 Hello all, welcome to Shankar Ayes Academy's Hindu News Analysis for the date 19th of January, 2023. These are the articles which we are going to discuss today. With this, let's start with our first news article for the day. Have a look at this text and context page article. This article gives us an overview about eco-sensitive zones. See, the article is being written in the backdrop of ongoing protests in Kerala regarding the implementation of Supreme Court judgment on eco-sensitive zones. Now, in this discussion, we will try to learn about eco-sensitive zones, protected areas, then also about the Supreme Court judgment on eco-sensitive zones. Finally, we will also try to understand why there were protests in Kerala. The syllabus for this discussion is highlighted here. Interested aspirants can pause the video and go through it. Now, let's start our discussion with a question. What are eco-sensitive zones? See, eco-sensitive zones which are otherwise called as eco-fragile zones or buffer or transition zones which are notified around highly protected areas. See, they are notified to act as a transition zone from areas of eye protection to areas involving less protection. This means that eco-sensitive zones are created as shock observers for the protected areas. Now, let's see about the term protected areas. Protected areas are regions of land or sea which are given certain levels of protection. They cover nearly about 5.26% of India's land area. The government declares some areas as protected areas mainly for conservation of biodiversity with limited human intervention and limited exploitation of resources. Here note one important fact. The Indian government has designated the protected areas into four different categories. They are national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves and community reserves. See, this classification is as per the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Now, we will see in brief about these four protected areas one by one. First, let's take sanctuary. See, sanctuary is an area which is having adequate ecological, faunal, floral, natural or geological significance. The sanctuary is declared for the purpose of protecting, propagating or developing wildlife or its environment. Wildlife sanctuaries in India are particularly declared for a particular species of animals but also note that it can also be declared as a wider area covering different species of animals living in it. Here note one important point. Certain rights of people living inside the sanctuary could also be permitted by the government. This is all about the term wildlife sanctuaries. Now, coming to the next category. This category is known as national park. The purpose of declaring national park is same as that of the sanctuary but the main difference lies in the rights of people living inside the areas. See, in a sanctuary certain rights can be allowed but in a national park no rights are allowed. For example, grazing of any livestock is prohibited inside a national park while in a sanctuary grazing may be allowed with permission from the chief wildlife warden. So, from this we can conclude that wildlife sanctuaries are protected areas with less protection while national parks are protected areas with more protection comparatively when compared with wildlife sanctuaries. Now, moving on to see about conservation reserves. See, the conservation reserves can be declared either by the central government or the state governments. Conservation reserves are particularly the areas located adjacent to national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and those areas which link one protected area with another. Here note that by declaring an area as a conservation reserve the rights of the people living inside such protected areas are not affected. This is all about conservation reserves. Now, finally we will see about community reserves. See, the community reserves can be declared by the state government. Note that if an individual or a community has volunteered to conserve wildlife under its habitat then any private or community land which are not comprised within a national park, sanctuary or a conservation reserve can be declared as community reserves. They are particularly declared for the purpose of protecting traditional or cultural conservation values and practices. Here note that sanctuaries, national parks and conservation reserves can be declared both by the central government and the state government. But the community reserves can only be declared by the state government. This is all about the four different types of protected areas. Now, we will see the difference between protected areas and reserve forest. First of all, know that reserve forest means the forest which are to be declared by the state government under section 20 of the Indian Forest Act 1927. The major difference between the protected areas and the reserve forest lies in the rights of the forest dependent communities. See, the protected areas do away with the rights of forest dependent communities who are residing on the forest land. Specific activities are allowed inside protected areas but the communities would need to get special permission from higher officials like the chief wildlife warden to carry out such permitted activities. Various in the case of reserve forests, the rights of forest dependent communities are not completely restricted. See, in a reserve forest, the communities can carry out regular activities with the approval of local level forest settlement officer. To say simply, in India, the protected areas such as national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, etc. enjoy considerably a higher degree of security as compared to the reserve forest. Now, what about the rights of forest dependent communities provided under Forest Rights Act 2006? See, the scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers recognition act 2006 which is also known as forest rights act recognizes the customary and traditional rights of forest dwellers on forest land including the protected areas. The rights of scheduled tribes to collect honey and forest wood from the protected areas are given to these communities by