 Good evening aspirants, welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankarayesh Academy for the date 29th of August 2022. Before seeing the list of news articles, I have an announcement for you. See pre-storming test series batch 1 is going to start at Shankarayesh Academy's Annanagar branch. The test series consists of a total of 66 tests. It includes both CSAT, GS and Mach test. The batch starts on 12th September 2022. And all the tests will be conducted in offline mode on the scheduled dates from 2pm to 4pm and it will be followed by a live discussion from 4.30pm to 7.30pm. The students who missed the offline test can take the test online after two days. For students who are taking the test online will be provided recorded discussion videos. You can take the test online only until the start of Shankarayesh Academy's Mach test that will be held before Palms 2023. Now with this information, let us see the list of news articles that we will be discussing today. You can go through it. Now let us start our discussion. Look at this news article. It talks about a high tech firm in Kerala which will be promoted as a tourist hotspot. So through this, the Kerala state government is popularizing agro tourism. In this context, we will be discussing about the agro tourism industry in India. First let us see what is agro tourism? Agro tourism is a form of rural tourism. In this, tourist stays with the farmer, then engages with the farming activities and also eats authentic farm food. So it involves staying in a farmhouse or a separate guesthouse. Such farmhouse or guesthouse will provide meals and also includes activities involving observing and participating in farming operation. For instance, such activities include strawberry picking. This activity is already carried out as a part of agro tourism in Mahabaleshwar of Maharashtra. So from this, what we can understand is agro tourism is a kind of leisure activity that is done in an agricultural environment and it also provides opportunity to help farming while staying in a farming area. Also know that this concept has been derived from the western economies. Now let us come to the benefits associated with agro tourism. First it provides opportunity for the farmer to earn extra income because it has the potential to become a allied agricultural activity. Second it helps in redistribution of economic resources from urban part of the country to the rural part. Third it also helps in job creation for rural youth and women. Through this it reduces disguised unemployment. What is disguised unemployment? See disguised unemployment is a case in which people appear to be employed. It occurs when productivity is low and too many workers are filling too few jobs. This could also mean when part of a population is not employed at their full potential. And this type of unemployment is very common in rural India. Now in case of agro tourism the rural people will be actually employed. Other than this from the side of the tourist if you see they get authentic village experience or experience of village culture. We know generally it is hard for a city dweller to experience village life. And it also helps both tourist and farmers to interact with each other. Through this they cultivate relationship and understand each other's need. Also agro tourism benefits the environment and biodiversity because it is ecologically sustainable and environmentally friendly. Above all it helps to diversify India's conventional tourism industry and add new dimension to it. See these are the advantages associated with agro tourism. See there are some challenges associated with agro tourism. Now let us see the challenges. First of all investment needed in this is very high because the cost of land development is quite high and there is also need for huge initial investment. There is the challenge of human resources. This is due to the weak communication skills of the staff in rural part of the country. So this might affect the experience of tourism. Thirdly the experience of agro tourism might turn monotonous. Monotonous in the sense that there is inability to introduce more engaging activity other than farming related activities. And finally at the policy level in India we lack a specific central or state government policy to promote agro tourism. A good policy measure is needed for the proper implementation and regulation of the agro tourism industry. With this basic understanding let us see what the news article says. The news article talks about Kuryottumalla farm located in Kollam district of Kerala. Now this farm is going to be opened as a high tech agro tourist destination for public from August 31st. It is located in a completely rural area near a tribal colony. The facilities include cottages, huts, children's park and life-sized animal structure to attract tourists. A first of a kind domestic animal museum is going to be added in the facility in the near future. Through this Kuryottumalla farm aims to tap tourism potential along with the development of the area and generating employment for residents. So that's all regarding this discussion. See this example of the Kuryottumalla farm can be used in your mains answer when the question asks us about agro tourism. So this is how you have to pick articles from the news and use it as a valid addition in your mains answer. So that's all regarding this discussion. Let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Have a look at this news article. This news article is about rabies. See there is a sudden spurt in human rabies death in the state of Kerala this year. This had included cases where the