontaneous

Antonyms: nonmechanical, advised, aforethought, careful, considered, foresighted, forethoughtful,
measured, meticulous, reasoned, studied, thoughtful
5. Generic: belonging or relating to the whole
Synonyms: across-the-board, blanket, broad-brush, common, general, global, overall, universal
Antonyms: individual, particular, cross-sectional, divisional, fragmentary, partial
6. Penchant: a habitual attraction to some activity or thing
Synonyms: affection, affinity, aptitude, bent, bias, bone, devices, disposition, genius, habitude, impulse,
leaning, partiality, inclination, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, propensity, tendency, turn
Antonyms: allergy, averseness, aversion, disfavor, disinclination, dislike, disliking, disrelish, distaste,
apathy, disinterestedness, indifference, insouciance, nonchalance, unconcern
7. Nevertheless: In spite of that; notwithstanding; all the same.
Synonyms: in spite of everything, in spite of that, nonetheless, even so, however, but, still, yet, though, be

that as it may, for all that, despite everything, despite that, after everything, having said that, that said, just
the same, all the same, at the same time, in any event, come what may, at any rate, notwithstanding,
regardless, anyway, anyhow
8. Eternally: In a way that continues or lasts forever; permanently.
Synonyms: forever, permanently, for always, for good, for good and all, perpetually, evermore, for
evermore, for ever and ever, for all time, for all future time, to the end of time, until the end of time, world
without end, endlessly, timelessly, for eternity, in perpetuity, everlastingly, enduringly
Antonyms: ne'er, never, nevermore
9. Radically: In a thorough or fundamental way; completely.
10. Inevitably: As is certain to happen; unavoidably.
Synonyms: naturally, automatically, as a matter of course, necessarily, of necessity, by force of
circumstance, inescapably, unavoidably, ineluctably, certainly, surely, definitely, incontrovertibly,
undoubtedly
ne
Antonyms: unnecessarily
11. Contextual: Depending on or relating to the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement,
or idea.
12. Overwhelming: Very great in amount.
Synonyms: very large, profuse, enormous, immense, inordinate, massive, huge, formidable, stupendous,
prodigious, fantastic, staggering, shattering, devastating, sweeping
Zo
Antonyms: drain, dehydrate, dry, parch
13. Stubborn: sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or
persuasion
Synonyms: adamant, adamantine, bullheaded, dogged, hard, hardened, hardheaded, hard-nosed, headstrong,
immovable, implacable, inconvincible, inflexible, intransigent, mulish, obdurate, opinionated, ossified, pat,
pertinacious, perverse, pigheaded, self-opinionated, self-willed
Antonyms: acquiescent, agreeable, amenable, compliant, complying, flexible, pliable, pliant, relenting,
yielding
ng
14. Fledgling: a person who is just starting out in a field of activity
Synonyms: abecedarian, apprentice, babe, colt, cub, beginner, freshman, greenhorn, neophyte, newbie,
newcomer, novice, novitiate, punk, recruit, rook, rookie, tenderfoot, tyro, virgin
Antonyms: old hand, old-timer, vet, veteran
15. Precarious: Not securely held or in position; dangerously likely to fall or collapse.
Synonyms: dangerous, hazardous, perilous, unsafe, risky, deceptive, unreliable, undependable, unstable
ki
Limited succour: Budget 2018 and senior citizens
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stressed in his Budget speech last week that “to care for those who cared for
n
us is one of the highest honours”, underscoring the importance the Centre attaches to providing economic
support for India’s growing population of senior citizens. He then announced several tax and related
incentives to ease the financial burden on people aged 60 and above, all of which are very welcome given
that the elderly face steeply (दरु ार ह तरीक स) escalating (तीव्र) health-care costs on declining real interest
Ba
and pension incomes. From affording a five-fold increase in the exemption limit on interest income from
savings, fixed and recurring deposits held with banks and post offices to ₹50,000, and doing away with the
requirement for tax to be deducted at source on such income, the Budget offers much-needed relief. This it
does by leaving a little more money in the hands of elderly savers who are heavily dependent on interest
income to meet their living expenses. Another useful tax change is the proposal to raise the annual income
tax deduction limit for health insurance premium and/or medical reimbursement to ₹50,000 for all seniors.
And a crucially allied (समबद्ध) step is the move to set the ceiling for deduction in lieu of expenses incurred
on certain critical illnesses to ₹1 lakh, irrespective of the age of the senior citizen.
Separately, Mr. Jaitley also proposed extending the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana by two years, up
to March 2020, and doubled the cap on investment in the scheme to ₹15 lakh. This annuity-cum-

insurance(िावषवकी-सह-बीमा ) scheme entitles the senior citizen policyholder to a guaranteed pension that
equates to an annual return of 8% on investment. This pension plan, unlike the entirely government-funded
Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme for the elderly who live below the poverty line, is
contributory and is run by the Life Insurance Corporation of India. While all these Budget measures are
laudable (प्रिंसा य ग्य) insofar (तक) as they recognise that the right to a life with dignity doesn’t retire with
the crossing of a chronological threshold (सीमा रखा), much more needs to be done to address the needs of
this rapidly growing demographic cohort (दल ). With more than 70% of the 104 million elderly living in the
rural hinterland (समुद्र तटक्षि), any serious initiative to improve the lot of senior citizens must incorporate
adequate budgetary support for social welfare spending on the relevant programmes. While the Budget
provisions ₹6,565 crore for the pension scheme for the elderly poor, its outlay for the Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment’s assistance to voluntary organisations for programmes relating to the ‘aged’ at
ne
₹60 crore is starkly (स्पष्ट प स) inadequate. With the number of the elderly in India set to surge by 2050
to almost 300 million, or about a fifth of the population, governments need to make more comprehensive
efforts to address the nation’s greying (पक्का ह जानिाला) demographic.
1. Steeply: By a very large or sudden amount.
Zo
2. Escalating: Becoming more intense or serious.
Synonyms: accelerate, accumulate, appreciate, balloon, boom, build up, burgeon (also bourgeon), climb,
enlarge, increase, expand, gain, mount, multiply, mushroom, proliferate, rise, roll up, snowball, spread,
swell, wax
Antonyms: contract, decrease, diminish, dwindle, lessen, recede, wane
3. Allied: having a close connection like that between family members

ng
Synonyms: affiliated, akin, related, kindred
Antonyms: unrelated, differentiable, discriminable, distinguishable
4. Laudable: deserving of high regard or great approval

Synonyms: applaudable, commendable, creditable, estimable, admirable, meritorious, praiseworthy
Antonyms: censurable, discreditable, illaudable, reprehensible, disgraceful, dishonorable, disreputable,
ki
ignominious, low, mean, scandalous
5. Insofar: to the degree that

Synonyms: inasmuch as, insomuch as, insomuch that, so far as
n
6. Threshold: the point at which something begins

Synonyms: alpha, baseline, birth, commencement, dawn, day one, genesis, get-go (also git-go), inception,
Ba
incipience, incipiency, kickoff, launch, morning, nascence, nascency, onset, outset, start, beginning
Antonyms: close, conclusion, end, ending, omega, cessation, closing, closure, completion, finale, finish,
period, stop, termination, windup
7. Cohort: one associated with another in wrongdoing

Synonyms: abettor (also abetter), accessory (also accessary), accomplice, confederate
8. Hinterland: a rural region that forms the edge of the settled or developed part of a country
Synonyms: backcountry, backland(s), backwater, backwoods, bush, frontier, outback, outlands, up-country
9. Starkly: In a way that is severe or harsh in appearance or outline.
10. Greying: used to describe a person whose hair is becoming grey or white, or the hair itself

Crisis in Male
Fresh elections, with the opposition free to contest, are the best option for the Maldives
Matters are coming to a head in the Maldives, with President Abdulla Yameen’s government pitted (गड्ढ
बनाना) against the judiciary, polity and sections of the bureaucracy. Mr. Yameen has ruled since 2013 when
he won power in an election, the result of which is still contested. He defeated Mohammad Nasheed, who
had been deposed (पद स चगराना) in 2012 and who, in 2015, was sentenced to 13 years in prison on charges
of terrorism. Mr. Nasheed is now in exile. In an order on February 1, the Supreme Court cancelled his
ne
imprisonment term and that of eight other political leaders, reinstated 12 parliamentarians who had been
disqualified last year, and ordered Mr. Yameen to allow the Maldivian parliament, or Majlis, to convene
(एकि ह ना). Mr. Yameen has thus far failed to comply with any of these orders, despite an official statement
on February 2 about his government’s “commitment to uphold and abide by the ruling of the Supreme
Court”. The most egregious (ज़बरदस्त) failure is the government’s refusal to cancel the imprisonment of the
nine leaders, amongst whom is Mr. Yameen’s former vice president and his former defence minister,
Zo
members of parliament and leaders of major opposition parties, apart from Mr. Nasheed himself. The
President has also refused to allow the Majlis to meet, which has led to the resignation of its Secretary
General. In fact, the government sent in the army to stop lawmakers from entering the premises, besides
arresting two parliamentarians at the airport. Meanwhile, several officials, including two police chiefs and
the prison chief have resigned or been sacked, reportedly for seeking to implement the Supreme Court’s
orders. The Attorney General has now announced that only the Constitution matters, not “illegal orders”
from the court. In short, the Maldives is in the midst (मध्य) of a constitutional crisis. Calling fresh elections,
ng
which are in any case due later this year, may be the best way out.
Amidst (मध्यम में ) the turmoil (खलबली), India has joined the U.S., the European Union and several other
countries in calling for Mr. Yameen to carry out the Supreme Court’s order. New Delhi said in a statement
that it is monitoring the situation in Male “closely”. But currently, Delhi’s leverage in the Maldives is less
than it has ever been. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to cancel his visit to Male three years ago,
ki
has singled Maldives out as the only country in the South Asian and Indian Ocean Region that he hasn’t
visited. Given that the Maldives has pulled out of the Commonwealth, and there is little semblance
(अनु पता) of a SAARC process at present, India’s influence in Male is further limited. It will require
concerted action from the international community to persuade (विश्िास ददलाना) Mr. Yameen to steer the
n
Maldives out of this crisis, without taking recourse to coercive (अतनिायव) means.
Ba
1. Pitted: Having a hollow or indentation on the surface.

Synonyms: pockmarked, pocked, scarred, blemished, marked, potholed, rutted, rutty, holey, bumpy, rough,
uneven, eaten away
2. Deposed: Remove from office suddenly and forcefully.
Synonyms: overthrow, overturn, topple, bring down, remove from office, remove, unseat, dethrone,
supplant, displace
Antonyms: crown, enthrone, throne
3. Convene: to bring together in assembly by or as if by command
Synonyms: assemble, call, convoke, muster, summon
Antonyms: break up, dissolve
4. Egregious: very noticeable especially for being incorrect or bad
Synonyms: blatant, conspicuous, flagrant, glaring, gross, obvious, patent, pronounced, rank, striking
Antonyms: inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, slight, small, trifling, trivial, concealed, hidden,

