 Very good evening everyone. Welcome to the Hindi News Analysis brought to you by Shankaray's Academy. Here are the list of news articles chosen for discussion today and our video is timestamped for your convenience. So, let us start the discussion by discussing some topics that are very important from the preliminary perspective and these topics have very little takeaway which is pertaining only to the preliminary exam. So, let's jump into the discussion. So, the first article is about the Competition Commission of India. See earlier the Competition Commission of India had accused Amazon and Flipkart for entering into anti-competitive agreements in violations of the provision of Competition Act 2002. So, in that context, let us know about the Competition Commission of India. See this is a statutory body established under the Competition Act of 2002. So, although the Competition Act was passed in 2002, it was constituted only in 2009 March and the Competition Act came into the force repealing the monopolies and the restrictive trade practices at 1969 which was widely unpopular then. So, this was based on the committee headed by Mr. Raghavan which is commonly called as Raghavan committee. So, that is how the Competition Commission of India came into existence. If you see what is the aim of the Competition Commission of India, it simply tries to establish a robust competitive environment and preventive anti-competitive practices. All right. So, if you see the Composition, it has one chairperson and six members and it is also a quasi-judicial body that is in its capacity, it gives opinions to other statutory authorities as well and also deals with cases of this kind. All right. So, with that, let us move on to the next article in hand. So, this article shows that the test positivity rate dips below 5% inch for this jury. This kind of news articles have started popping up in the newspapers across the country with the downward curve of the second wave kicking in. So, in that context, let us know what is the test positivity rate, especially in the current scenario. See, test positivity rate refers to the ratio of people who are testing positive for the particular infection to the number of people tested. Say, if 100 people are tested and 50 people turn positive, then the test positivity rate will be 50%. All right. So, a desirable test positivity rate, especially in a situation of epidemic or a pandemic is 5% or below. So, any test positivity below 5 means the pandemic is under control or it is declining. All right. So, with that, let us move on to the next topic in discussion. So, this is an article from the Trivandrum edition. So, here the center has increased the borrowing limit of the state of Kerala to 5%. Before it was 3% of gross state domestic product, now it has been increased to 5%. After the state fulfilled certain criteria as mandated by the central government. And besides that, the state has also received post-devaluation revenue deficit grants. So, in that context, let us understand what is post-devaluation revenue deficit grants. See, government provides some amount of grants to the state from the central divisible pool of tax. This post-devaluation revenue deficit grants kicks in when the states fall short of the revenue. And in that context, the states are given an additional amount of devolution from the center to meet the state's expenses. So, this is what is post-devaluation revenue deficit grants. And this is provided under article 275 of the constitution. And our 15th finance commission whose recommendation kicks in from financial year 2022 has recommended a post-devaluation revenue deficit grant of about 3 trillion rupees for the 5-year period ending financial year 2026. And the number of states qualifying for the revenue deficit grants is about 17 when looked at from financial year 2022 according to the finance commission. That is not all the states are receiving the post-devaluation revenue deficit grants, only 17 states receive it. And in the first year, that is in the first year of financial year 2022. And gradually the amount of devolution will keep on declining and only 6 states will receive it even at the end of financial year 2026. That is the year when the 15th finance commission's recommendation ends. So, only 6 states will be receiving even at the end of financial year 2026. So, if you see the eligibility of the states to receive this grant and the quantum of the grant are decided by the commission based on the difference between the assessed revenue and the expenditure of the state. And here are the list of the states that has been recommended for PDRD grants. So, just go through it for the preliminary exam point of view. So, with that, let's move on to the next article. See, this is again a pick from the Trivandrum edition of the Hindu. This talks about the protest against the Silver Line project. Okay. See, in that context, let us learn about the Silver Line project from the preliminary exam. See, the Silver Line project is a very important project in Kerala implemented by Kerala Rail Development Corporation. See, this rail development project is a very unique project because it is a joint venture between the Ministry of Railways and the Kerala government. And even the cost is being shared by these two agencies and that is why this Silver Line project is very unique. And what is the notable feature of this Silver Line project is that it traverses about 532 kilometers connecting the two ends of the state. That is, it runs from Trivandrum, the southernmost district of the state to Khasargod, the northernmost district of the state. And this is expected to be operational by the year 2024. And this news article says the problem of protest regarding the land acquisition associated with this Silver Line project. So, this is what you'll have to know about the Silver Line project. With that, let's move on to the next article. So, this article is taken from the Delhi edition. This article throws light on how settling of the brew refuges in the forest area has got the eyes of the National Green Tribunal. Okay. We are not going to discuss about National Green Tribunal because we have already discussed that on May 27th and 28th discussion. But we'll know about the brew drives. All right. From the prelims exam point of view. See, the brew drives are also called as renanks. And they have been living in Tripura relief camps since 1977 because there was an ethnic violence around that period in Mizoram where they actually belong to. From there, they escaped and settled in Tirupura camps in 1997. And there are about a lot of refugees right now residing in Tripura. And 7000 refugees have already returned to Mizoram after nine phases of repatriation after a deal that was stuck between the involved parties. But still some tribes of Renang or the brew tribes are still stuck in the Tripura relief camps. So, that is all you have to know about the brew tribes. Let's move on to the next article. This article is about the GST council meeting that is coming up on Saturday, that is today. And we have already seen GST very elaborately on two days discussion, May 1st and 2nd. And in that discussion, we had covered what is GST, the constitutional provisions governing GST about the GST council and everything. We request you to refer