588940956.20-08-15

7/23/2019 588940956.20-08-15

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/58894095620-08-15 1/18

Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 20-08-15

S.NO. NES !TE" S#$$%&%S ESSENCE O' THE A(T!C$E

1. NSA talks ontrack: officials(Pages 1 and 12)

a) I.R a) Official said the recent series of provocations fro

across the !order "ill not derail the talks !et"een NSA

A#it $oval and his Pakistani co%nterpart Sarta# A&i&'

sched%led for A%g%st 2 and 2.

2. India acceptsinvitation tovictor* parade in+ei#ing (Page 12)

a) I.R a) ,nding "eeks of spec%lation' India has accepted-hinas invitation to a ilitar* parade in +ei#ing on

Septe!er to cele!rate the end of orld ar II.

. /%llah Oar: a*th ofconvenience (Page10)

a) International a) he disantling of the /%llah Oar *th "as

epected to create soe fragentation in the #ihadi

net"orks !%t the fract%ring is proving to !e diffic%lt than

anticipated (as events in Afghanistan sho")' follo"ing

the 3S taking a !ack seat in the region.

. Ranil "arnsagainst divisive

politics (Page 1)

a) International a) Sri 4ankas 3nited National Part* leader and P/

Ranil ickreesinghe said his governent "o%ld not

allo" an*one to ind%lge in divisive politics.

5. 6%an akes itsfirst arket ove

(Page 11)

a) International

!) ,cono*

a) -hinas desire to !e a "orld econoic leader is

legitiate' !%t too tight an e!race of glo!al finance

co%ld kill the ver* sta!ilit* that has arked the co%ntr*s

rapid ascent.

7. 8eran* gives*es to 8reek

!ailo%t (Page 1)

a) Internationala) 8eran*s Parliaent strongl* approved a third

!ailo%t for 8reece' reoving a ke* h%rdle to providing

ne" loans to the co%ntr* and keeping it fro defa%lting

on its de!ts in as little as 2 ho%rs.

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9. IS !eheads 2;*ear;oldarchaeologist ofPal*ra (Page1)

a) International a) he Islaic State gro%p has !eheaded the 2;*ear;

old retired chief archaeologist of Pal*ra' "ho ref%sed to

leave the ancient cit* "hen the #ihadists capt%red it.

. 8ovt treads "aril*on R, Actaendents(Page 1)

a) National

!) Polit*

a) he -entre has decided to adopt the slo"er !%t ore

safer ro%te of getting "ritten deands fro all State

govts !efore aending the R, 200<' to revoke the no;

detention provision in eleentar* school (till -lass =III)

despite the %nanio%s o%tcr* for its revocation.

<. India Post' 10others get nod for

pa*ents !anks(Pages 1 and 15)

a) ,cono* a) he Reserve +ank of India gave approval in

principle for 11 entities to set %p pa*ents !anks.

10. ,arl* eperients

"ith technolog*(Page 11)

a) National

!) S>

a) he Satellite Instr%ctional elevision ,perient

(Indias first attept to %se technolog* as an ed%cational

tool) cele!rates its 0th anniversar* this onth.

S.NO. NES !TE" S#$$%&%S &AC)*(O%ND !"+O(TANT +O!NTS

1. NSA talks on

track: officials(Pages 1 and 12)

a) I.R a) India ? Pakistan

relations

!) +order disp%tes

c) @%rri*at conference

d) ashir iss%e

e) erroris

a) Official said the recent

series of provocations fro

across the !order "ill not derail

the talks !et"een NSA A#it

$oval and his Pakistani

co%nterpart Sarta# A&i&'

sched%led for A%g 2 and 2.

