The Hindu Editorial News Analysis 18th Dec 2017 -

Table of Contents

Divorce as crime

Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005
Talaq-e-biddat, or instant divorce Providing relief to women,
instead of creating a new offence out of a civil matter.

A measured leap

The amazing story of the discovery of a planetary system
Scientists have announced the discovery of two new exoplanets, Kepler-90i and Kepler-80g.
Exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system, are routinely being discovered, with the
number of those that have already been found now standing at 3,567.
This announcement by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the U.S.
Significant First, with the discovery of the planet Kepler 90i, orbiting the star Kepler 90, we
now know of another star besides the Sun that has eight planets orbiting it.
Second, Christopher Shallue, a software engineer at Google, and Andrew Vanderburg, of the
University of Texas, Austin, have discovered it using a deep learning neural network
— an artificial intelligence tool that mimics the workings of a human brain.
They “trained” their computer to analyse light readings made by NASA’s mission from
Kepler Space Telescope, which are archived and made available for anyone to use.
During its 2009 to 2013, Kepler Space Telescope…surveyed nearly 200,000 stars, with 35,000
possible planet signals.

Exoplanets-Kepler-90i and Kepler-80g

Exoplanets- A planet which orbits a star outside the solar system
Asteroid belt Solar System located between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter.
Deep learning and neural networks have been use
in other applications successfully, as in the Alpha Go AI player of the Go game.
This is not also the first time that automation has been used in identifying exoplanets
Good science not only solves problems but also can take a hard look at itself, at where and
how it can improve.

Skills within schools

It is vital to incorporate Skill India into the education system
India has among the youngest populations in the world,
Which means it can make a resourceful pool of manpower.
Right form of education, skills and employment.
A step in this direction is the Skill Development Mission
The skilling programme has been built such that it provides short-term training to youth
who have already dropped out from school.
The idea is to provide them with a job by offering short-term technical/non-technical
courses rather than actively enable them to seek out a career
Skill programme fails to understand how integral it is to incorporate such a huge initiative
within the education system.
System that integrates skills and education can go a long way in ensuring that the youth are
better equipped to handle a challenging employment market.
Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) is a centrally sponsored scheme of
‘vocationalisation’ of secondary and higher secondary education.
Focusses on enhancing the employability of youth through vocational courses, while
reducing drop-out rates.
Yet, its biggest drawback is that its modules are not suit the requirements of children in
different age groups.
The same approach for skill training a 12- or 14-year-old cannot be followed for training
an 18-year-old because skills need to be looked at more dynamically.
Skills at school should be imparted as a hobby and not as a serious trade, to make learning fun
Operational challenges within the schools are barriers to coalesce the education and skill
model.
Also, there is lack of proper infrastructure and unavailability of quality trainers.
Government must learn from gaps while implementing its skill development programmes
for 18-plus youth and then develop its strategy for integrating skills within schools.

Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis

Page-1– U.S. failed to walk the talk on Pak.: Karzai
Former Afghan President wants India to question Donald Trump’s policy
India should rethink its support to U.S. President Donald Trump’s Afghanistan
policy, said former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, during a visit to Delhi to
meet PM Narendra Modi.
Page-2- Reach consensus, pass Women’s Bill: V-P to parties
‘Focus must be on Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’
Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said all
parties should reach a consensus to clear the longpending Women’s Reservation Bill.
The Bill seeks to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and State legislatures.
As of 2015, it is the third most common operational military aircraft in the world
Page-12- UN to vote on draft nullifying Jerusalem move
The UN Security Council is considering a draft resolution
arming that any change to the status of Jerusalem has no legal
effect and must be reversed, in response to the U.S. decision to
recognis.
Page-13- Pare stake in PSBs to 33%: CII to govt.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) urged the
Centre to dilute its majority stake in public sector banks
(PSBs), from the current threshold of 52% ownership
to 33% over the next three years, to complement its
2.11 lakh-crore recapitalisation plan for these banks.
NPAs (non-performing assets).
Counting in Gujarat, Himachal today
Judima Festival in Assam on Dec. 28-29
Two-day cultural extravaganza is being organised in Assam’s Dima Hasao hill district.
Kolkata plans to deploy drones to •fight dengue
To identify mosquito breeding grounds
About 40 people have died due to dengue in West Bengal till November.
Brexit won’t be derailed, says May
Ministry may face fund crunch for UDAN