victims were vaccinated. So this has raised questions about the vaccine potency, possibility of poor vaccine cold chain mechanism and above all the efficacy of the intradermal root of vaccine administration and the fallibility of the intradermal root of vaccine administration. Here intradermal vaccination is the delivery of vaccines into the outer layer of the skin. Most vaccines are delivered via the intramuscular root. The intradermal root is used only for a few number of vaccines like rabies and BCG. This is the crux of the news article given here. In this context let us learn about the rabies disease. See rabies is a fatal but preventable viral disease. The virus that is responsible for causing this disease is the Lysovirus. It is a single standard RNA virus and it comes under the Rabidoviridae family. Rabies can spread to people and pets if they are bitten or scratched by a rabid animal. In the United States rabies is mostly found in wild animals like bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes. However, in many other countries dogs still carry rabies virus and most rabies deaths in the world is caused due to dog bites. Now comes a question. How is this rabies transmitter? This virus is transmitted through direct contact such as through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose or mouth with saliva of the infected animal. See people usually get rabies from the bite of a rabid animal. It is also possible but rare for people to get rabies from non-bite exposure also which include scratches, aberration and open wounds that are exposed to saliva or other potential infectious material from a rabid animal. See generally during localized infection the virus is shed from the primary site of infection. Here primary site is nothing but the bite site and it spreads and multiplies itself causing the disease. Just have a look at this image. Here you can see how a dog is getting infected from an already infected animal. The spot where the bite happens is the primary site of infection. From there the virus spreads and multiplies rapidly causing the disease. See the rabies virus infects the central nervous system. How? See the rabies virus attacks the nervous tissue and appears to replicate almost exclusively in the neuronal cells. Once introduced through the skin or mucous membrane the virus begins replicating in the striated muscles at the wound site. The virus can replicate in muscle cells for hours or weeks or it can migrate immediately to the nervous system. And most importantly rabies virus becomes non-infectious when it dries out and when it is exposed to sunlight. That is in general if the material containing the virus is stray the virus cannot be considered infectious. Ok. Having seen the transmission now let us see what is to be done after transmission. That is what can be done after a person is infected by the virus. See if a person does not receive appropriate medical care after a potential rabies exposure the virus can cause disease in the brain ultimately resulting in death. Ok. You may think how it affects the brain. See as I already said the virus starts moving from the primary site of infection that is the bite site to the brain. In the brain the virus infects the neurons in almost all brain regions and here it continues replication. The viral virus transmission from the periphery of the body that is the bite site to the brain is called centripetal virus spread. This is making the rabies the deadliest disease known to mankind. See in general the incubation period for rabies is 2 to 3 months. But it may vary from one week to one year depending upon the factors such as location of virus entry and viral load. So if a rabid dog bites a person it may take about one year for the virus to reach the brain cells from the bite sites. Ok. Know that the initial symptoms of rabies include fever with pain and unusual or unexplained tingling, pricking or burning sensation at the wound site. But as the virus spread to the central nervous system progressive and fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cord develops. Once the virus start infecting the central nervous system and the brain this stage is called the acute neurologic stage. This stage has some certain symptoms associated with it. The symptoms include confusion, aggression, partial paralysis, involuntary muscle twitching, rigid neck muscles, convolutions, frothing at the mouth, fear of water hydrophobia, hallucinations, nightmare, insomnia and photophobia. The photophobia is the fear of light. So these are the symptoms associated with rabies. Now moving on. See, though the virus is the deadliest it can be treated. Yes, immediate treatment of a bite victim after rabies exposure can prevent the entry of the virus into the central nervous system. This is called post exposure profile axis. Post exposure profile axis and rabies consist of regimes of rabies immunoglobulin serum and full courses of rabies vaccination at 0, 3, 7, 14 and 28 days. The first dose of vaccination should be given as soon as possible immediately after the animal bite. See firstly there should be extensive washing and local treatment of the bite wound or scratch as soon as possible after the suspected exposure. Secondly, a course of potent and effective rabies vaccine that meets WHO standards has to be given and then administration of rabies immunoglobulin serum should be done if indicated. This is given because the virus in the wound is neutralized through the administration of the rabies immunoglobulin in the wound site. This will give passive protection to the bite victim till the vaccine produces antibodies to