!) he* "ere reacting to

Pakistans invitation of ashiri

separatist leaders to a reception

hosted for A&i& at the Pak @igh

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-oission on A%g 2. After a

eeting of @%rri*at leadership

in Srinagar' the chairpersons of

oderate and hard;line factions

confired their acceptance of

the invitation' and added that

the @%rri*at s%pports the India;

Pakistan talks.

c) Since the last foral talks"ith Pakistan in 2012' India has

added 15 ne" naes to a fresh

list of f%gitives to !e handed

over to neigh!o%ring co%ntr*

d%ring the NSA;level talks

sched%led on A%g 2. India has

also prepared a 1000;page

dossier on 3dhap%r attack

acc%sed /ohaad Naved'

"hich "ill !e shared "ith Pak.

d) India has also for%lated a

strateg* to disiss an*

coparison !et"een Sa#ha%ta

,press !last and the /%!ai

terror attack citing the role of

state actors in latter incident.

e) Official said deportation of

$a"ood I!rahi and speed*trial in the 27B11 /%!ai terror

attack case are soe of the ke*

iss%es to !e raised !* NSA A#it

$oval "ith his co%nterpart

Sarta# A&i& d%ring the talks.

2. India acceptsinvitation to

victor* parade in+ei#ing (Page 12)

a) I.R a) India ? -hinarelations

!) India ? Capan

a) ,nding "eeks of

spec%lation' India has accepted

-hinas invitation to a ilitar* parade in +ei#ing on Sept to

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relations

c) orld ar II

d) 1<52 Peace reat*

e) International /ilitar*ri!%nal

cele!rate end of orld ar II.

!) -hina has invited the 3S'

the 3' 8eran*' R%ssia' even

Capan and other nations to the

parade to coeorate the

90th anniversar* cele!rations of

"hat it calls the victor* of the

anti;fascist forces.

c) India "as ca%tio%s in

accepting invitation' "eighing

in conseD%ences on its !ilateral

ties "ith Capan. Relations

!et"een India and Capan have

!een strengthened over tie'

even after the "ar "hen the

International /ilitar* ri!%nal

(for the Ear ,asts trials of

Capanese "ar cries coittedd%ring the ;II) "as set %p.

d) India s%!itted a #%dgent

"hich said the defendants "ere

not g%ilt*. India also did not

sign the 1<52 peace treat*'

opting to sign a separate peace

treat* "ith CapanF so ok*o and

Ne" $elhi have an independent

relationship.

. /%llah Oar: a*th ofconvenience(Page 10)

a) International a) ali!an

!) ali!an ? Afghangovernent peace talks

c) Afghanistan sit%ation

d) Afghanistan ?

Pakistan relations

a) /%llah Oar eerged on

Afghan scene in 1<< (leading

the ali!an) to free andahar of

factional "arlords and open %p

the road fro Spin +oldak on

Pakistan;Afghanistan !order to

andahar' and later' on to @erat.

@is ilitar* s%ccess s%rprisedeven his ISI sponsors. h%s

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e) Inter;ServicesIntelligence (ISI)

f) ehreek;i; ali!anPakistan (P)

g) Islaic /oveent of 3&!ekistan (I/3)

!egan the eercise in *th;

aking.

!) In 1<<7' /%llah Oar took

on title of Air %l /%ineen

(-oander of the Eaithf%l)

"hen he donned the cloak of

Prophet !efore a large asse!l*

of Afghans in andahar. It

enhanced his legitiac* to leadthe #ihad against the regie of

Afghanistan President

+%rhan%ddin Ra!!ani. he

endorseent of his ne" title !*

the al;Gaeda' added to the *th.

c) @is stateents strongl*

opposed 3S and foreign

presence in Afghanistan' "ere

critical of Afghanistan President@aid ar&ai' aintained

a!ivalence a!o%t ali!ans

political office' !ased in $oha

(Gatar) and declined to anoint a

s%ccessor. All this coincided

perfectl* "ith the ISI agenda

and /%llah Oars legend

contin%ed to gro".

d) +oth Pakistans forerilitar* r%ler (8eneral Perve&

/%sharraf) and 8eneral AshfaD

a*ani (his s%ccessor as ar*

chief) had a health* dislike for

ar&ais Pasht%n nationalis.