this particular act only. Now, coming back to eco-sensitive zones which the article talks about. Generally, the land within 10 km of the boundaries of the protected areas such as the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries is to be notified as eco-sensitive zones. See, the width of the eco-sensitive zones differs from one protected area to the other. However, as a general principle, the width of the eco-sensitive zone is to be maintained at 10 km around the protected areas. But note that if any particular place holds larger ecologically important sensitive corridors then the areas beyond 10 km can also be notified as eco-sensitive zones. Now, talking about the issues associated with the notification of eco-sensitive zones. See, the 2002 Wildlife Conservation Strategy envisaged lands within 10 km of the boundaries of protected areas to be notified as ecologically fragile zones under the Environment Protection Act 1986. Then, 3 years later, the National Board for Wildlife decided to delineate site-specific eco-sensitive zones to regulate specific activities instead of prohibiting them. Therefore, in May 2005, the Ministry of Environment, Forest, Climate Change issued guidelines to the states and union territories to propose eco-sensitive zones. But the states and union territories didn't took any major steps in this regard. So, on June 3, 2022, the Supreme Court gave further directions on eco-sensitive zones. Firstly, the Supreme Court said that Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change guidelines should also be implemented in the areas that are proposed by the state governments to get notified as protected areas. The court further said, Hereafter, the eco-sensitive zones are to be notified within a 10 km radius of yet to be proposed protected areas. The court also allowed states to increase or decrease the minimum width of eco-sensitive zones. Here, note one important point. If the protected area is already notified, then eco-sensitive zones can be declared to an extent of 1 km from the borders of the protected area. But if a protected area is to be notified after this particular judgment, then the area needs to have a 10 km eco-sensitive zone around the protected area itself. This is all about the first direction given by the Supreme Court on eco-sensitive zone issue. Secondly, to ensure compliance with Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change guidelines, the Supreme Court vested the powers with Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and the Home Secretary to the state. The Supreme Court directed the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests to prepare lists of subsisting structures that fall within eco-sensitive zones. This move was to understand the extent of human activity carried out in such areas. The court also ordered that no new permanent structure could be built for any purpose within the eco-sensitive zone. Following these particular directions given out by the Supreme Court, the Kerala government conducted the Satellite Survey of Protected Areas in the state. Recently, the Kerala government released the survey report in the public domain and the survey identified that around 50,000 structures have been falling within the eco-sensitive zones. Opposing this survey, the farmers and local residents are now protesting against the Kerala government. They are saying that thousands of structures have been missed in the satellite survey and also the survey does not reflect the ground reality. This has only led to protests in Kerala. The community in Kerala are saying that Supreme Court directions take away their customary and traditional rights over the forest. With this, we have come to the end of this discussion. Through this discussion, we have seen about the term eco-sensitive zones and the Supreme Court's recent directions regarding the eco-sensitive zones and the Kerala government's subsequent satellite survey carried out on this regard and the protests which were against the Supreme Court directions which are going on in the state of Kerala. We also saw about the protected areas and the four different types of it. With these learned points, now let's move on to the next news article discussion. See this article here. The article states that Cuba had developed five vaccines for COVID-19 so far. It is working on vaccines for pulmonary, prostate and breast cancers. Apart from these vaccines, Cuba is also working on therapeutic medicines for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. In this context, let's revise about Alzheimer's disease. See, we are going to see about Alzheimer's disease because it is one of the common disease affecting old age population. See, Alzheimer's disease is a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. It reduces the ability to carry out even the simplest tasks. In most old age population, symptoms of Alzheimer first appear in their mid-60s. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia among older adults. Now, what is dementia? See, it is a term used to describe a group of symptoms that affects memory, thinking and social abilities. Plakes and tangles in the brain are considered as the main features of Alzheimer's disease. We know that neurons transmit messages between different parts of the brain and from the brain to muscles and organs in the body. Alzheimer's disease leads to the loss of connections between nerve cells, that is, neurons in the brain. This damage initially takes place in parts of the brain involved in memory, including the cortex and hippocampus. It later affects areas in the cerebral cortex which is responsible for language, reasoning and social behavior of an individual. As we discussed, memory problems are generally the first signs of this disease. They decline in other aspects of thinking like finding the right words for communication, spatial issues and impaired reasoning or judgment signal the very early stages of this disease. People with Alzheimer's have trouble doing everyday things like driving a car, cooking a meal or paying bills. They may ask the same questions over and over repeatedly. As the disease progresses, some people become worried, angry and violent. Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease but there had been significant progress in recent years in developing and testing new treatments. One such medication is aducanumab. It is recommended for those with early onset Alzheimer's. Also, recently a new drug called lacanumab was currently approved for the treatment of Alzheimer's. That's all regarding this discussion. Through this discussion, we came to know about the disease Alzheimer's. With these learned points, now let's move on to the next article. Now, look at this data point article given here. This article shows the dietary patterns in different states. To be precise, it is about the consumption of fried food and aerated drinks. So, in this discussion, let's see the important points mentioned in the article. First of all, let's see the data given in the National Family and Health Survey 5 conducted in 2019-2021. As per the survey, the consumption of fried foods and aerated drinks is relatively higher in the states of Goa and northeastern and eastern states when compared to the rest of India. According to the survey, over 32% men drank aerated drinks daily in Goa and 10% women did the same in Assam. In Mizoram, about 83% of women consumed fried foods daily while 38% men did the same in Odisha. See, this is an worrying data because regular consumption of such foods is linked to chronic diseases. According to WHO's Department for the Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases, consumption of such added sugar is a major factor behind obesity and diabetes. Studies by the Harvard School of Public Health showed that the consumption of fried foods leads to the development of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Moreover, consuming fried food made out of used oil leads to high blood pressure, high random glucose levels and high triglyceride levels. This cluster is called as metabolic condition increases the risk of developing heart diseases, diabetes, stoke or all three combined together. For India this is the bad news. Already in the year 2019, India is recorded as the second largest country with huge number of diabetes cases in the world with an estimated 77 million cases. These are the important points given in the article. Now let's see the graphs. As you can see, chart 1A chart 1B depicts the statewide share of daily consumption of aerated drinks among men and women respectively. The data given is for 2019 to 2021 against the change in the share from 2015 to 2016. For instance, among women, the share of those who consumed aerated drinks daily in a SAM was 9.7% which is an increase of about 3.6% from 2015-16 level. Now moving on to the next charts. Chart 2A and chart 2B depict the statewide share of daily consumption of fried food among men and women respectively. Like the previous charts, here also the data is given for 2019-21 period against the change in the share from 2015-16 period. From the chart, we can see that mesoram is ranked at the top among both men and women. Go through the charts to get a general idea of what all states largely consumed fried foods and aerated drinks. This data point can be used by you while writing an answer relating to non-communicable diseases in your mains examination. We can quote that, there is an increase in the percentage of population who consume fried foods and aerated drinks daily so that there is a chance of these population getting type 2 diabetes in the future. With this, we have come to the end of this discussion. Through this discussion, we saw some data from the National Family Health Survey 5 relating to the consumption of fried foods and aerated drinks in India. With these learned points, now let's move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this opinion page article. It talks about the lack of political commitment of the Indian government to meet the Chinese threat. The author has taken some extreme views here. Although we are not supposed to take such extreme stance, the other contents of the article about the act of underbalancing the threat and the reasons behind it are relevant from our exam perspective. So we will discuss this article to get an idea about the growing Chinese threat for India. We will start our discussion by understanding what the author tells about the act of underbalancing China. See, we all know about the recent Chinese standoff along the Indian borders. It was an act of aggression by the Chinese side. India did its best to defend its territories. But it was a defensive strategy and not an offensive one. You beat me and I defend myself but I don't attack you back. Now our acts are not in balance. When China first attacked us, we only defended ourselves. We didn't attack back China at different locations like China did. So this is what author means by underbalancing China. Here note that it's only when I attempt to make an offensive stance, you would be cautious about attacking me again. This stays true even for China-India relationship. So here, the author is telling that necessary attention or reciprocation has not been given to the threats posed by China from the Indian side. See, a balancing strategy had worked in the past. During the Cold War, the containment strategy used by America and its partners towards the Soviet Union succeeded in large part. This was due to the fact that there was no meaningful economic relationship between the superpowers. Now, a big offensive stance against China in a globalised world is next to impossible. Most countries, even India is directly dependent on China for various goods. But the author is of the opinion that we cannot China exploit this interdependence to its advantage. It's not that we have not done anything at all against the aggressive Chinese actions. A lot has changed since the Chinese standoff. Firstly, there has been a clear shift of focus from the line of control to the line of actual control and we could also see large scale deployment of forces along the line of actual control. Secondly, there has also been some effort to curtail India's tech coupling with China. Coupling is the degree of interdependence between software modules and India has tried to reduce its software dependence on China by decoupling