THE HINDU EDITORIAL : DECEMBER 24, 2018

Dear Banking Aspirants,

THE HINDU EDITORIAL – December 24, 2018, is one of the must-read section for the competitive exams like  IBPS Clerk 2018, Canara Bank PO – PGDBF 2018 and IBPS SO 2018. These topics are widely expected to be asked in the reading comprehension, Cloze Test or Error Detection in the forthcoming exams. So gear up your Exam preparation and learn new words daily.


A) Failure of justice: on Sohrabuddin case verdict

The acquittal of all those accused in the Sohrabuddin case raises disturbing questions

The omnibus acquittal of all the police personnel accused of eliminating Sohrabuddin Sheikh in a ‘fake encounter’ in Gujarat in 2005 represents a substantial failure of justice. It is true that it is not easy to obtain an order of conviction against police personnel accused of killing suspects in a fake encounter. It becomes that much harder for any agency when influential political leaders and top police officers are cited as accused. It is unsurprising that the case, in which BJP president Amit Shah and a few Indian Police Service officers had been discharged earlier, ended with the acquittal of 22 men, all but one of them policemen. As many as 92 of the 210 witnesses turned hostile. The trial judge himself appeared to be saddened by the outcome, but it is difficult to agree with his observation that one could not fault the CBI for witnesses going back on their statements. It is the prosecution’s duty to ensure the safety of witnesses and give them the confidence and courage to speak the truth under oath. While it is perhaps not surprising that witnesses in the police did not support the prosecution, it is disappointing that others could not be encouraged to do so. For instance, the driver and a passenger in a bus, allegedly intercepted by the police team and from which Sohrabuddin, his wife Kausar Bi and an associate, Tulsiram Prajapati, were taken away, denied such an incident took place.

It is unfortunate that the families of the victims do not have the consolation of anyone being brought to justice. While Sohrabuddin’s killing has ‘encounter’ as an explanation, his wife’s disappearance remains a mystery. It was not proved that she was taken to a farm, killed and her body burnt. And it cannot be a coincidence that Prajapati was killed a year later in Rajasthan in another encounter. It was under a cloud of suspicion over the circumstances of their death that Sohrabuddin’s brother had approached the Supreme Court and obtained an order for an investigation, which was subsequently handed over to the CBI. In losing this case, the CBI has shown that it continues to struggle when it comes to handling cases with political overtones. The 2014 discharge of Mr. Shah and the subsequent pre-trial exoneration of senior police officer D.G. Vanzara had come as a boost to the BJP. The final decision in the trial is also likely to be interpreted as a justification for some encounters that took place in Gujarat when Narendra Modi was Chief Minister. Mr. Vanzara has implied as much in controversial tweets. He has also claimed that such ‘pre-emptive encounters’ were needed to save Mr. Modi. This is a tacit acknowledgement that these may not have been chance encounters, as genuine ones are supposed to be, but part of a plan to eliminate a threat to the leader’s life through extrajudicial killings. It is regrettable that such a triumphalist narrative is sought to be built around such incidents.


B) Capital idea? on banks recapitalisation plan

The banks recapitalisation plan is per se not bad but funds must be distributed prudently

With just months to go for the general election, the government looks all set to open the credit taps of the economy. The Centre has sought Parliament’s approval to infuse an additional ₹41,000 crore into public sector banks that are starved of precious capital to remain afloat. Along with another ₹42,000 crore that is already budgeted for infusion, this tranche will take the total planned funds infusion into banks this year to ₹83,000 crore. More important, the infusion will help banks boost lending and stimulate economic activity going into an election year. In fact, the latest fund infusion is aimed, among other things, to help a number of public sector banks to climb out of the Reserve Bank of India’s Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework. As many as 11 public sector banks have been stopped from lending freely by the RBI under the PCA framework due to their poor financial health. It is important that the additional capital is not wasted on banks that have not shown any improvement but rather used to support the weak ones that are on the recovery path. The government has said that PCA banks which have shown better performance in terms of reduction in NPAs and improvement in return of assets will be given priority. The proof will come when the allocations to individual banks are announced.

There have been reports that four banks under the PCA — Allahabad Bank, Bank of India, Corporation Bank and Bank of Maharashtra — will soon be out of the restrictive framework. This is following a review by the Board for Financial Supervision of the RBI, which went over the financials of all the banks under the framework. While Corporation Bank and Bank of Maharashtra have shown a semblance of improvement in their asset quality and registered a profit in the September quarter, the other two are not over the hump yet. The government is obviously keen to free up the banks from restrictions on lending. But it flies counter to the RBI’s basic objective in keeping these banks under the PCA framework, which is to nurse them back to good health. In its eagerness to achieve its political objectives, the government should not end up pushing good money after bad by apportioning extra capital to these weak banks instead of supporting the ones that are on the recovery path. There are enough headaches for banks to handle in the form of the waiver of agriculture loans and the rising share of loans to small businesses, which are risky. While the idea of infusing more money into banks is not bad per se, given that they are grappling with inadequate capital, a lot depends on how and to which banks this money is distributed. This is where the government has to exercise prudence and caution.