invisible
5. Midst: the most intense or characteristic phase of something
6. Amidst: in or into the middle of
Synonyms: among (or amidst), mid, midst, through
Antonyms: from, out of
7. Turmoil: a disturbed or uneasy state
Synonyms: disquiet, ferment, fermentation, restiveness, restlessness, Sturm und Drang, unrest, uneasiness,
unquietness
Antonyms: calm, ease, peace, peacefulness, quiet, tranquillity (or tranquility)
8. Semblance: a display of emotion or behavior that is insincere or intended to deceive
Synonyms: act, airs, charade, disguise, facade (also façade), front, guise, playacting, pose, pretense (or
pretence), put-on, masquerade, show
Antonyms: artlessness, genuineness, naïveté, bluntness, candidness, candor, directness, forthrightness,
ne
frankness, openheartedness, outspokenness, plainspokenness, sincerity, straightforwardness
9. Persuade: to cause (someone) to agree with a belief or course of action by using arguments or earnest
request
Synonyms: argue, bring, bring around, convert, convince, gain, get, induce, move, prevail (on or upon),
satisfy, talk (into), win (over)
Antonyms: deter, discourage, dissuade, unsell
Zo
10. Coercive: Relating to or using force or threats.
Synonyms: overbearing, authoritarian, imperious, high-handed, high and mighty, autocratic, autarchic
For more equity: on long-term capital gains tax
The Centre’s decision to bring back the long-term capital gains tax (LTCG) on equities, which was scrapped
in 2004-05, seems to be a hasty move to plug the widening fiscal deficit ahead of an election year. With
investors in equities enjoying terrific returns over the last few years, it is not a surprise that they have
ng
become targets for the government to secure additional revenue. The decision to announce the imposition
(लगाना) of 10% tax on gains of over ₹1 lakh made on any form of investment in listed equities and mutual
funds with a holding period of over one year will hit the average middle class investor. Not surprisingly, the
sharp fall in both the Nifty and the Sensex after Budget day has been linked to the new tax, along with the
government’s abandonment of fiscal goals. But given that the sell-off was part of a wider correction in
global stock indices, it may be hard to draw a definite conclusion on the exact impact of the LTCG. The
ki
Centre has justified the new tax arguing that it helps avoid the erosion of its tax base and levels the playing
field between financial assets and investment in manufacturing.
One legitimate (जायज) concern is whether raising the tax burden on equities, rather than lowering the tax
n
and other barriers to investing in alternative assets, is the right way to address the distortionary
(वि पणय ग्य) effect of taxes. Further, the smaller differential between short and long-term capital gains tax
Ba
itself will discourage the long-term holding of stocks in favour of short-term trading activity. While this
might serve to improve liquidity in Indian markets and add to the government’s revenue, it is also likely to
discourage to some extent the growing culture of investing in equities for the long run. Besides, the
securities transaction tax (STT), which was introduced in lieu of the LTCG in 2004 and penalises the buying
of stocks for purposes other than just intra-day trading, has been left untouched by the government. The
double whammy (जाद-ू ट ना) of the STT and LTCG will further privilege (वििषाचधकार) short-term trading
in stocks over long-term investment. Being the only country in the world to impose both the STT and
LTCG, India is also likely to become a little less attractive to foreign investors when compared to its peers
(सामंत). A complete rollback of the new tax is too much to expect — Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has
justified the higher tax levy saying that the capital gains accrue (क प्राप्त ह ना) from zero effort. Despite the
constraints (मजबरू ी), the government would do well to at least soften the negative impact of the new tax by
allowing indexation (allowing a set-off based on inflation rate) of capital gains and removing the STT on
equity investments. Tough love for the well-off is not a bad strategy for a pre-election Budget, but it is
important to be careful about maintaining India’s credibility in the global money markets in the process.
1. Imposition: a charge usually of money collected by the government from people or businesses for
public use
Synonyms: assessment, duty, tax, impost, levy
2. Legitimate: permitted by law
Synonyms: lawful, legit [slang], legal, licit
Antonyms: illegal, illegitimate, illicit, lawless, unlawful, wrongful
3. Distortionary: the state of being distorted or the relative degree or amount by which something is
distorted or distorts.
Synonyms: warp, twist, contortion, bend, buckle, deformation, deformity, curve, curvature,
malformation, disfigurement, crookedness
ne
4. Whammy: An event with a powerful and unpleasant effect; a blow.
Synonyms: shock, surprise, bombshell, bolt from the blue, bolt out of the blue, thunderbolt, jolt,
rude awakening
5. Privilege: something granted as a special favour
Synonyms: appanage (also apanage), boon, concession, honor
Antonyms: burden, duty, obligation, responsibility
Zo
6. Peers: a man of high birth or social position
Synonyms: grandee, lord, milord, nobleman, gentleman
Antonyms: boor, churl, cottar (or cotter), fellah, peasant, peon
7. Accrue: (of a benefit or sum of money) be received by someone in regular or increasing amounts
over time.
Synonyms: result, arise, follow, ensue, emanate, stem, spring, flow
8. Constraints: A limitation or restriction.
Synonyms: restriction, limitation, curb, check, restraint, control, curtailment, damper, rein
ng
Antonyms: disinhibition, incontinence, unconstraint, gratification, indulgence, overindulgence, self-
indulgence
Youth power: on India's U-19 World Cup win

ki
Indian cricket has its work cut out to mentor the Under-19 team for the bigger stage
India’s title triumph in the Under-19 cricket World Cup at the Bay Oval in New Zealand seemed inevitable
(अिश्यंभािी). Prithvi Shaw’s boys, astutely (समझदारी स) coached by Rahul Dravid, maintained an
n
unbeaten record through their three-week sojourn (दटकना). The rousing (उत्साहपण
ू )व campaign commenced
with a 100-run win against Australia on January 14; in subsequent games, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe,
Ba
Bangladesh and Pakistan were all emphatically (सुस्पष्ट प स) defeated. There were no big-game nerves
and even in the much-hyped semifinal against Pakistan, India pocketed a facile (अनुकूल) 203-run victory. In
the summit clash against Australia, Shaw’s boys followed their template of dominance. Australia was
bowled out for 216 and India cruised (लक्ष्य प्राप्त करना) home in 38.5 overs with eight wickets to spare, and
enjoyed the added lustre (प्रकाि) of opener Manjot Kalra’s unbeaten 101. Through the tournament India
found diverse heroes. Fittingly, its batting troika (नता क प में काम करन िाल तीन जन) of Shaw, Kalra and
Shubman Gill, along with seamer Kamlesh Nagarkoti and spinner Anukul Roy, found a berth in the
International Cricket Council’s Under-19 World Cup team, essentially a tribute to the best players on view
in the championship. Cricketing excellence allied with the resultant celebrity status, especially during the
teenage years, can be a double-edged sword and it helped that in the dressing room there was the calming
presence of Dravid. As the ecstatic players leapt and photo-bombed after clinching the trophy, Dravid cut
through the hype and said that this win should not be the team’s defining memory as each individual
cricketer has much more to achieve in his career.
Dravid has a point. India has won the Under-19 World Cup on four occasions, including the previous golden
runs in 2000, 2008 and 2012. From among these champion sides, only a few graduated to the big stage.
Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli came through the under-19 ranks and managed to carve a niche (म का) for
themselves, but Unmukt Chand, who led the team to the Cup in 2012, and then featured in a soft drink
advertisement besides writing a book, has been unable to make it to the Indian senior team. He is still
finding his feet with the Delhi squad in domestic cricket. Shaw and his mates will be aware that after the
spectacular rise under the New Zealand skies, they still have to earn and preserve their respective spots in
the State outfits before earning the right to rub shoulders with Kohli and his men. The road towards the high-
stakes game of international cricket is long and arduous and history has taught us that not all teenage
prodigies (पूिल व क्षण) can be a Sachin Tendulkar or a Kohli. For Shaw and company, the journey has only
ne
begun but their moment in the sun does suggest that Indian cricket’s conveyor belt is moving smoothly
along.
1. Inevitable: impossible to avoid or evade

Synonyms: certain, ineluctable, ineludible, inescapable, necessary, sure, unavoidable, unescapable
Zo
Antonyms: avoidable, evadable, uncertain, unsure
2. Astutely: Accurately assessing situations or people; perceptively.
3. Sojourn: a temporary residing as another's guest
Synonyms: visit, stay, tarry
4. Rousing: causing great emotional or mental stimulation
Synonyms: breathtaking, charged, electric, electrifying, exhilarating, exhilarative, galvanic,
galvanizing, hair-raising, heart-stopping, inspiring, intoxicating
Antonyms: unexciting, dreary, dull, humdrum, monotonous, uninteresting
ng
5. Emphatically: In a forceful way.
Synonyms: vehemently, emphatically, fiercely, forcefully, sharply, bitterly, severely
6. Facile: having or showing a lack of depth of understanding or character
Synonyms: superficial, one-dimensional, shallow, skin-deep
Antonyms: deep, profound, broad, complete, comprehensive, exhaustive, extensive, far-reaching,
wide
ki
7. Cruised: Achieve an objective with ease, especially in sport.

8. Troika: A group of three people working together, especially in an administrative or managerial
capacity.
9. Niche: Denoting or relating to products, services, or interests that appeal to a small, specialized
section of the population.
n
10. Prodigies: A young person with exceptional qualities or abilities.

Synonyms: child genius, genius, wonder child, mastermind, virtuoso
Ba
Winter cheer: on politics around the 2018 Winter Olympics
There is as much politics around the Winter Olympics as enthusiasm about sport
The Russian doping scandal continues to cast a long shadow over international sport as the 2018 Winter
Olympics begin in PyeongChang, South Korea, on February 9. In December, the International Olympic
Committee banned Russia from competing in the Games following investigation into an alleged state-
sponsored doping (अपसमश्रण) programme at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The decision to
ban Russia came after the IOC’s Disciplinary Commission, headed by former president of the Swiss
Confederation Samuel Schmid, confirmed “systemic manipulation of the anti-doping rules and system in
Russia”. The IOC had stated, however, that clean Russian athletes would be allowed to compete as neutrals
and last month invited 169 of them — each to be known as Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR) — to

participate in the PyeongChang Games. The announcement did not go down well outside Russia, even
though the IOC declared that “more than 80%” of those athletes had not competed in Sochi and had been
carefully vetted (भली प्रकार जााँि करना). That the OAR will form one of the largest contingents (सन्यदल) at
the Games, although there will be no place for the Russian flag and anthem, makes the ‘ban’ seem a bit of a
farce (तमािा). Further, Russian athletes could be allowed to march under their own flag at the closing
ceremony if they comply with the IOC’s conditions during the Games. There is a sense that the IOC is not
able to punish a sporting superpower like Russia.
Last week, there was more outrage after the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned lifetime bans on 28
Russian athletes sanctioned by the IOC following the investigation into Sochi 2014. The IOC expressed its
own frustration at the decision, noting that it “may have a serious impact on the future fight against doping”.
Proceedings in PyeongChang over the next fortnight will be watched keenly (अतत उत्सक ु ता स) also for other
ne
reasons. The little-known host city, which sits some 80 km from the border with North Korea, will bear
witness to on-field displays of bonhomie (समलनसाररता) between the neighbours. The two nations will
march together at the opening ceremony under a flag representing a unified Korea, and will field a combined
women’s ice hockey team. The joint team lost to Sweden in a practice game this week and there are
questions over how the two sets of players will get along, but with supporters of both countries cheering
Zo
their side on together in a time of escalating political tensions, scorecards seem immaterial. North Korea has
agreed to field 22 athletes in three sports and five disciplines and is expected to send hundreds of delegates
and cheerleaders across the border. India, meanwhile, will be represented by luger Shiva Keshavan,
competing in his sixth and probably last Olympics, and skier Jagdish Singh, taking part in his first.
Keshavan has been the torch-bearer for winter sports in India for a long time; he will hope for a happy
Olympic swansong (अंततम प्रयास).
1. Doping: A drug taken illegally for recreational purposes, especially cannabis.

ng
Synonyms: drugs, narcotics, addictive drugs, recreational drugs, illegal drugs
2. Vetted: Make a careful and critical examination of (something)
Synonyms: screen, assess, evaluate, appraise, weigh up, examine, look over, review, consider,
scrutinize, study, inspect
Antonyms: ignore, forget, prospect, look over, probe, appraise
3. Contingents: a body of persons chosen as representatives of a larger group
ki
Synonyms: delegacy, delegation

4. Farce: a poor, insincere, or insulting imitation of something
Synonyms: caricature, cartoon, mockery, joke, parody, sham, travesty
Antonyms: homage, tribute
n
5. Keenly: In an eager or enthusiastic manner.