fight the virus. So starting the treatment as soon as after the exposure to rabies virus can effectively prevent the onset of symptoms and even should death. Other than this, let me tell you how you can be totally prevented because prevention is always better than cure. See rabies can be prevented by vaccinating the pets and staying away from wildlife and seeking medical care after potential exposure before the symptoms starts. See considering the severity of the disease rabies is included in WHO's new 2021-2030 roadmap. As a zoonotic disease it requires close cross sectoral coordination at the national, regional and global levels. So that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion we discussed various points about the rabies disease. We saw what causes the disease, the symptoms of the disease, the mode of transmission and how the disease can be prevented. So that's all regarding this discussion. With this let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Take a look at this article. See this article talks about ADAR card and its linkage with voter ID card. So in this article discussion let us see about some of the basics of ADAR card and then we shall see some of the important points mentioned in the article. Before getting into the discussion I have highlighted here the syllabus regarding this discussion. Please go through it. Now let's start our discussion. Let us start with ADAR card. As you know ADAR is a 12 digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India on the behalf of Government of India. This number will serve as a proof of identity and address anywhere in India. That is any individual irrespective of age and gender who is a resident in India and satisfies the verification process laid down by the UIDAI can enroll for ADAR. Here you must note two things. Firstly to enroll for ADAR he or she need not be a citizen of India. Being resident in India is alone enough for enrollment. Here a resident is a person who has resided in India for 182 days in one year preceding the date of application for enrollment for ADAR. So at any case ADAR number cannot be a proof of citizenship or domicile. Secondly any individual irrespective of age and gender meaning even children right from their birth can be enrolled for ADAR. But for children below 5 years no biometric will be captured. Later when they turn 5 and 15 the unique identification of the children have to be updated with their biometrics of 10 fingers, iris and facial photograph. So for this alerts will be sent to the registered mobile number of their parents. Ok now coming back each individual needs to enroll only once which is free of cost and each ADAR number will be unique to an individual and will remain valid for life. Also remember ADAR letter received through India post and EADAR downloaded from UIDAI website are equally valid. Now you must know the purpose of ADAR. Why such a document is required? See ADAR was introduced with two primary goals in mind. First is to curb leakages through targeted delivery. See earlier various identity proof like ration card, driver license or vote radio were required for access to government benefits, subsidies and services. But the issue with these proof is that they could be easily duplicated or forged. This led to leakages of benefits and subsidies to ineligible beneficiaries. So government brought in ADAR number. ADAR number is based on biometric information like photograph, 10 finger prints, scans of both irises and demographic information like name, date of birth, gender, residential interest. The thing is we cannot duplicate or forge biometric information. So ultimately ADAR helps in ensuring elimination of duplicates under various schemes and it enables seamless implementation of direct benefit transfer programs to the targeted population. So this is the first intention behind the implementation of ADAR card. Second is to improve efficiency and efficacy of the service delivery mechanism. See the ADAR number, the demographic and biometric information all together are stored in the central identities data repository. And every time a person's identity is authenticated using ADAR, information related to the authentication request is stored as well. This authentication allows the implementing agencies to verify beneficiaries at the time of service or benefit delivery. And it guarantees benefits are delivered to the right people. So this is the second purpose. As the time has passed by ADAR number was made mandatory to access services like banking, mobile phone connection and other government and non-government services. This includes linking ADAR with PAN card. Some of the other places where ADAR is used is highlighted here in the box. Just go through it. Now coming back to the news article. See the news article reports to us some of the instances where block level officers have asked the individuals to link their ADAR with their voter IDs, telling them if they fail their voter IDs could be cancelled. So here comes two questions. First is why does the government want the linking of ADAR with the voter ID? See the answer to this question is very simple. The election commission conducts regular exercises to maintain and update an accurate record of the voter base. A part of this exercise is to weed out duplication of voters like migrant workers who may have been registered more than once on the electoral rolls in different constituencies or persons registered multiple times within the same constituency. As per the government, linkage of ADAR with voter IDs will assist in ensuring that only one voter ID is issued per citizen in India. This is