its tech needs from Chinese tech services lately. But the author complains that these are not sufficient to keep the Chinese threat at bay. He is of the opinion that there is no proper assessment of the threat because there is no political commitment from Delhi. But why is New Delhi reluctant in articulating the threat? The author gives few reasons for this. Firstly, the Indian approach is based on the belief that balancing China is filled with risks. As I told you earlier, the balancing strategy which worked in the past may not work now. Globalization has created interdependence which has in turn disincentivized the balancing strategy. Secondly, responding to China could potentially spread the fight. This would create more flash points along the line of actual control. The Indian government particularly does not want this to happen. Thirdly, New Delhi wants to avoid any uncertain outcomes of a military escalation with a superior power. All these seems to be valid reasons for underbalancing China according to the article. But there are risks associated with this as well. With no action from the Indian side, Chinese would increase their tempo of territorial pursuit. See, in the year 2020, China started an armed conflict in the region of Akshaichin. But if you note carefully during the past months, there had been another flash point along the line of actual control in the region of Arunachal Pradesh. So this is an example of China increasing its territorial pursuit along the different areas of LAC itself. If India had responded aggressively to the armed conflict with China opened against India along the Akshaichin in the 2020 itself, this particular incident in the Arunachal Pradesh would not have happened. Secondly, when we don't articulate our red lines clearly, our partners and neighbors would also remain confused as to when they should come for our aid. Now, you may wonder what would happen if we clearly spell out our red lines. Of course, there is a possibility of escalation. But the author of this article is of the opinion that we can't keep postponing the threat at the cost of our territory. So the author suggests few options are available to us to tackle China. Firstly, he says that India can go for a calibrated escalation. That is, New Delhi could employ a tick for tat strategy and consider occupying unmanned areas on the Chinese side. But he also says that India must be prepared for similar actions from the Chinese side. Secondly, New Delhi could further raise the economic costs for China by reducing high-tech Chinese imports in select areas thereby burdening the Chinese businesses. Thirdly, he suggests that New Delhi should consider nuclear modernization and even develop low-yield weapons for deterrence. Fourthly, New Delhi may use this opportunity to strengthen its strategic partnership with the US and the West. He says that by doing so, India will become more open about its strategic partnership and defense agreement with the Western world. The author concludes by saying that underbalancing China has not really helped India. And it is now time to devise strategies to balance the Chinese threat. Now, I'll leave it to you. Should India use these strategies mentioned by the author to counter China or should India be avoiding escalatory situation by underbalancing Chinese threats? Post your opinions in the comment section. With this, we have come to the end of this article discussion. Through this discussion, we learned about various threats posed by China along the line of actual control, India's response to it and the author's opinion about India's responses to the Chinese threat. Finally, we ended our discussion by seeing some points which were given by the author to counter China. With these learned points, now let's move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this editorial. This editorial is about the ongoing conflict between the Union government and the judiciary. It covers the recent suggestions made by the Union law minister to the Chief Justice of India regarding the appointments to the constitutional courts. We will see about the suggestions in this discussion. But to clearly understand the context behind it, we must go back to the Fourth Judges case. In 2015, the Supreme Court through the Fourth Judges case struck down the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act. See, the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act provided for a National Judicial Appointments Commission. This commission will act as a nodal agency for the appointment of judges for the higher judiciary in the country. But Supreme Court struck down this National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, saying that the primacy of the judiciary is one of the basic structure doctrines and this particular act is going against that primacy. The Supreme Court held that National Judicial Appointments Commission gives the executive undue power in the appointment of the judges, thereby diluting the primacy of the judiciary. So, this National Judicial Appointments Commission never came into being. But interestingly, the Supreme Court made an observation in the Fourth Judges case. The Supreme Court said that the Collegium system is not without flaws and needs a reform. For the smooth functioning of the appointment process, the Supreme Court asked for the re-negotiation of the memorandum of procedure with the government. But the government was angry at the judiciary for declaring National Judicial Appointments Commission as unconstitutional and the memorandum of procedure was not re-negotiated. Now coming to the question, what is a memorandum of procedure? See, the memorandum of procedure is a document framed by the government in consultation with the Chief Justice of India. This particular document lays down the procedure for the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and various high courts present inside the border of India. See, it is nothing but a step-by-step selection process for the appointment of judges. Memorandum of procedure involves both the government and the Collegium. It tries to remove ambiguities and promote consensus oriented appointment process through a mutually agreed