,ven tho%gh cracks "ere

eerging "ithin the ali!an as

ar&ais @igh Peace -o%ncil

chaired !* Ra!!ani contin%ed to

reach o%t to those "illing totalk' episodic stateents fro

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/%llah Oar tro%!led the

process and aintained a front

of ali!an %nit*. In $ece!er

2011' Ra!!ani "as killed !* a

s%icide !o!er for "hich the

ali!an claied responsi!ilit*.

e) A po"er str%ggle in

ali!an "as %nder"a* since

2012 "hen /%llah Akhtar/anso%r tried to epel /%llah

A!d%l Ga*% Hakir fro his

position of ilitar* coander

!%t failed. @ardliners led !*

/%llah A!d%l Ra%f hadi (a

forer 8%antanao +a*

detainee) "ere attracted !* the

eergence of the IS "hich

grad%all* occ%pied large areas

of territor* in IraD and then inS*ria' "ith A!% +akr al;

+aghdadi esta!lishing a

caliphate and posing a direct

challenge to /%llah Oar.

f) /ean"hile' the eergence

of regional sh%ras like the

/iranshah sh%ra led !*

Calal%ddin @aDDanis son

(Sira#%ddin) and the Pesha"arsh%ra led !* Gari +ar*al and

/%llah A!d%l 4atif also

"eakened /%llah Oars G%etta

sh%ra.

g) he *ear 201 arked a

transition *ear in Afghanistan.

he 3S ended its co!at role

and President Ashraf 8hani

took over fro ar&ai after acontroversial election. In

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Pakistan' its -hief of Ar*

Staff 8eneral Raheel Sharif

la%nched Operation Har!;e;A&!

against eleents of the P and

the I/3.

h) 8hani needed to ens%re

sta!ilit* and realised that it

co%ld onl* happen "ith the ISIs

cooperation. @ence theovert%res to Pakistan ; his %ch

p%!licised call on 8en. Sharif at

the 8eneral @eadD%arters in

Ra"alpindi d%ring his t"o;da*

official visit to Pakistan in Nov

201' the "ithdra"al of reD%est

for Indian ilitar* hard"are'

sending Afghan ilitar* officers

for training' handing over of

P leader 4atif%llah /ehs%d'and a cooperation agreeent

!et"een intelligence agencies ;

in ret%rn for the ISIs s%pport for

a peace process "ith the

ali!an.

i) -hinese !acking for the

process !ecae evident "hen a

ro%nd of secret talks "as held

!et"een Afghan envo*s andali!an representatives in the

north"estern -hinese cit* of

3r%Di (and facilitated !*

Pakistan) !efore the /%rree

eeting !%t there "as no let;%p

in the ali!an offensive. /%llah

Akhtar /anso%r ("ho is close

to ISI) "as anaging dialog%e

!%t it needed legitiac*.

#) @ence the Ra&an

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endorseent attri!%ted to

/%llah Oar !%t it proved to !e

too %ch for those "ho "ere

opposed to the talks and felt

offended that /%llah Oars

*th "as !eing shaelessl*

eploited. he *th "as no

longer %sef%l and disantling it

had !ecoe necessar*. he onl*

"a* o%t "as to ackno"ledge/%llah Oars death and get

/%llah /anso%r anointed the

ne" leader.

k) 3nder the circ%stances'

the net ro%nd of talks "ith the

Afghan a%thorities has !een

postponed even as /anso%r

tries to consolidate his s%pport

!ase "ith help fro the ISI andthe @aDDani gro%p. he

disantling of the /%llah Oar

*th "as epected to create

soe fragentation in the #ihadi

net"orks !%t the fract%ring is

proving to !e essier than

anticipated.

l) 8hani "as losing patience

and had conve*ed his%nhappiness to Pakistan P/

Na"a& Sharif' D%estioning

Pakistans coitent to the

dialog%e. 8hani deanded that

the G%etta sh%ra !e p%t %nder

ho%se arrest' restrictions placed

on the sale of fertili&er in the

Eederall* Adinistered ri!al

Areas region to prevent its

diversion for !o! aking'co%nter;terroris operations

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etended against the @aDDani

net"ork' and condenation of

ali!an spring offensive' etc.

