 Good evening aspirants. Welcome to the Hindu newspaper analysis brought to you by Shankar IA's Academy for the date 17th of January 2022. Today we have a special announcement for you. The Shankar IA's Academy has designed a refresher course called as CSAT plus. See some aspirants, though they score good marks in GS paper and prelims, they find it very challenging to qualify the CSAT paper. So to help students to easily qualify for the CSAT, Shankar IA's Academy has come up with this course which starts on 27 January 2022. The class time will be from 5.30pm to 8pm and the program is also available in online mode. See the admissions are now open and by joining, one will get these benefits like complete overview of CSAT course, shortcuts for time management and accuracy, and toppers interaction with regards to CSAT and strategy to select EC and eliminate difficult questions which fetch more marks. So aspirants make use of this and register for the program by visiting the link given in the description below. Displayed here are the list of news articles that has chosen for today's discussion. See as I showed you, I have chosen an economic topic which is about NVFC and I have discussed three main topics today and I have also made a discussion on Valcano and its types. Now without wasting much time, let's get into our discussion. Today let's start our discussion with a 2017 UPSC prelims question. This question is with reference to GST. See do you all remember we had been discussing about this GST in our recent analysis. I can even tell you the dates on which we discussed. It was on 8th January of this year by Mr Balaji sir and on 28th December of the previous year by myself, I had discussed the basic concept of GST. So to show you the relevance of our Hindu news analysis with reference to UPSC prelims, I chose this question today. Now look at this question. It is a statement type question. So you can go in for elimination technique if possible. If you had understood the basic concepts of GST, then without even knowing the depth information of statement 2 and 3, you can easily answer this question. Our first level takes statement 3 as it is present in three options, BCD. Because China's GDP at 2017 according to the World Bank was 12.31 lakh crore US dollars and our GST revenue at the same year from August 2017 to March 2018 was 7.19 lakh crore. So you can understand that the GST which was implemented in 2017 cannot enormously increase the growth in the very same year and it can enable to overtake China in the near future. But the first half of the statement is incorrect. So when you found that statement 3 is incorrect, you can eliminate option BCD and arrive at our answer option A1 only. Now look at the first statement and ensure whether your answer is correct. The first statement says GST will replace multiple taxes collected by multiple authorities and will thus create a single market in India. Yes, of course it is correct. For example, it even subsumed all the state's value added tax, right? So statement one is correct. I hope you understood how relevant is our analysis with respect to UPSC prelims questions. Now let's move on to our first article discussion. Now look at this first news article. See, this news article talks about the need for judicious mixture of arts and science subjects in order to reap the full benefits of education. Here the author is talking about the multi-dimensional education. So let us take this as an opportunity and learn what is multi-dimensional education and how it helps to reap the full benefits of education. See, the syllabus relevant to this news article is highlighted here for your reference. Just go through it. First, what is education? See, education is a process of facilitating learning or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, morals, beliefs, habits and personal development. So this definition of education itself is multi-dimensional, right? Also, remember any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels or acts is considered as education. Now let us see the core meaning of this multi-dimensional education. See, multi-dimensional education develops curiosity and creativity among students by integrating subjects rather than dividing them into silos. So instead of simply memorizing the facts, the approach involves cognitive, emotional and social dimensions to learning. So to put it in simple words, multi-dimensional education is an expression of the real world as a whole and the interactions between different subjects and topics. As a result, there will be great appreciation of value-based education along with subject knowledge, right? So as a result of this, we get improved learning outcomes. For example, science and the arts are complementary and necessary for holistic development. While the arts improve soft skills like communication, science sharpens analytical and independent thinking. See, even max is seen to be intertwined with arts such as music, dance and architecture. When all these combines, the person could reap the full benefits of education. See, let me give you a few persons who stood as successful examples of this multi-dimensional education. Take Pythagoras, who was a geometer, number theorist and musicologist. Then take Renny Discarders and Euler, who are great mathematicians and they were also music theorists. Then you can take Einstein, who was an accomplished pianist and violinist and even mathematician Manjul Bergawa plays the tabla. Therefore, it is clear that blended learning of science and art subjects is beneficial. But according to the article, the current level