THE HINDU EDITORIAL : JULY 5, 2018

 

THE HINDU EDITORIAL – July 5, 2018 is one of the must read for the competitive exams like SBI PO Prelims , SBI CLERK Prelims Exam, BOB PO Manipal Online Exam and South Indian Bank PO Manipal Exam. These topics are widely expected to be asked in the reading comprehension , Cloze Test or in Error Detection topics in the forthcoming exams. So gear up for your Exam preparation and learn new words daily.



a) How to rule Delhi

In ruling that the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi has no independent decision-making power, and has to act mainly on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, the Supreme Court has restored the primary role played by the “representative government” in the National Capital Territory. Though seen as a Union Territory, Delhi was created as a separate category, with an elected Assembly with powers to enact laws in all matters falling under the State and Concurrent lists, with the exception of public order, police and land. This gave it a status higher than other UTs. The demand for full statehood has been around for many years now, but after the Aam Aadmi Party came to power the constitutional tussle between the two tiers of government has become an acrimonious battle between AAP and the BJP at the Centre. Until now, the situation was tilted in favour of the Centre because of the Lt. Governor’s claim that he had the authority to refer any matter to the President. The proviso that allowed him to make such a reference was used to block major decisions of the AAP regime. The Delhi High Court agreed with this two years ago, giving the impression that administrative decisions needed the Lt. Governor’s concurrence. In a judgment that essentially reaffirms the constitutional position, the Supreme Court has ruled that the Lt. Governor has to ordinarily act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. At the same time, it has retained the Lt. Governor’s powers to refer matters to the President for a decision. However — and this is the nub of the judgment — it has significantly circumscribed this power. The power to refer “any matter” to the President no longer means “every matter”. Further, there is no requirement of the Lt. Governor’s concurrence for any proposal. The ‘reference’ clause may give rise to conflict even now. However, the court has significantly limited its potential for mischief. It has not given an exhaustive list of matters that can be referred, but Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, in a separate but concurring opinion, has indicated that it could “encompass substantial issues of finance and policy which impact upon the status of the national capital or implicate vital interests of the Union.” Every trivial difference of opinion will not fall under the proviso. Overall, the verdict is an appeal to a sense of constitutional morality and constitutional trust among high functionaries. It has ruled out Mr. Kejriwal’s demand of full statehood, and the critical powers — over police, land and public order — still remain vested with the Centre. However, the court having stressed that the elected government is the main authority in Delhi’s administration, the controversies over the arbitrary withholding of Cabinet decisions may end, or at least diminish. The basic message is that an elected government cannot be undermined by an unelected administrator. The larger one is that the Union and its units should embrace a collaborative federal architecture for co-existence and inter-dependence.


b) Flood of despair: Mumbai’s flooding woes

Mumbai is an efficient city in some ways, but this reputation depends on fair weather. It turns into a soggy mess with the arrival of a monsoon. This year the season has begun with the spectacular collapse of a pedestrian bridge on a crucial railway line in Andheri, causing injuries and overall urban paralysis. Not even a year has passed since the ghastly stampede on a foot overbridge at Elphinstone Road station, that took over 20 lives. The recurrent disasters involving infrastructure are proof of the indifference among policymakers to the city’s needs, even as they speak of a ‘global standard’ of living. It is fair to ask whether Mumbai is prepared, after the passage of a dozen years, to meet a disaster such as the July 2005 flooding caused by 99.4 cm of rain in a 24-hour period. The city continues to attract a large number of people looking for opportunity — the population rose from 11.9 million in 2001 to 18.4 million a decade later. But urban managers, led by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, have not invested enough in new infrastructure and have done a shoddy job of maintaining the old. If Maharashtra has to achieve higher rates of economic growth and touch an ambitious 10%, as Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis desires, Mumbai’s infrastructure planning should be in the hands of an empowered custodian who can secure the cooperation of all urban agencies. A return to nature is needed to relieve Mumbai of its flooding woes. According to one estimate, the city’s Mithi river, blocked by debris and garbage, has lost about 60% of its catchment to development. The setting up of a Supreme Court monitoring committee has not helped much. It will take resolute measures to stop the release of sewage and industrial chemicals into the Mithi, and retrieve lost mangroves. A cleaner river connected to functional drainage can aid in the speedy removal of flood waters, and improve the environment. Yet, there are other basic challenges which are particularly worrisome to less affluent residents. In a 2015 study, the World Bank found that half of the poor did not consider moving out of flood-prone areas, because of the uncertainty of living in a new place with severe social disruptions and reduced access to education and health facilities. What this underscore is the need to make the best use of all available space, densify development where feasible, and improve conditions in situ. It is welcome that a joint safety audit with the IIT will be conducted on public infrastructure, in the wake of the bridge collapse. But such inspections must be regularly carried out and quick remedial steps taken.


WORDS/VOCABULARY

1) Enact

Meaning: Make (a bill or other proposal) law.

Example: “legislation was enacted to attract international companies”

Synonyms: Pass, Approve

Antonyms: Repeal

2) Statehood

Meaning: The status of being a recognized independent nation.

Example: “their aspirations for independent statehood have been consistently frustrated”

3) Tussle

Meaning: A vigorous struggle or scuffle, typically in order to obtain or achieve something.

Example: “there was a tussle for the ball”

Synonyms: Scuffle, Struggle

4) Acrimonious

Meaning: (typically of speech or discussion) angry and bitter.

Example: “an acrimonious dispute about wages”

Synonyms: Bitter, Caustic

5) Tilted

Meaning: Change or cause to change in favour of one person or thing as opposed to another.

Example: “the balance of industrial power tilted towards the workers”

6) Proviso

Meaning: A condition or qualification attached to an agreement or statement.

