 Good evening aspirants. Welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankar A.S. Academy. The list of articles that we are going to discuss are displayed here. If you can notice, we have covered 3 articles from yesterday's newspaper and 4 articles from today's newspaper. The topics we have chosen are very relevant for your examination. So, please watch till the end of the video. Before getting into the discussion, I have an important announcement to make. The much-awaited pre-storming stress series by Shankar A.S. Academy is about to start. The test series will start from 11th September and the first test is on 18th September. The other details regarding the test series are displayed here. You can go through it. Now, without wasting time, let's get into the discussion. Take a look at this article from yesterday's newspaper. This article is about a new concept called Atlantification. The article explains how Atlantification affects the sea waters of the Arctic Ocean. So, in this discussion, we will understand the concept of Atlantification in detail. Atlantification refers to the influence of Atlantic warm waters over the different Arctic seas. As we all know, over the past years, the Arctic sea ice is disappearing. It is due to many factors like global warming, climate change and so on. But recently, the scientists also say that the warmer and saltier waters from the Atlantic Ocean are also responsible for the melting of the Arctic sea ice. Now, what causes the Atlantic Ocean waters to move towards the Arctic Ocean? It is primarily due to changes in the Arctic Dipole. Here, the Arctic Dipole is nothing but the pressure pattern that exists over the Arctic Ocean. Since 2007, the Arctic region has been under influence of the positive Arctic Dipole. To have a better understanding, take a look at this image. The positive dipole is characterized by high pressure over the Canadian sector of the Arctic and low pressure over the Siberian sector of the Arctic. During positive Arctic Dipole, the Canadian sector produces clockwise winds and the Siberian sector produces counterclockwise or anticlockwise winds. This change in wind pattern drives the upper ocean currents from one place to another. See, the ocean currents usually move from low pressure areas to high pressure areas. During a positive Arctic Dipole, there is a relative low pressure in the Siberian sector. So, the ocean currents tend to move from the Siberian sector to the Canadian sector. That is, water moves in the westward direction. This in turn helps the warmer waters of the Siberian sector to move towards the Canadian sector. Since there is high pressure over the Canadian sector, the warmer waters have lesser impact on the melting of the ice. This happens during the positive Arctic Dipole. Since 2007, the positive Arctic Dipole favored the westward movement of the freshwater and it helped to slow the overall loss of sea ice in the Arctic. As a result, the depth of freshwater ice has increased along the Arctic. Also, the ice was too thick and stable. See, there is another warm ocean current that comes from the Atlantic Ocean. It flows into the bottom of the Arctic Ocean through the Fram Strait. Despite it being very warm, the already existing thick layer of freshwater prevents the warm saltier water of the Atlantic Ocean from melting the Arctic sea ice from the bottom. But now there is a problem. The scientists are saying that there might be a reversal in the Arctic Dipole from positive to negative dipole. See, the reversal in dipole is a normal phenomenon and it is said that the Arctic Dipole reverses once every 15 years. If the Arctic Dipole gets reversed, it increases the Atlantification effect. This means the warm saltier water of the Atlantic Ocean will exaggerate the melting of the Arctic ice. This is because during a negative dipole, the low pressure area is experienced over the Canadian sector of the Arctic Ocean. And the high pressure area is experienced in the Siberian sector. So, the ocean water moves from the Canadian sector to the Siberian sector. That is, the water moves in the eastward direction. Already, there exists warm water in the Siberian sector. So, the westward movement of the water could increase the temperature and affect the ice formation in the Arctic Ocean. In this situation, the warmer and the saltier Atlantic waters exaggerate the melting of the Arctic sea ice. So, the negative Arctic Dipole condition favours the Atlantic warm waters to influence the Arctic waters. This is all about Atlantification. See, UPSC picks words like this and they can ask it in the preliminary examination. So, just go through the points we discussed about Atlantification in this discussion. It will be greatly helpful for your program's examination. Now with this, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Take a look at this news article from yesterday's newspaper. The news article talks about One Nation, One Election. Recently, the Union Law Ministry formed the One Nation, One Election Committee. And yesterday, the Ministry named eight members who will be part of the committee. The committee will be headed by the former President Ramnath Kovind. The names of other members are displayed here. You can go through it. The main purpose of this committee is to examine the issues of simultaneous election to the Lok Sabha, Assembly, Municipality and Punjab. And it will suggest specific amendments to the Constitution and the Representation of People's Act. It will also make recommendations on whether amendments to the Constitution would require ratification by the states or not. And the committee will examine scenarios that might lead to election. For example, events like hunghouse, adoption of no confidence motion, defection, etc. And it will also try to answer solutions for these scenarios. So, the