CLAT

Research into social robots has shown that machines that respond to emotion can help the most vulnerable, the elderly and children, and could lead to robots becoming more widely socially acceptable. Robots that help care for others are often at the cutting edge of emotional interaction. Milo is both a robotic teacher and a student. Developers RoboKind created Milo to help children with autism spectrum disorders learn more about emotional expression and empathy while collecting data on their progress to target learning and treatment. Milo's friendly face makes him approachable and the children are able to analyse his expressions without feeling social anxiety. Another situation where robots can reduce stress is in hospital settings. Expper Tech's 'Robin' was designed as a companion robot to provide emotional support for children undergoing medical treatment. Robin explains medical procedures to them, plays games and tells stories, and during treatment distracts them to reduce their perception of pain.

Expert's robot uses AI to create empathy, remembering facial expressions and conversations to build dialogue for follow-up sessions. [1] In trials # the Wigmore Medical (UK) Pediatric Clinic # Yerevan, Armenia, the team found that Robin led to a 34% decrease # stress and an increase # happiness of 26% in the 120 children who interacted # him at least once.[1] Healthcare robots could all benefit from displaying emotional intelligence, both recognizing and responding to human emotions, and to some extent, managing them. The problem with this level of sophistication is the fear that human jobs may be lost as robots become more adept at handling social situations. Population trends suggest that the demand for robots to work alongside people in care situations will grow over time. By 2050, the number of people aged 65 and over globally will be 1.6 billion (17%), roughly twice the proportion of what it is today. An extra 3.5 million care workers will be needed and that will include emotionally intelligent robots. Today's simple systems are being trained to meet that demand. This includes ProxEmo, a little wheeled robot that can guess how you are feeling from the way you walk, and ENRICHMENT – the 'ambient assisted living' robot from the University of Lincoln in the UK – who helps older people to stay physically and mentally active.

This section consists of ten problems (with 45 questions) in total. Each problem consists of a set of rules and facts. Apply the specified rules to the set of facts and answer the questions.

In answering the following questions, you should not rely on any rule(s) except the rule(s) that are supplied for every problem. Further, you should not assume any fact other than those stated in the problem. The aim is to test your ability to properly apply a rule to a given set of facts, even when the result is absurd or unacceptable for any other reason. It is not the aim to test any knowledge of law you may already possess.

A. The fundamental right to freedom of association includes the right to form an association as well as not join an association.

B. The fundamental right to freedom of association also includes the freedom to decide with whom to

associate.

C. The fundamental right to freedom of association does not extend to the right to realize the objectives of forming the association.

D. Fundamental rights are applicable only to laws made by or administrative actions of the State and do not apply to actions of private persons.

E. Any law in contravention of fundamental rights is unconstitutional and therefore cannot bind any

person.

Gajodhar Pharmaceuticals, a private company, offered an employment contract of two years to Syed Monirul Alam. One of the clauses in the employment contract provided that Syed Monirul Alam must join Gajodhar Mazdoor Singh (GMS), one of the trade unions active in Gajodhar Pharmaceuticals.

Q. If Parliament enacts a law which requires every employee to join the largest trade union in their workplace mandating Syed Monirul Alam to join GMS, then:

The primary objective of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, (“MSME Act”) is to facilitate the promotion and development and enhance the competitiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises. The MSME Act contains provisions for dispute resolution which are applicable to disputes involving suppliers. Section 18 of the MSME Act provides that any party with a dispute regarding amount due to a Supplier may make a reference to the MSME Facilitation Council (“Council”) for conciliation. If conciliation is unsuccessful, the Council may either take up the dispute itself for arbitration or refer the parties to an arbitral institution. Section 18(4) further provides that the Council or center providing the alternative dispute resolution services shall have jurisdiction to act as an arbitrator or conciliator in a dispute between the Supplier located within its jurisdiction and a buyer located anywhere in India.

Section 18 became contentious when multiple cases arose where a party involved in a dispute with a Supplier filed proceedings in court challenging its applicability to their dispute in light of the arbitration agreement entered between the parties. In general, presence of an arbitration agreement would not invalidate arbitration proceedings that have been initiated under the MSME Act, since the MSME Act is a special statute which would override any agreement between the parties. This position was also upheld by the Supreme Court. However, in those cases, the Supplier had initiated proceedings under section 18 of the MSME Act before the Buyer invoked arbitration under the agreement. These cases did not deal with a scenario where the Buyer invoked arbitration under the agreement where there was no reference of a dispute to the Council. For such situations, it has been held that, if the intention of section 18(4) of the MSME Act was to create a legal bar on a party who has a contract with a Supplier under the MSME Act from invoking section 11 of the Arbitration Act, then the legislature would have expressly provided that the MSME Act overrides any arbitration agreement entered under the MSME Act. Section 18(4) would come into play only in cases where a reference was made to the Council under section 18(1). The Court noted the use of the word “may” in section 18(1) and held that in light of the language used, it cannot be said to be mandatory for a Buyer to refer its dispute to the Council under section 18. Since the jurisdiction of the Council had not yet been invoked, there was nothing barring the court from appointing an arbitrator in terms of the arbitration agreement between the parties.

By making section 18 of the MSME Act directory, Buyers have been given a way out to circumvent the provisions under the MSME Act.