why government and the election commission are insisting to link ADAR with voter ID. The second question is, is the linking of ADAR ID with one's voter ID mandatory? And if we fail to do so, does the election commission have authority to cancel one's voter ID? The answer to this is no. See linking of ADAR with one's voter ID is not mandatory. In citing that as the reasons, the election commission cannot cancel one's voter ID. This is as per election laws amendment act 2021. This amendment act amended the representation of people's act 1950 and inserted section 23 class 4. This section states that ADAR can be used only for the purpose of establishing the identity of any person. And as per Form 6B issued under Rule 26B of the registration of electoral rules 1960, the voter may submit either their ADAR number to the electoral registration officer or any other listed document. But the option to submit other listed documents is exerciseable only if the voter is not able to furnish their ADAR number because they do not have an ADAR number. So this might have been misinterpreted and have caused confusion among the people and the block level officers. Having understood this, now let us see what are all the operational difficulties in linking ADAR to the voter ID. Firstly, the preference of ADAR for the purpose of determining voters is misleading. This is because ADAR is only a proof of residence and not a proof of citizenship. So verifying voter identity against this will only help in tackling duplication. But it will not remove voters who are not citizens of India from the electoral rules. Secondly, the estimate of error rates in biometric based authentication differs widely. As per the unique identification authority of India in 2018, ADAR based biometric authentication had a 12% error rate. Just because ADAR based authentication could not take place, a person should not be denied of their benefit like voting. Lastly, civil society has highlighted that linking of two data base of electoral roles and ADAR could lead to the linkage of ADAR's demographic information with voter ID information. Further, that might lead to the creation of a surveillance state. So here we lack proper enforceable data protection principle and how the authenticated data will be used is a big question mark. So these are the operational difficulties in linking ADAR card to the voter ID. So to conclude, the government should make corrections in Form 6B and you should clarify that linking of ADAR and voter ID is not mandatory. Along with that, the government should also expedite the enactment of the data protection legislation that addresses concerns of unauthorized processing of personal data stored by the government and all that India needs is an enforceable data protection principle that regulates how authenticated data will be used. So that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw the basics about ADAR and we saw why the government mandated the linking of ADAR and the voter ID and we also saw the difficulties in linking ADAR with voter ID. So I hope this discussion was helpful with this. Let us conclude this discussion and take up the last article for our discussion. Have a look at this article. This article talks about a Subramanian biology versus Tamil Nadu judgment. See this is a judgment regarding promises made during elections which are termed free beast at times. See in this judgment, a Supreme Court division bench held that making promises in election manifesto do not amount to corrupt practices. This is under section 123 of the representation of People's Act, okay? See regarding free beast, we have already covered exclusively. If you could remember, we discussed the ins and outs of free beast on our August 20, 2022 Hindu News Analysis session and while discussing, we saw about Supreme Court recommendations too. What did the Supreme Court recommend? The Supreme Court recommended creating an apex authority. This is to provide recommendations on how to regulate gifts given out by political parties. And now, the Supreme Court referred to a three-judge bench to revisit its earlier judgment which is the Yes Subramanian Biology versus Tamil Nadu judgment. It is unique as the court is exploring whether judicial parameters can be set on a purely political act of promising free beast, okay? In this context, let us discuss about this Yes Subramanian Biology versus Tamil Nadu judgment and then let us see what is the significance of this judgment in the context of the current debate surrounding free beast by political parties. First let us see what triggered this Balaji case. The whole event started in the year 2006. This is during the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. The Dravidam Munnetra Kalagam released its election manifesto announcing a scheme for free distribution of color televisions to every Tamil Nadu household. The party justified that the TV would provide recreation and general knowledge to household women. And particularly those living in the rural areas. The party swept to power in the polls and decided to implement this scheme. While doing so, they spent 750 crores from the budget for the project. Then in the year 2011, All India Anna Dravidam Munnetra Kalagam that is AIADMK with its alliance also announced its election manifesto with free gifts to equalize the gifts offered by the DMK government. AIADMK promised grinders, mixies, electric fans, laptops, computers, 4g gold thali, thali in Tamil means Mangal Sutra, a check of 50,000 for women marriages, greenhouses, 20kg of rice to ration cold holders and free cattle and sheep. Note that here the 20kg rice was