committee will be holding a huge responsibility. But the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Adir Rajan Choudhury, whose name was in the list of members of the committee, declined to be on the committee. This is about the news article given here. In this context, let us try to understand what is One Nation, One Election, why it is needed and what are the hurdles in implementing it. Before getting into the discussion, I have highlighted the syllabus regarding this discussion. You can go through it. Now, let's start. First, let us try to understand what is One Nation, One Election. As we all know, currently in India, the general elections to elect the members of parliament and the state assembly are held separately. But the concept of One Nation, One Election envisions to conduct simultaneous polls across the country. This means that election to the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies will be conducted at the same time. This concept is not something new to Indian democracy. Because One Nation, One Election was the norm in India till 1967. Simultaneous elections were conducted for Lok Sabha and the state assemblies in 1952, 1957, 1962 and 1967. However, due to the premature dissolution of some legislative assemblies in 1968 and 1969, the simultaneous election cycle got disrupted. Further, in 1970, the Lok Sabha was dissolved prematurely and fresh elections were held in 1971. All these events led to a breakdown of the cycle of simultaneous elections in India. Many attempts were made to revive the practice. For example, in 1982, the election commission itself put forward a suggestion to bring an amendment so that One Nation, One Election can again be held simultaneously. But the suggestion did not fruitify then. Then, in May 1999, the law commission headed by Justice BP G1 Reddy in its own 70th report stated that the cycle of election every year should be put to an end. And holding of a separate election to a Lok Sabha should be an exception rather than the rule. Later, the sanding committee on personal public events, law and justice submitted its report on the feasibility of holding simultaneous elections to houses of people and state legislative assembly in December 2015. Following this, the government asked the election commission whether One Nation, One Election was possible. The election commission replied that it is possible only if amendments were made to the constitution and the representation of people act. Without amendments, the election commission is bound by the law to hold election as and when polls are due in the states. So currently, it is in the hands of the government to make those amendments through parliament by gathering support of all the political parties. It is in that line only, government's recent step of forming the One Nation, One Election committee a right move. This is about the various steps taken by the government to implement One Nation, One Election. Now we will see what are the reasons or what are the necessity of having One Nation, One Election. Firstly, joint polls will help save money, time and energy. See, according to some reports, amount of Rs. 60,000 crore was used at the time of Lok Sabha election in 2019. Imagine such kind of huge expenses happening every year to conduct elections separately for state assemblies. Apart from saving money, it also saves time and energy by reducing the burden of the administrative setup and the security forces. This will ensure timely implementation of government policies and ensure that the administrative machinery is engaged in development activities rather than being in the election mode. Secondly, elections held simultaneously could potentially result in a higher voter turnout than usual. The rationale behind this is that casting vote may be more comfortable for the voters when these elections are conducted together. Thirdly, One Nation, One Election will bring an end to populist policies by the political parties. It is commonly observed that in order to obtain short term political advantage, the ruling politicians postpone making difficult decisions which will eventually benefit the country in the long run. One Nation, One Election will address this issue as it will address the issue of political parties always being in the election mode. One Nation, One Election will also bring consistency and continuity in the policies and programs of the central governments in the states. These are some of the reasons for why India needs One Nation, One Election. Now we will see the challenges in implementing the One Nation, One Election policy. The first biggest challenge is to sync the terms of various state legislative assemblies with that of the Lok Sabha. For instance, the term of the present Lok Sabha will go up to 2024. But the elections to some of the legislative assemblies had already taken place last year. For example, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and some are due this year. For example, Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. This results in different dates of completion of terms. So, bringing a sync to all the states and bringing a sync between the state and the center will be a huge task. This is the first hurdle. Secondly, there is also no clarity on dealing with situations like midterm polls or president's rules in case any party failed to get majority either in the state or in the center. Apart from this, regional political parties argue that having the two elections simultaneously would hamper their prospects because they won't be able to highlight the local issues prominently. Consequently, the regional issues might get overshadowed by the national issues. They also fear that they could not compete with national parties in terms of money and election strategies. Finally, striking an agreement among all the political