On August 14, 2020, the Supreme court found Prashant Bhushan guilty under the contempt of courts act, 1971, for two social media posts in June for, it said had “the effect of destabilising the very foundation” of India’s judiciary. Sentencing was set for August 20. On August 19, Bhushan filed an application seeking to defer the sentencing hearing until a review petition is filed and considered. According to section 2(c) of The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, criminal contempt means the publication (whether by word, spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise) of any matter or the doing of any other act whatsoever which- Scandalizes or tends to scandalize, or lowers or tends to lower the authority of, any court, or Prejudices or interferes or tends to interfere with the due course of any judicial proceeding. Thus, from the abovementioned definition, it can be ascertained that there are three important essentials to constitute criminal contempt: Firstly, Publication of any matter-The word publication has been given a very wide meaning so far as contempt of court is concerned. It includes words (spoken/written), signs and visible representation, Secondly, Scandalizing or lowering the authority of the court -scandalizing might manifest itself in various ways but in substance, it is an attack on individual judges in particular or the court as a whole, with or without reference to a particular case, by casting unwarranted and defamatory aspersions upon the character or the ability of the judges and lastly, Prejudice or interference with the due course of any judicial proceeding - Any publication which prejudices or interferes with the due course of any judicial proceeding would amount to criminal contempt of court. The defences against Criminal Contempt are- Innocent publication and distribution of matter, fair and accurate report of judicial proceedings, fair criticism of judicial act, bonafide complaint against the presiding officer of a subordinate court and defamation of the judge in personal capacity and not interfering with the administration of justice.

Direction: Read the following passage and give your answer according to that.

When the RTI Act was first introduced in October 2005, Agrawal did not lose a day to start filing applications. His first one was personal - seeking information about a High Court judge who has presided over a property dispute between him and his uncle. The bitterly-fought court battle left Agrawal filled with the determination to right a wrong when he saw one. Since then, he has soldiered on with myriad issues ranging from why silver alloy coins are not sold at face value.

"The RTI has liberated the behest of others to maintain their confidentiality but ensure certain indelicate issues are exposed. Ministers have asked Agrawal to file queries about their own departments and Parliamentarians and secretaries to the Government of India have also sought his services, which are free of cost.

I wrote to some philanthropic foundations and law firms hoping they will support me but it's been two months and no one has responded."

Directions: Each question below is followed by two arguments numbered I and II. You have to decide which of the arguments is a ‘strong’ argument and which is a ‘weak’ argument.

Give answer (a) : if only argument I is strong

Give answer (b) : if only argument II is strong.

Give answer (c) : if either argument I or II is strong.

Give answer (d) : if neither argument I nor II is strong.

Give answer (e) : if both arguments I and II are strong

​Q.

Statement: Should the educated unemployed youth be paid “unemployment allowance” by the Government?

Arguments:

I. Yes, it will provide them some monetary help to either seek employment or to kickstart some ‘self- employment’ venture.

II. No, it will dampen their urge to do something to earn their livelihood and thus promote idleness among the unemployed youth. 

Liberalisation has gone hand in hand and has offered incentives for such things as personal initiative, ambition, loyalty, hard work, and resourcefulness.

Passage: In 2017, a group called Human Rights Network, decided to collect and collate a set of state laws which imposed a blanket ban on cow slaughter. These laws, they believed, violated the fundamental right to trade under Article 19(1)(g). In addition to that, they argued that such laws were often a potent tool to justify mob–lynching of butchers, or people who consumed beef as a part of their diet. Another group called Cow Savers decided to argue that the laws were formulated in line with the directive state policy, specifically Article 48, and thus could not be challenged before any Court as violative of fundamental rights. The Cow Savers further asked the Court to enforce Article 48 across states where no ban on cow slaughter existed. HRN argued that DPSPs are not justiciable.
The HRN cited the case of Irreligious Society v. State of Kerala. Here, there was a clash between a policy enforcing the DPSP of enforcing the Uniform Civil Code and the fundamental right to religion. The Court attempted to read the two together, and wherever there was no compatibility, the right to religion prevailed. 
After the Supreme Court admitted the petition filed by HRN, Cow Savers intervened in the matter. 
While the case was going on, the government of Gau Land decided to start picking up butchers from their shops under the suspicion that they were slaughtering cows late in the night. There was a protest organized by HRN against this action of the government, during which some activists were also picked up. HRN tried extremely hard to locate the activists and the butchers, but to no avail. They decided that they would approach the court regarding this as well.
Their legal advisors laid down the following writs before them–
Habeas Corpus is „To have the body of.‟; Mandamus means „We command‟ and is used by the court to order the public official who has failed to perform his duty or refused to do his duty. The literal meaning of the writ of “Certiorari‟ is “To be certified‟ or „To be informed.” This writ is against issued by a court higher in authority to a lower court. The literal meaning of the writ of „Quo– Warranto‟ is „By what authority or warrant,‟ which question one‟s appointment to a public office. 
Article 19(1)(g) grants the right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business to all citizens of India. 
Article 48 reads that the State shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.
Article 21 provides that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. This has been interpreted expansively to ensure a right to a wholesome life and not just guarantee bare existence.

Q. This case illustrates a clash of a fundamental right with a DPSP. The Court will rule that–

In the mid-fifties when GE was expanding its operations across the globe, the president of GE, Ralph Cordiner decided to set up a corporate university an hour away from New York spread over 59 acres. In 1956 GE offered its first course that spread over 13 weeks. Today no executive can imagine spending a full quarter of the year sitting in a classroom. While the courses that are offered at Crotonville have become shorter, the efficacy of the investment remains unquestionable. The headhunters refer to GE as a leadership factory.