Synonyms: agog, antsy, anxious, ardent, athirst, avid, crazy, desirous, enthused, enthusiastic,
excited, geeked [slang], great, greedy, gung ho, hepped up, hopped-up, hot, hungry, impatient
Ba
Antonyms: apathetic, indifferent, uneager, unenthusiastic

6. Bonhomie: Cheerful friendliness; geniality.
Synonyms: geniality, congeniality, conviviality, cordiality, affability, amiability, sociability,
friendliness, warmth, warm-heartedness, good nature, good humour, joviality, cheerfulness, good
cheer, cheeriness, jollity, happiness
7. Swansong: The final performance or activity of a person's career.
Synonyms: afterword, postscript, ps, coda, codicil, appendix, tailpiece, supplement, addendum,
postlude, rider, back matter
Friends: on BJP and its disgruntled allies

With three disgruntled allies, the BJP is struggling to hold its partners together
Alliances are needed most in wartime, even if they are best made in peacetime. The Bharatiya Janata Party
does not depend on the numerical strength of any alliance partner for its survival in government at the
Centre, but it could well need all the help it can get in 2019 for the next Lok Sabha election. In the south,
where it requires electoral partners the most, the BJP counts only on the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra
Pradesh, but the strains (तनाि) are beginning to show on this long-standing friendship. Suddenly, the BJP
finds itself having to deal with a belligerent (मनुष्य या दल) TDP, which is under some political pressure to
demonstrate to its support base that it is doing all it can to get the best deal for the State from the Centre.
Also, the glue that bound these two parties earlier — that of anti-Congressism — is wearing somewhat thin
now. After the founding of Telangana, the Congress is no longer the TDP’s principal rival in Andhra
Pradesh, with the YSRCP under the leadership of Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy having emerged as a powerful
ne
political player. The TDP is painfully aware that the old relationship notwithstanding, the BJP may see the
YSRCP as a potential ally, a party that it can do business with if the circumstances so demand. As things
stand, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is reluctant (अतनच्छुक) to snap the tie. But it
will be no surprise if he continues to ramp up pressure on a BJP that has been put on the defensive thanks to
the mauling (आल िना करना) in the Rajasthan by-elections and the growing disaffection among a couple of
Zo
its other allies.
In Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena has been on a confrontation (आमना-सामना) course for some time now, and
in Punjab the Shiromani Akali Dal has recently turned just short of hostile. The reasons for the strain in each
of the three States are of course very different. In Maharashtra, the BJP and the Shiv Sena court a similar
political constituency and to a large extent each can grow only at the expense of the other. This contradiction
between being an ally at one level and a rival at another level is a source of perennial (बहुऋतुजीिी) strain,
ng
which is why both parties prefer a post-electoral tie-up, as they did after the Assembly election of 2014, to a
pre-election alliance. In Punjab, the BJP and the Akali Dal occupy different political spaces. While the
former is no threat to the latter, the Akali Dal is chafing (क्र ध करना) at what it sees as step-motherly
treatment meted (सीमा) out to it. If in Andhra Pradesh the BJP has a choice of allies and if it is better off
without one in Maharashtra, the situation in Punjab is different inasmuch as the Akali Dal remains its best
bet. The BJP may not need to rethink all its alliances, but it must rework its relationships with its allies if it
ki
wants to head a strong coalition of forces in 2019.
1. Strains: a rhythmic series of musical tones arranged to give a pleasing effect

Synonyms: air, lay, song, strain, tune, warble
n
2. Belligerent: feeling or displaying eagerness to fight

Synonyms: aggressive, agonistic, argumentative, assaultive, bellicose, brawly, chippy, combative,
confrontational, contentious, discordant, disputatious, feisty, gladiatorial, militant, pugnacious,
Ba
quarrelsome, scrappy, truculent, warlike

Antonyms: nonaggressive, nonbelligerent, pacific, peaceable, peaceful, unbelligerent, uncombative,
uncontentious
3. Reluctant: slow to begin or proceed with a course of action because of doubts or uncertainty
Synonyms: cagey (also cagy), disinclined, dubious, indisposed, loath (also loth or loathe), hesitant,
reticent
Antonyms: disposed, inclined, certain, decided, determined, resolute, sure, unquestioning
4. Mauling: to abuse physically
Synonyms: maltreat, manhandle, mishandle, rough (up)
Antonyms: coddle, mollycoddle, pamper, care (for), foster, nurture
5. Confrontation: an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another
Synonyms: ball game, battle, combat, competition, conflict, contest, contention, dogfight, duel, face-

off, grapple, match, rivalry, strife, struggle, sweepstakes (also sweep-stake), tug-of-war, war, warfare
Antonyms: concord, harmony, peace
6. Perennial: having an existence or validity that does not change or diminish
Synonyms: ageless, continuing, dateless, enduring, eternal, everlasting, immortal, imperishable,
lasting, ongoing, abiding, perpetual, timeless, undying
Antonyms: antiquated, archaic, dated, obsolete, outdated, outmoded, out-of-date, outworn
7. Chafing: causing annoyance
Synonyms: abrasive, aggravating, bothersome, carking, annoying, disturbing, exasperating,
frustrating, galling, irksome, irritating, maddening, nettlesome, nettling, peeving, pesky, pestiferous,
pestilent, pestilential, pesty, plaguey (also plaguy), rankling, rebarbative, riling, vexatious, vexing
Antonyms: delightful, pleasing
8. Meted: A boundary or boundary stone.
ne
In inflation’s shadow: on RBI holding repo rates at 6%
The RBI has stressed the need for vigilance on price stability amid fresh uncertainties
The Reserve Bank of India’s decision to keep the repo rate unchanged was no surprise given the focus with
which the Monetary Policy Committee has approached its mandate: of keeping inflation in check. With the
Zo
relevant measure of price gains, the Consumer Price Index, reflecting an acceleration in inflation for a sixth
straight month in December, and that at the fastest pace in 17 months, the bank’s rate-setting panel must
have had little difficulty in choosing to remain on hold. This was probably best exemplified (उदाहरण द कर
समझाना) by the reversal in stance of the six-member panel’s hitherto (अब तक) most dovish (िांततिादी)
member, Ravindra H. Dholakia, to vote to stand pat (थपकी दन का कायव) on interest rates. This the MPC did
while retaining a ‘neutral stance’, which gives it the flexibility to change gears in either direction. The RBI’s
nominee, Michael Debabrata Patra, in fact voted to head off incipient (आरं सभक) price pressures by raising
ng
the policy rate by 25 basis points. Laying out the factors informing its decision, the RBI once again
spotlighted the less than reassuring outlook for price stability. For starters, “an unusual pick-up in food
prices in November”, combined with a “less than usual” softening in the winter seasonal food price
moderation, meant headline inflation averaged 4.6% in the third quarter. The RBI had in December made a
projection for inflation in the range of 4.3-4.7% in the six months through March 2018. With pump prices of
ki
petrol and diesel having risen sharply in January, the RBI has now been forced to raise its estimate for retail
price gains in the fourth quarter to 5.1%.
Extending the time horizon beyond the current fiscal, the inflation scenario gets even more worrying.
Clouding the outlook are multiple uncertainties. These include the staggered (वििसलत करना) impact of
n
HRA increases by various State governments that may induce second order effects on prices; the pick-up in
global growth, a factor the RBI also cites as a positive for the economy, that may push up crude oil and
Ba
commodity prices worldwide; the Budget’s proposed changes to the minimum support price norms for crops
as well as the proposals to increase customs duty on a range of goods; and the fiscal slippage, which could
not only fan inflation but also risks increasing borrowing costs. The normalisation of monetary policy by
advanced economies could spell a decisive (स िा समझा) end to global ‘easy money’ conditions and may
trigger some flight of capital from emerging markets including India. The upshot is that the RBI sees CPI
inflation hovering in the 5.1-5.6% range in the first six months of the new fiscal before moderating to 4.5-
4.6% in the second half, subject to a big assumption: a normal monsoon in 2018. Under the looming shadow
of inflationary risks, the RBI has again reasserted (पुनः प्रभािकारी ह ना) the need for unwavering (मजबूत)
vigilance on the price stability front.
1. Exemplified: to show or make clear by using examples

Synonyms: demonstrate, illustrate, instance
Antonyms: becloud, blur, cloud, darken, fog, muddy, obscure
2. Hitherto: up to this or that time
Synonyms: heretofore, theretofore, yet
Antonyms: henceforth, henceforward, hereafter, thenceforth, thenceforward (also thenceforwards),
thereafter
3. Dovish: inclined to live in peace and to avoid war
Synonyms: peaceful, pacific, pacifist (or pacifistic), peaceable
Antonyms: bloodthirsty, hawkish, martial, warlike
4. Pat: sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion
Synonyms: adamant, adamantine, bullheaded, dogged, hard, hardened, hardheaded, hard-nosed, headstrong,
immovable, implacable, inconvincible, inflexible, intransigent, mulish, obdurate, opinionated
Antonyms: acquiescent, agreeable, amenable, compliant, complying, flexible, pliable, pliant, relenting,
yielding
5. Incipient: beginning to come into existence
ne
Synonyms: aborning, budding, inceptive, inchoate, nascent
Antonyms: adult, full-blown, full-fledged, mature, ripe, ripened
6. Staggered: to move forward while swaying from side to side
Synonyms: careen, dodder, lurch, reel, teeter, totter, waddle
Antonyms: dive (in), plunge (in)
7. Decisive: fully committed to achieving a goal
Zo
Synonyms: bent (on or upon), bound, determined, do-or-die, firm, hell-bent (on or upon), intent, out,
purposeful, resolute, resolved, set, single-minded
Antonyms: faltering, hesitant, indecisive, irresolute, undetermined, unresolved, vacillating, wavering, weak-
kneed
8. Reasserted: Assert again.
Synonyms: reaffirm, confirm
9. Unwavering: Not wavering; steady or resolute.
Synonyms: steady, fixed, resolute, resolved, firm, steadfast, decided, unswerving, unfluctuating,
ng
unhesitating, unfaltering, unvacillating, untiring, tireless, unflagging, indefatigable, persistent, unyielding,
relentless, unremitting, unrelenting, sustained, inexorable, unshakeable
Antonyms: changing, deviating, nonuniform, unsteady, varying
ki
Khap menace: on interference in relationships between adults
It is a sad comment that courts need to keep curbing interference in love and marriage
Each time the Supreme Court feels impelled (प्रररत करना) to remind khap panchayats and the society at
n
large that they have no business interfering in the life choices of individuals regarding marriage and love, it
is an implicit commentary on our times. The frequency with which one hears the court’s warnings against
Ba
groups and individuals obstructing inter-faith or inter-caste relationships reaffirms (पन

ु ः पल्ु ष्ट करना) the fact
that the social milieu (िातािरण) continues to be under the sway of the medieval-minded. The court’s latest
observations that khap panchayats should not act as though they are conscience-keepers of society and that
no one should interfere in relationships between adults came while it was hearing a writ petition (दर्ख़िावस्त)
seeking a ban on such community organisations and guidelines to put an end to “honour killings”. In 2011,
the highest court termed such khaps “kangaroo courts”, declared them illegal and wanted them stamped out
ruthlessly (तनदव यतापूिकव ). Similar observations were made in other cases too, some of them in the context of
“honour killings”. It is a grave misfortune that parents and self-appointed guardians of social mores (रीतत-
ररिाज) continue to use coercion (अिपीड़न) and harassment, and even resort to murderous violence, as a
means to enforce their exclusionary (अपिजवनात्मक) and feudal (जागीर संबंधी) prejudices. The recent

murder of Ankit Saxena, a photographer who was in love with a Muslim girl, allegedly by members of her
family, is one more extreme indication of families choosing the penal consequences of violence over the
perceived (कचथत) dishonour caused by an inter-religious relationship. While the popular narrative situates
community pride as a source of unconscionable violence in rural India, such murders are a reality in cities
and among educated and presumably (अनम ु ानतः) socially advanced sections too.
The other dimension is that these khap organisations in north India seek to enforce age-old taboos such as
the prohibition on sagothra ( कुल, िंि;) marriages among Hindus. Their grouse (असंत ष) is that the present
law on Hindu marriage allows sapinda relationships up to a particular degree; they would prefer a limitless
bar on any degree of such relationship in lineal ascendancy (अचधकार), which would prevent any marriage
with one presumed to be descended from an ancestor belonging to the same gothra. Such views can only be
ne
eradicated with a change in social attitudes. The Law Commission in 2012 prepared a draft bill to prohibit
interference in marriage alliances. Key provisions that seek to address the problem of khap panchayats in
this draft say such informal groups would be treated as an ‘unlawful assembly’ and decisions that amount to
harassment, social boycott, discrimination or incitement to violence should be punishable with a minimum
sentence. Whether the solution is social transformation or legislative change, high-handed mediation or
interference should brook no sympathy.
Zo
1. Impelled: to set or keep in motion
Synonyms: actuate, drive, move, propel, work
Antonyms: bridle, check, constrain, contain, control, curb, inhibit, regulate, rein (in), restrain
2. Reaffirms: State again strongly
Synonyms: affirm, assert, reassert, give an assurance, assure someone, repeat, say again, state again, pledge,
promise, guarantee
3. Milieu: A person's social environment.
ng
Synonyms: environment, background, backdrop, setting, context, atmosphere, scene
4. Petition: an earnest request
Synonyms: adjuration, appeal, conjuration, cry, desire, entreaty, plea, pleading, prayer, solicitation, suit,
suppliance, supplication
5. Ruthlessly: having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
Synonyms: affectless, callous, case-hardened, cold-blooded, compassionless, desensitized, hard-boiled,
hard-hearted, heartless, indurate, inhuman, inhumane, insensate, insensitive, ironhearted, merciless,
ki
obdurate, pachydermatous
Antonyms: charitable, compassionate, humane, kindhearted, kindly, merciful, sensitive, softhearted,
sympathetic, tender, tenderhearted, warm, warmhearted
6. Mores: personal conduct or behavior as evaluated by an accepted standard of appropriateness for a social
n
or professional setting
Synonyms: etiquette, form, manner, proprieties
7. Coercion: the use of power to impose one's will on another
Ba
Synonyms: arm-twisting, force, compulsion, constraint, duress, pressure