parties remains a significant hurdle. The process might be time-consuming and if in case the BJP government loses in 2024 Lok Sabha election, no one can assure the talks of one nation, one election will come into implementation. These are some of the hurdles faced in the implementation of one nation, one election. All we can do is wait till the one nation, one election committee makes a recommendation regarding this. So, that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw what is one nation, one elections. We saw the steps taken by the government and various recommendations given by the election commission and the law commission. We also saw the need for one nation, one election and finally the hurdles in implementing one nation, one election. With this, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Look at this article here. Tomorrow, bi-elections are going to be held in 7 assembly constituencies that spread over 6 states such as West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Tirupura and Jharkhand. The election campaign in 7 assembly constituencies came to an end yesterday. The news article further states that the counting of the votes will take place on September 8. This is all about the news article. In this discussion, we will see some points about bi-elections. Bi-elections refer to the election that is usually held to fill the vacant seats in the legislative bodies like the parliament or state legislature. Here, the vacancy may be cast due to several reasons like death, resignation, disqualification or expulsion of sitting MPs or MLAs. So, basically, the bi-elections are conducted to fill the vacancies in the legislative bodies. Now, coming to the objectives of bi-elections. The main objective of bi-elections is to ensure timely filling up of vacant seats in the legislative body. See, if the particular constituency seat becomes vacant, then there is no representation for such constituency in the legislative bodies. This means the people living in such a constituency aren't able to register their problems and needs in the parliament or the state legislature. So, it is necessary to fill the vacant seats as soon as possible. So, the election commission conducts bi-elections to fill the vacant seats. This in turn provides continuous representation of the constituencies in the legislative bodies. Now, we will see what is the time frame to conduct bi-elections in India. See, the time limit is provided in section 151A of the Representation of Peoples Act 1951. As per this section, a bi-election for filling the vacant seats shall be held within a period of 6 months from the date of occurrence of the vacancy. For example, if a vacancy occurs or arises on January 1, 2024, a bi-election should be conducted within June 30, 2024. As the section contains the word shall, it is mandatory for the election commission to conduct bi-election within 6 months of time. However, there are two exceptions in conducting bi-election. The first exception is that if the remainder of the term of the vacant seat is less than 1 year, then it is not mandatory to conduct bi-election. Then the second exception is that if the election commission in consultation with the central government certifies that it is difficult to hold bi-election within 6 months, then the time limit of the bi-election may be extended beyond 6 months. These are the two exceptions provided in the section 151A of the Representation of Peoples Act 1951 in conducting bi-elections. So, to sum it up, bi-elections are held to fill the vacant seats in the legislative bodies and it should be filled within 6 months from the date of occurrence of the vacancy. But there are two exceptions which we just saw now. That is all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we cover the basics about bi-elections. Now, let us conclude this and take up the next news article. Take a look at the text and context article. It highlights the significance of RTI Act in promoting transparency and accountability in India, but also raises concerns about the potential challenges that have emerged in recent times. In this context, let us discuss about the recent amendments made in RTI Act and how it affects the right to information. See, the Right to Information Act was enacted in 2005 is a powerful tool for citizens to access information from the government. It has helped to expose corruption, improve public services and hold public officials accountable. For example, in 2010, the RTI Act was used to expose a scam involving the sale of fake degrees by a government university. And in 2012, the RTI Act was used to expose corruption in the allocation of government contracts. However, in recent times, there have been concerns that the RTI Act is becoming less effective. This is due to recent amendments made in RTI Act by the Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023. Let us see how this amendment affects the transparency of RTI Act. As we all know, the Right to Information Act allows citizens to access information from the government. But it prohibits the disclosure of personal data of the citizens unless there is an overriding public interest. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023 amended this qualified prohibition into a total prohibition. This means that if a public information officer decides not to disclose information, he will simply relate it to some person and deny the providing of information. Essentially, this act indirectly gives power to deny information solely on the grounds of being personal information. With this amendment, the majority of the information with the exception of budgets can be denied to citizens. So, the right to information would essentially become right to deny information. Consequently, this change would make the RTI Act very ineffective. The National Campaign for People's Right to Information has argued that this amendment would make it impossible to carry out social audits. Here, social audit means verifying whether the beneficiaries of government programs are actually receiving the benefits. The National Campaign for People's Right to Information also argues that the amendment would be used by powerful public officials to evade accountability. For example, an official who is accused of corruption could invoke the total prohibition on disclosing personal information. Likewise, past amendments to the RTI Act has also raised a concern. For example, the Right to Information Amendment Act 2019 gave the union government unilateral power in deciding the service condition and tenure of the information commissioners. This gives the government too much control over the RTI Act officials and could make it more difficult for citizens to access information from the government. Moving forward, we shall see what are all the challenges faced in the implementation of the Right to Information Act. One of the concerns is that the RTI Act does not require applicants to provide a reason for seeking information. This means that anyone can file a RTI request even if they do not have a legitimate interest in the information. This has led to some people filing RTI requests for non-serious reasons such as to harass or intimidate the public officials. The next important challenge is the huge backlog of cases. Due to insufficient number of information commissioners at the central level, there is a high backlog and delay in the hearing of the cases. Further, because of poor quality, incomplete and inaccurate information, filing of appeal increases significantly under the RTI Act. Also, RTI Act does not specify a time limit within which the second appeal to the Central Information Commission must be heard. This means the CIC has the discretion to decide how long it takes to hear an appeal. Due to this, the applicant has to wait for months in order to have his or her case heard by the Central Information Commission. Another concern is that RTI Act does not require applicants to have a locus standing. Here, locus standing is the legal right to bring a case to a court. This means that anyone can file a RTI request even if they are not directly affected. This has led to some people filing RTI requests for their own personal interest rather than for the public interest. The next important challenge is the lack of public awareness. In India, public awareness regarding the right as well as the duties is very low. The recent behind are the lack of education and awareness. For example, awareness level is low among rural areas and among the disadvantaged communities. The next major concern is the lack of power. The Information Commissioners have the power to give directions to public authorities to take necessary steps to comply with the Act. However, they do not have the power to enforce their direction. This means that if a public authority ignores the direction of a Information Commission, the Information Commission cannot do anything about it. The last major challenge is the misuse of RTI Act. The misuse of RTI Act can have a number of negative consequences. It can divert the time of public servants and it will also adversely affect their work. It can also discourage public officials from being transparent and accountable. These are all some of the challenges in the implementation of the Right to Information Act. Now, what can be done to overcome these challenges? Firstly, government can take steps to disclose information via internet. The government institution should make all the permissible information available on their website. This way, people can quickly access the information they need and it will also save the government some time. Secondly, government can take steps to prevent the duplication of request. Many people file multiple requests for the same information using the RTI Act. This puts extra work on the government departments. We should have a system to stop these duplicate requests. Thirdly, steps must be taken to prevent the misuse of RTI. To prevent the misuse of RTI, people should have to explain why they want the information when they file a request. There should also be a penalty for those who seek information for irrelevant or unnecessary reasons. Fourthly, a balance must be ensured between Right to Information and Right to Privacy. We have a Right to Privacy as protected by your Constitution under Article 21. We need to find a balance between the Right to Know and the Right to Privacy within the RTI Act. The fifth one is, government must take steps to increase public awareness. We can make more people aware of their right to information by running campaign on TV, radio and newspapers. This can be mainly done in rural areas using different regional languages. It is important to take all of these factors into account when considering ways to improve the RTI Act. The goal here should be to create a law that allows citizens to access information they need while protecting their privacy rights. In conclusion, the recent amendments to the RTI Act have raised concerns about the ability of the citizens to access information from the government. It is important to ensure that the RTI Act remains a powerful tool for citizens' empowerment. So that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw the importance of Right to Information Act. We saw how the recent amendments have reduced the effectiveness of the Right to Information Act. Then we saw the challenges in implementing RTI Act. And finally, the steps that can be taken to address the challenges. Now with this, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Look at this news article. According to this news article, the National E-Governance Division, that is the NEGD of the