GE is not alone. McDonalds set up its Hamburger University in 1961. When Steve Jobs hired Joe Podolny, the then dean of Yale to start Apple University in 2008 it made a big splash. Apple University drew faculty members including professors from universities like Yale, Harvard, Berkeley, Stanford and MIT. The trend of corporate universities is on the rise. The companies have a large employee base that ranges from 8,000 to 300,000 employees or more. They cut across sectors and businesses from automobiles to pharma and everything else in between. General Motors Institute, Caterpillar, Unilever, GDF Suez, Veolia, Axa, Sanofi, Novartis, Petronas, and many more.In 1993, corporate universities existed in only 400 companies. By 2001, this number had increased to 2,000, including Walt Disney, Boeing, and Motorola. According to BCG, there are estimated to be more than 4,000 companies with formal corporate universities.Scale: McDonalds serves 68 million customers daily in 119 countries across 35,000 outlets. This complexity requires training. That ensures that McDonalds burgers taste the same from Mumbai to Moscow.Complexity: When surgeons move to the operating theater they rely on checklists. These lists reduce human error, and help the surgeon to operate with speed without having to stop and double check if they are missing any step. In performing complex tasks through collaborating teams, speed comes through training in standard processes and procedures. Apple University teaches employees that they’re at the company to be the very best at one specific task.Corporate Governance: Governance needs the ability to manage reporting relationships, finances, and facilities. Compliance and risk management demand investments in training. On any given day two billion people use Unilever products across countries that have different rules and regulations. This scale and complexity demands constant investment to ensure standards are not compromised.Education: Entry-level hires are drawn from a wide variety of educational backgrounds. There is a need to bring people to a common minimum level of knowledge and skills. From technical skills or domain knowledge or personal competencies, people need to keep upgrading. Values and Culture: The leaders need to be role models of the values the company proclaims. When the majority of employee responses to everyday situations become uniform, it forms the culture of the organization. Tying the professional development to strategic challenges is a strong reason to invest in training.The culture of the organization has to support its vision and strategy. This needs a place when people can come together and connect with others and learn. Technical training can be delivered through e-learning modules. It is the intangibles like culture that people need to learn from role models.

Homeostasis, an animal’s maintenance of certain internal variables within an acceptable range, particularly in extreme physical environments, has long interested biologists. The desert rat and the camel in the most water-deprived environments, and marine vertebrates in an all-water environment, encounter the same regulatory problem: maintaining adequate internal fluid balance.

For desert rats and camels, the problem is conservation of water in an environment where standing water is nonexistent, temperature is high, and humidity is low. Despite these handicaps, desert rats are able to maintain the osmotic pressure of their blood, as well as their total body-water content, at approximately the same levels as other rats. One countermeasure is behavioral: these rats stay in burrows during the hot part of the day, thus avoiding loss of fluid through panting or sweating, which are regulatory mechanisms for maintaining internal body temperature by evaporative cooling. Also, desert rats’ kidneys can excrete a urine having twice as high a salt content as sea water.

Camels, on the other hand, rely more on simple endurance. They cannot store water, and their reliance on an entirely unexceptional kidney results in a rate of water loss through renal function significantly higher than that of desert rats. As a result, camels must tolerate losses in body water of up to thirty percent of their body weight. Nevertheless, camels do rely on a special mechanism to keep water loss within a tolerable range: by seating and panting only when their body temperature exceeds that which would kill a human, they conserve internal water.

Marine vertebrates experience difficulty with their water balance because though there is no shortage of seawater to drink, they must drink a lot of it to maintain their internal fluid balance. But the excess salts from the seawater must be discharged somehow, and the kidneys of most marine vertebrates are unable to excrete a urine in which the salts are more concentrated than in seawater. Most of these animals have special salt-secreting organs outside the kidney that enable them to eliminate excess salt.

It can be inferred from the passage that the author characterizes the camel’s kidney as “entirely unexceptional” primarily to emphasize that it

The Union Minister of Textiles, [X] has inaugurated the 8th India International Silk Fair.

The fair is considered to be India’s biggest silk fair, being held under one roof on Indian Silk Export Promotion Council’s virtual platform from 31stJanuary to 4thFebruary 2021. The event was held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Inaugurating the Fair, Textile Minister stated that more than 200 overseas buyers have already registered and equal number of their representatives in India shall be interacting on virtual platform with more than 100 renowned and big Indian companies manufacturing and trading silk and silk blended products. The Minister called upon the exhibitors and overseas buyers to take part in this initiative to celebrate the beauty and vibrancy of Indian silk.

India International Silk Fair is the Sourcing Fair for silk and silk blend products organised by the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council under the aegis of Ministry of Textiles and sponsored by Department of Commerce. India has long history of silk production and is the 2nd largest producer of Silk.

India is the only country in the world which produces all the four major varieties of silk i.e. Mulberry, Eri, Tassar, and Muga and has large varieties of products to offer i.e. Garments, fabrics and sarees, made-ups,carpets, hi-fashion silk apparels, gift items, scarves, stoles, home furnishing, curtains etc.

India has around 11 Geographical Indications (GI) such as Pochampally Ikat,Chanderpaul Silk, Mysore Silk, Kanchipuram Silk, Muga Silk, Salem Silk, Arni Silk,Champa Silk, Bhagalpur Silk, Banaras Brocade and Sarees etc.

The challenges posed before the exporters during COVID-19 pandemic have led the Govt. and trade to look for an alternate business module and organising Silk Fair by the Council on Virtual mode is maiden initiative and is expected to revive business contacts with overseas trading partners.

Definition of Attempt: Lord Blackburn has said that “there is no doubt that there is difference between a preparation antecedent to an attempt and the actual attempt, but if the actual transaction has commenced which would have ended in the crime if not interrupted, there is clearly an attempt to commit the crime.”

1) Fault element: Intention or knowledge requisite for committing an offence; and

2) Conduct Element: does any act towards its commission and has crossed the state of preparation. This act is so closely connected with, and proximate to the commission that it fails in object because of facts not known to him or because of circumstances beyond his control.

Q. ‘JAM’ denied food to his wife JANE for several days by keeping her confined in a room with an intention to accelerate her death. JANE ultimately managed to escape.