VOCABULARY

1) acquittal

Meaning : a judgement or verdict that a person is not guilty of the crime with which they have been charged(n).

Tamil Meaning : விடுதலை

Synonyms : absolution

Antonyms : employment

Example : “the trial resulted in an acquittal”

2) accused

Meaning : a person or group of people who are charged with or on trial for a crime.

Synonyms : implicated

Antonyms : acquitted

Example : “the accused was ordered to stand trial on a number of charges”

3) substantial

Meaning : of considerable importance, size, or worth.

Tamil Meaning : கணிசமான

Synonyms : extraordinary

Antonyms : broken

Example : “a substantial amount of cash”

4) conviction

Meaning : a formal declaration by the verdict of a jury or the decision of a judge in a court of law that someone is guilty of a criminal offence(n).

Tamil Meaning : தண்டனை

Synonyms : confidence

Antonyms : distrust

Example : “she had a previous conviction for a similar offence”

5) cited

Meaning : refer to (a passage, book, or author) as evidence for or justification of an argument or statement, especially in a scholarly work.(v)

Tamil Meaning : மேற்கோள்

Synonyms : allege

Antonyms : conceal

Example : “authors who are highly regarded by their peers tend to be cited”

6) saddened

Meaning : cause to feel sorrow; make unhappy.(v)

Tamil Meaning : துயருற

Synonyms : dispirit

Antonyms : encourage

Example : “he was greatly saddened by the death of his only son”

7) allegedly

Meaning : used to convey that something is claimed to be the case or have taken place, although there is no proof.(adv)

Tamil Meaning : கூறப்படும்

Synonyms : purportedly

Example : “he was allegedly a leading participant in the coup attempt”

8) intercepted

Meaning : obstruct (someone or something) so as to prevent them from continuing to a destination.(v)

Tamil Meaning : இடைமறிக்கும்

Synonyms : arrest

Antonyms : allow

Example : “intelligence agencies intercepted a series of telephone calls”

9) prosecution

Meaning : the continuation of a course of action with a view to its completion(n).

Synonyms : pursuit

Antonyms : defeat

Example : “the BBC’s prosecution of its commercial ends”

10) denied

Meaning : state that one refuses to admit the truth or existence of.(v)

Tamil Meaning : மறுத்தார்

Synonyms : contradict

Antonyms : allow

Example : “both firms deny any responsibility for the tragedy”

11) victims

Meaning : a person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or action.

Tamil Meaning : பாதிக்கப்பட்டவர்

Synonyms : casualty

Antonyms : criminal

Example : “victims of domestic violence”

12) consolation

Meaning : the comfort received by a person after a loss or disappointment.(n)

Tamil Meaning : ஆறுதல்

Synonyms : comfort

Antonyms :disdain

Example : “there was consolation in knowing that others were worse off”

13) suspicion

Meaning : a feeling or thought that something is possible, likely, or true.

Tamil Meaning : சந்தேகத்தின்

Synonyms : conjecture

Antonyms : belief

Example : “she had a sneaking suspicion that he was laughing at her”

14) subsequently

Meaning : after a particular thing has happened; afterwards(adv).

Tamil Meaning : பின்னர்

Synonyms : finally

Antonyms : former

Example : “the officer decided to stop and subsequently made an arrest”

15) exoneration

Meaning : the action of officially absolving someone from blame; vindication.(n)

Tamil Meaning : மன்னித்துவிட்டது

Synonyms : absolution

Example : “the defendants’ eventual exoneration”

16) interpreted

Meaning : explain the meaning of (information or actions).(v)

Tamil Meaning : விளக்கம்

Synonyms : explained

Antonyms : encode

Example : “the evidence is difficult to interpret”

17) implied

Meaning : suggested but not directly expressed; implicit.(adj)

Synonyms : hidden

Antonyms : explicit

Example : “she was aware of his implied criticism”

18) controversial

Meaning : giving rise or likely to give rise to controversy or public disagreement.

Tamil Meaning : சர்ச்சைக்குரிய

Synonyms : contentious

Antonyms : certain

Example : “years of wrangling over a controversial bypass”

19) claimed

Meaning : state or assert that something is the case, typically without providing evidence or proof.

