 Welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankar Iyer's Academy for the day 17th March 2021. These are the list of news articles chosen for today's discussion. They are given along with the page numbers of different editions. The link for the annotated notes in PDF format and the time stamping for the discussed articles are provided in the description box as well as in the comment section for the benefit of mobile phone users. Now, let us move on to the analysis of the first news article. To look at this article, this article says that the medical termination of Pregnancy Amendment Bill of 2020 was passed in the Rajasabha. This MTP bill was already passed in the Lok Sabha in March 2020. As we know, this bill increases the time period within which an abortion may be carried out. But the opposition alleged that this MTP bill is not empowering women with a freedom to decide since they need to get a nod from a medical board in the case of pregnancies beyond 24 weeks. And the bill was then passed by a voice vote defeating the opposition's demand to send the bill to a parliamentary select committee for detailed scrutiny. So, in this context, let us discuss in detail about some salient features of this bill. The syllabus covered by this news article is given below for your reference. See, across the world, there are two different opinions with regard to allowing abortions. One is that terminating a pregnancy is the choice of the pregnant woman and a part of her reproductive rights. And the other opinion is that the state has got an obligation to protect the life and hence the state should provide for the protection of the fetus. Now, based on such notions, countries across the world have set varying conditions and time limits for allowing abortions based on factors such as fetal viability, fetal abnormalities or the risk to the pregnant women, etc. Now, you should note that according to a study, about 67% of the countries in the world they require authorizations by at least one healthcare provider to undergo an abortion. Now, on coming to the bill, know that this MTP bill seeks to amend the medical termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971 and currently abortion in India requires the opinion of one doctor if it is done within 12 weeks of conception and two doctors if it is done between 12 and 20 weeks of conception. And this MTP bill is increasing this period and it provides for the abortion on the advice of one doctor up to 20 weeks and two doctors in the case of certain categories of women between 20 and 24 weeks and this special category of women covers those vulnerable women including the survivors of rape, the victims of incest and other vulnerable women like the differently abled women, minors, etc. Most importantly, this upper gestation limit will not be applicable in cases of substantial fetal abnormalities that are diagnosed by the medical board and this medical board once formed it will consist of a gynecologist, a pediatrician, a radiologist or a sonologist, etc. And the bill also provides for the protection of privacy of the concerned women. It says that no registered medical practitioner shall reveal the name and other particulars of a women whose pregnancy has been terminated under this act but however there is an exception that this can be revealed to a person who is authorized by any law for the time being in force. According to the government, the MTP bill aims at expanding the access of women to safe and legal abortion services on therapeutic, eugenic, humanitarian or social grounds and it is viewed as a step towards safety and the well-being of the women and the proposed increase in the gestational period or the gestational age will ensure the dignity, autonomy, confidentiality and also the justice for women who need to terminate pregnancy. In addition to all these provisions, the bill has got some concerns as well. See, if you remember on the 1st of February 2021, we have discussed an article about the unfeasibility of forming the prescribed medical board. This is because of nearly 82% of obstetrics, gynecology, pediatric and other posts are lying vacant in our country. So the first and foremost requirement is to resolve this shortage of qualified doctors and also the application of the MTP bill to transgender person is also not clear. This is because some medical studies have shown that there may be cases where persons who are identified as transgender can become pregnant even after receiving hormone therapy to transition from female to male and they may require termination services. So with this we have come to the end of this news article. Let us move on to the next news article. Let us take up this editorial written by the Director General of Confederation of Indian Industry which is a non-governmental trade or association and advocacy group. In this article, he analyses the potential of India-US trade relationship and he opines that India should have a closer economic partnership with the US as this would bring gains to both countries in terms of income, employment and productivity. The syllabus covered by this article is highlighted below. See, from 2014 to 2019, India's trade with the United States grew at a compound annual growth rate of 7.7% per year which is around $146 billion. See, this compound annual growth rate is the rate of return that would be required for an investment to grow from its beginning balance to its ending balance by assuming that the profits were reinvested at the end of each year of the investment's lifespan. See, if we continue with such high numbers then we can certainly achieve the lofty goal of $500 billion by the year 2036. So, with this backdrop, the author analyses the potential areas of collaboration which will help us in achieving the above goal of $500 million and he also discusses the measures that can be adopted to better the trade in certain areas. Now, let us see them one by one. The first area of collaboration is the health sector. See, in today's pandemic world, the potential for trade in health sector is huge and also the business partnerships between the two countries will not only play a vital role in easing such trade but will also ensure coordinated shipping, distribution and even last mile connectivity of vaccines and medicines. Know that strengthening our intellectual property rights laws and reviving the US-India Health Dialogue and also the mutually recognizing standards would height the above cost. Second comes the need for a proper free trade agreement with the US. See, free trade agreement is a pact between two or more nations to reduce barriers to imports and exports among them and as per the author, such an agreement will not only strengthen our macro trade architecture but will also resolve