code by both the government and the Collegium. Here note that the memorandum of procedure is not mandated through a legislation or the text of the Constitution. It was first issued in the year 1947 and has been updated since. Over the years, memorandum of procedure has been continuously evolved. The last update came in the year 1999 after the Third Judges case. And after the Fourth Judges case, which we just saw, even the Supreme Court asked the government for the re-negotiation of the memorandum of procedure. But as I previously said, the government declined it. But right now, the Union law minister is asking for re-negotiation. Firstly, he asked for the formation of a search and evaluation committee. The search and evaluation committee will suggest names to the Collegium in the High Courts and the Supreme Court for appointments. And this committee will have government representatives. Secondly, he asked for the Union Government representation in the Supreme Court Collegium and the State Government representation in the High Court Collegium. In addition to this, recently the government has been delaying to act on the recommendation made by the Collegium and it has also been ignoring re-iterated names even after multiple reconsiderations. This calls into question the motive behind the Union law minister's recent action. The editorial says that the Union law minister asking for a reform in the Collegium system is valid. Also, the editorial says that there is no denying that the Collegium system has some flaws that needs to be addressed. But, launching a campaign against the Supreme Court and trying to discredit the institution as a whole is not the right way to go. Now, coming to the question, is there a right way to address this crisis? Yes, there is a step that can be taken to address the current crisis. The keyword here is neutrality. See, there must be a neutrality between the government and the judiciary regarding the appointments to the higher judiciary. The government must take steps to introduce a new legislation that brings transparency in judicial appointments and at the same time must ensure the independence of the judiciary. Here, we can look at the National Judicial Commission of Kenya for inspiration. This particular commission of Kenya is a 11-member body with representation from all stakeholders like Executive, Judiciary, Bar Council, Public Service Commission and also Women members. Like this, the new legislation must make judicial appointment process representative and transparent all the while upholding the independence of the judiciary. This will ensure checks and balances between the judiciary and the government. Also, the presence of these checks and balances will help in efficient functioning of a modern democracy like India. This is all with respect to this discussion. Through this discussion, we saw about memorandum of procedure, the fourth judges case regarding memorandum of procedure and the government stand then and now and the recent suggestion made by the law minister to the Chief Justice of India regarding the appointment process which called for inclusion of government's representative in the koolijiam. Finally, we ended our discussion by seeing about the National Judicial Commission of Kenya which can be tweaked and replicated in the Indian scenario. With these learned points, now let's move on to the next news article. Take a look at this news article. The news article talks about the draft amendment made to the Information Technology Rules 2021 by the Ministry of Electronics and IT. This amendment empowers the Press Information Bureau to fact check content and direct social media platforms to take down anything deemed fake. The editor guild of India said that leaving the determination of fake news solely in the hands of the government will result in extended sponsorship of the press. So it demanded the removal of this particular amendment. This is the crux of the news article given here. In this context, let us revise a few facts regarding editor's guild of India. See, editor's guild of India is a pressure group operating to promote the freedom of press in India. The term pressure group is directly mentioned in the GS2 syllabus of your main examination. So this particular discussion can be used by you to quote the editor's guild of India as an example if a question related to pressure groups is asked in your examination. With this information, now let's start the discussion. Firstly, know that editor's guild of India is the apex body of editors from across the country. It represents all forms of media including print, television, radio and digital. It also represents publications across different languages and regions. See, it was set up in the year 1978 with the twin objectives of protecting press freedom and raising the standards of editorial leadership in media. Here note that editor's guild of India is managed by its president with assistance of general secretary, a treasurer and an executive committee. Here note that the members of the guild are individuals. Institutions cannot become its members. The editors of newspapers, news agencies and periodicals can only be included as its members. Now let's see the reason behind the establishment of editor's guild of India. As you all know, emergency was imposed in India during the last quarter of the 20th century. To be precise, emergency was imposed in the year 1975 and which got extended till the year 1977. During this period, freedom of press was curtailed in India. Many prominent editors of the time felt that the lack of an organized forum of editors was one of the reasons for the sustained suppression of press during this period. So the editor's guild voiced concerns of press freedom abuse with the parliament and the executive of the time. It worked hard to restore press freedom and other freedoms that had been eroded by constitutional amendments and executive orders. Due to its consistent work, even the freedom to report the proceedings of parliament which was taken away in the year 1976 was restored. This is the reason why editor's guild of India was formed. See, it was formed to promote the freedom of press during the period of emergency in