Antonyms: agreement, approval, consent, permission, convincing, persuasion, reason, suasion
8. Feudal: According to, resembling, or denoting the system of feudalism.
9. Exclusionary: Relating to or characterized by the exclusion of something, especially from a contract or
group.
10. Perceived: to make note of (something) through the use of one's eyes
Synonyms: behold, catch, descry, discern, distinguish, espy, eye, look (at), note, notice, observe, see,
regard, remark, sight, spot, spy, view, witness
Antonyms: disregard, ignore, neglect, overpass, pass over, miss, overlook
11. Presumably: by reasonable assumption
Synonyms: assumably, doubtless, likely, probably
Antonyms: implausibly, inconceivably, incredibly, unbelievably, unthinkably
12. Grouse: to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely

Synonyms: beef, bellyache, bitch, bleat, carp, caterwaul, crab, croak, fuss, gripe, grizzle, grouch, complain,
growl, grumble, grump, holler, inveigh, keen, kick, kvetch, maunder [chiefly British], moan, murmur,
mutter, nag
Antonyms: accept, bear, countenance, endure, take, tolerate, crow, delight, rejoice
13. Ascendancy: controlling power or influence over others
Synonyms: ascendance (also ascendence), supremacy (also ascendency), dominance, domination, dominion,
hegemony, imperium, predominance, predominancy, preeminence, reign, sovereignty (also sovranty)
Antonyms: helplessness, weakness, impotence, impotency, powerlessness
14. Sapinda: Sapinda is a term used in context of cousin marriages in Hinduism
The Zuma hurdle: on South Africa power struggle
Ending the protracted power struggle is key to the ANC’s plans for revival
ne
With Jacob Zuma appearing to be finally willing to resign as President of South Africa, a protracted (लमबा)
power struggle could soon draw to a close. Calls for the anti-apartheid (रं गभद विर धी) veteran’s exit
acquired momentum after South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa was elected leader of the
African National Congress in December. Litigation in countless cases, the overhang of a 1990s arms deal
Zo
and actions that undermined judicial investigations have marred (आघात) Mr. Zuma’s decade-long
presidency. But the controversy that has come to define his tenure is the questionable access an immigrant
Indian business family, the Guptas, gained with ANC apparatchiks (ददखत) and state institutions, a nexus
widely dubbed as ‘state capture’. The financial dealings of the Guptas and their interface with the
government in South Africa have tarnished (कलंककत करना) the reputation of top global accountancy and
public relations firms. As this succession of scandals dampened the optimism over the post-apartheid
(रं गभद नीतत क उपरांत) democratic transition, the ANC, Africa’s oldest national liberation movement, saw
ng
its support plunge (प्रिि करना) in the regional elections of 2016. The party conference in December 2017
was viewed as an opportunity for the ANC leadership to stem the rot before the next general elections, due
in 2019. But the narrow win for Mr. Ramaphosa in the party polls over Mr. Zuma’s ex-wife and preferred
candidate meant the political transition was always going to be bitter.
ki
As his supporters took top positions in the new ANC executive, Mr. Zuma brazened (खल् ु लमखुल्ला) it out in
the face of growing demands, within and outside the party and government, for his resignation as President.
Over the past decade he has survived many parliamentary motions against his rule, thanks largely to the
ANC’s reluctance to rely on the opposition for such a manoeuvre (कुिलता). Recently, the South African
n
Supreme Court criticised the legislature for failing to hold Mr. Zuma to account, giving succour (सहायता)
to those calling for his impeachment. But rather than pursue an extreme parliamentary procedure, the ANC
Ba
leadership has preferred an internal mechanism to ease the President out. Mr. Ramaphosa and other ANC
leaders have engaged Mr. Zuma in discussions over a speedy political transition. The postponement of the
President’s annual state of the nation address, as also an emergency meeting of the ANC national executive
signal that a resolution is in the making. The 2019 elections will be an acid test of the ANC’s credibility. A
change of guard could also pull the government away from the populist slide of recent years. An icon of the
entrepreneurial spirit of South Africa’s black majority and Nelson Mandela’s preferred successor, Mr.
Ramaphosa is a pragmatist (असभमानी). A business tycoon who has also been a trade union leader, he is
well-placed to balance business interests and political imperatives (अतनिायवता). The days ahead may prove
crucial for him and the ANC.

1. Protracted: to make longer
Synonyms: drag (out), draw out, elongate, lengthen, outstretch, prolong, extend, stretch
Antonyms: abbreviate, abridge, curtail, cut, cut back, shorten
2. anti-apartheid: Opposed to a policy or system of apartheid.
3. Marred: something that spoils the appearance or completeness of a thing
Synonyms: blight, blotch, defect, deformity, disfigurement, excrescence, excrescency, fault, flaw,
imperfection, blemish, mark, pockmark, scar
Antonyms: adornment, decoration, embellishment, enhancement, ornament
4. Apparatchiks: An official in a large political organization.
Synonyms: official, office-bearer, office-holder, public servant, civil servant, bureaucrat,
administrator
5. Tarnished: to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
Synonyms: blemish, darken, mar, poison, spoil, stain, taint, touch, vitiate
ne
Antonyms: dignify, elevate, ennoble, enshrine, glorify, hallow, magnify, uplift
6. Plunge: the act or process of going to a lower level or altitude
Synonyms: dip, dive, down, drop, fall, nosedive, descent
Antonyms: ascent, climb, rise, rising, soaring, upswing, upturn
7. Brazened: displaying or marked by rude boldness
Synonyms: arch, audacious, bold, bold-faced, brash, brassbound, brassy, nervy, brazen-faced,
Zo
cheeky, cocksure, cocky, fresh, impertinent, impudent, insolent, sassy, saucy, wise
Antonyms: meek, mousy (or mousey), retiring, shy, timid, abashed, ashamed, blushing,
embarrassed, shamefaced
8. Manoeuvre: A movement or series of moves requiring skill and care.
Synonyms: operation, exercise, activity, move, movement, action
9. Succour: Assistance and support in times of hardship and distress.
Synonyms: aid, help, a helping hand, assistance
10. Pragmatist: willing to see things as they really are and deal with them sensibly
ng
Synonyms: down-to-earth, earthy, hardheaded, matter-of-fact, practical, realistic (also pragmatical)
Antonyms: blue-sky, idealistic, impractical, unrealistic, utopian, visionary
11. Imperatives: forcing one's compliance or participation by or as if by law
Synonyms: compulsory, forced, mandatory, incumbent, involuntary, necessary, nonelective,
obligatory, peremptory, required
Antonyms: elective, optional, voluntary, inconsequential, insignificant, nonessential, unimportant
ki
Cease fire: on India-Pakistan LoC tensions

n
India and Pakistan must restore calm along the LoC and International Boundary
Ba
The 2003 ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan is now alive only in the breach, with violations
intensifying (सिक्त करना) in number and much damage to life and livelihood along the border. The drift
can only be arrested through high-level political intervention to save this very significant bilateral agreement
between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. In the latest incident, four Indian soldiers, including an Army
Captain, were killed in the Bhimber Gali sector in cross-border firing that went on through most of Sunday.
These casualties are a natural extension of what has been unfolding along the International Boundary as well
as the Line of Control for the past several months. As a result, 2017 has turned out to be the worst year since
the agreement brought calm to the border 15 years ago. The ceasefire agreement had resulted in a dramatic
drop in military casualties, and thousands of border residents had been able to return home from temporary
shelters on both sides. It is important to see the 2003 agreement in the immediate context of the time. It
came just four years after the Kargil war, and soon after India and Pakistan almost went to war following the
December 13, 2001 terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament. The agreement was historic, and a triumph
(जीत) of diplomacy — Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali announced a unilateral

(एकतरफ़ा) ceasefire on the Line of Control on Id; India suggested including the Siachen heights, and the
ceasefire was eventually extended to the International Boundary. It was the high point of Atal Bihari
Vajpayee’s premiership, and his successor, Manmohan Singh, heeded (दख-भाल) the legacy.
Now, as the two countries are caught in a spiral of almost daily exchanges of fire along the border, there is a
danger of political rhetoric (िक्रपटुता) acquiring its own momentum. Already, 2017 has been the worst year
along the border since the ceasefire came into force, with at least 860 incidents of ceasefire violations
recorded on the LoC alone. By way of comparison, in 2015 there had been 152 incidents, and in 2016 there
were 228. January 2018 recorded the highest number of ceasefire violations in a month since 2003,
according to estimates. According to data mentioned in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, between January
18 and 22, 14 people including seven civilians were killed and over 70 were injured in firing from the
ne
Pakistan side along the International Boundary in Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts as well as along the
LoC in Poonch and Rajouri districts. Thousands of civilians have been forced to flee their border homes.
Peace on the border is difficult to achieve at the tactical level by military leaders. Restoring the ceasefire
requires real statesmanship (िासन कला), not brinkmanship (अल्स्थरता).
1. Intensifying: to make markedly greater in measure or degree
Zo
Synonyms: accentuate, amp (up), amplify, beef (up), boost, consolidate, deepen, enhance, heighten,
magnify, redouble, step up, strengthen
Antonyms: abate, moderate, decrease, diminish, lessen, let up (on), reduce, subdue, tone (down),
weaken
2. Triumph: a successful result brought about by hard work
Synonyms: achievement, acquirement, attainment, baby, coup, success, accomplishment
Antonyms: nonachievement, bummer, bust, catastrophe, debacle (also débâcle), disaster, dud,
failure, fiasco, fizzle, flop, washout
ng
3. Unilateral: (of an action or decision) performed by or affecting only one person, group, or country
involved in a situation, without the agreement of another or the others.
4. Heeded: a state of being aware
Synonyms: advertence, advertency, awareness, cognizance, consciousness, ear, eye, attention,
knowledge, mindfulness, note, notice, observance, observation
Antonyms: disregard, neglect, obliviousness, unawareness
5. Rhetoric: language that is impressive-sounding but not meaningful or sincere
ki
Synonyms: bombast, fustian, gas, grandiloquence, hot air, oratory, verbiage, wind
Antonyms: inarticulateness
6. Statesmanship: Skill in managing public affairs.
7. Brinkmanship: The art or practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before
n
stopping, especially in politics.
Murky mining: on SC cancelling mining leases in Goa

Ba
Mining activity in Goa should now begin on a clean slate
The Supreme Court order to halt the murky (संदहास्पद) course that mining has taken in Goa should help
restore some balance to the exploitation of iron and manganese ore in the ecologically fragile (दब
ु ल
व ) State.
As the court observed this week in the Goa Foundation case, commercial mining activity can be rapacious
(खखूाँ ार) in the absence of clearly laid down and strictly enforced conditions. This is exactly what has
happened in Goa, with the State government displaying shocking disregard for rules and processes while
renewing licences for a second time in 2015. It inexplicably (त्रबना ककसी स्पष्टीकरण क) chose not to
exercise its right to view the licences as fresh leases that require new environmental impact assessments.
The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Goa invited a cloud of suspicion by hastily (जल्दी) launching the
renewal of licences just a day after it unveiled a Grant of Mining Leases Policy on November 4, 2014. Quite
extraordinarily, it issued 31 orders on a single day, January 12, 2015, apparently to pre-empt the Centre’s
Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Ordinance that came into force the same
day. Now that the Supreme Court has ordered the termination of 88 licences, grant of fresh licences and
proper accounting of the losses, mining activity in its entirety should begin on a clean slate. Future decisions
should be guided solely by the true cost to the environment and to human health.
Goa has argued that the mining industry is crucial to its economy as it brings in foreign exchange, provides
employment and supports a transport industry. Yet, it is also true that the ore mined in the State is low in
iron, reducing its value to the domestic steel industry. Given that mining has a severe destructive impact on
the ecology, resumption of large-scale activity should await a scientific audit of how sustainable it is. Any
more mining should also account for the loss of employment while calculating economic gains. Just last
year, public protests over contaminated (दवू षत) groundwater and fouled air, as in Sattari taluk, underscored
ne
the need for strict environmental controls. It is relevant to point out that the Union Environment Ministry’s
Expert Appraisal Committee found in 2013 that many of the past leases had been issued without the
approval of the National Board for Wildlife, and miners had extracted ore in excess. The requirement for
clearance from the Central Ground Water Board was ignored. Going forward, the Environment Ministry
must display zero tolerance to such violations, reversing its indefensible (असमथवनीय) decision of 2015 to
Zo
lift its own abeyance (स्थगन) order issued against unsustainable mining. The Supreme Court’s directions
provide Goa with an opportunity: to change course and become a mainstream tourist State. It can regain its
position as a top destination for global visitors and broaden employment in services. Tourist charters need to
replace its open cast mines and dust bowls.
1. Murky: having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning

