Historically and strategically, the northern portion of the Indian Ocean is considered very important because it is accessible from the west and the east only through narrow straits. In the west, the narrow outlets are the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, whereas in the east are the Strait of Malacca and the Timor and Arafura seas. The Indian Ocean has its own unique features. Its waters, except at the southern extremity, are warm and calm with predictable wind velocity. The reversal of wind during the winter and summer monsoon makes deep-sea navigation relatively simple by sailing with wind techniques, and there are no treacherous currents. This ocean has comparatively fewer hazards for the mariners than the Pacific and the Atlantic. The 'roaring forties' (westerlies blowing along 40° S. latitude) help the movement of ships from the Cape of Good Hope to Australia's west coast. The Indian Ocean has limited outlets. Suez Canal is an artificial link with the Western world. Another possible link with Europe is by circumferencing whole of Africa. On the eastern side, there are two outlets-one through the islands of Indonesia, and second is via the south of Australia. The Indian Ocean can be choked anytime by controlling these outlets. With rich resources in this ocean and in the littoral states, such a possibility has added an additional dimension in the geopolitical strategy of the region.
Control over which outlets on the eastern side will choke the Indian Ocean?
A passage is given with 5 questions following it. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
Today’s society is always on the go, with hectic work schedules and other responsibilities that limit the amount of time spent paying attention to eating habits. America’s society has become accustomed to eating on the go, which has led to people relying on fast food. Fast food, however, is not necessarily a healthy alternative to a healthy well-balanced home-cooked meal. A healthy diet improves one’s health because proper nourishment allows the body to heal from illness and disease.
Choosing to eat a healthy diet rather than a diet high in saturated fats will make an improvement in one’s health. Various studies have proven a well-balanced diet is to include a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats and oils, and regular exercise is better for the body. Paying attention to the types of nutrients the body needs to function in a healthy way will make a difference in one’s health. A healthy diet needs to consist of a variety of foods rich in vitamins, minerals, and a regular exercise regimen. Raw fruits and vegetables contain a high quantity of the essential nutrients that bodies need to be healthy.
Without proper nourishment, our bodies are more susceptible to illness and diseases. For example, type two diabetes and heart disease to name just a few of the health complications that are associated with poor diet choices. The possibilities of other health problems are possible when diets are high in bad fats and cholesterol. By caring for our bodies with a balanced diet there will be a lessened chance for developing various illnesses and diseases. The body is like a machine that requires proper fuel and maintenance to continue running at its best performance levels.
What is the synonym of the given word?
Hectic
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The Odisha government proposes to connect three major forests in and around Bhubaneswar by bus service in order to make optimum use of their ecotourism potential.Tourists are likely to be ferried by tourist buses to Nandankanan Biological Park and Chudanga and Bharatpur forests of the Chandaka division as part of the government’s larger plan to showcase Bhubaneswar’s ecotourism assets. According to a Forest and Environment Department officer, one can hardly find wilderness in close proximity to a city anywhere in the country, except in Bhubaneswar.A fleet of buses would soon be acquired to facilitate visits of tourists to the three forests.Taking a cue from Karnataka, which has been cashing in on the exquisite natural beauty of the Bannerghatta Biological Park, spread over 731.88 hectares about 22 km from Bengaluru city, the State government is contemplating creation of two more safaris in Chudanga Reserve Forest and Bharatpur Reserve Forest.While Nandankanan and Bharatpur are almost within Bhubaneswar, Chudanga is just two km from the city limits. Sources in the department said they would require minimal investment to make packaged ecotourism tours.Apart from the rich captive zoo population, the Nandankanan Biological Park boasts a botanical garden spread over 173 acres.Over the years, the forest department had developed several gardens including butterfly, medicinal, rose, Japanese, bougainvillea and heritage inside the botanical garden.The government can connect the botanical garden with Chudanga by providing an underpass on Khurda-Baranga bypass road. With an area of 1,000 hectares, the Bharatpur Reserve Forest, which is part of the Chandka-Dompara Sanctuary, is also a natural forest which is situated inside Bhubaneswar. Apart from the Asiatic elephants, wild pigs, deer, hyena and pangolin can be sighted in the forest. Several water-bodies also add to its beauty.