India. Now subsequently, when the central government proposed a harsher anti-deformation law in the year 1986, the editor's guild led nationwide protests that forced the executive to abandon this plan. Later in the year 2001 also, when the then government passed the prevention of terrorism ordinance, it included provisions such as preventive detention of journalists based on mere suspicion. The editor's guild protested vigorously against this. It ensured that when the ordinance was converted into a law, these threats to press freedom were removed. The threats to media freedom from non-governmental sources have also been resisted by this particular organization. At the same time, the editor's guild has been striving for improving standards of newspaper editors. It had brought a code of ethics of editors. When editors report harassment from those in positions of authority, the editor's guild investigates and make recommendations to the relevant governments and institutions. For example, when there were widespread allegations of media bias during the Gujarat riots, the editor's guild dispatched a fact-finding team to the state which investigated the lines and widely disseminated its findings. This is all about editor's guild of India. Through this discussion, we saw some points regarding editor's guild of India, which is a pressure group operating in the field of press. With these learned points, now let's move on to the next news article discussion. See this news article here. Yesterday, the union minister of shipping, waterways and ports had launched an initiative called Bharat Pravag. The minister said that rivers and seas should become part of the country's social feelings and the people living away from them should also be reminded of their significance. This is the crux of the article given here. In this context, let's understand about this new initiative called Bharat Pravag initiative. See this particular initiative comes under the union ministry of shipping, waterways and ports. It was launched to highlight the significance of rivers, ports and shipping inside the Indian borders. The ministry is planning to implement this initiative through a series of nationwide events. Here note that the Bharat Pravag initiative is being organized in collaboration with a think tank named Institute for Governance Policies and Politics. Under this initiative, the union ministry of shipping is going to organize a series of regional, national and international events such as dialogues or conferences. See, these events would yield a set of new literature on the significance of the ports, riverways and shipings in everyday life. The events would be organized in a way which revolves around topics such as rivers, sea-centric development, ports and ships in folk culture and literature. See, this initiative will also serve as a common platform to bring together stakeholders from different walks of life. Therefore scholars, academicians and policy practitioners who worked around the issue of shipping, ports, waterways and rivers can participate in these events which is going to be organized under Bharat Pravag initiative. See, generally India has good roadways and airways but the waterways in India are not properly developed. This particular initiative if succeeds will generate interest in the upbringing of waterways in India. So, let's wait and see how successful this particular initiative is going to be. With this, we have come to the end of this discussion. Through this discussion, we have seen about the Bharat Pravag initiative. With these learned points, now let's move on to the next news article. Now, let's take this editorial article for our discussion. This editorial talks about the tug of our situation between the Indian judiciary and the union government regarding the basic structure doctrine. Here note that there has been constant battle between the union government and the judiciary regarding the collegium system. So, this issue regarding the basic structure doctrine is only a supplementary to that issue. So, in this discussion we will try to learn about the reasons for the tuzzle between the executive and the judiciary and also we will see briefly about basic structure doctrine of the Indian constitution. The syllabus for this discussion is highlighted here. Interested aspirants can go through it. First of all, let's start with the tuzzle between the judiciary and the government. See, the union government functionaries such as the union law minister and the vice president of India are constantly attacking the judiciary publicly. On November 6th of 2022, law minister of India complained about the lack of accountability of the collegium system of the supreme court. He criticized the court for striking down the NJAC Act which gave the government an equal say in the appointments to the higher judiciary. Subsequently vice president of India also criticized the striking down of NJAC. He said that a law passed by parliament has been undone by the court. This act of the judiciary disregards the parliamentary sovereignty. Recently also vice president expressed his dissatisfaction towards the basic structure doctrine. See, this basic structure doctrine was evolved in the case 1 and the bar the case of 1973. He said that in a democratic society the basic of any basic structure is only the supremacy of the people and this supremacy of the people is only represented in the legislature of a country. So the ultimate power should rest only with the legislature he opined. He also said that all institutions must confine to their domains only. One must not make incursion in the domain of others. This remark was given by him at the 83rd All India preceding offices conference which was held in Jaipur. These are some of the instances where the government officials publicly criticized the judiciary. From this it is very clear that the government is not happy about the Koli GM and the basic structure doctrine. We have seen about Koli GM so many times in our analysis. So today let us see about the basic structure doctrine and the case 1 and the bar the judgment. See, this basic structure doctrine is about the constitution amending power of the parliament. As you all