Topic Of The Day:-“Continental shift”
Asia already accounts for almost half of the world’s population, half of the world’s container traffic, one-third of its bulk cargo and 40% of the world’s off-shore oil reserves. It is home to several fast-growing new economies with GDP growth rates above 7% per year, i.e. a doubling of the GDP every 10 years. Asian defence spending ($439 billion) is also much more than Europe’s ($386 billion). In a few years half of the world’s naval fleet and combat aircraft with extended range missiles, supported by highly sophisticated communications networks, will soon be seen roaming in the Indo-Pacific region. Also, since the late 1990s, China and India have been rapidly emerging as influential power hubs. Being two of the three most post populous and largest GDP nations, India and China, both culturally akin, are socially structured on family values and associated social attitudes. Potentially both are poised to fill the role of global powers. To achieve that potential, both require hardware, software and the clear mindset for exercising this power. As of now, China is ahead of India in reaching that level. We are concerned here with the question whether India can reach it. India’s China policy thus needs a re-structuring based on a fresh perspective that is relevant for the 21st century. This is because the global power matrix has undergone a paradigm change, from an exclusively Atlantic shores-based concerns to emerging Indo-Pacific ocean strategic issues. Thus India-China relations matter as never before. The diminishing influence of Western powers in the region, and as of now the acknowledged rising power of China are the new global reality. In terms of hardware capability and mindset, India is at present only a regional power. Because of its present mindset, it is obsessed with the problem of Pakistan-trained terrorists entering Indian territory rather than asserting higher priority on global issues, and thus it is complicit in international attempts to hyphenate the two regional-minded nations, India with Pakistan. This is the Indian myopia, because India has the capacity and the opportunity to rise as a ‘responsible and influential global power’. As a collateral effect, this will easily fix Pakistan and its terrorist propensity.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) Leveraged
Meaning: Use borrowed capital for (an investment), expecting the profits made to be greater than the interest payable.
Example: “a leveraged takeover bid”
2) Armaments
Meaning: Military weapons and equipment.
Example: “national armaments could be kept to a minimum”
Synonyms: Weaponry, Cannon
3) Sophisticated
Meaning: Having, revealing, or involving a great deal of worldly experience and knowledge of fashion and culture.
Example: “a chic, sophisticated woman”
Synonyms: Worldly, Experienced
Antonyms: Naïve, Unsophisticated
4) Roaming
Meaning: Travel unsystematically over, through, or about (a place).
Example: “gangs of youths roamed the streets unopposed”
Synonyms: Rove, Ramble
5) Poised
Meaning: Having a composed and self-assured manner.
Example: “not every day you saw that poised, competent kid distressed”
Synonyms: Composed, Tranquil
Antonyms: Excited, Inelegant
6) Perspective
Meaning: A particular attitude towards or way of regarding something; a point of view.
Example: “most guidebook history is written from the editor’s perspective”
Synonyms: Outlook, Viewpoint
7) Undergone
Meaning: Experience or be subjected to (something, typically something unpleasant or arduous).
Example: “he underwent a life-saving brain operation”
Synonyms: Experience, Undertake
8) Diminishing
Meaning: Cause to seem less impressive or valuable.
Example: “the trial has aged and diminished him”
Synonyms: Belittle, Disparage
Antonyms: Boost
9) Obsessed
Meaning: Preoccupy or fill the mind of (someone) continually and to a troubling extent.
Example: “he was obsessed with the idea of revenge”
Synonyms: Consume, Dominate
10) Asserting
Meaning: State a fact or belief confidently and forcefully.
Example: “the company asserts that the cuts will not affect development”
Synonyms: Declare, Maintain
11) Complicit
Meaning: Involved with others in an activity that is unlawful or morally wrong.
Example: “the careers of those complicit in the cover-up were blighted”
12) Hyphenate
Meaning: A person who is active in more than one sphere or occupation.
Example: “producer-director-businessmen hyphenates such as Spielberg”
13) Myopia
Meaning: Lack of foresight or intellectual insight.
Example: “the company’s corporate myopia”
14) Collateral
Meaning: Something pledged as security for repayment of a loan, to be forfeited in the event of a default.
Example: “she put her house up as collateral for the bank loan”
Synonyms: Security, Guaranty
15) Propensity
Meaning: An inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way.
Example: “his propensity for violence”
Synonyms: Tendency, Inclination