Example: “he let his house with the proviso that his own staff should remain to run it”

Synonyms: Condition, Stipulation

7) Impression

Meaning: An idea, feeling, or opinion about something or someone, especially one formed without conscious thought or on the basis of little evidence.

Example: “his first impressions of Manchester were very positive”

Synonyms: Apprehension, Intuition

8) Concurrence

Meaning: Agreement or consistency.

Example: “delays can be avoided by arriving at political concurrence at the start”

9) Reaffirms

Meaning: State again strongly.

Example: “the prime minister reaffirmed his commitment to the agreement”

10) Retained

Meaning: Continue to have (something); keep possession of.

Example: “Labour retained the seat”

Synonyms: Keep, Maintain

Antonyms: Lose, Abolish

11) Nub

Meaning: The crux or central point of a matter.

Example: “the nub of the problem lies elsewhere”

12) Circumscribed

Meaning: Restrict (something) within limits.

Example: “the minister’s powers are circumscribed both by tradition and the organization of local government”

Synonyms: Restrict, Limit

13) Conflict

Meaning: A prolonged armed struggle.

Example: “regional conflicts”

Synonyms: Dispute, Squabble

Antonyms: Agreement

14) Exhaustive

Meaning: Including or considering all elements or aspects; fully comprehensive.

Example: “the guide outlines every bus route in exhaustive detail”

Synonyms: Comprehensive, Complete

Antonyms: Perfunctory, Incomplete

15) Encompass

Meaning: Include comprehensively.

Example: “no studies encompass all sectors of medical care”

Synonyms: Cover, Embrace

16) Implicate

Meaning: Bear some of the responsibility for (an action or process, especially a criminal or harmful one).

Example: “viruses are known to be implicated in the development of certain cancers”

17) Trivial

Meaning: Of little value or importance.

Example: “huge fines were imposed for trivial offences”

Synonyms: Unimportant, Insignificant

Antonyms: Important, Significant

18) Vested

Meaning: Confer or bestow (power, authority, property, etc.) on someone.

Example: “executive power is vested in the President”

19) Withholding

Meaning: Refuse to give (something that is due to or is desired by another).

Example: “the name of the dead man is being withheld”

Synonyms: Stop, Retain

20) Diminish

Meaning: Make or become less.

Example: “the new law is expected to diminish the government’s chances”

Synonyms: Decrease, Decline

Antonyms: Increase

21) Undermined

Meaning: Lessen the effectiveness, power, or ability of, especially gradually or insidiously.

Example: “this could undermine years of hard work”

Synonyms: Impede, Threaten

Antonyms: Enhance, Improve

22) Embrace

Meaning: Include or contain (something) as a constituent part.

Example: “his career embraces a number of activities—composing, playing, and acting”

Synonyms: Include, Involve

Antonyms: Exclude

23) Soggy

Meaning: Very wet and soft.

Example: “we squelched through the soggy ground”

Synonyms: Pappy, Sloppy

24) Spectacular

Meaning: Strikingly large or obvious.

Example: “the party suffered a spectacular loss in the election”

Synonyms: Impressive, Remarkable

Antonyms: Unimpressive

25) Paralysis

Meaning: Inability to act or function properly.

Example: “the paralysis gripping the country”

Synonyms: Shutdown, Stoppage

26) Ghastly

Meaning: Causing great horror or fear.

Example: “one of the most ghastly crimes ever committed”

Synonyms: Terrible, Frightful

Antonyms: Pleasant, Trivial

27) Stampede

Meaning: An occasion when many large animals or many people suddenly all move quickly and in an uncontrolled way, usually in the same direction at the same time, especially because of fear.

Example: Two shoppers were injured in the stampede as shop doors opened on the first day of the sale.

28) Shoddy

Meaning: Badly made or done.

Example: “we’re not paying good money for shoddy goods”

Synonyms: Poor-quality, Inferior

Antonyms: Well made, Carful

29) Ambitious

Meaning: (of a plan or piece of work) intended to satisfy high aspirations and therefore difficult to achieve.

Example: “an ambitious enterprise”

Synonyms: Difficult, Exacting

Antonyms: Unambitious, Easy

30) Desires

Meaning: Strongly wish for or want (something).

Example: “he never achieved the status he so desired”

Synonyms: Want, Crave

Antonyms: Unwanted

31) Woes

Meaning: Things that cause sorrow or distress; troubles.

Example: “to add to his woes, customers have been spending less”

Synonyms: Trouble, Problem

32) Debris

Meaning: Scattered pieces of rubbish or remains.

Example: “workmen were clearing the roads of the debris from shattered buildings”

Synonyms: Refuse, Rubbish

33) Catchment

Meaning: The action of collecting water, especially the collection of rainfall over a natural drainage area.

Example: “water catchment continues the whole year round”

34) Sewage

Meaning: Waste water and excrement conveyed in sewers.

Example: “sewage treatment”

35) Worrisome

Meaning: Causing anxiety or concern.

Example: “a worrisome problem”

Synonyms: Worrying, Daunting

36) Affluent

Meaning: (especially of a group or area) having a great deal of money; wealthy.

Example: “the affluent societies of the western world”

Synonyms: Wealthy, Rich

Antonyms: Poor

37) Disruptions

Meaning: Disturbance or problems which interrupt an event, activity, or process.

Example: “the scheme was planned to minimize disruption”

Synonyms: Disturbance, Confusion

38) Densify

Meaning: Make (something) more dense.

Example: “densified hardboard”

39) Feasible

Meaning: Possible and practical to do easily or conveniently.

Example: “the Dutch have demonstrated that it is perfectly feasible to live below sea level”

Synonyms: Practicable, Practical

Antonyms: Impractical, Impossible

40) In situ

Meaning: In the appropriate position.

Example: “her guests were all in situ”


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