Tamil Meaning : கூறினார்

Synonyms : assert

Antonyms : abandon

Example : “the Prime Minister claimed that he was concerned about Third World debt”

20) Pre-emptive

Meaning : serving or intended to pre-empt or forestall something, especially to prevent attack by disabling the enemy.

Tamil Meaning : முன் முன்னுரிமை

Synonyms : preventive

Antonyms : permissive

Example : “a pre-emptive strike”

21) tacit

Meaning : understood or implied without being stated.(adj)

Tamil Meaning : மறைமுகமான

Synonyms : implicit

Antonyms : stated

Example : “your silence may be taken to mean tacit agreement”

22) sought

Meaning : attempt to find (something).

Tamil Meaning : முயன்று

Synonyms : desired

Example : “they came here to seek shelter from biting winter winds”

23) recovery

Meaning : a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength.

Tamil Meaning : மீட்பு

Synonyms : improvement

Antonyms : deterioration

Example : “signs of recovery in the housing market

24) starved

Meaning : suffer or die or cause to suffer or die from hunger.

Tamil Meaning : பசியால் வாடி

Synonyms : anorexic

Antonyms : full

Example : “she left her animals to starve”

25) tranche

Meaning : a portion of something, especially money.

Tamil Meaning : பகுதிக்கும்

Synonyms : share

Antonyms : emit

Example : “they released the first tranche of the loan”

26) stimulate

Meaning : raise levels of physiological or nervous activity in (the body or any biological system).(v)

Tamil Meaning : தூண்டுகிறது

Synonyms : inspire

Antonyms : block

Example : “the women are given fertility drugs to stimulate their ovaries”

27) restrictive

Meaning : imposing restrictions on someone’s activities or freedom.(adj)

Tamil Meaning : கட்டுப்படுத்தப்பட்ட

Synonyms : confining

Example : “a web of restrictive regulations”

28) semblance

Meaning : the outward appearance or apparent form of something, especially when the reality is different.(n)

Synonyms : pretense

Antonyms : reality

Example : “she tried to force her thoughts back into some semblance of order”

29) hump

Meaning : a rounded raised mass of earth or land.(n)

Synonyms : bulge

Antonyms : depression

Example : “they sat on a hump of cropped grass”

30) allocations

Meaning : the action or process of allocating or sharing out something(n).

Tamil Meaning : ஒதுக்கீடுகளை

Synonyms : allotment

Antonyms : whole

Example : “more efficient allocation of resources”

31) triumph

Meaning : a great victory or achievement.(n)

Tamil Meaning : வெற்றி

Synonyms : pride

Antonyms : failure

Example : “a garden built to celebrate Napoleon’s many triumphs”

32) regrettable

Meaning : (of conduct or an event) giving rise to regret; undesirable; unwelcome.

Tamil Meaning : வருந்ததக்க

Synonyms : deplorable

Antonyms : cheerful

Example : “the loss of this number of jobs is regrettable”

33) restrictions

Meaning : a limiting condition or measure, especially a legal one(n).

Tamil Meaning : கட்டுப்பாடு

Synonyms : constraint

Antonyms : allowance

Example : “planning restrictions on commercial development”

34) mystery

Meaning : something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain.

Tamil Meaning : மர்மம்

Synonyms : conundrum

Antonyms : known

Example : “the mysteries of outer space”

35) unfortunate

Meaning : having or marked by bad fortune; unlucky(adj).

Tamil Meaning : துரதிருஷ்டவசமான

Synonyms : adverse

Antonyms : auspicious

Example : “there’d been an unfortunate accident”

36) apportion

Meaning : divide up and share out.

Tamil Meaning : பங்கிடு

Synonyms : allocate

Antonyms : withhold

Example : “voting power will be apportioned according to contribution”

37) recovery

Meaning : a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength.

Tamil Meaning : மீட்பு

Synonyms :improvement

Antonyms : deterioration

Example : “signs of recovery in the housing market”

38) waiver

Meaning : an act or instance of waiving a right or claim.

Synonyms : remission

Antonyms : allowance

Example : “their acquiescence could amount to a waiver”

39) grappling

Meaning : engage in a close fight or struggle without weapons; wrestle(v).

Tamil Meaning : ஆகியன

Synonyms : confront

Antonyms : agree

Example : “passers-by grappled with the man after the knife attack”

40) prudence

Meaning : the quality of being prudent; cautiousness.(n)

Tamil Meaning : மதிநுட்பம்

Synonyms : austerity

Antonyms : ignorance

Example : “we need to exercise prudence in such important matters”


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