India comes up with a new plastic reduction act. The act clearly states the ban on certain types of plastic and the guidelines to the use of other types of plastic products in the country. It also makes the act of disposing plastic in water bodies a criminal offence. The guidelines and exceptions of the new act are as follows- The use of plastic bags is banned across all retail counters in the entire country, all plastic products above the 8 pp unit mark can be used across the country however they can only be disposed of in government authorized disposal units, all plastic products between the range of 5pp and 8 pp unit mark can only be used by industries that are considered as government bodies. Industries will be considered as government bodies if the majority of the company is owned by the government or the key decision making is done by the government, all industries that produce luxury products cannot use any form of plastic. Luxury product is any product having a MRP of more than 2000 Rs. If found then the products of the company will be banned across the country, use of plastic straws is permitted only to the extent of 100 straws per company per day, no company can use more than 6 tons of plastic in a month without the permission of the government, if any individual is found dumping plastic in any water body or any forest then he/she will have to pay a fine of 50,000 and clean 1 acre of that water body/forest land, the burning of plastic is considered as a heinous crime and can lead to a jail time of 10 years and anyone found burning plastic has to be arrested by a police officer with immediate effect and has no defense.

Smells and fragrances is a luxury fragrances store in a mall. They stock the products of all brands. They have products starting from 300 Rs going up to 4000 Rs. The outlet of the company is sealed as they are selling luxury products which are sold in plastic containers. They challenge the shutting down of their outlets in the court. What will be the outcome of the case?

The information given below is regarding the number of students appeared in three different exams A, B and C in four different years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

In 2015:

Students appeared in exam A was twice the students appeared in exam B. Total students appeared in three exams together was 1640. Students appeared in exam B was 40 more than students appeared in exam C.

In 2016:

Students appeared in exam B was 40% more than students appeared in exam A while students appeared in exam C was 20% more than students appeared in exam B. Total students appeared in all three exams together was 2448.

In 2017:

Ratio of students appeared in exam A to exam B was 7:9. Students appeared in exam C was 25% more than students appeared in exam B. Total students appeared in all three exams together was 2180.

In 2018:

Average of students appeared in exams A and B was 560. Students appeared in exam C was 600. Ratio of students appeared in exam A to exam C was 4 : 5.

In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers predict that by 2100, the global population potentially exposed to episodic coastal flooding will increase from 128-171 million to 176-287 million. The value of global assets exposed to these episodes is projected to be between $6,000-$9,000 billion, or 12-20 percent of the global GDP. What are the findings of the study? The researchers note that sea-level rise (SLR) is a “well accepted” consequence of climate change. Their study has found that globally, of the 68 per cent area that is prone to coastal flooding, over 32 per cent can be attributed to regional SLR. What is Regional SLR? Because sea level rise is not uniform across the world, there is a need to differentiate regional SLR from the global rates. For instance, the gravitational pull of the polar ice sheets has different effects on sea levels in different parts of the world, which means regional SLR can be higher or lower than the global SLR. Relatively too, regional SLR can be higher or lower. For instance, according to an article published in Yale Environment, SLR in places such as Scotland, Iceland and Alaska could be significantly less than the regional SLR for eastern US. Their results indicate by the year 2100, for most of the world, flooding incidents that are typically associated with a 1 in a 100-year event could occur as frequently as 1 in 10 years, “primarily as a result of sea level rise.” As per this assessment, 0.5-0.7 per cent of the world’s land area is at a risk of episodic coastal flooding by 2100, impacting 2.5-4.1 percent of the population, assuming there are no coastal defences or adaptation measures in place.

Last year, Indonesia announced that the country’s capital would be relocated from Jakarta to the province of East Kalimantan on the lesser populated island of Borneo. The combination of climate change and heavy congestion continues to bury Jakarta, the “world’s fastest-sinking city”, by about 25 cm into the ground every year. The situation looks grim for India’s financial capital Mumbai as well. As per some projections, climate change is expected to inundate significant sections of Mumbai by 2050, impacting millions of people. In a paper published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, researchers proposed an extraordinary measure to protect 25 million people from rising seas as a result of climate change. They suggested a mammoth Northern European Enclosure Dam (NEED), enclosing all of the North Sea. The idea involved construction of two dams of a combined length of 637 km to protect Northern Europe against “unstoppable” SLR.

India comes up with a new plastic reduction act. The act clearly states the ban on certain types of plastic and the guidelines to the use of other types of plastic products in the country. It also makes the act of disposing plastic in water bodies a criminal offence. The guidelines and exceptions of the new act are as follows- The use of plastic bags is banned across all retail counters in the entire country, all plastic products above the 8 pp unit mark can be used across the country however they can only be disposed of in government authorized disposal units, all plastic products between the range of 5pp and 8 pp unit mark can only be used by industries that are considered as government bodies. Industries will be considered as government bodies if the majority of the company is owned by the government or the key decision making is done by the government, all industries that produce luxury products cannot use any form of plastic. Luxury product is any product having a MRP of more than 2000 Rs. If found then the products of the company will be banned across the country, use of plastic straws is permitted only to the extent of 100 straws per company per day, no company can use more than 6 tons of plastic in a month without the permission of the government, if any individual is found dumping plastic in any water body or any forest then he/she will have to pay a fine of 50,000 and clean 1 acre of that water body/forest land, the burning of plastic is considered as a heinous crime and can lead to a jail time of 10 years and anyone found burning plastic has to be arrested by a police officer with immediate effect and has no defense.

Vidhwasheel is a plastic production unit and produces 8 tons of plastic in a month. This government is owned by the government. Is the company violating the guidelines of the new act?

Read the given passage carefully and attempt the questions that follow.

The work which Gandhiji had taken up was not only regarding the achievement of political freedom but also the establishment of a new social order based on truth and non-violence, unity and peace, equality and universal brotherhood and maximum freedom for all. This unfinished part of his experiment was perhaps even more difficult to achieve than the achievement of political freedom. In the political struggle, the fight was against a foreign power and all one could do was either join it or wish it success and give it his/her moral support. In establishing a social order on this pattern, there was a strong possibility of a conflict arising between diverse groups and classes of our own people. Experience shows that man values his possessions even more than his life because in the former he sees the means for perpetuation and survival of his descendants even after his body is reduced to ashes. A new order cannot be established without radically changing the mind and attitude of men towards property and, at some stage or the other, the 'haves' have to yield place to the 'have-nots'. We have seen, in our time, attempts to achieve a kind of egalitarian society and the picture of it after it was achieved. But this was done, by and large, through the use of physical force.