Synonyms: ambiguous, arcane, cryptic, dark, deep, Delphic, double-edged, elliptical (or elliptic), enigmatic
(also enigmatical), equivocal, fuliginous, inscrutable, obscure, mysterious, mystic, nebulous, occult, opaque
ng
Antonyms: accessible, clear, nonambiguous, obvious, plain, unambiguous, unequivocal, appreciable,
palpable, tangible, visible
2. Fragile: easily injured without careful handling
Synonyms: delicate, tender, frail, sensitive
Antonyms: tough, infrangible, nonbreakable, unbreakable, hardened, inured, strengthened, tempered,
toughened
ki
3. Rapacious: having or marked by an eager and often selfish desire especially for material possessions
Synonyms: acquisitive, avaricious, avid, coveting, covetous, grabby, grasping, mercenary, moneygrubbing,
greedy
Antonyms: altruistic, bounteous, bountiful, charitable, freehanded, generous, greathearted, handsome,
n
liberal, magnanimous, munificent, openhanded, openhearted, selfless, unselfish, unsparing

4. Inexplicably: impossible to explain
Synonyms: inexplainable, unaccountable, unexplainable
Ba
Antonyms: accountable, explainable, explicable

5. Hastily: With excessive speed or urgency; hurriedly.
Synonyms: quickly, hurriedly, in a hurry, fast, swiftly, rapidly, speedily, briskly, expeditiously, without
delay, post-haste, at high speed, at full speed, with all speed, at full tilt, at the speed of light, as fast as
possible, with all possible haste, like a whirlwind, like an arrow from a bow, at breakneck speed, as fast as
one's legs can carry one, at a run, at a gallop, hotfoot, on the double
Antonyms: slow, slowly, laggardly, lingeringly, ploddingly, sluggishly, belatedly, delinquently, tardily
6. Contaminated: containing foreign or lower-grade substances
Synonyms: adulterate, adulterated, alloyed, impure, dilute, diluted, polluted, tainted, thinned, weakened
Antonyms: fine, pure, ultrapure, unadulterated, unalloyed, uncontaminated, uncut, undiluted, unmixed,
unpolluted, untainted
7. Indefensible: too bad to be excused or justified
Synonyms: inexcusable, inexpiable, insupportable, unforgivable, unjustifiable, unpardonable, unwarrantable
Antonyms: defensible, excusable, forgivable, justifiable, pardonable, venial
8. Abeyance: a state of temporary inactivity
Synonyms: cold storage, deep freeze, doldrums, dormancy, holding pattern, latency, moratorium,
quiescence, suspended animation, suspense, suspension
Antonyms: continuance, continuation, recommencement, renewal, resumption, resuscitation
Back together: on Germany coalition deal
A coalition between the Social and Christian Democrats is in Germany’s larger interests
The decision of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD)
to form a new coalition (गठबंधन) government is no surprise. Since the emergence of the CDU’s Angela
ne
Merkel as German Chancellor in 2005, both have cohabited (सहिास करना) in a coalition for eight years.
After the two parties registered their worst showing in the September 2017 general elections, they lost
whatever little appetite remained to rule together. The SPD had declared it would stay in the opposition,
rebuild the weak organisation and re-establish its core left-wing identity. The latest arrangement is a result
of political pragmatism (तथ्यात्मकमा) and a willingness to accord (इच्छा) primacy to the national interest,
Zo
despite ideological differences. Germany had come close to calling another election after the conservatives
failed to reach an understanding with the greens and the liberals late last year. That meant a minority
government was the only alternative, one that did not appeal either to Ms. Merkel or her party. Inexorably
(अनिरत प स), there was a rethink. The process was helped by a common concern within the CDU and the
SPD, namely, the risk of ceding space to the deeply eurosceptic, anti-immigrant and extreme-right
Alternative for Germany (AfD), which surprised everyone by winning almost 13% of the vote.
ng
The wider implications for the European Union of the political stasis in Germany had also begun to weigh
on the continent’s leaders. Some voiced the wisdom of revisiting the grand coalition proposal. The alliance
now being stitched up is cause for at least some cheer, if not celebration. But there is disillusionment
(आिाभंग) in both party camps that far too much has been conceded to the other party in the recent talks.
The SPD has bagged six ministries, including finance. This has annoyed fiscal hawks among the
conservatives, who are against Berlin loosening its purse strings to prop up ‘profligate’ eurozone member-
ki
states. The coalition’s agreement on greater spending on schools, pensions and infrastructure draws heavily
upon SPD programmes. This is likely to find public favour, given Germany’s huge budget surplus and the
need to boost domestic consumption. But there is a flip side to the pragmatic compromise the parties have
struck to safeguard the political middle-ground. This is the risk that voices of dissent could veer to the
n
extremes. Surveys indicate that the AfD’s vote share in September had less to do with its political appeal
than with dissatisfaction with the state of affairs. In any case, the coalition is not yet a done deal. The joint
programme must first be approved by SPD delegates in a party referendum. The divisions within the party
Ba
over SPD leader Martin Schulz’s possible induction as Foreign Minister may forebode (पदहल स बतलाना या
जानना) a turbulent time ahead.
1. Coalition: an association of persons, parties, or states for mutual assistance and protection
Synonyms: alliance, axis, bloc, block, confederacy, combination, combine, confederation, federation,
league, union
2. Cohabited: Live together and have a sexual relationship without being married.
Synonyms: live together, live with, live as husband and wife, live as man and wife, live together as husband
and wife, live together as man and wife, sleep with, sleep together
3. Pragmatism: willing to see things as they really are and deal with them sensibly
Synonyms: expediency, exploitation, taking advantage, machiavellianism, manoeuvring, realism,
unscrupulousness
Antonyms: blue-sky, idealistic, impractical, unrealistic, utopian, visionary
4. Accord: a formal agreement between two or more nations or peoples
Synonyms: treaty, alliance, compact, convention, covenant, pact
Antonyms: conflict, disagreement, incongruence, incongruity, incongruousness
5. Inexorably: In a way that is impossible to stop or prevent.
6. Eurosceptic: A Eurosceptic is someone, especially a politician, who is opposed to closer links between
Britain and the European Union.
7. Disillusionment: A feeling of disappointment resulting from the discovery that something is not as good
as one believed it to be.
8. Forebode: to show signs of a favorable or successful outcome
Synonyms: augur, bode (also forbode), promise
Our attention spans are not shrinking
ne
Long-form reports thrive in a time of clickbait journalism
A myth that has captured the imagination of the managerial class is that our attention spans are shrinking in
this digital era. Last year, the BBC carried a story, “Busting the attention span myth”, which showed that
the oft-citied statistic of the average attention span being down from 12 seconds in 2000 to eight seconds
now is not based on any real research. This particular number was from a 2015 report by the Consumer
Zo
Insights team of Microsoft Canada, which surveyed 2,000 Canadians and also studied the brain activity of
112 people as they carried out various tasks, the report said.
The intriguing (लुभािना) part is that the figure itself was not from Microsoft’s research; it was a citation
(अितरण) from another source called ‘Statistic Brain’. The BBC reporter contacted two of the sources cited
by Statistic Brain — the National Centre for Biotechnology Information at the U.S. National Library of
Medicine, and the Associated Press — and neither could find any research that backed up the numbers.
ng
Statistic Brain chose not to speak to the BBC reporter, and other specialists who spoke to the reporter had no
idea where the numbers came from either. However, the mythical (काल्पतनक) statistic gained traction.
Journalism in the digital age
The focus in this digital age has moved from in-depth reporting to real-time tweeting and single-line news
ki
scrolls on television screens. Exhaustive reports have given way to information titbits (िटपटी खबर) that are
often without a proper context. The emergence of clickbait (िबसाइट पर उपय गकताव क आकवषवत करन क
सलए प्रयुक्त सामग्री) journalism, which is far removed from the purpose of journalism, is one of the biggest
n
disservices of the digital age. Debate has given way to personal slander (झूठी तनंदा) and interrogation to
bubble filters, inquisitiveness (ल्जज्ञासा) has been replaced by echo chambers, and dialogue has got trapped
Ba
in algorithmic silos (बुखारी).
A couple of years ago, the Columbia School of Journalism hosted a conference called ‘The Future of Digital
Longform’. Its aim was to look at pressing questions such as: Is form following function, or is the medium
cannibalising (स्िजाततभक्रण) the message? How can you maintain quality control? How do you make
money? The fundamental premise of the conference was the flawed assumption that people’s attention spans
would reduce over time.
Going against the grain
During this downward spiral, this paper retained its sense of commons. It’s time to celebrate this spirit of
going against the grain to retain the core values of journalism. In July 21, 2014, in my column “Clues to the

future”, I cited George Brock’s four journalistic tasks that will survive the digital disruption: verification,
sense making, witness, and investigation. During this phase of searches for digital revenues and a
reductionist approach to journalism, it is heartening to see The Hindu providing an answer to the media’s
existential question: how can we stay relevant in this digital avalanche (अिधाि) of information? It did not
opt for clickbait journalism, but opened up its pages more for long-form journalism. Today, I can say with
utmost certainty that The Hindu is the only paper in India which has about 20 pages dedicated to rigorous,
long-form journalism a week. I was pleased when journalism students stopped me to praise the investigative
report, “A game of chicken: how India’s poultry farms are spawning global superbugs” (Jan. 31, 2018),
a collaborative venture between this newspaper and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
The best part about long-form journalism is that it brings back the importance of writing skills, literary
flourishes, and locates the story within the larger framework of our world. It gives space to explore an issue
ne
in its entirety. The subject for investigation ranges from town planning to education, from public health to
civil aviation. No discipline is taboo. Long-form pieces in The Hindu are not restricted only to the national
pages or to the weekly feature called Ground Zero. Every State gets a full page (page 2 on Sundays) to
investigate an issue. Investigative journalism here does not cut corners, does not employ devious (ग़लती पर
ह निाला) methods, refrains (कायव स तनित्ृ त ह ना) from using any of the elements of sting journalism, and
forces reporters to follow the first principles of journalism. And in doing so, these long-form reports have
Zo
effectively called out the lie perpetuated by clickbait journalism.
1. Intriguing: holding the attention or provoking interest

Synonyms: absorbing, arresting, consuming, engaging, engrossing, enthralling, fascinating,
gripping, immersing, interesting, involving, riveting
Antonyms: boring, drab, dry, dull, heavy, monotonous, tedious, uninteresting
2. Citation: a formal expression of praise
Synonyms: accolade, encomium, commendation, dithyramb, eulogium, eulogy, homage, hymn,
ng
paean, panegyric, salutation, tribute
Antonyms: censure, condemnation, denunciation, indictment, rebuke, reprimand, reproof
3. Mythical: based on, described in, or being a myth
Synonyms: fabled, fabulous, legendary
Antonyms: attested, authenticated, confirmed, established, proven, substantiated, validated, verified
4. Titbits: something that is pleasing to eat because it is rare or a luxury
ki
Synonyms: bit, cate [archaic], dainty, delectable, goody (or goodie), kickshaw, delicacy (also titbit),
treat, viand
5. Clickbait: (on the Internet) content whose main purpose is to attract attention and encourage visitors
to click on a link to a particular web page.
n
6. Slander: the making of false statements that damage another's reputation