the existing loopholes. In addition to this, resolving the existing issues in market taxes and the generalized system of preferences has got the potential to play a vital role in increasing our trade numbers. Here, the author suggests that the US-India Trade Policy Forum can help in resolving the market access issue and when it comes to the generalized system of preferences, flexibility on both sides can smoothen the problem. Now, the next area of collaboration is the mobility of professional labour. As we already know, the Trump-Zera's immigration laws have affected the labour mobility into the United States and this move impacted the service sector in India which heavily relies on labour mobility. So, in order to overcome the above hurdle, the author suggests the need for the implementation of immigration reforms immediately. See, clearing the visa backlogs in a smooth and timely manner can aid the above cost and in addition to that, removing the memorandum of understanding on labour cooperation 2011 to the changing current needs can also ease the mobility of labour. Following this comes the defence sector. Remember, India is one of the largest importers of weapons and US is one of the largest exporters of weapons. This perfect combination gives us ample opportunities to boost our trade. Also know that US technology combined with Indian manufacturing can be a great bone to the above cost. So, in this regard, private sector should be involved in co-production and co-development of weapons in order to increase our trade and similarly, smaller US companies can be encouraged to opt for new opportunities for investments in India and they can also source raw materials from India and establishment of US-India SME CEO's forum can catalyse such partnerships. Another prominent area of collaboration is the clean energy and climate change. Here, the author opines about the need to boost joint investments in US-India's strategic energy partnership for industrial decarbonisation, carbon dioxide removal and green hydrogen and also programs like partnership to advance clean energy research, the partnership to advance clean energy deployment and promoting energy access through clean energy must be relaunched since these initiatives can strengthen the India-US partnerships which will boost the trade. And finally, the author talks about the potentiality of the digital economy. See, both India and US are leading in the fields of robotics, space, artificial intelligence and electric vehicles. In such a light, collaboration in such fields will not only be mutually beneficial but can also significantly boost our trade. The author concludes the editorial by stressing on the importance of the education sector, agricultural sector and also the research and development in strengthening our trade ties. With this, we have come to the end of this news article. Let us move on to the next news article. This editorial talks about artificial intelligence and the issues associated with it. So today, let us see what is artificial intelligence, the issues and measures taken by the international community regarding artificial intelligence and also the way forward. The syllabus covered by this article is highlighted below for your reference. First, what is artificial intelligence? See, artificial intelligence refers to the ability of missions to perform cognitive tasks like thinking, perceiving, learning, problem solving and also decision making. So this is a constellation of technologies that enable missions to act with higher levels of intelligence and to reproduce the human capabilities of sense, understanding and also actions. And further, the more artificial intelligence is used, more data will be generated which in turn again helps artificial intelligence to become more smarter. Some of the very common examples of artificial intelligence application in our day to day life includes speech recognition, natural language processing, then image recognition, also automated stock trading, right share services, household robots, etc. In addition to this, many incredible advances have also been made in data collection, processing and computation power. So all of this together with artificial intelligence enables the intelligence systems to take over a variety of tasks to enable connectivity and to enhance productivity. Thus, the capabilities of this artificial intelligence have dramatically expanded which in turn has enabled its utility in a growing number of fields including healthcare, agriculture, energy, education, scaling, etc. Now in this editorial, the author has given certain detailed applications of artificial intelligence in our day to day life. See, first comes its use in streaming site or shopping sites. See, streaming site is any website that delivers alive or recorded media content to the computers and mobile devices via the internet and which could be played back in real time. A best example for this would be YouTube. Next comes the use of artificial intelligence in the GPS mapping technology. In the agricultural field, it has helped to increase the crop yields because with the help of artificial intelligence, farmers are analyzing a variety of things like the data about weather conditions, then temperature, water usage or soil conditions in real time which are collected from their farm to take an informed decision. For example, AI technologies help farmers to determine their crop choices. Hybrid seed choices are also to determine their resource utilization and this helps to optimize their planning so as to generate more bountiful yields. Also, AI has enabled cancer detection to be more faster and precise. See, in this process, certain genome analysis is done and the result of this analysis is fed to an artificial intelligence system that was developed to classify the tumor. Now, based on its all other possible uses, it is stated by the Sustainable Development Goals that artificial intelligence may act as an enabler on 134 targets which is about 79% of all the Sustainable Development Goals target. Thus, because of its use in many fields, countries around the world are becoming increasingly aware of the potential economic benefits and also the social benefits of developing and applying this artificial intelligence in their day-to-day life. For instance, China and the United Kingdom estimate that in 2030, around 26% of China's GDP and 10% of UK's GDP will be sourced from artificial intelligence-related activities and businesses. And further, because of all these uses or applications of AI in our life, AI is called as a disruptive technology that is an innovation that significantly alters the way that consumers, industries or business operate. And it totally changes the way the systems or habits used to be. Also, it is said