In the ultimate analysis it is difficult, if not impossible, to say that the instinct to possess has been rooted out or that it will not reappear in an even worse form under a different guise. It may even be that, like a gas kept confined within containers under great pressure, or water held back by a big dam, once the barrier breaks, the reaction will one day sweep back with a violence equal in extent and intensity to what was used to establish and maintain the outward egalitarian form. This enforced egalitarianism contains, in its bosom, the seed of its own destruction.

The root cause of class conflict is possessiveness or the acquisitive instinct. So long as the ideal that is to be achieved is one of securing the maximum material satisfaction, possessiveness is neither suppressed nor eliminated but grows on what it feeds. Nor does it cease to be possessiveness, whether it is confined to only a few or is shared by many.

If egalitarianism is to endure, it has to be based not on the possession of the maximum material goods by a few or by all but on voluntary, enlightened renunciation of those goods which cannot be shared by others or can be enjoyed only at the expense of others. This calls for substitution of material values by purely spiritual ones. The paradise of material satisfaction, which is sometimes equated with progress these days, neither spells peace nor progress. Mahatma Gandhi has shown us how the acquisitive instinct inherent in man can be transmuted by the adoption of the ideal of trusteeship by those who 'have' for the benefit of all those who 'have not' so that, instead of leading to exploitation and conflict, it would become a means and incentive for the amelioration and progress of society respectively.

Q.

According to the passage, true egalitarianism will last only if

"New Zealand voted to award Prime Minister [X] a second term in office on Saturday. Prime Minister [X]'s liberal Labour Party won a historic mandate by securing 49 per cent of the vote in comparison to the 27 per cent bagged by its primary challenger, the conservative National Party.

In fact, this is the first time since New Zealand implemented a proportional voting system 24 years ago that a single party (Labour) won an outright majority of seats in Parliament. [X] was voted to the top job in 2017 when her Labour Party entered into an alliance with two other parties.

This time around, the Labour Party will be able to comfortable form a government on its own, a first for the party in 50 years. Its ally Green Party won 7.5 per cent of the voters while the libertarian ACT Party managed to increase its vote share to 8 per cent this time around. At the same time, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and his New Zealand First party was voted out.Addressing supporters in Auckland, Prime Minister [X] said in her victory speech, ""This has not been an ordinary election, and it's not an ordinary time. It's been full of uncertainty and anxiety, and we set out to be an antidote to that."""

(A) unveiled a 48.5 trillion won ($43.2 billion) plan to build the world’s largest wind power plant by 2030 as part of efforts to foster an environmentally-friendly recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.The project is a major component of President Moon Jae-in’s Green New Deal, initiated last year to curb reliance on fossil fuels in Asia’s (B)th-largest economy and make it carbon neutral by 2050.

Moon attended a signing ceremony in the southwestern coastal town of Sinan for the plant, which will have a maximum capacity of 8.2 gigawatts.

“With this project, we are accelerating the eco-friendly energy transition and moving more vigorously toward carbon neutrality,” Moon said at the event.Utility and engineering companies also attended, including Korea Electric Power Corp, SK E&S, Hanwha Engineering & Construction Corp, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., CS Wind Corp and Samkang M&T Co.

The companies will provide 47.6 trillion of the required funding and the government the remaining 0.9 trillion, Moon’s office Blue House said.

It said the project would provide up to 5,600 jobs and help achieve a goal to boost the country’s wind power capacity to 16.5 GW by 2030 from 1.67 GW now.The envisaged 8.2 GW amounts to the energy produced by (C) nuclear reactors, or the effects of planting 71 million pine trees, officials said. To date, the world’s largest offshore wind farm is Hornsea 1 in Britain, which has 1.12 GW capacity.

Climate change is considered to be one of the most serious threats to sustainable development, with adverse impact on the environment, human health, food security, economic activity, natural resources and physical infrastructure. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the effects of climate change have already been observed, and scientific findings indicate that precautionary and prompt action is necessary. Vulnerability to climate change is not just a function of geography or dependence on natural resources; it also has social, economic and political dimensions which influence how climate change affects different groups. Poor people rarely have insurance to cover loss of property due to natural calamines i.e. drought, floods, super cyclones etc. The poor communities are already struggling to cope with the existing challenges of poverty and climate variability and climate change could push many beyond their ability to cope or even survive. It is vital that these communities are helped to adapt to the changing dynamics of nature. Adaptation is a process through which societies make themselves better able to cope with an uncertain future. Adapting to climate change entails taking the right measures to reduce the negative effect of climate change (or exploit the positive ones) by making the appropriate adjustments and changes. These range from technological options such as increased sea defences or flood proof houses on stilts to behavioural change at the individual level, such as reducing water use in times of drought. Other strategies include early warning systems for extreme events, better water management, improved risk management, various insurance options and biodiversity conservation. Because of the speed at which climate change is happening due to global temperature rise, it is urgent that the vulnerability of developing countries to climate change is reduced and their capacity to adapt is increased and national adaptation plans are implemented.  Communities must build their resilience, including adopting appropriate technologies while making the most of traditional knowledge, and diversifying their livelihoods to cope with current and future climate stress. Local coping strategies and knowledge need to be used in synergy with government and local interventions. The need of adaptation interventions depends on national circumstances. There is a large body of knowledge and experience within local communities on coping with climatic variability and extreme weather events. Local communities have always aimed to adapt to variations in their climate. Local coping strategies are an important element of planning for adaptation. Traditional knowledge can help to provide efficient, appropriate and time tested ways of advising and enabling adaptation to climate change in communities who are feeling the effects of climate changes due to global warming.