Synonyms: aspersing, blackening, calumniation, calumny, character assassination, defamation,
defaming, libel, libeling (or libelling), maligning, smearing, traducing, vilification, vilifying
Ba
Antonyms: acclaim, accolade, applause, commendation, praise, adoration, reverence, veneration,

worship, esteem, honor, respect
7. Inquisitiveness: an eager desire to find out about things that are often none of one's business
Synonyms: curiousness, curiosity, nosiness
Antonyms: incuriosity, incuriousness
8. Silos: Isolate (one system, process, department, etc.) from others.
9. Cannibalising: (of a company) reduce the sales of (one of its products) by introducing another
similar product.
10. Avalanche: A sudden arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities.
Synonyms: barrage, volley
11. Devious: clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means
Synonyms: beguiling, cagey (also cagy), crafty, cunning, cute, designing, artful, dodgy [chiefly
British], foxy, guileful, scheming, shrewd, slick, sly, subtle, tricky, wily
Antonyms: artless, guileless, ingenuous, innocent, undesigning
12. Refrains: a part of a song or hymn that is repeated every so often
Synonyms: burden, chorus
Turf war: On Indian bourses and overseas trade
Address structural problems that have caused trading in Indian derivatives to move offshore
India’s stock exchanges are not too keen on the idea of competing with their global peers (श्रष्ठ जन).
Instead, they are happy to guard the home turf against foreign exchanges that do a better job of finding new
clients. On Friday, the National Stock Exchange, the Bombay Stock Exchange and the Metropolitan Stock
Exchange of India announced their decision to stop providing data feed and other support to overseas
exchanges that list derivatives linked to Indian stocks and indices. Any existing agreement allowing data-
ne
sharing with foreign bourses (विदिी मुद्रा बाज़ार), except that which is related to exchange-traded funds, will
expire in six months. Explaining the reason, the statement said offshore derivatives could be causing
“migration of liquidity from India, which is not in the best interest of Indian markets”. Given that the
volume of derivatives linked to Indian stocks trading in the offshore market is higher than volumes in the
domestic bourses, Indian exchanges have enough reason to fear their foreign counterparts. Ambitious
endeavours (प्रयास करना) such as the International Financial Services Centre in Gujarat, although yet to
Zo
gain the patronage (प्रश्रय दना) of foreign investors, may also benefit from the crackdown on offshore
derivative markets. Foreign bourses, however, will likely find other ways to list derivatives linked to Indian
stocks and indices without any help from Indian exchanges soon. The present move, thus, is unlikely to rein
(र कना) in the vast offshore market for Indian derivatives. It also leaves a lot to be desired.
Index derivatives such as the SGX Nifty that is linked to stocks that form Nifty, have gained the patronage
of large foreign investors for many reasons. These instruments are traded for longer hours in offshore
ng
exchanges, including hours when Indian exchanges are closed for business, making them more investor-
friendly. Places like Singapore and Dubai, where these derivatives are traded, are low-tax jurisdictions that
offer investors the chance to lower their transaction costs as well. The fact that offshore derivatives are
denominated in dollars adds to their allure (लभ ु ाना). In India, in contrast, the securities transaction tax and
the capital gains tax discourage foreign investment in financial assets. The proposal to extend trading hours
ki
in order to attract investors too has failed to take off. The statement by Indian bourses withdrawing support
for offshore derivatives comes after an earlier decision by Singapore’s stock exchange, the Singapore
Exchange Limited (SGX), to introduce in February futures on individual stocks that are part of Nifty.
Incidentally, the SGX’s decision to introduce futures specific to stocks listed in the NSE was spurred (प्रररत
n
करना) by the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s decision last year to restrict foreign investment in
domestic futures. Offshore markets are thus simply catering to the unmet (आिश्यक) demands of foreign
Ba
investors. India’s policymakers should thus first of all address the structural problems that have caused
trading in Indian derivatives to move offshore. This would be a far better response than any knee-jerk
response favouring domestic exchanges.
1. Peers: one that is equal to another in status, achievement, or value

Synonyms: coequal, compeer, coordinate, counterpart, equivalent, fellow, like, match, parallel, equal, rival
2. Bourses: A stock market in a non-English-speaking country, especially France
Synonyms: stock exchange, money market
3. Endeavours: an effort to do or accomplish something
Synonyms: assay [archaic], bash [chiefly British], bid, crack, attempt, essay, fling, go, offer, pass, shot,
stab, trial, try, whack, whirl
4. Patronage: the financial support and general guidance for an undertaking
Synonyms: aegis (also egis), backing, auspice, sponsorship
5. Rein: the place of leadership or command
Synonyms: chair, driver's seat, headship, helm, head(s)
Antonyms: impotence, impotency, powerlessness
6. Allure: the power of irresistible attraction
Synonyms: charm, animal magnetism, appeal, attractiveness, captivation, charisma, duende, enchantment,
fascination, force field, glamour (also glamor), magic, magnetism, oomph, pizzazz (or pizazz),
seductiveness, witchery
Antonyms: repulsion, repulsiveness, disagreeableness, distastefulness, obnoxiousness, offensiveness,
unpleasantness
7. Spurred: something that arouses action or activity
Synonyms: boost, encouragement, goad, impetus, incentive, incitation, incitement, instigation, momentum,
motivation, provocation, impulse, stimulant, stimulus, yeast
Antonyms: counterincentive, disincentive
8. Unmet: (of a requirement) not achieved or fulfilled.
ne
States of health: On NITI Aayog’s first Health Index
The NITI Aayog Health Index should trigger a wider public debate
Zo
Unsurprisingly, States with a record of investment in literacy, nutrition and primary health care have
achieved high scores in NITI Aayog’s first Health Index. Kerala, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu are the best-
performing large States, while Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh bring up the
rear. Health-care delivery is the responsibility of States; the Centre provides financial and policy support.
Being able to meet the Sustainable Development Goals over the coming decade depends crucially on the
States’ performance. Yet, health care is not a mainstream political issue in India, and hardly influences
electoral results. The Index, with all its limitations given uneven data availability, hopes to make a
ng
difference here by encouraging a competitive approach for potentially better outcomes. For instance, with
political will, it should be possible for Odisha to bring down its neonatal (निजात सििु संबंधी) mortality
rate, estimated to be the highest at 35 per thousand live births — worse than Uttar Pradesh. A dozen States
with shameful under-five mortality rates of over 35 per 1,000 live births may feel the need for remedial
(उपिारात्मक) programmes. What the Index shows for the better-performing States such as Kerala and Tamil
Nadu is that their continuous improvements have, overall, left little room to notch (तनिाना साधना) up high
ki
incremental scores, but intra-State inequalities need to be addressed.
Coming soon after the announcement of a National Health Protection Scheme in the Union Budget, the
n
Index uses metrics such as institutional deliveries, systematic reporting of tuberculosis, access to drugs for
people with HIV/AIDS, immunisation (असंक्रमीकरण) levels and out-of-pocket expenditure. The twin
imperatives (अतनिायवता) are to improve access to facilities and treatments on these and other parameters,
Ba
and raise the quality of data, including from the private sector, to enable rigorous assessments. At the same
time, as NITI Aayog points out, data on other key aspects such as non-communicable diseases, mental
health, governance systems and financial risk protection lack the integrity to form part of a good composite
index. Both the Centre and the States have the responsibility to scale up their investment on health as a
percentage of their budgets, to be more ambitious in interventions. While the NHPS may be able to address
some of the financial risk associated with ill-health, it will take systematic improvements to preventive and
primary care to achieve higher scores in the Index. As the experience from countries in the West and now
even other developing economies shows, socialisation of medicine with a reliance on taxation to fund basic
programmes is the bedrock (मूल ससद्धान्त) of a good health system. If the NITI Aayog Health Index leads to
a mainstreaming of health on these lines, that would be a positive outcome.

1. Neonatal: Relating to newborn children (or other mammals)
2. Remedial: tending to cure disease or restore health
Synonyms: curative, healing, officinal, medicinal, restorative, therapeutic
Antonyms: insalubrious, noisome, noxious, unhealthful, unhealthy, unwholesome
3. Notch: an individual part of a process, series, or ranking
Synonyms: chapter, cut, grade, inch, degree, peg, phase, place, point, stage, step
4. Immunisation: The action of making a person or animal immune to infection, typically by inoculation.
5. Imperatives: forcing one's compliance or participation by or as if by law
Synonyms: compulsory, forced, mandatory, incumbent, involuntary, necessary, nonelective, obligatory,
peremptory, required
Antonyms: elective, optional, voluntary
6. Bedrock: the lowest point or level
Synonyms: nadir, bottom, depth, rock bottom, zero
ne
Antonyms: acme, apex, climax, crown, culmination, head, height, high-water mark, meridian, peak,
pinnacle, summit, tip-top, top, zenith
Unending pain: On SBI’s Q3 loss
Governance reforms and recognition of losses are a must to solve the bad loans crisis
Zo
If the financial performance of India’s largest lender is anything to go by, an end to the severe bad loans
crisis may be much farther beyond the horizon (आकािगभव मण्डल) than previously anticipated. For the first
time in almost 19 years, the State Bank of India reported a quarterly loss of ₹2,416 crore for the three
months ended December, compared with a net profit of ₹2,610 crore in the year-earlier period. While the
figures are not strictly comparable after SBI completed merger with its associates, the loss was the result of
both a massive increase in provisions to account for bad loans and a substantial (िास्तविक) amount of
ng
mark-to-market losses on its holding of government bonds. Provisions for non-performing assets (NPAs)
more than doubled to about ₹17,760 crore, from about ₹7,200 crore in the third quarter of 2016-17. On
treasury operations, SBI recorded a loss of about ₹3,255 crore, versus a profit of about ₹4,776 crore in the
comparable period. The bank revealed that an audit by the Reserve Bank of India showed a divergence
(असहमतत) of ₹23,239 crore in the way it classified assets at the end of the last financial year, which led to
increase in provisions in the last quarter. Most of these reclassified assets are linked to troubled projects in
ki
sectors including power and telecom. SBI, of course, is not the only lender to have had its assets forcibly
reclassified by the RBI. Private sector lenders have also been found guilty of pushing troubled assets under
the carpet until the RBI called their bluff.
n
It may be tempting to believe that last year’s bankruptcy law reforms will soon begin to ease the pain at
banks by encouraging the quick sale of assets of troubled borrowers. The proceeds from such sales,
however, would likely amount to very little in comparison with the mammoth (वििालकाय) scale of
Ba
troubled assets. According to a joint study by Assocham and Crisil, gross NPAs in the banking system are
estimated to increase to ₹9.5 lakh crore by March 2018, from ₹8 lakh crore a year earlier. In that case, write-
offs recognising losses may be the most honest and practical way to deal with the bad loans problem. So the
RBI in the coming months should continue to push banks, both public and private, to promptly recognise the
stressed loans on their portfolios (तनिि सि ू ी). Incidentally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week laid
the blame for bad loans on the previous government. While it is quite true that the present bad loans crisis
has been a long time in the making, the problem of lax corporate governance, which has plagued (स ग्रस्त)
public sector banks and contributed in no small measure to the present crisis, still remains largely
unaddressed by the government. Even the latest plan to recapitalise public sector banks may achieve little
more than giving some temporary relief to lenders for the sake of reviving credit growth. The bad loans

problem is likely to remain a festering (कटुता उत्पन्न करना) sore and risks undermining (कमज़ र कर दना)
the health of the economy until meaningful structural reforms to the banking system are undertaken.
1. Horizon: The limit of a person's knowledge, experience, or interest.

Synonyms: range of experience, outlook, perspective, scope, perception, compass, sphere, ambit, orbit,
purview
2. Substantial: having great meaning or lasting effect
Synonyms: big, consequential, earthshaking, earth-shattering, eventful, historic, major, material,
meaningful, momentous, monumental, much, significant, important, tectonic, weighty
Antonyms: inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, minor, negligible, slight, small, trifling,
trivial, unimportant
3. Divergence: a movement in different directions away from a common point
ne
Synonyms: bifurcation, divarication, divergency, separation
Antonyms: convergence, accord, agreement
4. Mammoth: unusually large
Synonyms: jumbo, king-size (or king-sized), leviathan, huge, massive, mega, mighty, monster, monstrous,
monumental, mountainous, oceanic, pharaonic, planetary, prodigious, super, super-duper, supersize,
supersized, titanic, tremendous, vast, vasty, walloping, whacking, whopping
Antonyms: bantam, bitty, diminutive, infinitesimal, Lilliputian, little bitty, micro, microminiature,
Zo
microscopic (also microscopical), midget, miniature, minuscule, minute, pocket, pygmy, teensy, teensy-
weensy, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, wee
5. Portfolios: A range of investments held by a person or organization.
Synonyms: investments, shares, holdings, securities, equities, bonds
6. Plagued: A thing causing trouble or irritation.
Synonyms: bane, curse, scourge, affliction, blight, cancer, canker
7. Festering: the process by which dead organic matter separates into simpler substances
Synonyms: breakdown, decay, decomposition, corruption, putrefaction, putrescence, rot, spoilage
ng
Antonyms: growth, maturation, ripening
8. Undermining: a gradual weakening, loss, or destruction
Synonyms: attrition, erosion, corrosion, waste
Antonyms: gain, increase, buildup
BNP in a bind: On Khaleda Zia conviction

ki
Former PM Khaleda Zia’s conviction heightens political uncertainty in Bangladesh
The sentencing of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to five years of rigorous (कदठन)
n
imprisonment by a special judge’s court in Dhaka on charges of corruption has upended (उलट जाना)
politics in an election year. Her arrest and possible disqualification from contesting — unless higher courts
Ba
decide otherwise — has created a political crisis for her Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and equally a
challenging opportunity for the ruling Awami League. The BNP is entirely dependent for leadership on the
Zia family. With Ms. Zia’s son Tarique Rahman, who has been named the acting chairperson of the party, in
exile (तनिावससत करना) in London after being convicted in another corruption case in 2016, the BNP is
caught in a bind (ल्जल्दबंदी). Elections are scheduled for December 2018, and even before Ms. Zia’s
conviction the party was struggling. The BNP had boycotted the previous elections in 2014, practically
allowing the Awami League a walkover. It was, in hindsight, a questionable strategy. Since 2014 the BNP
has suffered significant erosion in its organisation. Besides Ms. Zia being embroiled (घपला) in dozens of
corruption cases, party activists have also been hauled up in several cases. Ms. Zia is expected to appeal the
judgment, and could be eligible to contest elections after release on bail — but the conviction will weigh
heavily on her party’s fortunes.