promised even to those above the power tea line. Then after that a petition was filed by Mr. Balaji who is a resident of Tamil Nadu. He challenged the schemes introduced by the parties in the Madras High Court. He said the expenditure to be incurred by the state from the exchequer was unauthorized, impermissible and against the constitutional mandates. But the High Court dismissed his case so he moved to the Supreme Court. In the Supreme Court he argued that the promise of free distribution of non-essential commodities in the election manifesto amounts to electoral bribe under section 123 of the Representation of People Act. Then he also mentioned that the distribution of goods to certain sections of the people was violative of the Article 14 of the Constitution. In response to this argument the state of Tamil Nadu said the promises of the political parties during the election do not constitute corrupt practices. Then the Tamil Nadu government claimed that the promises implemented by the party after forming the government is an obligation under the Directive Principles of State Policy. So the Tamil Nadu government claimed that the promise of freebies cannot be construed as a waste of public money or it cannot be prohibited by any statute or scheme. Now coming to the judgement, the Supreme Court said that the manifesto of the political party is a statement of its policy. So it said that making promises in election manifesto do not amount to a corrupt practice under section 123 of the Representation of People Act. However the court agreed that the freebies create an uneven playing field. So it had asked the Election Commission of India to consult political parties and issue guidelines on the election manifesto. And it asked the Election Commission to make it a part of the model code of conduct. Now why is the Supreme Court's move to review the Balaji judgement significant? See the Supreme Court thinks that because of freebies the state governments cannot provide basic amenities. This is because they will lack funds and the state will be pushed towards imminent bankruptcy. So the Supreme Court wants to analyze whether an enforceable judicial order can stop political parties from promising and distributing irrational freebies. So that's all regarding this discussion. See this judgement that is the Subramanian Balaji, the state of Tamil Nadu judgement can be used in your main sanser in arguments favoring freebies. So that's all regarding this discussion. With this we have come to the end of the news and less session. Now let us take up the practice prelims questions. We have four prelims questions, let us see them one by one. Let us take up the first question. This is a previous year question and it appeared on the 2018 prelims paper. Two statements are given, we have to find the correct statement. Let us take up the first statement. Aadhar card can be used as a proof of citizenship or domicile. See this statement is wrong. We saw in our discussion that Aadhar card cannot be used as a proof of citizenship. So statement one is wrong. Now let us take up the second statement. Since issued, Aadhar number cannot be deactivated or omitted by the issuing authority. This statement is also wrong because the Aadhar number can be deactivated or omitted by the issuing authority. Since both the statements are wrong, the correct answer here is option D neither one nor two. Now moving on to the second question, this is also a two statement question. Two statements regarding model code of conduct is given, we have to find the correct answers. Let us take up the first statement. It is framed by the supreme code. See this statement is incorrect. The model code of conduct is a set of guidelines issued by the election commission of India for the conduct of the political parties and candidates during elections. Now moving on to the second statement, it is binding on all political parties. See this statement is correct. The norm of the model code of conduct have been evolved with the consensus of the political parties who have consented to abide by the principles embodied in the model code of conduct. So the model code of conduct is binding on all political parties. So here statement one is incorrect and statement two is correct. So the correct answer here is option B two only. Moving on to the third question, this question is regarding rabies. Two statements are given, we have to find the correct statement. Let us take up the first statement, rabies has 100% fatality when untreated. See this statement is correct because when rabies is untreated and the Liza virus reaches the central nervous system, the fatality is 100%. Okay so statement one is correct. Now let us take up the second statement, rabies virus causes encephalitis. See this statement is also correct. We saw that once the Liza virus enters the central nervous system, it will cause swelling of the spinal cord and the brain. This condition that is the swelling of spinal cord and brain is called encephalitis. So here also statement one and statement two is correct. So the correct answer here is option C both one and two. Now let us take up the last question. See this question is a two-streaming question regarding agrotourism. This is a quiz question for you. Read the question and post the answers in the comment section. The main question based on today's discussion is displayed here, write the answer and post it in the comment section. If you like today's discussion, like, comment and share the video with your friends. For more updates regarding UPSC preparation, subscribe to Shankara AS Academy YouTube channel. Thank you for listening.