Daily Hindu Editorials

💥 Daily Word Bytes - 2  from editorial  - Ethics first — on TN organ transplant allocations 💥 provision (noun) – facilities, services, arrangements. Hindu Editorial usage  :  State governments, which have responsibility for health care provision, are expected to ensure that the organs that are altruistically donated by families of brain-dead people are given to recipients ethically, and as mandated by law altruistically (adverb) – unselfishly, selflessly, disinterestedly. Hindu Editorial usage  :  State governments, which have responsibility for health care provision, are expected to ensure that the organs that are altruistically donated by families of brain-dead people are given to recipients ethically, and as mandated by law lay down (phrasal verb) – formulate, stipulate, insist (on a rule). Hindu Editorial usage  :  Priority for citizens enrolled in the State and national waiting lists over foreign nationals is laid down in t...

💥 Daily Word Bytes - 1  from editorial  - Historic handshake — on Trump-Kim summit 💥 traverse (verb) – negotiate, go across, cross. Hindu Editorial usage  :  Trump and Kim have traversed a remarkable distance; they must build on it build on (phrasal verb) – develop, enhance, expand on. Hindu Editorial usage  :  Trump and Kim have traversed a remarkable distance; they must build on it affirmation (noun) – endorsement, ratification, confirmation. Hindu Editorial usage  :  The historic summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore is an affirmation of the power of diplomacy. shake hands with (phrase) – hold someone’s right hand tightly at meeting as a sign of agreement. Hindu Editorial usage  :  Now, as Mr. Trump shook hands with Mr. Kim, who had once said the U.S. President was “mentally deranged”, it was a reminder of Richard Nixon’s ground-breaking 1972 visit to Beijing...

👉As the civil war winds down, the once overlapping interests of Moscow and Tehran are disentangling👈 As the new Cold War gets hotter, Russia now faces a big dilemma in West Asia of defending its allies. When President Vladimir Putin decided to send Russian troops to Syria in September 2015, the regime there of President Bashar al-Assad was on the brink of collapse. The Islamic State (IS) had already declared Raqqah in eastern Syria as its de facto capital. Rebels and jihadists had captured eastern Aleppo, Damascus suburbs, including Eastern Ghouta, Idlib province and southern towns like Daraa and Quneitra; they had also established a strong presence in Hama and Homs. Several rebel factions were breathing down on Damascus and the Mediterranean coastal belt, the stronghold of the regime. Three years later, Mr. Assad is safe, while his regime has recaptured most of the territories it lost in the early days of the war. 👉A successful partnership Both Russia and Iran have play...

👉Trump and Kim have traversed a remarkable distance; they must build on it👈 The historic summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore is an affirmation of the power of diplomacy. Until a few months ago, the two countries had been trading nuclear threats, as the North raced along with its nuclear weapons programme. Now, as Mr. Trump shook hands with Mr. Kim, who had once said the U.S. President was “mentally deranged”, it was a reminder of Richard Nixon’s ground-breaking 1972 visit to Beijing. Through the day, both Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim were keen on casting the “comprehensive” meet in a positive light. The two whimsical leaders deserve full credit for this thaw in relations, given the decades of hostility and the quick diplomacy that pulled the Korean peninsula back from the brink of war. It all began with the new South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s expansive outreach to the North. Mr. Kim reciprocated by sending athletes to the Wint...

👉There must be an inquiry into how allocations for organ transplants are made in Tamil Nadu👈 Transplantation of human organs is today a mature programme in many States, making it possible for people with kidney, liver, heart and lung failure to extend their lives. Heart and lung transplants are expensive and less widely available, compared with kidney and liver procedures. State governments, which have responsibility for health care provision, are expected to ensure that the organs that are altruistically donated by families of brain-dead people are given to recipients ethically, and as mandated by law. Priority for citizens enrolled in the State and national waiting lists over foreign nationals is laid down in the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules. When the law is clear, it is extraordinary that seemingly preferential allotment of hearts and lungs has been made to foreign patients in Tamil Nadu — in 2017, foreigners accounted for 25% of heart transplants and 33% ...

