Prashant Mavani, is an expert in current affairs analysis and holds a MSc in Management from University of Surrey (U.K.). Above all he is a passionate teacher.

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• Recently-concluded 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China• It showcased President Xi Jinping’s primacy, his vision and his status as the helmsman of the

party and the nation.

• Mr. Xi is a transformative leader in the making but has a long way to go before he can rival Mao and Deng in impact and legacy.

• Mr. Xi has, however, taken decisive steps to move away from Deng’s legacy in four key areas: collective leadership; identification of successors well ahead of the transfer of power; a measure of differentiation between the party and the state; and the dictum of China biding its time, keeping a low profile and never claiming leadership.

• The new Politburo is packed with Mr. Xi’s close associates. By one count, there are as many as 14 of his allies among 25 members of the Politburo.

• In another departure from the post-Deng practice, no potential successor to Mr. Xi has been included in the new line-up of the PBSC.

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• For India, one key outcome of the party conclave is the articulation of China’s increasingly explicit great power ambitions.

• In his speech, Mr. Xi talked about China becoming “a global leader of composite national strength and international influence” and moving closer to the centre-stage by mid-century. A Xinhua commentary of October 24 is more candid: “By 2050… China is set to regain its might and re-ascend to the top of the world.”

• The preoccupation with building up global combat capabilities to safeguard China’s overseas interests also figures prominently in Mr. Xi’s vision.• Mr. Xi has set the goal of completing modernisation of the armed forces by 2035 and transforming the PLA

into a world-class military by 2050.

• Mr. Xi has suggested that “the Chinese path… offers a new option for other countries and nations who want to speed up their development while preserving their independence, and it offers Chinese wisdom and approach to solving problems facing mankind”.

• Mr. Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is the key instrument in this grand strategy and it is now embedded in the party constitution.

• It may also be noted that since his 2014 visit to India, President Xi has emerged as the principal Chinese interlocutor for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

• Looking ahead, a more assertive China will be one of the most critical factors shaping India’s external environment, apart from engendering new challenges in the management of bilateral relations, more so as the footprints of the two re-emergent countries will increasingly overlap. www.studyiq.com

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• This trans-Pacific bromance is only set to deepen during Mr. Trump’s first official trip to Asia (November 5-17), which will begin with a three-day stop in Japan.

• It will underscore the close alliance between Japan and the U.S. at a time of shifting geopolitical sands in Japan’s neighbourhood.

• Mr. Trump has thus far lacked a clearly articulated Asia policy.

• Consistency is not Mr. Trump’s strong suit. • On the campaign trail he fingered the U.S. trade deficit with Japan (which stands at more

than $68 billion) as an example of American industrial weakness.

• He suggested that Tokyo pick up a greater proportion of the bill for the U.S. military facilities it hosts.

• And he pulled the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, causing a loss of face to Mr. Abe who had expended considerable political capital in committing Japan to it.

• Mr. Abe continued to court Mr. Trump.• This strategy has largely paid off, blunting U.S. trade criticism of Japan and eliciting explicit

commitment to Japan’s defence.www.studyiq.com

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• The ironic challenge that has emerged for Mr. Abe is to rein in Mr. Trump’s enthusiasm for standing up to North Korea.

• The Japanese are generally pacifist and have scant appetite for brinkmanship.

• Mr. Trump appears to distrust multilateral fora, preferring to deal with nations on a bilateral basis.

• Japan has also recently suggested a quadrilateral top-level dialogue between Japan, the U.S., India and Australia to promote open trade and security cooperation.

• Mr. Abe’s embrace of, and success in this role as Mr. Trump’s moderating, alliance-building guide to the region can be crucial in determining the outcome of global politics.

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• Underscores the importance of inspections and protocols for hazardous industrial operations. • It has cost at least 32 lives and caused severe injuries to scores of personnel.

• The basic objective of the Indian Boilers Act, 1923 is to ensure the safety of life and protection of property by mandating uniform standards in the quality and upkeep of these units.• High pressure boilers are hazardous pieces of equipment

• Quite clearly, the accident was entirely preventable because boilers are designed to provide warnings as soon as dangerous pressure builds up and trigger automatic safety devices at a critical point. • Periodic inspections to ensure that all these features are working and intact.

• Industrial regulation has, unfortunately, come to be viewed as a barrier to ease of doing business in India. • A rigorous approach to accident reporting must become part of the process if the weak

spots in regulation are to be addressed.

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• State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi finally visited the region after 3 months.• Ms. Suu Kyi had little more than platitudes to offer

• Despite taking over a top post after the election, her civilian government’s powers have been clipped as the military still holds sway over defence, homeaffairs and border issues.

• The Rohingya, meanwhile, have been left to deal with themselves, unwanted and stateless in their homeland and forced to migrate, mostly to Bangladesh, in hazardous conditions.

• The Myanmar government has said that it will repatriate returning Rohingya if they prove they were residents of Rakhine, but it is not clear how the refugees would be able to do so having been denied citizenship and having fled their villages under duress with barely anything in hand.

• Myanmar’s evasiveness makes it all the more imperative that the international community, including India, quickly provide succour for the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who are living on the edge.

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Specify Aadhaar link deadlines, says SC

• The Supreme Court today refused to pass any interim order in the matter of Aadhar linking with bank accounts and mobile connections.