of blend is not sufficient. This is because in engineering or technology education, for instance, only business English is offered, right? See, this will not help the person to develop as a whole. Instead of offering business English, they may offer literature as an optional paper. Am I right? See, just link this with the Gandhian educational policy. The education system proposed by Mahatma Gandhi is called as basic education. He was primarily concerned with education in the native tongue and has requested activity-based education to help youngsters become skilled and self-sufficient. See, his thoughts are very simple. Gandhiji intended to build small self-sufficient communities with ideal citizens who were all hardworking, self-respecting and generous people living in a small cooperative community. He wished that some local craft should be made as a medium of education for children so that they develop their mind, body and soul in a harmonious way and also meet the needs of their future life. So in Gandhiji's educational thoughts, the development of the personality of child is more important than mere literacy or knowledge of different subjects. In other words, he believed in life-centered as well as child-centered education. Besides learning of three arts, that is reading, writing and arithmetic in school, he insisted on development of three hitches. What are they? Hand, heart and head. Thus, the aim of education should be of developing the integrated personality of the child according to Gandhiji. Thus, Gandhian educational thoughts which is a step to multi-dimensional education are relevant for development and providing solutions of the current problems like unemployment, poverty, corruption and many others. That's all about this news article. Now let us move on to our next news article discussion. Look at this editorial. It is with reference to the cryptocurrency. This editorial talks about the issues in taxing cryptocurrency transactions in India. In this context, we learn about the cryptocurrency and the issues in taxing it. We will also discuss about some of the solutions suggested by the author to address this taxing issue. The syllabus relevant to this article is given here for your reference. Kindly go through it. Now let's start our discussion. First of all, what is a cryptocurrency? See, a cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography. What is this cryptography means? Cryptography is nothing but a method of storing and transmitting data in a particular form so that only those for whom it is intended can read and process it. Okay. See, many cryptocurrencies are decentralized networks based on blockchain technology which is a distributed ledger enforced by a disparate network of computers. A defining feature of cryptocurrencies is that they are generally not issued by any central authority. These facts make them theoretically immune to government interference or manipulations, right? Simply, we can understand that a cryptocurrency is a form of digital asset based on a network that is distributed across a large number of computers. The decentralized structure allows them to exist outside the control of governments and central authorities. Note that Bitcoin is a most popular and valuable cryptocurrency. Other cryptocurrencies include Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, etc. Now we'll discuss about the tax laws in India regarding cryptocurrency. See, the Income Tax Act 1961 does not specifically mention cryptocurrencies. It covers a large variety of transactions to bring crypto transactions under its ambit. For example, trading in cryptocurrency may be classified as transfer of a capital asset which is taxable under the head capital gains. And if such cryptocurrencies are held as stock in trade and the taxpayer is trading in them frequently, the same will attract tax under the head business income. See, one can argue that crypto transactions do not fall under the above heads. Here, section 56 of the Income Tax Act comes into play. It makes cryptocurrencies taxable under the head other sources of income. If the income is not chargeable under any of the heads specified in the act. Now let us see what is the issue in this cryptocurrency taxation. See, this Income Tax Act in itself is not sufficient to bring effective taxation regime for cryptocurrencies. There are various challenges which need to be addressed in order to streamline the process of taxing cryptocurrency transaction. Today we'll see five challenges in taxing this cryptocurrency. Okay. See, the first challenge is the absence of explicit tax provisions. This has led to uncertainty and varied interpretations being adopted in relation to mode of computation, applicable tax head, tax rates, etc. For instance, the head of income under which trading of cryptocurrency is to be taxed is unclear. These are taxed under capital gains. What should be taken as a cost of acquisition? See, one can take acquisition cost as the fair market value of the cryptocurrency as on date of generation. Note that this cost of acquisition is essential for the purpose of computation. But there is no consistency in the rates provided by the crypto exchanges. So it is difficult to arrive at a fair market value. Also, there are divergent views in the market in treating such an income as business income or other sources of income which are taxable at individual tax rates labs because the income tax may be higher than those applicable to capital gains. Now, the second challenge is it is often tricky to identify the tax jurisdiction for cryptocurrency transactions because tax