. Ranil "arnsagainst divisive

politics (Page 1)

a) International a) Sri 4ankas internaliss%es

!) 3nited NationalPart* (3NP)

c) ail NationalAlliance (NA)

a) Sri 4ankas 3NP leader and

P/ ickreesinghe said his

govt "o%ld not allo" an*one to

ind%lge in divisive politics.

!) @e said the govt "o%ld

arrive at a consens%s and !%ild a

frae"ork thro%gh "hich "e

"ill do o%r politics. here

"o%ld !e district developent

coordination !oards (headed !*

la"akers) to carr* o%t

decentralised developent.

+esides' the co%ntr* "o%ld have

8ra Ra#*a coittees./e!ers of civil societ* "o%ld

!e incl%ded in advisor*

co%ncils.

c) NA "ill s%pport the 3NP'

"hich has eerged as the single

largest part* in the Parliaent

election in Sri 4anka.

5. 6%an akes itsfirst arket ove(Page 11)

a) International

!) ,cono*

a) -hinas c%rrenc*deval%ation

!) Peoples +ank of

-hina (P+O-)

c) International

/onetar* E%nd (I/E)

d) Special $ra"ing

Rights (S$Rs)

a) -hina sprang a s%rprise on

"orld arkets last "eek. he

-hinese c%rrenc* renin!i (less

forall* kno"n as *%an) lost its

val%e against the 3S dollar !*

nearl* percent !et"een A%g

11 and 1. his "as its sharpest

"eekl* fall in over 2 decades.

ith the deval%ation' -hinas

an%fact%red prod%cts aregoing to get cheaper.

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e) -%rrenc* "ar

f) 8lo!al depression

g) Asian Infrastr%ct%re

Investent +ank (AII+)

h) -hinas One +elt One

Road pro#ect

!) he deval%ation

anno%nceent cae "ithin

da*s of -hinas eport fig%res

for C%l* recording a negative

gro"th' d%e ainl* to the slo"

pick%p in deand fro

developed;co%ntr* arkets.

Soe coentators arg%ed that

the -hinese action ight ca%se

a ne" glo!al c%rrenc* "ar("here other co%ntries too

deval%e their c%rrencies to

copete "ith -hina) as had

happened d%ring the 8reat

$epression of the 1<0s.

c) he P+O- (-hinas central

!ank) soon stepped in to clarif*.

It said that the deval%ation

arked the transition to aflei!le' ore arket;!ased

s*ste of deterining -hinas

echange rates. In contrast' the

s*ste that eisted %ntil no"

"as one in "hich the val%e of

-hinese c%rrenc* (especiall* in

relation to the 3S dollar) had

largel* !een fied !* the govt.

d) If P+O-s clais are tr%e'it is likel* to !e a coponent of

a larger' national strateg* to

internationalise the renin!i.

-hina "ants to see the renin!i

eerge as a c%rrenc* for

international trade and finance'

like the dollar. It also plans to

!%ild Shanghai into a glo!al

financial centre' rivalling Ne"

6ork. As a preliinar* step'-hina is tr*ing to get renin!i

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incl%ded in !asket of c%rrencies

in I/Es S$R. I/E has set a

precondition that -hina sho%ld

reove restrictions on foreign

capital flo"s and shift to a

flei!le echange rate s*ste.

,pectedl*' the I/E "elcoed

P+O-s anno%nceent.

e) It is to !e noted that -hinahas had strict controls on

foreign capital oveents

across its !orders' at least %ntil

recentl*. S%ch controls have

!een effective in filtering o%t

volatile' short;ter capital

flo"s' "hich are often harf%l

to the econo*' "hile at the

sae tie enco%raging E$I. In

contrast' India has (over the*ears) li!eralised its capital

acco%nt s%!stantiall*' attracting

relativel* large vol%es of

short;ter capital flo"s.

f) -hinas rearka!l* fast

eport;led econoic gro"th

d%ring the 2000s occ%rred in an

ena!ling environent provided

!* a sta!le echange rate andtight capital controls. In fact' the

sta!ilit* in -hinas c%rrenc* rate

has !een a factor that helped

other ,ast Asian econoies to

achieve stead* and fast gro"th.