On 7th May 2020, a major leakage of Styrene gas was reported from the plasticsmanufacturing plant 'LG Polymers' located on the outskirts of the Visakhapatnam city. The accident took place when the cooling system of a polymers plant got clogged due to the mismanagement of factory workers and resulted in turning the city into a gas chamber. The gas which leaked was styrene gas, which is a ‘hazardous chemical’ under Rule 2(e) plus Entry 583 of Schedule I of the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules 1989.
Principle 1: Polluter Pays Principle
The 'Doctrine of Polluter Pays' is a well-established principle of environmental law, which places an obligation of compensating the damage to the people who ought to reimburse it and also have the capacity to disburse it. The principle explicitly affirms that the person who damages or destructs the environment has the absolute obligation to bear the cost of ameliorat ing the environment. In Enviro Legal Action v. Union of India case, the Apex Court of India held that the polluter is legally responsible to reimburse the individual sufferers as well as pay for the revitalization of the damaged environment. Principle
Principle 2: Principle of Strict Liability
The principle of Strict Liability was established in the year 1868 in the case of Rylands v. Fletcher, where the Court held that any person who uses his/her land in an 'unnatural manner' and who keeps any 'hazardous substance' on such premises would be held liable under the principle of strict liability for any 'damage' occurred on the 'escape' of such perilous substance. However, the person is liable only when there is non-natural use of land; the principle also restricts liability when the escape is due to an act of strangers, Act of God, for example a natural calamity; due to the person injured or when it happens with the consent of the person injured or with statutory authority.
Principle 3: Principle of Absolute Liability
The absolute liability is a stringent form of Strict Liability as it is devoid of any exceptions that were mentioned under the earlier principle. for the first time in the case of M.C. Mehta v. Union of India. This principle implies that whenever an enterprise is engaged in any dangerous or hazardous activity that threatens the people working in the enterprise and those living nearby, it owes an absolute and non-delegable duty to the community that no harm will be caused. If harm is indeed caused, the enterprise will have to compensate for damages, and can‘t use exceptions provided in the case of strict liability. The enterprise can‘t claim that the harm has not been caused due to negligence (absence of due care) or that it had taken all reasonable precautions.

It only took one, or maybe a few enthusiastic businessmen to turn the poor man's Cigarillos, mostly frowned upon back in the 16th century, to the far-reached and deeply penetrated cigarettes of various brands and strengths we buy today. Of course, now the world knows of its ill effects and cancerous attributes, but back in 1789 the story was completely different. Lack of concrete clinical and research based studies about a direct link between tobacco smoking and lung cancer, among other types of cancers led to an outburst of tobacco marketing, an exploitation of the aforementioned void of sorts by marketers and copywriters, which subsequently led to the deep penetration of cigarettes and the 'classy' smoking culture in a man's everyday life. Today, when over 95% of the world population is well aware of the facts, still 15% of all deaths globally are attributed to smoking. A timely investment into the unexposed human psyche and exploitation of unawareness led to the creation of a multi-billion dollar industry that's only as good as the ignorance it's consumed with.

There are, however, unfounded claims and minor studies which do depict a direct link between extensive social media usage and mental health disorders primarily among youngsters, a majority of eyes are still averted from the impending doom that our social media and smartphone culture is cultivating actively with each passing minute of our time online. But only for lack of an active, charged initiative of someone to delve into the matter and dig out substantial awareness that's been buried and running deeper continuously for over a decade in the average consumer's mind, social media founders and new entrepreneurs looking to exploit this addiction, along with marketers and copywriters still, are doing the best that they can to keep us hooked regardless.

This is the 1800s of social media in our world; where it's still cool, it carries a social heft, makes us feel better and is the answer to a downtime after long hours of work or studies; as were the cigarettes, till they started to kill more than it (seemingly) cured. And hence the only question remains; with the technology that we have now, with the ability to be as curious as we can possibly wish to be and still have our answers, with we ourselves ruling over our own awareness that knows no bounds- thanks again to tech advancements globally- are we solely choosing this ignorance every second minute of our lives?The unfortunate answer is yes, as it always will be.

By its ill-considered announcement that ‘rules of engagement’ have been changed for the Indian Army after 20 of its soldiers were killed in action, the government has altered to the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) advantage the ‘no use of weapons’ system of managing encounters along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that has been in place for 27 years.

The new rules mean that Indian soldiers would be armed with orders to fire – in self-defence, of course – when face-to-face with the PLA. However, the government has not realised that escalation, once initiated, is controlled by the militarily stronger side, in this case the PLA.

Within hours of the announcement, the PLA moved additional forces including tanks and artillery forward to the LAC. It also immediately laid claim to the entire Galwan valley and made a deep, brazen ingress into the Depsang plains. China’s official mouthpiece Global Times warned India on the consequences of firing the first shot. Meanwhile, China’s envoy in India, Sun Weidong, put the onus on New Delhi to ease tensions and not complicate the situation.

The ‘rules of engagement’ statement was largely meant to assuage a dejected domestic audience who felt short-changed by PM Modi’s stunning declaration of June 19, in which he asserted that “Nobody has intruded into our border, neither is anybody there now, nor have our posts been captured.” While subsequently the government insisted that the statement did not mean that India had silently accepted PLA’s grab of its territory, it was difficult to shake off this perception. Consequently, in a bid to show that it retains the initiative, the new ‘rules of engagement’ were announced. This has led to two unintended consequences.

One, it has exposed the Modi government’s tendency of passing off perception as reality. This is the game it had successfully played with Pakistan in the 2016 surgical strikes and the 2019 Balakot attacks. But China is not Pakistan; and the war preparedness of both sides is not hidden. Barely had India shown its bravado came the news that defence minister Rajnath Singh was in Moscow seeking fast-tracking of spares for tanks, aircraft, guns and platforms in the pipeline for delivery to the Indian armed forces. Without war material, realistic combat training is not possible. The army also lacks the habitat and ecosystem for operational logistics for large additional numbers at altitudes of over 10,000 feet.