Bangladeshis will hope the BNP gets its act together, because the withdrawal of the party from the electoral
fray (प्रततस्पधाव) has not been beneficial for democracy. While it did not make tactical sense for the BNP to
boycott polls in 2014, the consequent victory by walkover did not help the Awami League to assert its
legitimacy (िधता). In what is effectively a two-party polity, the absence of the BNP as an opposition within
Parliament had externalised dissent (असहमत ह ना) and led right-wing forces to up their intimidatory
(धमकान िाली) tactics to attack liberal, secular voices. Since the end of dictatorship in 1990, Bangladesh
alternated between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League and Ms. Zia’s BNP, with short
interregnums (अंतराल) of army and judicial rule, till the League’s re-election in 2014. The two parties have
battled in a vituperative (कटु आल िनापूण)व game, each trying its best to muzzle (नालमुख) the other while in
power and the party in opposition preferring the street to the legislature to make its presence felt. Attempts
ne
to build a third force or project a different set of leaders from among these two leading parties have so far
come to naught (कुछ नहीं). Keeping this in mind, the Awami League government should be cautious about
being seen to be interfering in the judicial process in Ms. Zia’s cases. If Ms. Zia is allowed to contest
elections, pending her appeal to a higher court, the Awami League should welcome the contest.
1. Rigorous: given to exacting standards of discipline and self-restraint
Zo
Synonyms: austere, authoritarian, flinty, hard, harsh, heavy-handed, ramrod, rigid, severe, stern, strict,
tough
Antonyms: clement, forbearing, gentle, indulgent, lax, lenient, tolerant
2. Upended: to fix in an upright position
Synonyms: pitch, put up, raise, rear, set up, erect, upraise
Antonyms: demolish, flatten, knock down, level, raze, tear down
3. Exile: the forced removal from a homeland
Synonyms: banishment, deportation, displacement, expatriation, expulsion, relegation
ng
Antonyms: repatriation, return, immigration
4. Bind: something that physically prevents free movement
Synonyms: band, bond, bracelet, chain, cuff(s), fetter, handcuff(s), irons, ligature, manacle(s), shackle
5. Embroiled: to place in conflict or difficulties
Synonyms: bog (down), broil, embrangle, mire
Antonyms: emancipate, free, liberate, release
ki
6. Fray: a forceful effort to reach a goal or objective

Synonyms: battle, fight, struggle, scrabble, throes
7. Legitimacy: the quality or state of being legal
Synonyms: lawfulness, legality
n
Anotnyms: illegality, illegitimacy, unlawfulness, wrongfulness

8. Dissent: a lack of agreement or harmony
Synonyms: conflict, disaccord, discordance, discordancy, disharmony, dissension (also dissention), discord,
Ba
dissidence, dissonance, disunion, disunity, division, friction, infighting, inharmony, schism, strife, variance,
war, warfare
Antonyms: accord, agreement, concord, concordance, harmony, peace, concurrence, cooperation
9. Intimidatory: Frighten or overawe (someone), especially in order to make them do what one wants.
Synonyms: frighten, menace, terrify, scare, alarm, terrorize, overawe, awe, cow, subdue, discourage, daunt,
unnerve
Antonyms: cheer, comfort, console, reassure, solace, soothe, embolden, encourage, hearten, steel
10. Interregnums: a break in continuity
Synonyms: discontinuity, hiatus, hiccup (also hiccough), interim, interlude, intermission, gap, interruption,
interstice, interval, parenthesis
Antonyms: continuation, continuity, procession, progression
11. Vituperative: marked by harsh insulting language
Synonyms: contumelious, invective, opprobrious, scurrile (or scurril), scurrilous, truculent, vitriolic,
abusive, vituperatory
Antonyms: discreet, judicious, tempered, civil, courteous, gracious, mannerly, polite
12. Muzzle: Prevent (a person or group) from expressing their opinions freely.
Synonyms: gag, silence, censor, suppress, stifle, inhibit, restrain, check, curb, fetter
13. Naught: Nothing
Synonyms: nothing, nothing at all, nought, nil, zero
Ramallah recall: On India’s Palestine policy
Narendra Modi’s visit signals India’s strategy to grow ties with Israel and Palestine separately
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Palestine underlines the delicate balance New Delhi has adopted in
this long-standing and seemingly intractable (असभ्य) conflict. India, which has been a champion of the
ne
Palestinian people’s national aspirations, has built strong ties with Israel in recent years. Last year Mr. Modi
became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel; the Ramallah visit has come just weeks after his Israeli
counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, visited India. On the other hand, late last year India voted along with a
vast majority of member-states at the UN General Assembly against U.S. President Donald Trump’s
decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Last week in Ramallah, the Palestinian National
Authority’s administrative headquarters, Mr. Modi reiterated (बार बार दहु राना) India’s support for the
Zo
Palestinian cause, saying it “hopes that Palestine soon becomes a sovereign and independent country in a
peaceful atmosphere”. Both sides also signed a number of agreements for India-funded projects in the West
Bank. India’s policy objective is clear and rooted in political realism. It wants to maintain the balance in its
relationship with both Palestine and Israel, and strengthen bilateral ties with each separately.
This balance is vital for India, for which Israel is a source of defence equipment and agricultural technology.
But Israel also faces political isolation (एकाकीपन) internationally over its occupation of the Palestinian
territories and does not have diplomatic ties with most countries in West Asia. As reflected in the UNGA
ng
vote, international public opinion is overwhelmingly (ज़बदव स्त ढं ग स) against the occupation. India, which
has vital interests in the Gulf and enjoys good ties with the region’s Muslim countries, cannot afford to be
seen to be politically closer to Israel at the expense of ties with Palestinians. So it is not a coincidence that
the Prime Minister’s visit to Palestine took place against the backdrop (पष्ृ ठभूसम) of India’s deepening ties
with Israel. With the Ramallah visit, the message Mr. Modi is sending out is that India’s partnership with
ki
Israel is not at the expense of its principled support for the Palestinian cause. Still, changing nuances in
India’s position were on display during the visit. Traditionally, India has supported the creation of an
independent Palestine within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. According to this line,
Israel would have to withdraw from the West Bank and East Jerusalem and either pull out the Jewish
n
settlements or do a land-swap with the Palestinians as part of a final agreement. Mr. Modi carefully avoided
any reference to the borders or to the capital. In effect, India’s support for the two-state solution remains, but
it has now stopped short of the specifics.
Ba
1. Intractable: given to resisting authority or another's control

Synonyms: balky, contrary, contumacious, defiant, froward, incompliant, insubordinate, disobedient,
obstreperous, rebel, rebellious, recalcitrant, recusant, refractory, restive, ungovernable, unruly, untoward,
wayward, willful (or wilful)
Antonyms: amenable, biddable, compliant, conformable, docile, obedient, ruly, submissive, tractable
2. Reiterated: to say or state again
Synonyms: chime, din, iterate, rehearse, repeat
3. Isolation: the state of being alone or kept apart from others
Synonyms: aloneness, insulation, privacy, secludedness, seclusion, segregation, separateness, sequestration,
solitariness, solitude
Antonyms: camaraderie, companionship, company, comradeship, fellowship, society
4. Overwhelmingly: to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress

Synonyms: crush, devastate, floor, grind (down), oppress, overcome, overmaster, overpower, prostrate,
snow under, swamp, whelm
Antonyms: lose, underwhelm, fail, uncover, inspirit, surrender, yield, forfeit, not impress
5. Backdrop: the physical conditions or features that form the setting against which something is viewed
Synonyms: background, ground
Antonyms: center, focal point, focus, heart
Woods and trees: On the state of Indian forests
We must review the strategy to revive forests, and move away from monoculture plantations.
The Environment Ministry’s ‘India State of Forest Report 2017’ based on satellite imagery, may present a
net positive balance in the form of 24.4% of India’s land area under some form of forest or tree cover, but
ne
this is but a broad-brush assessment. According to the report, forest and tree cover together registered a 1%
rise over the previous estimate two years ago. However, such an estimate listing very dense, moderately
dense, open and scrub forests mapped through remote sensing does not really provide deep insights
(तनरीक्षण) into the integrity (अखंडता) of the green areas. The emphasis in environmental policy to raise
forest cover to 33% of the geographical area will yield some dividends. There has been an increase over the
Zo
baseline cover of 20% at the turn of the century. Yet, tree cover is not the same as having biodiverse, old-
growth forests. The ecosystem services performed by plantations that have a lot of trees grown for
commercial purposes cannot be equated with those of an undisturbed assemblage (एकिीकरण) of plants,
trees and animals. India may be endowed with 16 major forest types, and 221 types and sub-types based on
the Champion and Seth classification, but retains very little of its ancient forests after centuries of pre-
colonial and colonial exploitation. Latter-day development pressures are also taking their toll. Forest
restoration should, therefore, aid the return of native vegetation.
ng
In its audit of various regions, the Ministry’s report has calculated a cumulative (संियी) loss of forests in
Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal of nearly 1,200 sq km. The impact of such a terrible loss must be seen
against the backdrop of the Northeast representing a global biodiversity hotspot. Any gains achieved through
remediation (इलाज) programmes in Odisha, Assam, Telangana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur cannot compensate for it adequately. Naturally, environmental
ki
economists have come to regard the calculation of national accounts of wealth and development as weak,
because governments do not add the benefits of functions such as flood control and climate moderation to
the value of forests. Such a failure erodes (कट जाना) the gains made by many communities, because lost
natural capital contributes to material losses. India must review the programmes that it has been pursuing to
n
revive forests, and move away from monoculture plantations that are favoured by even forest development
corporations in many States. Scientific reforms to bring true nature back are needed. The latest assessment
categorises more than 300,000 sq km of area as open forests with a tree canopy of 10-40%. These lands
Ba
provide the opportunity to bring back diverse, indigenous trees. Such a measure, combined with a policy
against allowing open cast mining, can bring about a renaissance (निितना). Dedicated efforts will be
required to protect the precious forests of the Northeast.
1. Insights: the ability to understand inner qualities or relationships

Synonyms: discernment, wisdom, perception, perceptiveness, perceptivity, sagaciousness, sagacity,
sageness, sapience
Antonyms: density, dullness (also dulness), obtuseness, brainlessness, folly, foolishness, idiocy, imbecility,
mindlessness, silliness, simplemindedness, simpleness, stupidity, witlessness
2. Integrity: conduct that conforms to an accepted standard of right and wrong
Synonyms: character, decency, goodness, honesty, morality, probity, rectitude, righteousness, rightness,
uprightness, virtue, virtuousness
Antonyms: debauchery, degeneracy, degradation, depravity, perversion, pervertedness, sinfulness,