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After more than a month of deliberations, Pakistan’s newly-elected government has decided to seek a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves of around $15 billion are sufficient to cover only two-and-a-half months of imports. Pakistan, like India, is also beset by its own twin deficit problem—government spending outpacing revenues and imports outpacing exports. However, its economy has been in much worse shape compared to others in the region and, therefore, it has decided to approach the IMF for a bailout.
This is not the first time in recent years that Pakistan has turned to the fund for help. The latest bailout, if concluded, will be the thirteenth IMF package for Pakistan since 1988. India, on the other hand, has only availed of two IMF packages in the same period, both during the 1991 balance of payments crisis. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have also taken less assistance from IMF than Pakistan.
Pakistan’s perennial dependence on foreign funds has meant that it is dependent on external donors to stabilize its economy. A 2012 research paper by former IMF advisors Ehtisham Ahmad and Azizali Mohammed, says that years of financial assistance by the US and US-aligned multilateral institutions have left no incentive for Pakistan to introduce structural reforms. Instead, the government often seems happy to leverage its geographical importance to secure more money and bailouts. This, the authors say, has created a situation of “Dutch disease”, wherein inflow of foreign currency and overvaluation of the Pakistani rupee has damaged the domestic industry.
China is also stepping into the role of influential donor for the country. A recent study by the US-based think tank, Centre for Global Development, warned that China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) could raise the risk of sovereign debt default by relatively small and poor countries. China has already upstaged the US as the main source of external funds for Pakistan, and Pakistan’s dependence on China could rise further in the years to come.
China has also been providing cover to Pakistan in international fora. This has raised fears of a China-Pakistan alliance directed against India, with some commentators arguing that anti-India sentiment is the ultimate glue that holds the China-Pakistan alliance together. China is also investing in other countries around India, which has worried policymakers in India. The example of Sri Lanka’s China’s Hambantota port, which has been handed over to China as debt obligations mounted, only add to such concerns.
What has been the Pakistan government’s chosen way of financing deficit?
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Female foeticide takes place when a foetus is aborted after it is determined to be female. Under this illegal practice, the sex of the unborn child is determined by using the technique of ultrasound and if it happens to be a female foetus, it is aborted through medicine or surgery. It is one of the most rampant social evils in the country. It is rooted in the patriarchal mindset where boys are preferred over girls for various irrational reasons, not only in rural but urban areas too. We have to raise awareness levels against the regressive practice of female foeticide, enforce laws far more stringently and provide much more incentives to the households for the birth of a girl child. The patriarchal social structure in India and the society’s preference towards a male child is the major reason behind female foeticide. To carry forward the generation, families in general prefer the birth of sons over daughters. The male child is also required by the Hindu family to perform the last rites of father in the absence of which, it is believed that the father would not attain salvation after death. In most traditional, conservative families, a girl child is more or less considered a liability or a burden, due to the frequent demands of huge sum in the form of dowry at the time of her marriage. On the other hand, it is seen that the father of the male child bargains very hard to maximize the benefits of marriage for his son. Though the parents have to face similar ordeals in getting their kids educated and settled in their lives, whether they are boys or girls, however, the mindset inclined towards the baby boy refuses to go, giving way to killing of female foetuses. With the progress of science and technology, it is quite easy to find out the gender of the foetus. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous medical practitioners are also found to be increasingly involved in the illegal trade of carrying out sex-determination tests and later complying with the wishes of the parents for abortion of the foetus, if it is found out to be female. Female foeticide is nothing but the misuse of pre-natal technology which was invented to detect abnormality in unborn child before it could actually take birth. It’s really very unfortunate that the technology is often used in detecting the sex of the foetus and if it is a girl, then parents have no qualms in getting it aborted.