Two, there is a tacit admission that LAC management in the form of appeasement, which worked thus far, has been rendered irrelevant owing to the increased PLA threat. Since India has no idea of how to deal with an escalation, the field is now wide open for more PLA incursions. Worse, a continued impasse would work to China’s military and strategic advantage.

Direction: Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to the question out of the four alternatives.

Manga are comics created in Japan or by creators in the Japanese language, conforming to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century. They have a long and complex pre-history in earlier Japanese art. The term manga in Japan is a word used to refer to both comics and cartooning. "Manga" as a term used outside Japan refers to comics originally published in Japan.

The word "manga" comes from the Japanese word composed of the two kanji (man) meaning "impromptu" and (ga) meaning "pictures". In Japan, people of all ages read manga. The medium includes works in a broad range of genres : action-adventure, business and commerce, comedy, detective, historical drama, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction and fantasy, sexuality, sports and games, and suspense, among others. Many manga are translated into other languages. Since the 1950s, manga has steadily become a major part of the Japanese publishing industry, representing a ¥406 billion market in Japan in 2007 (approximately $3.6 billion) and ¥420 billion (approximately $5.5 billion) in 2009.

Manga have also gained a significant worldwide audience. In Europe and the Middle East the market was worth $250 million in 2012. In 2008, in the U.S. and Canada, the manga market was valued at $175 million. Manga represent 38% of the French comics market, nearly 260 million Euros which is equivalent to approximately ten times that of the United States.

As per the passage, the theme of the manga does not include-

The chair of the judging panel, Margaret Busby, announced the selection of 13 novels for the 2020 Booker Prize longlist (the “Booker dozen”) one of the most interesting and diverse we’ve seen in a long time.

The inclusion of Hilary Mantel’s latest book, and the final in her Wolf Hall trilogy, The Mirror & the Light. Both the two previous books in the trilogy – Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies – won the Booker Prize, in 2009 and 2012 respectively. If Mantel was to win the 2020 Booker Prize for The Mirror & the Light she would be the first author to ever win three Bookers.

Second, nearly half of the longlist is made up of debut novels, which even the literary director of the Booker Prize Foundation, Gaby Wood, has admitted is an “unusually high proportion”. This is certainly something the Booker Prize and its judging panel should be commended for.

Like all other creative industries, publishing has been hit hard by the worldwide pandemic. From the cancellation of major events, including the London Book Fair in March and the closing of bookshops, to the postponement of major releases, including Ruth Jones’ second novel Us Three, the 2020 publishing calendar has been turned upside down.

The celebration of debut novels in the Booker Prize longlist, then, is particularly fortuitous, since many debut writers have lost the opportunity to go through the usual new book tours, literary event circuits and bookshop signings.

Finally, it is worth highlighting the kinds of themes and issues dealt with in the longlisted books. The books examine race, homosexuality, gender and gender identity, poverty, class (and in some cases, intersections of them all), homelessness, and climate change.

The subjects foregrounded by many of the longlisted books, therefore, not only speak to current socio-political movements and conflict – most notably Black Lives Matter and the call for active anti-racism. But they also foreshadow the kinds of issues we will undoubtedly come up against (and, in some circumstances, already are) in a post-coronavirus world. In other words, more so than ever before, this longlist feels both born from, and representative of, the very particular moment in history in which we are in.

But only time will tell if this will be reflected in the final shortlist which will be announced on September 15, with the winner being announced in November. If Mantel were to be crowned the winner – receiving her third Booker Prize in just over a decade – it would arguably prove that yet again the Booker Prize acts only to reinforce, as opposed to disrupting as hoped, the systemic inequalities and imbalances of contemporary publishing culture.

Who would be the first author to win three bookers if their nomination won in 2020?

Directions: In each question below are given statements followed by two courses of action numbered I and II. On the basis of the information given in the statement, you have to assume everything in the statement to be true, then decide which of the suggested courses of action logically follow(s) for pursuing.

(a) if only I follows.

(b) if only II follows

(c) if either I or II follows.

(d) if neither I nor II follows

(e) if both I and II follow.

Q. Statement: All resident doctors in Government Hospitals have gone on mass casual leave in protest against the Govt’s new reservation policy.

I. The Government should call a meeting of the representatives of the resident doctors and request them to resume their duties.

II. The Government should order strict action against striking doctors if they do not resume duties  immediately.

Passage: India is a country of villages. Rural population still dominates the urban population as far as the number is considered. This is despite the fact that there is rampant migration of rural families to urban centres. Generally, the gains of being a unit of the urban population are less than the disadvantages and risks that are in-built in the urban life. Crime, riots, etc are some of the examples of such risks of urban life.
The forces that generate conditions conducive to crime and riots are stronger in urban communities than in rural areas.
Urban living is more anonymous living. It often releases the individual from community restraints more common in tradition-oriented societies. But more freedom from constraints and controls also provides greater freedom to deviate. And living in the more impersonalized, formally controlled urban society means that regulatory orders of conduct are often directed by distant bureaucrats. The police are strangers executing these prescriptions on an anonymous set of subjects. Minor offences in small town or village are often handled without resort to official police action. As disputable as such action may seem to be, it results in fewer recorded violations of the law compared to those in the big cities. Although perhaps causing some decision difficulties for the police in small town, formal and objective law enforcement is not always acceptable to the villagers. Urban area with mass population, greater wealth, more commercial establishments and more products of our technology also provide more frequent opportunities for theft. Victims are impersonalized property is insured, consumer goods in more abundance are vividly displayed and are more portable. The crime rate increases despite formal moral education given in schools.