crookedness, dishonesty, underhandedness, unscrupulousness
3. Assemblage: a mass or quantity that has piled up or that has been gathered over a period of time
Synonyms: accretion, accumulation, collection, cumulation, cumulus, gathering, lodgment (or lodgement),
pileup
Antonyms: entity, item, single, unit
4. Cumulative: produced by a series of additions of identical or similar things
Synonyms: accretive, accumulative, additive, conglomerative, incremental
Antonyms: decremental, decrescent, degressive, regressive
5. Remediation: The action of remedying something, in particular of reversing or stopping environmental
damage
6. Erodes: to damage or diminish by continued friction
Synonyms: chafe, corrade, abrade, fray, frazzle, fret, gall, rasp, rub, wear
Antonyms: build, neglect, construct, rebuild, ignore, preserve, fix
ne
7. Renaissance: a period of high artistic or cultural development
Synonyms: golden age, belle époque
Antonyms: dark age
8. Monoculture: The cultivation of a single crop in a given area.
Mind the perimeter: On J&K terror attacks
Zo
The security protocol at military installations must be speedily upgraded
The number of casualties in the terror attack on the Sunjuwan Army base in Jammu has risen to seven after
clearing operations. The garrison (सना) of the 36 Brigade of Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry was
attacked last Saturday by a small group of heavily armed terrorists that managed to enter the residential
quarters of soldiers. While three terrorists were killed, six soldiers and a civilian lost their lives. Many more
sustained injuries. This is the latest in a series of attacks on military installations over the last few years. The
ng
worrisome (चिंताजनक) aspect is the repeated success of terrorists in infiltrating (घस ु पठ करना) high-
security military complexes. As in every case, the Army will conduct a court of inquiry into the incident to
identify lapses. However, the Sunjuwan attack exposes the vulnerabilities in perimeter security and the scant
progress made in improving the security protocol since the attack on the Pathankot Air Force station in
January 2016. Since then, there have been major attacks in Uri, Handwara, Nagrota and Panzgam, with
ki
significant casualties. In the aftermath of Pathankot, a committee headed by a former Army vice chief, Lt
General Philip Campose, undertook a security audit of all military bases across the country. It identified
sensitive installations and recommended measures to fortify (सिक्त करना) them. In addition, in July 2017
the government delegated substantial financial powers to the three services to strengthen perimeter security
n
at military installations. The Sunjuwan attack underscores the need for speedy measures on the ground,
beyond the inquiries and policy announcements, to overhaul the system.
Ba
As the terror attack in Jammu was under way, the Defence Ministry sanctioned ₹1,487 crore to strengthen
sensitive military installations across the country as per the recommendations of a 2016 audit. Defence
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has also directed the Army to complete its implementation by the end of the
year. This impetus (प्र त्साहन) is welcome, but the implementation must be broad-based, and go beyond ad
hoc measures. It must be borne in mind that a successful attack does not necessarily mean that the soldier on
the ground is lax (ढीलापन) in performing his duties. Many bases along the border are located in tough
terrain, and are in close proximity to civilian dwellings (आिास), demanding care from the soldier to avoid
civilian casualties in crossfire while adhering (संसक्त या लगा हुआ ह ना) to the standard operating
procedures. For a country that takes pride in its modern, technologically advanced military, India still relies
heavily on putting more boots on the ground and on the calibre of the soldier. It is time the Defence Ministry

adopted a holistic approach, making sure that the soldier is fully backed by technology and calibrated
security drills. Preventing terrorists from scoring a strike is the best defence.
1. Garrison: A group of troops stationed in a fortress or town to defend it.

2. Worrisome: causing worry or anxiety
Synonyms: discomforting, discomposing, disquieting, distressing, disturbing, nagging, nasty, perturbing,
troubling, troublous, unsettling, upsetting, troublesome
Antonyms: reassuring, comforting, consoling, dreamy, inviting, lulling, narcotic, pacifying, relaxing,
sedative, tranquilizing (also tranquillizing)
3. Infiltrating: to secretly become part of a group in order to get information or to influence the way that
group thinks or behaves
Synonyms: insinuate, slip, sneak, wind, work in, worm, wriggle
4. Fortify: to prepare (oneself) mentally or emotionally
ne
Synonyms: brace, forearm, nerve, poise, psych (up), ready, steel, strengthen
Antonyms: debilitate, enervate, enfeeble, prostrate, sap, soften, tire, undercut, undermine, weaken
5. Impetus: something that arouses action or activity
Synonyms: boost, encouragement, goad, impulse, incentive, incitation, incitement, instigation, momentum,
motivation, provocation, spur, stimulant, stimulus, yeast
Antonyms: counterincentive, disincentive
Zo
6. Lax: failing to give proper care and attention
Synonyms: careless, derelict, disregardful, negligent, lazy, neglectful, neglecting, remiss, slack
Antonyms: attentive, careful, conscientious, nonnegligent, alert, heedful, heeding, mindful, observant,
regardful, regarding, vigilant, wary, watchful
7. Dwellings: the place where one lives
Synonyms: abode, diggings, domicile, home, fireside, habitation, hearth, hearthstone, house, lodging, pad,
place, quarters, residence, roof
8. Adhering: to hold to something firmly as if by adhesion
ng
Synonyms: stick, cleave, cling, hew
Antonyms: loosen, drop, fall
Suppressing history: On Poland’s ‘Holocaust’ law

ki
Poland’s ‘Holocaust’ legislation highlights its continued shift to the far right
A new law in Poland that makes it a crime to blame the country for Nazi atrocities (अत्यािार) has reopened
n
the Holocaust denial issue. Expressions such as Polish death camps to describe concentration camps
including Auschwitz have touched a raw nerve over the years. Now the ruling ultra-nationalist Law and
Justice party (PiS) appears intent (असभप्राय, इरादा) on drawing political mileage from this dark chapter in
Ba
Polish and European history. The government of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has enacted
legislation to impose a fine and three-year imprisonment for all references that imply the complicity of the
Polish nation and the state in Nazi war crimes. Its contention that artists and scholars would be exempt from
the restrictions has not assuaged (कम करना) critics, who are challenging assaults on freedom of expression.
Clearly, responsibility for the atrocities perpetrated (पाप करना) against Jews during the Holocaust rests
with the occupying Nazis, and not the people of Poland. Yet, to discount or deny the complicity of some
Polish officials who may have acted in collusion (असभसंचध) with the Nazis would be tantamount (बराबर) to
falsifying history. Any refusal to recognise the heroism of Poles who rescued and rehabilitated Jews would
also be liable to over-simplification of that larger narrative. The motive behind the latest law is to suppress
(दबा दना) evidence that has emerged of some of those uncomfortable truths. But then, rewriting Poland’s

recent history has been a persistent preoccupation with the current dispensation (वितरण) since its 2015
election.
Predictably, the ‘Holocaust’ (बसल ल्जस क जला द) law has stoked a major controversy with international
reverberations (प्रततध्ितन). In an equally selective reading to counter the Polish move, some Israeli
lawmakers are for expanding the definition of Holocaust denial to include a refusal to admit the role of those
who collaborated with the Nazis. The U.S. State Department has cautioned Warsaw about the implications
of the law for its strategic relationship with Washington. Warsaw has already come under sharp scrutiny
(अनुसंधान) from the European Union for attempting to undermine the independence of the judiciary. A
formal sanction by Brussels for the breach of the rule of law and deviation from European values would be
an unprecedented step. Moreover, the resulting loss of Poland’s voting rights in the bloc (गुट) would be
ne
most ironic for a government that has staked its position on the assertion of national sovereignty on the EU
stage. Polish President Andrzej Duda seems more alive to the ire the Holocaust legislation has invited
internationally. He gave his assent to the bill, but sought a review from the constitutional court, a body
already rendered toothless by parliament. Moderates within PiS should exert greater influence to roll back
the extreme steps taken by the government, such as the ‘Holocaust’ legislation, or Poles risk denial of the
fruits of their 2004 EU membership.
Zo
1. Atrocities: the quality of inspiring intense dread or dismay
Synonyms: atrociousness, horror, awfulness, dreadfulness, frightfulness, ghastliness, grisliness,
gruesomeness, hideousness, horridness, monstrosity, repulsiveness
Antonyms: agreeableness, delightfulness, pleasantness, pleasurableness, allurement, appeal, attraction,
attractiveness, desirability, desirableness
2. Intent: fully committed to achieving a goal
Synonyms: bent (on or upon), bound, decisive, do-or-die, firm, hell-bent (on or upon), determined, out,
ng
purposeful, resolute, resolved, set, single-minded
Antonyms: faltering, hesitant, indecisive, irresolute, undetermined, unresolved, vacillating, wavering, weak-
kneed
3. Assuaged: to make more bearable or less severe
Synonyms: allay, alleviate, help, ease, mitigate, mollify, palliate, relieve, soothe
Antonyms: aggravate, exacerbate
ki
4. Perpetrated: Carry out or commit (a harmful, illegal, or immoral action)

Synonyms: commit, carry out, perform, execute, do, effect, bring about, be guilty of, be to blame for, be
responsible for, accomplish, inflict, wreak
5. Collusion: a secret agreement or cooperation between two parties for an illegal or dishonest purpose
n
Synonyms: complicity, connivance, conspiracy

6. Tantamount: Equivalent in seriousness to; virtually the same as.
Synonyms: equivalent to, equal to, amounting to, as good as, more or less, synonymous with, virtually the
Ba
same as, much the same as, comparable to, on a par with, commensurate with, along the lines of, as serious
as, identical to
7. Holocaust: Destruction or slaughter on a mass scale, especially caused by fire or nuclear war.
Synonyms: cataclysm, disaster, catastrophe, destruction, devastation, demolition, annihilation, ravaging
8. Reverberations: marked by conspicuously full and rich sounds or tones
Synonyms: golden, orotund, plangent, resounding, resonant, reverberating, reverberative, ringing, rotund,
round, sonorous, vibrant
Antonyms: faint, low, murmurous, muted, smothered, soft, weak, cavernous, hollow
9. Suppress: to refrain from openly showing or uttering
Synonyms: choke (back), hold back, pocket, repress, sink, smother, stifle, strangle, submerge, swallow
Antonyms: express, loose, release, take out, unleash, vent
10. Dispensation: the act or process of giving out something to each member of a group
Synonyms: admeasurement, allocation, allotment, apportionment, disbursement, distribution, division,
issuance
11. Scrutiny: a close look at or over someone or something in order to judge condition
Synonyms: audit, check, checkup, examination, going-over, look-see, review, scan, inspection, survey, view
Antonyms: oeillade, ogle, browse, scan
12. Bloc: a group of people acting together within a larger group
Synonyms: faction, block, body, coalition, party, sect, set, side, wing
ne
Zo
ng
n ki
Ba

The Hindu Editorials PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Hindu Editorials PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

THE HINDU EDITORIAL VOCABULARY (01 Feb- 15 Feb, 2018)

For a clean judiciary: the importance of in-house mechanisms

for institutional integrity is something that should be welcomed.

1. Impropriety: Failure to observe standards of honesty or modesty; improper behaviour or character.

Visit: http://banking.currentaffairsonly.in Page 1

A year of Trump: how much has changed in the past year?

Visit: http://banking.currentaffairsonly.in Page 2

1. Chalked: to explain (something) as being the result of something else

Promise and delivery: on Union Budget 2018

Visit: http://banking.currentaffairsonly.in Page 3

1. Prudence: The quality of being prudent; cautiousness.

2. Buoyancy: cheerful and optimistic attitude or disposition.

3. Squeeze: to apply external pressure on so as to force out the juice or contents of

4. Ameliorate: Make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better.

5. Constraints: A limitation or restriction.

6. Mooted: open to question or dispute

Antonyms: accomplished, certain, hands-down, inarguable, incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable,

7. Modalities: A particular mode in which something exists or is experienced or expressed.

8. Grandiose: large and impressive in size, grandeur, extent, or conception

Visit: http://banking.currentaffairsonly.in Page 5

10. Clutch: a number of things considered as a unit

11. Frugal: careful in the management of money or resources

16. Dwindling: to make smaller in amount, volume, or extent

down, lessen, lower, reduce

17. Averse: having a natural dislike for something

Synonyms: allergic, antipathetic

18. Dampen: to make or become slightly or moderately wet

19. Affluent: having goods, property, or money in abundance

For a clean judiciary: the importance of in-house mechanisms

integrity is something that should be welcomed.

1. Impropriety: the quality or state of not being socially proper

Antonyms: appropriateness, correctness, decency, decorousness, decorum, fitness, properness, propriety,

Visit: http://banking.currentaffairsonly.in Page 7

Visit: http://banking.currentaffairsonly.in Page 8

1. Initiating: Cause (a process or action) to begin.

Visit: http://banking.currentaffairsonly.in Page 9

Synonyms: miscellaneous, disparate, diverse, assorted, sundry, varied, mixed, diversified,

Synonyms: clearing, exculpation, exoneration, acquittal

The myth of post-truth

Visit: http://banking.currentaffairsonly.in Page 10

Why is there no post-falsehood?

Truths are contextual

Visit: http://banking.currentaffairsonly.in Page 11

3. Voluminous: of a size greater than average of its kind

undersize), diminutive, half-pint, infinitesimal, Lilliputian, little-bitty, microminiature, microscopic (also

Synonyms: automatic, instinctual, involuntary, knee-jerk, mechanic, mechanical, robotic, spontaneous

Visit: http://banking.currentaffairsonly.in Page 12

Limited succour: Budget 2018 and senior citizens

Visit: http://banking.currentaffairsonly.in Page 13

1. Steeply: By a very large or sudden amount.

3. Allied: having a close connection like that between family members

4. Laudable: deserving of high regard or great approval

ignominious, low, mean, scandalous

5. Insofar: to the degree that

6. Threshold: the point at which something begins

7. Cohort: one associated with another in wrongdoing

9. Starkly: In a way that is severe or harsh in appearance or outline.

Visit: http://banking.currentaffairsonly.in Page 14

1. Pitted: Having a hollow or indentation on the surface.

Visit: http://banking.currentaffairsonly.in Page 15

For more equity: on long-term capital gains tax

Youth power: on India's U-19 World Cup win

1. Inevitable: impossible to avoid or evade