payers may have engaged in multiple transfers across various countries and the cryptocurrencies may have been stored in online ballots on servers outside India. In such cases, it becomes difficult to pinpoint which jurisdiction's tax laws would become applicable and what kind of tax treatment would be affected. This is because various nations have differing tax treatment for crypto assets including imposition of a general ban on them. Now, the third challenge is that the identities of taxpayers who transact with cryptocurrencies remain anonymous. Each crypto address comprises a string of alphanumeric characters and not the person's real identity. Thus, it gives tax evaders a cloak of invisibility. Exploiting this, tax evaders have been using crypto transactions to park their black money abroad and fund criminal activities, terrorism, etc. Now, the fourth challenge is the lack of third-party information on crypto transactions. This makes it difficult to scrutinize and identify instances of tax evasion. One of the most efficient enforcement tools in the hands of income tax departments is CAS that is computer-aided scrutiny selection. See, it helps in assessments of the returns of taxpayers based on information gathered from third-party intermediaries such as banks. However, crypto market intermediaries like the exchanges, valid providers, network operators, miners, administrators are unregulated and collecting information from them is very difficult. Another consequence of this lack of information is that tax authorities now have very little tools to verify any crypto transactions. They are instead forced to fully depend on the data provided by the taxpayers, which may not be accurate at all. Now, we will discuss the last challenge. See, the crypto market intermediaries may be even regulated and asked to follow no-your-customer that is KYC norms. There is a scenario where physical cash or other goods or services may change hands in return for cryptocurrencies. Such transactions are hard to trace and only voluntary disclosures from the parties involved may reveal the tax evaders. So far, we have seen the challenges in taxing cryptocurrency. Now, we will discuss some of the solutions suggested by the author to address these issues. Firstly, the income tax laws pertaining to the crypto transactions need to be made clear by incorporating detailed statutory provisions. This could include a provision of a definition for crypto assets for tax purposes. There should be the guidelines addressing the major taxable events and income forms associated with virtual currencies. They should be followed by extensive awareness generation among the taxpayers regarding the same. Secondly, there should be a practice of having separate mandatory disclosure requirements in tax returns. It should be placed on the taxpayers as well as all the intermediaries involved so that crypto transactions do not go unreported. See, it is even followed in the country like US. Additionally, the existing international legal framework for exchange of information should be strengthened. This will enable collecting and sharing of information on crypto transactions and this will go a long way in linking the digital profiles of cryptocurrency holders with their real identities. Finally, the government must impart training to its officers in blockchain technology. Kindly note that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Cybercrime and Anti-Money Laundering Section that is UNODCCMLS has developed a unique cryptocurrency training module. It aids in equipping tax officers with requisite understanding of the underlying technologies. Tax authorities should also equip themselves with the latest foreign six software which can analyze a high volume of crypto transactions at a time and raise red flags in case of suspicious transactions. For example, elliptic foreign six software is being used by the USA Internal Revenue Service and Grafcens is used by the European Union. According to the author, it is certain that cryptocurrencies are here to stay in a country. Therefore, a streamlined tax regime will be essential in the formulation of a clear, constructive and adaptive regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies. That's all regarding this article. So, we saw all the challenges we have in taxing the cryptocurrencies and we also saw some of the solutions suggested by the author of this article in this regard and so you can use these points to enhance your main answers. Now, we'll move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this article. This is with reference to the Ombudsman of NBFC in Chennai. See, Ombudsman of NBFC or otherwise called as non-banking financial companies is a senior official appointed by the Reserve Bank of India to redress customer compliance against the NBFCs. See, the Ombudsman of NBFCs in Chennai received around 5,845 compliance which accounts for 21.68 percentage of compliance across India in 2020 to 2021. Taking this as an opportunity, we will learn about NBFC differences between banks and NBFCs and the types of NBFCs. Now, let's start our discussion. A non-banking financial company is a company registered under the Companies Act of 1956. It engages in the business of loans and advances, acquisition of shares, drugs, bonds, debentures, securities issued by government or local authority or other marketable securities. It also engages in the business of leasing, higher purchase, insurance business, even chip business. Note that it does not include any institution whose principal business is that of agriculture activity and industrial activity. And