Electronics Ministry, is set to integrate the Personalized Adaptive Learning, that is PAL, into the DIGSA platform. Here PAL is a software-based approach. It will allow each students to have an individualized learning experience over a course of curriculum based on their unique needs and abilities. This is about the news article given here. In this context, let us quickly go through the DIGSA platform and some of the other e-learning initiatives in India. See, in India, there are over 10 million teachers. Each one has to deal with students who has diverse and complex backgrounds and learning levels in the Indian classroom. So, in order to help students achieve their full potential, teachers should be in a better position to deliver meaningful instructions to the students. For that, capacity building of the students is required. That is, teachers should have easy access to teaching and learning resources and opportunities to develop professionally. The National Teacher Platform, that is the NPT, which is branded as DIGSA, provides this opportunity for the teachers. It is the initiative of the Ministry of Education and it was launched in 2017. DIGSA is a short form for Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing. It is a state-of-the-art platform built to host open educational resources and tools for teachers in schools, teacher educators and student teachers. It is built considering the whole teacher's life circle. That is from the time student teachers enrolled in Teacher Education Institute to after they retire as teachers. So, the whole life cycle of the teachers is considered and taken into account while building DIGSA. The platform aims to provide teacher training courses, teaching resources like lesson plans, concept videos, worksheets, which are all linked to the curriculum. It also has assessment for teachers to find out their strength and areas of weakness. So, it is a customizable platform where a teacher can connect with a student and the other teacher community. Some of the other features of the DIGSA platform are displayed here. You can go through it. Apart from DIGSA, there are many e-learning initiatives that are taken up by the government. Let us see them one by one. First, let us take Vidyadhan. Vidyadhan allows donations or contributions of e-learning resources for school education by experts, private bodies and educational bodies. The next one is Eepath Sala app. The Eepath Sala app and the web portal can be used to get audio and video content of NCRT and it is available in different languages also. This is the second initiative. The third one is Sikshavani. Sikshavani is a radio show of the CBSC which is used by learners of grades 9 to 12. It contains more than 430 pieces of audio content for all subjects. The last important one is Swayam. That is, study webs of active learning for young aspiring minds. This offers integrated platform for online courses at affordable cost to all citizens, mainly underprivileged section of our society. The portal has massive open online courses which offer quality education on various subjects from school students to undergraduates to post-graduates. These are all some of the e-learning initiatives taken by the government. That is all regarding this discussion. In this discussion we saw the important features of Dixia and we also saw some of the e-learning initiatives taken by the government. Now with this let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Look at this data point article. It provides us some data about particulate matter pollution in the world and the associated health complication. See the data was sourced from the Air Quality Life Index 2023 which was released recently. So in our discussion we will first see the basics about Air Quality Life Index and we will try to understand the data provided in the article. Now let us start with Air Quality Life Index. The Air Quality Life Index is an air pollution update. It is being produced and released by the Energy Policy Institute which is located at the University of Chicago, USA. Basically the AQLA measures the impact of particulate pollution on life expectancy. To put it in simple words the Air Quality Life Index measures the how particulate matter pollution affects the life spans of the people. Here particulates are nothing but very small particles of a substance that are produced when such substance is burned. They travel across the atmosphere and cause air pollution. If humans are exposed to high levels of particulate matter while breathing it causes a variety of health complications like lung disease, high blood pressure and so on. This in turn reduces the life span of the people. This is exactly what is measured by the Air Quality Life Index. That is how particulate matter pollution affects the life expectancy of the people. Now coming to the 2023 Air Quality Life Index. First of all note that the 2023 index is based on the study conducted in 2021. In the 2023 index Bangladesh has topped the list with the highest PM 2.5 pollution of around 73 micrograms per meter cube. India is placed in the second place with PM 2.5 pollution of around 58.7 micrograms per meter cube. Then Nepal and Pakistan have occupied the third and fourth place respectively. See in India the PM 2.5 levels have risen by around 9.5% from the 2021 level. Due to this Indians lose around 5.3 years of life expectancy due to particulate matter alone. Now having understood the basics let us understand the data provided in the article. According to the data point many countries have failed to meet the WHO's guidelines on reducing PM 2.5 pollution. The WHO guidelines advise the countries to maintain PM 2.5 pollution below 5 micrograms per meter cube. But in many countries the PM 2.5 pollution is still high. So the data says that persistent particulate pollution would