👉Mandatory segregation and recycling of plastic waste must be implemented before it is eventually phased out👈 Every piece of plastic ever disposed of (this includes the toothbrush your great-grandfather used) is damaging the earth. It’s lying somewhere in the earth, floating in the ocean, or been broken down into microparticles and in the food chain. Although a fraction of the plastic disposed of is recycled, most of it eventually ends up in the ocean or in dump sites outside city limits. The best way to reduce plastic pollution is to reduce and phase out its consumption. Solutions range from carrying your own reusable steel glass, box, spoon and cloth bag while eating out or shopping for groceries to using alternatives to plastic for household items. 👉Rules and results India’s Plastic Waste Management Rules (published in March 2016) called for a ban on plastic bags below 50 micron thickness and a phasing out, within two years, of the manufacture and sale of non-recycl...

👉India’s involvement and stakes have increased in the Central Asian region👈 India joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as a full-fledged member for the first time at the Qingdao summit this month, a development that may over time influence Central Asian geopolitics. The historical rivalry between the British Empire in the Indian subcontinent and Tsarist Russia in the 19th and early 20th centuries, known as the Great Game, was a clash of imperial ambitions between two great powers, in which the territory of Afghanistan helped minimise the risk of direct confrontation between them. In the early and mid-19th century, British officials of the East India Company feared that the advance of Tsarist Russia into the Khanates of Central Asia might prove detrimental to British interests in the Indian subcontinent. The officials were worried that if the Russians crossed Afghanistan, it would be easier for them to cross over the plains of Punjab and advance deep into the...

👉In Bhopal, decades after the gas tragedy👈 I was born after an infamous incident changed a big city in India. The city survived, but it will never be the same again. That incident was the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, and I realised in 2013 that it redefined the meaning of the word ‘tragedy’ for me. When I visited old Bhopal in December that year, the glitches that I face in a city like Mumbai, such as stepping out of the house without an umbrella on a rainy day, seemed to be a part of another world. The gas tragedy, which killed thousands and has transformed the lives of millions, continues till today and I witnessed it. Around 10,000 people are estimated to have died after methyl isocyanate and other poisonous gases made their way into people’s bodies because of a gas leak. Inside the Union Carbide factory, I could not imagine the scene that would have unfolded outside: people running on the streets, bodies lying in heaps. When I saw the rusted iron rods and tankers, I di...

‘Govt. set to unveil 500 cr. credit enhancement fund (GS 3 Eco) The government is set to unveil a 500-crore credit enhancement fund next month to facilitate infrastructure investments by insurance and pension funds. Details:  India is launching a dedicated fund to provide credit enhancement for infrastructure projects which will help in upgrading credit ratings of bonds issued by infrastructure companies and facilitate investment from investors like pension and insurance funds. The initial corpus of the fund, to be sponsored by IIFCL (India Infrastructure Finance Company), will be 500 crore, and it will operate as a non-banking finance company. There is a “mismatch” at present, where bonds floated by infrastructure finance firms are typically rated BBB, whereas regulatory agencies mandate a rating of at least ‘AA’ for investments by the long-term pension and insurance funds. IIFCL will hold a 22.5% stake in the NBFC, while the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AII...

💥 Daily Word Bytes - 2  from editorial  - Prevailing in Paris 💥 prevail (verb) – succeed, prove superior, conquer. Hindu Editorial usage  :  Prevailing in Paris testimony (noun) – testament, proof, evidence/witness. Hindu Editorial usage  :  Rafael Nadal’s 11th French Open title is a testimony to the transformation of his game take for granted (phrase) – fail to appreciate (someone). Hindu Editorial usage  :  There is a tendency among tennis fans to take Rafael Nadal’s clay court dominance for granted.   drain out (verb) – empty out, take up, remove. Hindu Editorial usage  :    Ever since he won his first French Open in 2005, the Spaniard has single-handedly drained out almost all the suspense that Paris may have otherwise offered hold aloft (verb) – elevate, raise up. Hindu Editorial usage  :  On Sunday, when he held aloft the Roland Garros trophy for the 11th time in his career, after defe...