A Unique Way of Learning Vocabulary from Leading Newspaper (THE HINDU)

Building holistic India-Sri Lanka ties

India must continue to engage Sri Lanka beyond mere transnational deals -THE HINDU

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi last week, on his third visit to the capital since January 2015, is in keeping with the refreshed Indo-Lanka ties that followed the regime change in Colombo. Flagging off partnerships in a host of economic and development projects through a Memorandum of Understanding, the two Prime Ministers have set the stage for long-term collaboration in spheres ranging from energy and infrastructure to special economic zones. There are no surprises here, for India’s Sri Lanka policy, following the defeat of strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa, has been centered on economic cooperation and security concerns, and far less on political matters. In fact, the line ministries executing specific projects are playing a prominent role in taking bilateral negotiations forward. Preoccupied with an ever-growing Chinese presence in Sri Lanka, India has been channeling its energies towards countering it, especially focussing on Trincomalee. India and Sri Lanka have agreed to jointly revive a World War II era oil storage facility in the strategically located eastern port town and build infrastructure around it. Enhanced economic and development ties are welcome and crucial for the neighboring countries, but they should not bypass robust engagement on traditional political concerns in the island nation, where scores of Tamils and Muslims in the north and east are yet to return to normal lives eight years after the civil war ended. Continue Reading....

IMPORTANT WORDS FORM ARTICLE & THEIR MEANING

1) Regime (शासन) - Re-g-emeMeaning - a government, especially an authoritarian one - Noun
Synonyms - administration, establishment
Example - The football player’s nutritional regime requires him to eat several large servings of proteins each day.

2) Collaboration (सहयोग) - Co-lab-ray-tionMeaning - the action of working with someone to produce something - Noun
Synonyms - association, concert
Antonyms - disunion, division
Example - In order for the team to perform a complex task, all members must collaborate with each other.

3) Prominent (प्रसिद्ध) -  Pro-me-nentMeaning - important, famous - Adjectivea stout drab-coloured moth with tufts on the forewings which stick up while at rest, the caterpillars of which typically have fleshy growths on the back - Noun
Synonyms - important, eminent
Antonyms - common, depressed
Example - She was prominent in the fashion industry.

4) Bilateral (द्विपक्षीय) - Bye-let-ralMeaning - having or relating to two sides; affecting both sides - Adjective
Synonyms - mutual, reciprocal
Antonyms - multilateral, unilateral
Example - They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.

5) Incursion (घुसपैठ) - In-kar-sionMeaning - an invasion or attack, especially a sudden or brief one - Noun
Synonyms - aggression, attack
Antonyms - retreat
Example - Enemy forces have made incursions into our territory.

6) Defunct (अप्रचलित) - De-funk-tMeaning - no longer existing or functioning - Adjective
Synonyms - disused, inoperative
Antonyms - operating, existent
Example - These machines are now considered defunct.

7) Anxiety (चिंता) - An-zai-tyMeaning - a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome - Noun
Synonyms - worry, concern
Antonyms - advantage, belief
Example - She had a great deal of anxiety about her first day at her new job.

Word of the Day

Chaffer (मोल-भाव) - Ch-a-fur

• Meaning - haggle about the terms of an agreement or price of something - Verb
• haggling about the price of something - Noun
• Synonyms - barter, trade
• Antonyms - agree
• Example (English) - Apple company was chaffering with the Indian government over tax incentives for making phones in India.
• Example (Hindi) - ऐप्पल कंपनी भारत में फोन बनाने के मामले में टैक्स छूट के लिए मोल-भाव कर रही थी।

Now considering the article above as a Reading Comprehension question, try to answer the following -

• How do you see the diplomatic, economic, political relationship between Sri Lanka and India?
• Do you really see Sri Lanka neutralizing Indian influence using time to time or as a balancing act?

Given below are some words to check your vocabulary you can make sentences with those words in the comment section which will be reviewed by us.

• Spheres 
• Crucial 
• Pledged 
• Negotiation