also, it does not include the purchase or sale of any goods other than securities and sale or purchase or construction of immovable property. See, any financial activity to be considered as a principal business should satisfy two conditions. First condition is that a company's financial asset should constitute more than 50% of the total assets. And the second condition is that the income from financial assets should constitute more than 50% of the gross income. Now, let us see how the NBFCs are different from the banks. See, NBFCs lend and make investments. These activities are similar to that of banks, right? However, there are a few differences between them. We'll see them now. First difference is that the NBFC cannot accept demand deposits. See, a demand deposit or money deposited that can be withdrawn at any time without advance notice. Now, the second difference is that the NBFCs do not form part of the payment and settlement system and cannot issue checks drawn on itself. And the third major difference is regarding deposit insurance facility. Unlike banks, deposit insurance facility of deposit insurance and credit guarantee corporation is not available to depositors of the NBFCs. Now, we'll see the different types or categories of NBFCs registered with the RBI. See, NBFCs can be categorized into two types based on liabilities. That is, deposit and non-deposit accepting NBFCs. This non-deposit taking NBFCs by their size can be categorized into systematically important and other non-deposit holding companies. So, within a broad categorization, there are different types of NBFCs. The first type is the Assert Finance Company. The Assert Finance Company is a company which is a financial institution carrying on financing of physical assets as its principal business. See, it supports productive or economic activity such as automobiles, tractors, lathe missions, generator sets, earth moving and material handling equipment and general purpose industrial missions. So, the next type is called Investment Company. See, Investment Company means any company which is a financial institution carrying on its principal business that is the acquisition of securities. Now, the third type is known as Loan Company. See, the loan company means any company which is a financial institution carrying on its principal business which is providing of finance or loan. Now, the fourth type is the Infrastructure Finance Company which is a non-banking finance company which deploys at least 75% of its total assets in infrastructure loans and has a maximum net-owned funds of 300 crore. Further, it should have a minimum credit rating of A or equivalent and capital to risk-weighted asset ratio of 15%. See, the next type is Systematically Important Core Investment Company. See, it is an NBFC carrying on the business of acquisition of shares and securities which should satisfy certain conditions mandated by the RBI. Now, the sixth type is Infrastructure Dept Fund Non-Banking Financial Company. It is a company registered as NBFC to facilitate the flow of long-term debt into infrastructure projects. See, they raise resources through issue of rupee or dollar denominated bonds of minimum five years maturity. Only infrastructure companies can sponsor these infrastructure debt-to-fund NBFCs. Okay, now the seventh type is known as the NBFC Microfinance Institution. This is a non-deposit taking NBFC having not less than 85% of its assets in the nature of qualifying assets. It should satisfy the certain criteria mandated by the RBI. The next type of NBFC is Mortgage Guarantee Companies. See, the mortgage guarantee companies or financial institutions for which at least 90% of the business turnover is Mortgage Guarantee Business or at least 90% of the gross income is from Mortgage Guarantee Business and net-owned fund is 100 crore. Now, we have come to the last type that is NBFC Non-operative Financial Holding Company. It is a financial institution through which promoter or the promoter groups will be permitted to set up a new bank. That's all about this article. So, we discussed about NBFCs, its types, then the difference between NBFCs and banks. See, all these points has to be remembered so that it will be very much useful in handling prelims questions. Now, let's move on to the next article. See, this editorial article here talks about the repeated monsoon precipitation in Chennai and the resultant urban paralysis. See, the article explains the different instances in which people residing in the urban areas face difficulties due to unprecedented weather events. This is the crux of the article given here. So, in this context, let us learn about the impacts of climate change on urban areas and why a sustainable urban infrastructure is needed. Also, we'll cover a few points from NETAO's report in this regard. But before that, the syllabus relevant to the news article is given here. Just take a note of it. Now, let's move on to our discussion. First of all, let us see how climate change is impacting urban areas. See, climate change poses a series of interrelated challenges to the country's most densely populated places, which is the cities. Even though 70% of the Indian population is in rural areas, this will exponentially increase in the next decades with increasing urban population. See, one of the alarming prospects of climate change is its impact on the rise in sea level. Mainland India is endowed with a long coastline of 5,700 km and all the important cities are located along the coast. And this increases the probability of the urban areas getting submerged. And secondly, the changes