as being transformative like electricity because according to the author, electricity enabled us to alter virtually every aspect of existence and today it is filled in each and every moment of our life and it is also called as the engine of the fourth industrial revolution. From the above discussion, what could be understood is that the world is in a transition due to artificial intelligence that will bring unprecedented technological breakthroughs and also it is expected to positively transform our world but the question is will this expectation materialize? This question actually arises due to the fear of humans regarding the intelligence of artificial intelligence. See, there are many what-ifs that increases our fear and the worst of them is what if AI's or machines become more intelligent than us? See, we are so much against that and as you know, already a movie has been made on this context called as the Terminator wherein missions will take over the world and eliminate mankind. Now, keeping this aside, the real question is whether such a fear is trivial or superficial. See, according to the author, the answer could be no and this answer is due to the issues and the concerns around artificial intelligence. Now, let's see them one by one. See, firstly, AI requires massive computational capacity. So, it needs more data centers which are power intensive and in turn, they will increase the carbon footprint because approximately 40% of the global carbon dioxide emissions are emitted from electricity generation through the combustion of fossil fuels and this issue can be mitigated if electricity is generated through renewable clean energy. Secondly, it can intensify digital exclusion. Digital exclusion happens when a section of the population has continuing unequal access and capacity to use information and communications technologies that are essential to fully participate in a society. So, those who can afford to use these digital resources can only benefit from it. The third aspect is that it will intensify unemployment. See, this is evident from the fact that already companies are building intelligent missions that perform tasks which are typically carried out by low income workers. An example for this would be the self-service kiosks that has replaced caches and also the fruit-picking robots which has replaced the field workers. So, if this goes on in future, artificial intelligence will occupy the human desk jobs and it will also affect the working class and their jobs. So, here in accordance with the advancement of technology, we can understand that the workers are not re-skilled but rather they are replaced and this even leads to the fourth issue that is reduced investment. See, as we saw already, artificial intelligence provides a wide range of services in a limited time and limited money. So, such countries which provide better AI-based services will be preferred by companies. So, this means that investments will flow into a country having such companies and this in turn will widen the gap between countries and also within countries. Now, apart from these issues, AI can also replicate and aggravate the existing problems and they are also capable of creating new ones. We already have examples for this wherein AI facial recognition and surveillance technology was discriminating against people of colour and minorities. Now, these are some other instances given below for your reference. Now, then comes the crucial issue of data privacy. See, AI uses algorithms which are data hungry. So, for the effective use of AI, our digital food prints are to be harvested and sold without our knowledge or consent. See, a digital food print is a trial of data which we create while using the internet and these data includes the websites we visit, the emails we send and also the information we submit to online services. So, what happens is these data are used without our knowledge or consent and by processing these data, AI can profile us and can target us with hats based on our likings and usage. And if these issues continue to happen, AI will widen their existing social and economic divide and as per surveys, AI can actively hinder 59 sustainable development goal targets. So, now comes a question of how to tackle these issues and to use the potential of AI for larger good. See, this could be something that can be achieved since AI functions on the algorithms built by governments and it uses our data only. So, what is needed is an ethical barrier and a whole of society approach to AI governance that is to acknowledge the contribution of relevant stakeholders and the important role played by them including individuals, families, communities and inter-governmental organizations, civil society, academia, media, etc. But however, these are already addressed in the efforts that were taken by communities such as the UN secretary general's roadmap on digital cooperation, then the draft recommendation on the ethics of artificial intelligence by the UNESCO and with respect to India, we have got the responsible AI for all strategy by the Nithya Yoke. So, as a conclusion, the need of the HAR is to agree on common guiding principles based on these reports or frameworks and also to prepare for a deep, difficult, multi-stakeholder ethical reflection, analysis and resolve. So, with this, we have come to the end of this particular news discussion. Let us move on to see what the next news article has got to say. Now, look at this article. This article is about a new policy that was introduced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India regarding initial public offers and this new policy aims to streamline the reconciliation process among intermediaries and also to provide a new mechanism to compensate investors. So, in this context, let us discuss in detail about the initial public offer and then about SEBI. See, primarily, the issues made by an Indian company can be classified as public rights, bonus and private placement. When an issue or offer of shares or convertible securities is made to new investors for becoming part of shareholders' family of the issuer, then it is called a public issue. This public issue can be classified into initial public offer and further public offer. When an unlisted company makes either a fresh issue of shares or convertible securities or offers, our offers its existing shares or convertible securities for sale or both for the first time to the public, then it is called an IPO or initial public offer and this initial public offer paves way for listing and trading of the issuers shares or convertible securities on the stock exchanges. Now, when an already listed company makes either a fresh issue of shares or convertible securities to the public or an offer for sale to the