Directions: Choose the word which is most SAME in meaning to the word used in the passage

WORD: RELEASES

DEAR TED:

I was delighted to find from your letters that you are having a pretty good time in spite of the newspaper and kodak creatures. I guess that nuisance is now pretty well abated. Every now and then they will do something horrid; but I think you can ignore them entirely.

I shall be interested to hear how you get on, first of all with your studies, in which you seem to have started well, and next with football. I expected that you would find it hard to compete with the other candidates for the position of end, as they are mostly heavier than you; especially since you went off in weight owing to the excitement of your last weeks of holiday in the summer.

So it is about the polo club. In my day we looked with suspicion upon all freshman societies, and the men who tried to get them up or were prominent in them rarely amounted to much in the class afterwards; and it has happened that I have heard rather unfavorably of the polo club. But it may be mere accident that I have thus heard unfavorably about it, and in thirty years the attitude of the best fellows in college to such a thing as a freshman club may have changed so absolutely that my experience can be of no value. Exercise your own best judgment and form some idea of what the really best fellows in the class think on the subject. Do not make the mistake of thinking that the men who are merely undeveloped are really the best fellows, no matter how pleasant and agreeable they are or how popular. Popularity is a good thing, but it is not something for which to sacrifice studies or athletics or good standing in any way; and sometimes to seek it overmuch is to lose it. I do not mean this as applying to you, but as applying to certain men who still have a great vogue at first in the class, and of whom you will naturally tend to think pretty well.

In all these things I can only advise you in a very general way. You are on the ground. You know the men and the general college sentiment. You have gone in with the serious purpose of doing decently and honorably; of standing well in your studies; of showing that in athletics you mean business up to the extent of your capacity, and of getting the respect and liking of your classmates so far as they can be legitimately obtained. As to the exact methods of carrying out these objects, I must trust to you.

Which of the following will be most appropriate inference of Ted about Polo club?

Answer the following questions based on the information given below.

A person has noted down the distance travelled and time of travel for four vehicles - A, B, C, D-over two days. Each vehicle has travelled on both days. The time taken by C to travel on day 1 is 14 hours and the distance covered by D on day 2 is 547 km. The distance covered by B on day 2 is 80% of the total distance covered by D. The time taken by B on day 2 is 1/7th less than the time taken by C to travel on day 1; and the distance covered by A on day 1 is 32 kms less than the distance covered by D on day 2. The distance covered by A on day 2 is 20% less than the distance covered by C on day 1. The time taken by A on day 1 is 80% more than the time taken by B on day 1.The distance covered by C on day 1 is 780, km and the total distance covered by all vehicles across both days is 5400 km. The ratio of time taken by D and B on day 2 is 4 : 3. The distance covered by D on day 1 is 20% more than the distance covered by A on day 1. The time taken by A to travel on day 2 is 1/4th more than the time taken by B to travel on day 2. The total distance travelled by C is 1475 kms. The distance covered by B on day 1 is 6 km less than the distance covered by C on day 2. The time taken by B on day 1 is 3/8th less than the time taken by D on day 2. The total time taken by C is 31 hours. The time taken by D on day 1 is 1/9th more than the time taken by A on day 1.

What is the least speed (in kmph) on day 2?

Law characteristically faces backward. Unlike most forms of policymaking, which are concerned with a proposed policy’s future consequences, legal decision-making is preoccupied with looking over its shoulder. Frequently in law, but less so elsewhere, it is not enough that a decision produces desirable results in the future; the decision must also follow from or at least be consistent with previous decisions on similar questions. By ordinarily requiring that legal decisions follow precedent, the law is committed to the view that it is often better for a decision to accord with precedent than to be right, and that it is frequently more important for a decision to be consistent with precedent than to have the best consequences.

The obligation to follow precedent arises in the legal system in two different ways. One we can call vertical precedent. Lower courts are normally expected to obey the previous decisions of higher courts within their jurisdiction, and this relationship of lower to higher in the “chain of command” is usefully understood as vertical. Federal district courts are obliged to follow the precedents of the courts of appeals of their circuit, and the courts of appeals are obliged to follow the precedents of the Supreme Court. The same holds true in state systems, which typically have a similar structure and impose equivalent obligations. Indeed, we refer to courts as higher and lower precisely because higher courts exercise authority over lower ones, an authority manifested principally in the obligation of lower courts to treat the decisions of higher courts as binding upon them.

Courts are also, although less obviously and sometimes more controversially, expected to follow their own earlier decisions – horizontal precedent, because the obligation is between some court now and the same court in the past. The earlier decision is superior not because it comes from a higher court; rather, the earlier decision becomes superior just because it is earlier. This obligation of a court to follow its own previous decisions is typically known as stare decisis.

PRINCIPLE 1: A person is said to have committed an offence if he has committed any act towards the completion of his objective for the offence.

PRINCIPLE 2: A person is said to not have committed any offence till the time he possesses an opportunity to take back the consequences of his actions.

PRINCIPLE 3: An attempt to commit an offence is an offence in itself.

FACTS: Prateek and Diya had been dating for two years till Diya decided to break up with him because of his behavior. When she told Prateek, he was devastated. Later in the day, he hung out with his friends and had a couple of drinks. His friends teased him for getting dumped, which angered him immensely. He immediately went to Diya’s house with a pistol to shoot her. He reached and rang the doorbell, waiting for her to open the door. While he was waiting, he happened to notice the wind chime hanging in the balcony outside her room. It was the wind chime that he had gifted her. He travelled down the memory lane and thought of all the happy times he and Diya had spent together. Meanwhile, Diya opened the door. Ashamed at himself and guilt-ridden, he tried to hide his gun in his pocket. However, it slipped from his hand and fell down. Diya saw this and raised a hue and cry. Will she succeed in holding a charge of attempt to murder against Prateek?