know parliament gains the power to amend the constitution from article 368 of the Indian constitution. Now let us see the chronology of events which led to the case 1 and the bar the judgment of 1973. For that we need to start from the immediate years post independence. See parliament curtailed the right to property which was a fundamental right then through the first constitutional amendment act. This constitutional amendment act was challenged in the 1951 Shankari Prasad DO case. In this case supreme court held that the power of the parliament to amend the constitution under article 368 includes the power to amend fundamental rights also. It also said that the word law in article 13 includes only ordinary laws and not the constitutional amendment acts. Here note that article 13 is the one which gives the court the power to judicial review of the laws caused by the parliament. Again in the year 1967 the constitutional validity of the 17th constitutional amendment act was challenged. This act inserted certain state acts in the 9th schedule of the Indian constitution. This particular case is known by the name Golak North case. In this case the supreme court reversed its earlier judgment. It said that the parliament has no power to amend the fundamental rights and the law in article 13 includes the constitutional amendment also. So if a constitutional amendment goes against any fundamental right which is guaranteed under part 3 of the Indian constitution it can be declared invalid as per this judgment. And because of this judgment the parliament amended the articles 13 and 368 by enacting 24th constitutional amendment act of 1971. The constitutional amendment act declared that the parliament has the power to take away any of the fundamental rights under article 368 and such an act will not be a law under the meaning of article 13. Now it is the turn of judiciary. So in the case 1 and the bar the case of 1973 the supreme court upheld the validity of the 24th constitutional amendment act 1971. Pay attention here. See in this judgment supreme court stated that parliament is empowered to take away any of the fundamental rights under part 3 of the Indian constitution. At the same time supreme court introduced a new concept called basic structure doctrine. According to this doctrine the supreme court ruled that the power of parliament under article 368 does not enable the parliament to alter the basic structure of the constitution. This means that parliament cannot take away a basic right which forms part of the basic structure of the constitution itself. And this is how exactly basic structure doctrine came into being. From this we can see that basic structure doctrine is nowhere mentioned in the constitution itself. It was a new invention by the supreme court in the case 1 and the bar the judgment. Prior to this judgment there was no such thing called as basic structure doctrine. This is all about the basic details about basic structure doctrine and how it came into being. Now let's see about the favouring arguments of the author regarding the basic structure. Firstly the author is saying that Indian constitution was adopted and is based on a set of principles. Some of the principles are rule of law which is simply mentioned in article 14 of the Indian constitution parliamentary system of government separation of powers of the legislature, executive and judiciary independence of judiciary etc are all form part of the basic structure doctrine. The elements of the basic structure doctrine innovated by the judiciary reflects the principles of the constitution when it was initially adopted. So this is the first argument of the author favouring basic structure doctrine now coming to the second argument. See the basic structure doctrine prevents the harming of the constitution by altering the principles through amendment. For example the basic structure of our constitution includes the parliamentary form of government. So the government cannot amend this to make India a presidential form of government. Thirdly the author is quoting the address of a German professor to support the basic structure doctrine. He says that any amending body organised within the statutory scheme cannot challenge the fundamental pillar supporting its constitutional authority. By pointing out this the author is saying that parliament derives its power from constitution. So he has no power to amend the fundamental pillars of the constitution from which it derives its powers. He simply says that constitution is the bedrock on which the structure of parliament is built upon. Parliament cannot remove the bedrock on which it is based itself. So he says that constitution is the supreme authority and not the parliament. Fourthly the author is quoting the Minerva Mills versus the union of India case of 1980. In this case the supreme court said that the parliament is a constitution. Therefore it can only have such powers that are explicitly given to them. The author is of the opinion that if parliament assumes unlimited power then it would become supreme over the constitution itself. So to prevent this from happening basic structure doctrine is a much needed concept. Finally the author is quoting the words of justice H.R.Kanna in the case of Ananda Bharati case itself. He says that the dictionary meaning of amendment is a minor change or addition designed to improve a text. So he says that when the constitution which emerges after the amendment it should be merely an altered constitution. But if altered constitution lacks the basic structure then the amendment will cease to exist. Basically the intent is to protect the basic principles of the constitution through evolving a basic structure doctrine. These are all some of the arguments put forward by the author to support the existence of basic structure doctrine. With this we have come to the end of this discussion. Through this discussion we have seen about the evolution of basic structure doctrine and some of the arguments put forward by the author in support of basic structure doctrine. With these learned points now let's move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this small article given here. As you all know