in precipitation patterns and water cycle will increase the already existing problem of water supply and water quality in the urban areas, especially in big cities. Thirdly, the climate change is expected to increase environment-related diseases. Warmer and wetter periods of breeding due to global warming will provide ideal conditions for expansion of mosquito-borne diseases. Am I right? Fourthly, the climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events. This results in the lack of sanitation and portable water, which in turn will increase contaminated water and foodborne diseases, like cholera, typhoid, diarrhea, hepatitis and gastroenteritis. See, the other health-related impact includes respiratory problems also. See, warmer cities will include an increase in respiratory diseases, which is due to pollution. It is happening because the effects of these pollutions are reinforced by higher temperatures. Here the poor people only suffer more because they already live in unhygienic places, such as slums, and they have lesser possibilities to adapt. So, moving on to the next impact. See, the global warming will be felt more in cities because of the urban heat island effect. This will make the cities warmer than their surrounding from 2 to 6 degrees Celsius because of the modification of the land surface and waste heat produced by high energy use. See, the heat waves that can kill hundreds of people will become more frequent and intense. Another major impact is the impact on infrastructure. Stomps, floods, cyclones, coastal flooding, which are expected to be more frequent in the future, will put the infrastructure at great risk. This includes transportation services like roads, railways, bridges, ports and airports, and the communication networks and water supply, sewage, gas pipelines, drainage, flood and coastal defense systems, even power and telecommunication infrastructures, industrial units, plants. As far as buildings are concerned, informal and traditional housing are the most vulnerable to storms and floods. So far we discussed the direct impacts of climate change on the urban areas. Now, let us see some indirect impacts. See, the climate change related to drought and floods are expected to increase the rural to urban migration. This will in turn increase the overpopulation of cities and also the proportion of poor and vulnerable people living in urban areas. It is estimated that 500 million people are going to be affected by water problems in India because of this global warming. There is a major risk of desertification in the northwestern and central India, then frequent occurrence of droughts and floods in Indo-Gangetic and Brahmaputra planes and coastal flogging due to sea level rise in the near future. The coastal flooding normally occurs when dry and low-lying land is submerged by sea water. This in turn will affect the migrants who are the most vulnerable groups in any city. With no access to the city's livelihood network and a lack of skill sets to survive, these groups live in the slums which are illegal and have no access to basic amenities. Another indirect impact is the disruption of economy. See, cities form the center of the economy in many countries. So, climate changes impact on urban population also damages the nation. For every one meter rise in sea level, the World Bank estimates a loss of 2% in national GDP that has gross domestic product due to shortage of fresh water, damage to agriculture and fisheries, disruption of tourism, reduced energy security and other consequences. So, to avoid such catastrophic consequences of climate change, we need sustainable urban development. First of all, let us understand what urban development is. Generally, urban development covers infrastructure for education, health, justice, solid waste, markets, street pavements and cultural heritage protection. See, these constructions usually form part of specific sector programs including capacity building measures. Special attention is also paid to slums of large cities. The rehabilitation and reconstruction comprises in particular the social infrastructures following natural disasters or conflicts. Having said that, now let us see why urban that too why sustainable and resilient urban development is needed. Today, some 55% of the world's population that is 4.2 billion inhabitants live in cities. This trend is expected to continue. By 2050, with the urban population more than doubling its current size, nearly 7 out of 10 people in the world will live in cities. More importantly, with more than 80% of global GDP generated in cities, urbanization can contribute to sustainable growth. Right? If it is managed well by increasing productivity, allowing innovation and new ideas to emerge. However, the speed and scale of urbanization brings challenges including meeting accelerated demand for affordable housing, well-connected transport systems and other infrastructure, then basic services as well as jobs particularly for the nearly 1 billion urban poor who live in informal settlements to be near opportunities. See conflicts are on the rise resulting in forcibly displacing 60% of people living in the urban areas. Once a city is built, its physical form and land use patterns can be logged in for generations, leading to unsustainable sprawl. See the expansion of urban land consumption outspaces the population growth by as much as 50% which is expected to add 1.2 million square kilometers of new urban built-up area to the world in three decades. Such sprawl puts pressure on land and natural resources resulting in undesirable outcomes. This is