public, then it is called a FPO or a further public offer. Coming to rights issue, it is an issue of shares or convertible securities made by an issuer to its existing shareholders as on a particular date fixed by the issuer and the rights are offered in a particular ratio to the number of shares or convertible securities held as on the fixed date. The next comes a composite issue which is the issue of shares or convertible securities by a listed issuer on public come rights basis wherein the allotment in both public issue and rights issue is proposed to be made simultaneously and finally let us see in brief about the securities and exchange board of India. So, we know that SEBI was established under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act 1992. See its basic function is to protect the interest of investors in securities to promote its development and to regulate the securities market. This board shall consist of a chairman two members from central government who are dealing with finance and administration of the company's act 1956 and then one member from the reserve bank and five others of whom at least three shall be whole-time members and they shall be appointed by the central government also know that the central government shall remove a member from office on several grounds say for example if a member has been adjudicated as insolvent or is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court and also they can remove a member who has been convicted of an offense which in the opinion of the central government involves a moral behavior etc. Now let's move on to the next news article. Now look at this news article which talks about the appointment to the post of director general for central reserve police force and the national security card. So in this context let us see in brief about the CRPF and NSG. See the CRPF or the central reserve police force is the premier central police force of the union of India for internal security originally it was constituted as a crowned representative police in the year 1939 and it is one of the oldest central paramilitary forces after independence this force was renamed as the central reserve police force by an act of the parliament in 1949 and this act constituted CRPF as an armed paramilitary force of the union. Note CRPF is under the central armed police forces which in turn is under the ministry of home affairs. The main mission of the central reserve police force is to enable the government to maintain rule of law, public order and internal security effectively and efficiently and also to preserve national integrity and to promote social harmony and development by upholding the supremacy of the constitution and this CRPF it is given its contribution was remarkable during the amalgamation of the princely into the Indian union and also during the Chinese aggression of 1962 in addition to the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistan wars. Here it is to be noted that besides these they are also a part of the United Nations peacekeeping force and the national disaster response force. Now coming to the NSG of the National Security Guard it came into existence in 1986 through the National Security Guard Act of 1986 as a main force to combat terrorism. See it is a force that was exclusively equipped to deal with special extraordinary circumstances and hence it is pressed into action in exceptional circumstances to thwart serious acts of terrorism and coming to its organizational structure this NSG has got two wings. One is a special action group and the other is a special ranger group. This special action group is responsible for the direct execution of the operations and it draws its recruits from the Indian army whereas the special ranger group serves in a support capacity and it draws its recruits from the central paramilitary forces or state police forces. With this we have come to the end of this news article. Let us now move on to the practice question discussion. Consider the following statements regarding national security guards. Statement one says that it is a it was specially raised for VVIP security. Statement two it recruits solely from the army and statement three it comes under the ministry of home affairs. So which of the above statements are correct. See when you look at statement one this statement is incorrect because the NSG was specially raised to combat terrorism in the aftermath of operation blue star and the assassination of the then prime minister. So this was not specially raised for VVIP security. Therefore this statement is wrong. Second statement says that it recruits solely from the army. So as we saw in the discussion this recruits from both army and CAPF and not solely from the army. So this statement is also incorrect. Whereas the third statement says that NSG comes under the ministry of home affairs is correct. Therefore the right answer is option C that is three only. Look at this prelims question which of the following statements about the confederation of Indian industry is or are correct. Statement one says that it is a statutory body established under the company's act of 1956 and statement two says that it functions under the ministry of commerce and industry. See this confederation of Indian history is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group. This engages business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape the global, regional and industrial agendas and also it is a membership based organization. So the statement one says that it is a statutory body established under the company's act is incorrect. Similarly the second statement which says that it comes under the ministry of commerce and industry is also incorrect. So since the question asks for the right statement the right answer is option D that is neither one nor two. Look at this question which says when a listed issuer issues shares on a public come rights basis and the allotment in both issue and rights issue is proposed to be made simultaneously it is called as option A initial public offer option B further public offer option C rights issue and option D composite issue. Based on the discussion we can say that option D is the right answer. As seen in the article a composite issue happens when a listed issues shares on a public come rights basis and the allotment in both the issue and rights issue it is proposed to be made simultaneously. The list of mains practice questions is displayed here. You can write your answers and post them in the comment section below. With this we have come to the end of today's Hindu news analysis. If you like the video don't forget to like comment and share and do subscribe to Shankara's academy youtube channel for more updates regarding UPSC civil services preparation.