g) @o"ever' all this has coe

at a cost. o aintain a sta!le

echange rate' -hina has !een

investing a significant part of itsforeign echange earnings in

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3S treas%r* !onds' despite their

ver* lo" ret%rns. h%s' -hina

has !een effectivel* transferring

a share of its hard;earned

savings to 3S. his has f%elled

cons%ption deand in the 3S'

helping it overcoe the

pro!les ca%sed !* trade and

governent;!%dget deficits.

h) -hinas strateg* to !reak

free of its %t%all* dependent

relationship "ith the 3S has

%ltiple points. One' -hina

ais to derive its f%t%re gro"th

ore fro doestic arkets

and services rather than fro

eports of cheap an%fact%red

goods. "o' -hina is tr*ing to

strategicall* deplo* its largeforeign echange assets into

initiatives s%ch as AII+ and

a!itio%s One +elt One Road

pro#ect. It "o%ld also like to

replace dollar;&one in ,ast Asia

"ith a via!le renin!i &one.

i) -hinas econoic and

investent gro"th has slo"ed

do"n in recent onths. It hasflo"ed !illions of dollars into

investents in infrastr%ct%re

and other !asic ind%stries'

especiall* after the 200 glo!al

econoic do"nt%rn. +%t this

has not !een atched !* rising

deand for these ind%stries

(either doestic or foreign)'

leading to the creation of ecess

capacities. he slo"do"n in-hina is threatening econoic

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prospects in an* other parts of

the "orld too' partic%larl* in

co%ntries that are s%ppliers of

coodities to -hina.

#) In these tr*ing ties' "hat

-hina sho%ld perhaps do is to

ipleent policies that favo%r

real "age increases and greater

incoe distri!%tion' there!* !oosting doestic cons%er

deand. -hinas clais to a

leadership role in the "orld

econo* are legitiate. +%t in

staking these clais' it sho%ld

avoid getting into a deeper

e!race "ith glo!al finance.

k) /ean"hile' India has a

large trade deficit "ith -hina'acco%nting for as %ch as a

D%arter of Indias overall trade

deficit. ith the deval%ation of

the *%an' iports fro -hina

are going to cli! %p'

"orsening Indias deficit.

l) he contin%ing stagnation

in deand for -hinese goods

(especiall* fro developedco%ntries) %nderlines the

iportance of doestic arkets

for econoic gro"th in India as

"ell. herefore' like -hina'

India too needs policies that

ena!le !etter eplo*ent

creation' greater redistri!%tion

of incoes' and re#%venation in

doestic deand.

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7. 8eran* gives*es to 8reek

!ailo%t (Page 1)

a) International a) 8reek de!t crisis a) 8eran*s Parliaentstrongl* approved a third

!ailo%t for 8reece' reoving a

ke* h%rdle to providing ne"

loans to the co%ntr* and keeping

it fro defa%lting on its de!ts in

as little as 2 ho%rs.

!) he approval is aong the

last d%e fro parliaents across

,%rope after "hich 8reece isepected to get the first

instalent of its ne" 7 !illion

e%ro (<5 !illion) loans

package. he co%ntr* needs the

cash to ake a de!t repa*ent.

9. IS !eheads 2;*ear;old

archaeologist ofPal*ra (Page1)

a) International

a) Islaic State (IS)

!) S*ria and IraD crisis

c) Pal*ra

d) 3N,S-O orld

@eritage sites

a) he Islaic State gro%p

has !eheaded the 2;*ear;old

retired chief archaeologist ofPal*ra' "ho ref%sed to leave

the ancient cit* "hen the

#ihadists capt%red it.

!) A 3N,S-O orld @eritage

site faed for "ell;preserved

8reco;Roan r%ins' Pal*ra

"as sei&ed fro governent

forces in /a* aid fears IS

ight destro* its pricelessheritage as it had done in other

parts of S*ria and IraD.