because cities consume two-thirds of global energy consumption, an account for more than 70% of the greenhouse gas emissions. See, cities play an increasingly important role in tackling climate change. Am I right? Why? Because their exposure to climate and disaster risk increases as they grow. Almost half a billion urban residents live in these coastal areas, increasing their vulnerability to storm surges and sea level rise. And in the 136 biggest coastal cities around the world, there are 100 million people and among them 20% of the population and the US dollar of 4.7 trillion in assets are exposed to coastal floods. Around 90% of urban expansion in developing countries is near-hazard-prone areas and built through informal and unplanned settlements. So, it is very crucial to bring some reforms in the urban development. Right? I have given many numerical data to make you understand the need for sustainable urban development. See, Neethi Yog has released a report named reforms in urban planning capacity in India in that it recommends 500 priority cities to be included in a competitive framework adopting participatory planning tools, surveys and focus group discussions to access the needs and aspirations of the citizens. There is considerable importance given to technological tools, private sector talent and mapping strategies in order to identify a city's asset and to plan spatially. So, the crucial part here is a central role for democratically elected local governments in order to ensure greater inclusion and a sense of community. See, India cities will continue to be drivers of economic growth with significant production and consumption but that is threatened by unsustainable urban development in the era of climate change. So, the need today is not for flashy retrofitted smart urban enclaves but the need is for sound functional metropolitan cities that can handle floods, heat waves, pollution and mass mobility to keep the engines of the economy running. That's all about this news article. These points can be used to enhance your main answers that may be asked based on urbanization, their problems and their remedies which comes in general studies paper one I think. Okay, now let's move on to the next article discussion. Now, look at this last news article. It is about the massive volcanic eruption in Tonga. As a result, tsunami waves were triggered around the Pacific Ocean. See the map here, this is the location of Tonga located in Oceania. See the Tonga is a small archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean. Okay, the tsunami waves flooded the coastlines of Pacific from Japan to United States. See, the volcano here is an underwater volcano named Hungathonga Hungahapai. This is the image of the volcanic eruption. See, the Tonga islands occur along the ring of fire that is a perimeter of heightened volcanic and seismic activity that encircles the Pacific Ocean basin. Now, let us understand what does this ring of fire ring of fire also called circum-pacific belt or pacific ring of fire is a long, hor-shaped, seismically active belt of earthquake epicenters, volcanoes and tectonic plate boundaries that fringes the pacific basin. For much of its 40,000 kilometer length, the belt follows chains of island arcs such as Tonga and New Herbrides, the Indonesian archipelago, the Philippines, the Japan and Kural islands and the Alishans, as well as the other arc-shaped geomorphic features such as the western coast of North America and the Andes Mountains. See, volcanoes are associated with the belt throughout its length. For this reason, it is called the ring of fire. Most of the world's earthquakes that is the overwhelming majority of the world's strongest earthquakes to be precise, 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the ring of fire. See the image for your better understanding. Now, let us see some details about volcanoes from prelims point of view. First of all, what is a volcano? A volcano is a place where gases, ashes or molten rock material, that is lava, escape to the ground. See a volcano is called an active volcano if the materials mentioned are being released or have been released out in the recent past. See the layer below the solid crust is called mantle and it has a higher density than that of the crust. See the mantle contains a weaker zone which is called asthenosphere. It is from this that the molten rock material find their way to the surface. The material in the upper mantle portion is called magma and once it starts moving towards the crust or the surface it is referred as lava. See the material that reaches the ground includes lava flows, pyroclastic debris, volcanic bombs, ash and dust and also gases such as nitrogen compounds, sulphur compounds and minor amounts of chlorine, hydrogen and argon. See volcanoes are classified on the basis of nature of eruption and the form developed at the surface. Now let us see the major types of volcanoes one by one. The first type is the shield volcanoes. The shield volcanoes where the basal flows are the largest of all the volcanoes on the earth. See the Hawaiian volcanoes are the most famous ones. These volcanoes are mostly made up of basalt a type of lava that is very fluid when erupted. For this reason these volcanoes are not steep and they become explosive if somehow water gets into the vent otherwise they are characterized by low explosivity. The upcoming lava moves in the form of a fountain and throws out the cone at the top of the vent and develops into a cinder cone. Now let us see the second type which is the composite volcanoes. See these volcanoes are