probably reduce the global life expectancy by 2.3 years. Currently the global life expectancy is around 73.3 years. So if the PM 2.5 pollution is not reduced by the global efforts the PM 2.5 pollution alone will reduce the global life expectancy to 71 years from the current 73.3 years. Apart from this the data point also highlights the particulate pollution in South Asia. According to the air quality life index data particulate pollution in South Asia surged by 9.7% from 2013 to 2021. So it is estimated that the particulate pollution will reduce life expectancy in South Asian region by an additional 6 months. This is the general data provided in the data point. Apart from this the data point also provides some specific data through some charts. Now we will try to understand them one by one. Look at the first chart here. The chart shows that annual PM 2.5 concentration in the top 25 polluted countries. The top 4 countries are occupied by Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. According to the data around 22.9% of the global population lives in the most polluted countries in the world. See China is performing well due to its success in reducing particulate pollution. In 2014 China took policy initiatives to combat pollution through which it has ultimately reduced the particulate pollution. Now coming to chart 2. This chart shows the top 5 threats to life expectancy in India. According to the air quality life index 2023 India was the second most polluted country in the world in 2021. So in India particulate pollution is the greatest threat to human health. In 2021 the particulate pollution in India is around 58.7 micrograms per meter cube. It exceeded the WHO guidelines by more than 10 times. Due to increase in particulate pollution, the average Indian resident is said to lose 5.3 years of life expectancy. In contrast, cardiovascular diseases reduce the average Indian's life expectancy by about 4.5 years, while child and maternal malnutrition reduces it by 1.8 years. From this data we can observe that PM 2.5 pollution is the largest threat to life expectancy in our country. Now moving on to chart 3. This chart shows the most polluted states in India and the potential loss of life if pollution levels do not meet the WHO guidelines. According to the data Delhi is the most polluted city. So around 18 million people living in Delhi could lose 11.9 years of life expectancy if current pollution level persists. Delhi is followed by other North Indian states like UP, Haryana, Bihar and so on. Now coming to the final chart. This chart shows the annual average PM 2.5 concentration in India particularly in the northern plains and in other regions. See the northern plains which is home to over 38.9% of India's population is the most polluted region in India. The northern plains includes the states and union territories of Bihar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. In the northern plains, the average resident is said to lose about 8 years of life expectancy if the pollution level persists. The data also shows that pollution has spread to other parts of the country over the last two decades. For example, since 2000 in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, the particulate pollution has surged by about 76.8% and 78.5% respectively. This causes an additional 1.8 years to 2.3 years loss of life expectancy in Maharashtra and MP compared to the 2000 levels. Now, from all these data, we can conclude that Indian government should act more proactively to reduce particulate matter pollution in our country. Otherwise, the pollution would cause serious health complications to the people which will ultimately end up in reducing the life expectancy of our country. The government should formulate rational policies and strict rules to reduce particulate matter pollution in our country. This would bring some long-term positive impacts. Now, how is this data point important to our examination? See, the difference between the good candidate who clears the mains examination and who is not able to clear the mains examination is in the data provided in the answers. If you find time, check out the topers answer paper which you can find in the internet. One thing common among all the topers paper is that they substantiate their point using data. Only by substantiating your point with the data will help you get a good among your competitors. So, we discussed so much data in this article. You can use all this data in your answers. By using this data in your answers and substantiating your points, you can get about one or two marks higher in each question compared to the competitors. If you add one mark in each question, for one paper, you will add around 20 marks. So, your entire GS mark will get a jump of around 80 marks. This will help you clear the mains examination and it will also help you give a confident interview and it will help you clear the examination. So, this is why this article and the points we discussed are important for our examination. Now with this, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Look at the science article. This is from yesterday's newspaper. The article is conveying the results of a study published in the Nature Medicine about preeclampsia. This study explores the potential use of a liquid biopsy approach to detect preeclampsia in early stages. So, in our discussion, we shall know some important points about this preeclampsia. First of all, what is preeclampsia? Preeclampsia is a serious medical condition that occurs during pregnancy. Mostly, it occurs after the 20th week of pregnancy. It is also sometimes called the toxinia or pregnancy-induced hypertension. Preeclampsia can be life-threatening for both the mother and the unborn baby if it is left untreated. The exact cause of preeclampsia is not well understood. But it is