. 8ovt treads"aril* on R,Act aendents(Page 1)

a) National

!) Polit*

a) Right to ,d%cationAct (R,)

!) -entral Advisor*+oard of ,d%cation

(-A+,)

a) -entre has decided to adopt

the slo"er !%t ore safer ro%te

of getting "ritten deands fro

all State govts !efore aending

R, 200<' to revoke the no;

detention provision ineleentar* school (till -lass

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c) -ontin%o%s and-oprehensive,val%ation (--,)

=III) despite the %nanio%s

o%tcr* for its revocation.

!) Soe States "ant the no;

detention polic* to !e revoked

in one go tho%gh the -A+,

-oittee on Assessent and

Ipleentation of --, in the

contet of the No;$etention

Provision %nder the R, Act isin favo%r of having s%ch a

provision till -lass =.

<. India Post' 10others get nod for

pa*ents !anks(Pages 1 and 15)

a) ,cono* a) Pa*ents !anks

!) Einancial incl%sion

c) R+I

a) he R+I gave approval in

principle for 11 entities to set %p

pa*ents !anks.

!) Pa*ents !anks "ill take

deposits and reittances' !%t"ill not advance loans.

c) he R+I said all selected

applicants had the reach and the

technological and financial

strength to service previo%sl*;

ecl%ded c%stoers across the

co%ntr*.

d) Einance /inister said this"o%ld not onl* ens%re that

one* "as !ro%ght into the

!anking s*ste' !%t also ena!le

!anks to reach o%t to ore

people in r%ral areas.

10. ,arl* eperients"ith technolog*

(Page 11)

a) National

!) S>

a) Satellite Instr%ctionalelevision ,perient

(SI,)

a) he Satellite Instr%ctional

elevision ,perient

cele!rated the 0th anniversar*of its la%nch on A%g%st 1. 3S

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!) Indo;3S Space partnership

c) NASA

d) ISRO

e) Indian NationalSatellite S*ste (INSA)

developed the technolog* for a

po"erf%l direct !roadcasting

satellite %sing a large <;etre

antenna !%t had little %se for it

in a co%ntr* alread* sat%rated

"ith = coverage.

!) India needed to take the

reach of a co%nication

net"ork to r%ral areas. SI,"as "here Indias need

intersected "ith Aerican

technolog*' "here its pro!les

fo%nd a sol%tion.

c) /arking the first a#or

India;3S partnership in space'

SI, %sed NASAs first direct

!roadcasting satellite to !ea

television prograes toreote Indian villages.

Antennae eas%ring etres' a

far cr* fro toda*s $@ dish

antennae' "ere %sed to receive

signals.

d) In 1<95' "hen television

"as a rarit* even in %r!an India'

= sets for co%nit* vie"ing

"ere set %p in schools orPancha*at centres in 200

villages in si States ; +ihar'

Orissa' /adh*a Pradesh'

Andhra Pradesh' arnataka and

Ra#asthan.

e) SI, incorporated ISROs

coitent to an application;

oriented approach "here

technolog* "o%ld !e %sed tosolve the real pro!les of the

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co%ntr*. he choice of the areas

and the villages for = sets "as

indicative of its dedication to

%se technolog* to help the ost

disadvantaged.

f) SI, %sed a foreign

satellite' !%t the hard"are (like

the earth stations for %plinking

prograes to the satelliteF the= setsF and the special direct;

reception eD%ipent) "as

designed and ade in India.

/aintaining television sets and

sophisticated eD%ipent in

reote areas posed

etraordinar* challenges' as did

the involveent of an*

organisations and State govts.

g) SI, "as intended as an

eperient that "o%ld provide

inp%ts for an operational

s*ste' and indeed res%lted in

%ch learning that proved

inval%a!le for the INSA.

h) SI, had !een preceded

(in 1<7<) !* the la%nch of

rishi $arshan' a prograeon agric%lt%re !roadcast %sing

co%nit* = sets to 0

villages aro%nd $elhi on

$oordarshan.

i) he h*pothesis that

co%nication (television in

partic%lar) co%ld lead to the

adoption of ne" agric%lt%ral

practices "as first testedthro%gh rishi $arshan "ith

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s%ccess. SI, f%rther tested and

validated the feasi!ilit* of direct

television reception in reote

areas' c%linating in an

operational s*ste.

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588940956.20-08-15