• The court said that a final hearing in all Aadhaar-related issues would start before another bench in the last week of this month.

• The Apex Court however, asked banks to indicate in the messages sent to customers that the last date to link Aadhaar with accounts is December 31.

• It said, telecom service providers should also tell customers that last date to link Aadhaar with mobile numbers is February 6, next year.

• The court sought the government's response on four petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act and linking of bank accounts and mobile numbers with the 12-digit biometric identification number.

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Evening rain lashes Chennai, hits normal life

• After a heavy downpour on Thursday night that threw normal life out of gear, residents of Chennai were in for another night of intense rainfall on Friday, though the earlier part of the day remained relatively rain-free.

• “The low pressure area lying over south west Bay of Bengal off Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu coast is likely to bring rain or thundershowers to most places over coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry,” said S. Bala- chandran, Director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre in Chennai, on Friday.

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No action against note ban petitioners

• The Centre today told the Supreme Court that no criminal action will be taken against those petitioners who were holding old currency notes of 500 and 1,000 rupee denominations till further hearing in connection with the demonetisationissue.

• The apex Court was today hearing 14 individual petitions seeking its nod to deposit demonetised notes and said that a five-judge Constitution Bench will deal with this aspect besides deciding the validity of Centre's decision to demonetisecurrency notes.

• The court said, the Constitution Bench will also deal with the individual plea of those who could not deposit their currency notes during the window period provided by the Reserve Bank of India.

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India to ask for Naik’s extradition ‘very soon’

• India will make an official request to Malaysia for the extradition of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.

• Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told media in New Delhi today that India is completing its internal legal process in this regard.

• Responding to a media query on China blocking international consensus on listing Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, Mr Kumar said, India will continue its fight against terrorism and the like-minded countries are with it on the issue.

• He said, decision to block consensus by a particular country should not be seen as end of fight against terror.

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Jnanpith Award for Krishna Sobti

• Eminent Hindi Litterateur Krishna Sobti has been awarded the Jnanpith Award for the year 2017 for her path breaking contribution to Indian literature.

• Jnanpith is the highest literary award of the country.

• A press release issued by the Jnanpeeth said the language used by Sobti in her writings is influenced by intermingling of Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi cultures where her characters are always bold and daring - ready to accept all challenges thrown by the society.

• Krishna Sobti dealt with a plethora of issues ranging from partition, man woman relationships, changing dynamics of Indian society and slow deterioration of human values.

• Some of her works include Daar se Bichhudi, Mitron Marjani, and Zindaginama.

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Jnanpith Award for Krishna Sobti

• Eminent Hindi Litterateur Krishna Sobti has been awarded the Jnanpith Award for the year 2017 for her path breaking contribution to Indian literature.

• Jnanpith is the highest literary award of the country.

• A press release issued by the Jnanpeeth said the language used by Sobti in her writings is influenced by intermingling of Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi cultures where her characters are always bold and daring - ready to accept all challenges thrown by the society.

• Krishna Sobti dealt with a plethora of issues ranging from partition, man woman relationships, changing dynamics of Indian society and slow deterioration of human values.

• Some of her works include Daar se Bichhudi, Mitron Marjani, and Zindaginama.

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Private sector must invest more in contract farming: PM• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited foreign investors to be a part of India's

exciting growth journey in food processing sector. • He pitched India as one of the fastest growing economies of the world.• Inaugurating the World Food India 2017 conference in New Delhi today, Mr Modi

assured the government's whole-hearted support to foreign investors. • He said, starting businesses in India is easier now as procedures have been simplified.• PM said India is also rapidly progressing on the Global Innovation Index, Global Logistics

Index and Global Competitiveness Index.• Mr Modi said, India's strong agricultural base provides a solid launchpad to create a

vibrant food processing sector. • He emphasised that a vast consumer base, rising incomes, favourable investment

climate and a government dedicated to the ease of doing business make India the right place for the global food processing fraternity.

• Mr Modi said, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana is expected to attract a five billion dollar investment to the country.

• The Prime Minister also launched the Nivesh Bandhu portal which will give details about investment opportunities in the country's food processing sector.

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PepsiCo leads Rs 68,000 cr. plans for food sector spend

• Thirteen companies, including majors such as PepsiCo, Coca Cola, ITC and Patanjali have committed to invest Rs68,000 crore or about $10.2 billion in India’s food processing sector.

• “These investments will help us realise the goal of doubling farmers’ income as well as generating massive employment in the food processing sector,” she said.

• “Improvement in agricultural yields and increase in the level of processing from the current 10% to 30% can increase the GDP by as much as five fold.”

• The food processing industry in India is going to undergo a “sea change” over the next few years, due to increased agricultural production, better storage facilities, and changing consumer food preferences, according to Finance Minister ArunJaitley.

• “The farm-to-kitchen chain is going to change in India, like elsewhere, with increased agricultural production, better storage facilities, more food processing and changing consumer food preference,” he added.

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Answers

1. Ease of doing business is just a part of overall investment climate.

2. It established a sanctions regime to cover individuals and entities. In short, non armed steps

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Question/s

1. Match the following

2. How escalating conflict between many different countries is providing an opportunity for terror group to spread its agenda? Use examples where necessary.

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Country Community

Russia Madhesi

Nepal Kurdish

Iraq Uighur

China Chechenya

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