Pakistan is undergoing a severe economic crisis due to its dwindling foreign exchange reserves. See Pakistan's foreign exchange reserve fell from nearly 1.9 billion dollars a year earlier to only about 0.4 billion dollars in December 2022. This has resulted in a significant increase in Pakistan's current account deficit. In this context let us understand about the economic term current account. But before that you should know about the balance of payments. See balance of payment of a country is the systematic record of all economic transactions between the residents of the country and the rest of the world. These transactions can be made by individuals firms and government bodies. Usually this account is managed by the central bank of a country. In India's case it is the RBI which manages the balance of payment of our nation. See balance of payment is composed of two parts. One is current account and the other is capital account. In this discussion we are going to only see about the current account. See current account refers to the account which records all the transactions related to the export and import of goods and services. Here the receipts from the export of goods services and unilateral transfers are shown as positive items or credit in the current account. Where is the payment made for the import of goods, services and unilateral payments which are outward or shown as negative items or debit in the current account. The balance on current account refers to the net value of these credits and debits. When the net value of these transactions is negative then it leads to the current account deficit. This is what Pakistan exactly is undergoing right now. The value of the imports has suppressed the value of exports in Pakistan. This is why the country of Pakistan is having a current account deficit. Here note that if the net value of all transactions is positive then it is known as current account surplus. Comment in the comment section whether India is having a current account surplus or a current account deficit. This is all about current account. With this we have come to the end of this short discussion. Through this discussion we have seen about the term balance of payment the two components of it and particularly we have seen about current account. With these learned points now let's move on to the next part of our Hindu Daily News Analysis. Today I have taken five different questions for our discussion. Three will be discussed by me and two will be quiz questions for you. Now coming to the first question. See this question is regarding Press Council of India. Two statements are given and we have to choose the correct statements. Now coming to statement one it does not have the power to review the functioning of electronic media like radio, television and internet media. But before solving this statement we will see a few facts regarding Press Council of India. See Press Council of India is a statutory body established under the Press Council of India Act 1978. Here note that it is a quasi-judicial autonomous authority which was established by India according to the report of First Press Commission. See the Press Council of India functions with an aim to preserve the freedom of press and maintain and improve the standards of the press operating in India. The first statement given here is correct. The Press Council of India can only overview the functioning of print media and it does not have the power to review the functioning of electronic media in India. So statement one is correct. Now coming to the second statement. They can penalize newspapers, news agencies, editors and journalists for violation of the guidelines. See this statement is wrong. They don't have any penalizing powers. The question asks for the correct statement. So the correct answer for this question is option A one only. Now moving to the second question. Let me read out the question first. This disease is the most common cause of dementia among world adults. Plakes and tangles in the brain are considered as the main feature of this disease. People with this disease have trouble doing everyday activities like driving a car, cooking a meal or paying bills. Recently a new drug called Lekana map was approved to treat this disease. The disease discussed here is what? 4 different options are given and we have to choose the correct disease. See the answer for this question is option A. Here note that all the options given here are closely related. All affects the nervous system and the brain. But the clue here is Lekana map which is related only to Alzheimer. See this drug was recently approved for commercial usage against the patients who are suffering from Alzheimer's disease. See it is type of monoclonal antibody which is used to treat persons who are affected by Alzheimer. So the correct answer for this question is option A. Alzheimer's disease. Now moving on to the third question. See this question is about balance of payments. Let me read out the question first. Balance of payments is an accounting statement that records monetary transactions between non-residents and the rest of the world, residents of a nation and the rest of the world, residents of a nation and non-residents. The final question is none of the above. The correct answer for this question is option B. Residents of a nation and the rest of the world. See balance of payment is an accounting statement which records monetary transactions between residents of a particular nation and the rest of the world. As we already saw balance of payment has two components to it. One is the current account and the other is the capital account. Both these accounts are directly related to the transactions between residents of a particular nation and the people of the rest of the world. So the correct answer for this question is option B. The quiz questions for you all is displayed here. Interested aspirants can solve these questions and post the correct answer in the comment section. Main's practice question is displayed here. Interested aspirants can write the answer and post it in the comment section. With this we have come to the end of this discussion. 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