characterized by eruptions of cooler and more viscous lavas than basalt and these volcanoes often result in explosive eruptions. Along with the lava large quantities of pyroclastic material and ashes find their way to the ground. This material accumulates in the vicinity of the vent openings leading to formation of layers and this makes the mounds appear as composite volcanoes. Now let us see the third type the caldera. See these are the most explosive of the earth's volcanoes. They are usually so explosive that when they erupt they tend to collapse on themselves rather than building any tall structure. The collapsed depressions are called calderas. Their explosiveness indicates that the magma chamber supplying the lava is not only huge but is also in close vicinity. Now the fourth type is flood basalt provinces. These volcanoes output highly fluid lava that flows for long distances. Some parts of the world are covered by thousands of square kilometers of thick basalt lava flows and there can be a series of flows with some flows attaining thickness of more than 50 meters. And individual flows may extend for hundreds of kilometers. See the decant traps from India presently covering most of the Maharashtra plateau are a much larger flood basalt province. It is believed that initially the trap formation covered a much larger area than the present. Now we have come to the final type that is a mid ocean ridge volcanoes. See these volcanoes occur in the oceanic areas. There is a system of mid ocean ridges more than 70,000 kilometer long that stretches through all the ocean basins. The central portion of this ridge experiences frequent eruptions. That's all about this news article. So we have discussed an important geography topic and a prelims perspective which is the volcano and its types. Now let's discuss the answers for the prelims practice questions. See the first question is from the 2020 prelims. It is with reference to blockchain technology. Do you remember we discussed in cryptocurrency about this term blockchain technology? So with that information let's try to answer this question. Now look at the first statement. It says it is a public ledger that everyone can inspect but which no single user controls. Yes it is correct. It is a public ledger. Now the second statement which says the structure and design of blockchain is such that all the data in that are about cryptocurrency only is absolutely incorrect. Why? Because see the blockchain technology is a very big circle in which cryptocurrency is one part. It has many other data for example OTPs, healthcare details etc. Now look at the third statement. The applications that depend on basic feature of blockchain can be developed without anybody's permission. Yes we stressed on a statement that without any central authorities or government permissions we can go ahead with cryptocurrency which is a part of blockchain technology. So statement 3 is correct. Now look at the question demand. The question is demanding for correct statements. So the answer here will be option D 1 and 3 only. Now let's move on to our second question. It is with reference to our non banking financial company discussion. It is also a statement type question. Here look at the demand of the question. It is asking for incorrect statements. Okay now look at the first statement. It says it is a company registered under the company's act of 1956. Yes it is correct. Now read the second statement. NBFCs cannot accept demand deposits. Yes definitely it is correct. And finally the third statement which says NBFC forms a part of the payment and settlement system is absolutely incorrect. Because we saw that NBFC does not form a part of the payment and settlement system. So our answer here will be option C 3 only is the incorrect statement. An additional information. See before moving on to the next question I would like to remind you an important point from our discussion. See NBFCs do not form a part of the payment and settlement system and it cannot issue checks drawn on itself. Remember this point also. Okay now let's move on to our last question. So it is a two statement question here. First go with the first statement. It says Valkano is the place where only the molten material escaped to the surface. It is incorrect because Valkano is the place where gases, ashes and also molten rock material that is lava escaped to the ground. You cannot say only the molten material. Okay so first statement is wrong. Now take the second statement. Among the types of Valkano shield Valkano's are the most explosive of the earth's Valkano. Is it right? No it is incorrect because bearing the basal flows the shield Valkano's are the largest of all the Valkano's on the earth. But they are not explosive. They become explosive only if some water gets into the wind. Otherwise they are characterized by low explosivity only. Then who is the most explosive of earth's Valkano? It is Caldera because they are usually explosive that even when they erupt they tend to collapse on themselves rather on building any tall structures. The collapsed depression is only called as Calderas. Okay so the answer here is option D neither one nor two. Today I have taken three mains practice questions for you. Please go through it and write your answers and post it in the common section. Also I have displayed three previous year mains questions to show you that how relevant is our discussion with regards to UPSC mains questions. If you like this video, do like, share and comment and don't forget to subscribe to our Shankar IA's Academy YouTube channel. Thank you for listening.