believed to involve problems with the placenta and the blood vessels that supply it. Now, we will see the symptoms and the effects of preeclampsia. One of the primary indicators of preeclampsia is the sudden increase in blood pressure. This high blood pressure condition is called hypertension. Next one is that preeclampsia often leads to leakage of protein into urine. This condition is called proteinuria. This can be detected using a urine test. Increased protein levels indicate kidney damage, which is a common complication associated with preeclampsia. Next is swelling. Swelling mainly in the hands and face is also a common symptom of preeclampsia. This swelling is due to fluid retention and it is also known as edema. Other symptoms of preeclampsia include severe headaches, visual disturbances such as blood vision, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and shortness of breath. Now, who has the highest risk of getting preeclampsia? Preeclampsia as we all know is a pregnancy specific disorder, but some people have higher risk. The risk factor of preeclampsia include history of high blood pressure, first in pregnancies, multiple pregnancies and certain medical conditions like diabetes or kidney disease. Now, these are some important points about preeclampsia. Now, let's come back to the study mentioned in the news article. A new liquid biopsy approach was created to predict preeclampsia in the early stages. This method detects the DNA methylation changes in the blood that are associated with preeclampsia. This approach could be used to identify the risk of preeclampsia in the early stages of pregnancies so that they can be treated with aspirin. This model was able to predict 72% of cases of early preeclampsia. Here note that preeclampsia affects both the mother and the baby if it is not managed correctly. It may progress to eclampsia which is a more severe form of condition which can be life threatening. So, early detection and appropriate medical care are essential for managing preeclampsia and reducing the associated risks. So, this new finding is of importance. So, that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw few points about a disease called preeclampsia. With this, we have come to the end of the news article discussion session. Now, let us take up the practice problems questions. We have five practice problems questions today. Let us see them one by one. Let us take up the first question. This question is based on our Disha platform discussion. Four options are given. We have to find which of the following is not offered by the Disha. See the correct answer here is option C. Real-time student utterance tracking. This is not a part of the Disha platform. So, once again the correct answer here is option C. Moving on to the next question. Preeclampsia is a medical condition characterised by elevated blood pressure and high levels of protein in the urine. It is specifically seen in which of the following groups. From our discussion, we know that the correct answer here is option D. Pregnant woman. Moving on to the third question. Which of the following options best describes the term Atlantification? See the correct answer here is option C. The influence of warmer Atlantic waters over the Arctic Ocean. This is Atlantification. Moving on to the next question. This is a two-statement question about bioelection in India. Let us take up the first statement. In India, the bioelections to the Lok Sabha should be conducted within one year from the date of occurrence of the vacancy. This statement is incorrect. Because as we saw in our discussion, Section 151A of the RPA Act 1951 says that bioelection to Lok Sabha or any legislative body should be conducted within six months from the date of occurrence of the vacancy. So, statement one is incorrect. Now moving on to the second statement. It is not mandatory for the election commission to conduct bioelections if the remainder of the term of the vacant seats is less than one year. The statement is correct. This we saw in the discussion itself. Since they are asking for the correct statements here, the correct answer here is option B2 only. Moving on to the last question. This is a three-statement question about air quality life index. Three statements are given. We have to find how many of the statements are correct. Look at the first statement. It is being released annually by the Switzerland-based air quality technology company called IQR. This statement is incorrect. This report is released by the Energy Policy Institute which is located in the University of Chicago, USA. So, statement one is incorrect. Moving on to the second statement. China has topped the 2023 ranking with highest particulate pollution in the world. This statement is incorrect. As we saw in the discussion, Bangladesh has topped the ranking with the highest PM 2.5 pollution. Bangladesh is followed by India. Nepal is in the third place and Pakistan is in the fourth place. China is performing actually well due to the steps it started taking in the 2014 period. So, statement two here is incorrect. Moving on to the third statement. As per the 2023 index, India is continuously witnessing a decline in particulate matter pollution. This statement is also incorrect. Actually, the particulate matter pollution in India has been on a constant raise. It has not been declining. So, statement three is also incorrect. Since all the statements given here are incorrect, the correct answer here is option D, N. The main questions based on today's discussion are displayed here. Interested aspirants can write the answer and post them in the comment section. If you like today's video, like, comment and share it with your friends. For more updates regarding UPSC preparation, subscribe to Shankara IS Academy's YouTube channel. Thank you for listening.