the GST discussion on those dates for better understanding. So, with that, let's move on to the discussion on the next news article. Now, let us take up this news article. Recently, finance and corporate affairs minister Nirmala Sita Raman had called for expediting the implementation of vehicle scrapping policy and improving data as well as road connectivity in the hilly regions. And she had also mentioned about the aspirational districts of the country. So, in this context, we will be learning about the vehicle scrapping policy as well as the aspirational districts program. All right. So, here is the syllabus for your reference. See, according to Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, there are 1.7 million old medium and heavy commercial vehicles in India without a valid certificate. And also the number of light motor vehicles older than 20 years is more than 5.1 million. So, the Indian government has introduced the vehicle scrapping scheme to promote significant change in the Indian automobile industry. This is also to generate demand for new vehicles, especially the commercial vehicles. And according to this new policy, the commercial vehicles of more than 15 years and passenger vehicles of more than 20 years will have to be mandatorily scrapped. And when will they be scrapped? If they do not pass the fitness and the emission test. And the policy stipulates that both the government and the automakers incentivize customers scrapping older vehicles. And also the government departments will have to let go of their vehicles after they are used for 15 years. So, it also involves the government machinery. So, customers and fleet owners will have to get their vehicles tested after a certain period to ascertain their fitness depending on their tailpipe emission and other parameters. Vehicle owners who would voluntarily scrap their vehicles will get a rebate on the road tax as well in the range of 15 to 25 percentage. And they will get a complete waiver of the registration fee on the next new vehicle purchase. And automobile manufacturers will also have discount of 5 percentage against the certificate showing the vehicle scrapage of the previous vehicle. And also the vehicle owner will get a value of their old vehicles from the scrapyard which will be around 4 to 6 percentage of the price of the new vehicle. So, automobile manufacturers will set up the vehicle dismantling centers across the country. And the Indian government and private entities will generate investments for establishing vehicle fitness centers as well. And both vehicle scrapyards and fitness centers will become a source for employment generation for local people. So, that is also an aim of this policy. And these scrapyards will also supply scrap steel and other components to automobile manufacturers and other steels. So, it is more of a recycling process. And many auto industry executives believe that the new policy will help push commercial vehicle fleet owners to scrap their old trucks and small commercial vehicles. And this will help us boost vehicle sales. Now, let us see about the aspirational district program. So, that is all about the vehicle scrapage policy. See the aspirational district program will be referring to that as ADP in the discussion subsequently. See the aspirational districts are those districts in India that are affected by poor socioeconomic indicators. They are aspirational in the context that the improvement in these districts can lead to the overall improvement in the human development in India. So, they have identified about 115 districts from 28 states as the aspirational districts. And at the government of India level, the program is anchored by Nithya Yog. And in addition to that, the individual ministries have assumed responsibility as well to drive the progress of the districts. And the objective of the program is to monitor the real-time progress of aspirational districts. And the aspirational districts program is based on 49 indicators from five identified thematic areas, which focuses closely on improving people's health and nutrition, education, agriculture, water resources, financial inclusion, skill development, as well as basic infrastructure. And with states as the main drivers, ADP seeks to focus on the strength of each district and identify the low-hanging fruits for the immediate improvement, as well as measure progress and rank the districts. All right. See, here are the broad contours of the program. You can go through this from the exam point of view. So, that brings us to the end of the discussion on this news article. Let's move on to the next segment. Now, let us take up this news article. This article reports about the index of industrial production, commonly called as IIP. This data was recently released by the National Statistical Office. And as per the estimations, India's industrial output for April 2021 edged up to 0.08 percentage from the level recorded during the same month in 2019. And the manufacturing sector, which was hit the hardest by the last year's national lockdown and all, it posted a 0.9% decline when compared to April 2019. So, in this slide, let us take up some important facts about the index of industrial production. See, the IIP is very important from the preliminary perspective. See, the IIP is an index that tracks the manufacturing activity in different sectors of the economy. So, it is the key economic indicator of the manufacturing sector of the economy. And it generally measures the industrial production for the period under review, usually a month as against the reference period. So, there is a lag of six weeks in the publication of the IIP index data after the reference month ends. And the Office of the Economic Advisor under Ministry of Commerce and Industry made the first attempt to compile and release the IIP in 1950 with the base year of 1937. And the attempt covered about 15 important industries, which accounted for more than 90% of the total production of the selected industries then. And since 1950, the All India IIP is being released as a monthly series. And with the inception of the Central Statistical Organization in 1951, the Responsibility for Compilation and Publication of IIP was vested with the Central Statistical Organization. Central Statistical Organization operates under Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation. And the IIP index data once released is also available on the PIP website. And in order to capture the changes in the structure and the composition of the industries, over the time, the IIP is periodically revised. How is it revised? It is revised by changing its base to a more recent period. Okay, recent revision happened in 2017. Before 2017, the base year was 2004-2005. And after 2017, it was changed to 2011-2012. And among various items included in the index of industrial production, electricity, crude oil, coal, cement, steel, refinery products, natural gas and fertilizers are the eight core industries. See, pay attention here, these eight core industries are also very important for the preliminary point of view. And these industries comprise about 40% of the total weight of the items included in the IIP. And these items are broadly categorized into mining, manufacturing and electricity. Okay. And the CSC uses secondary data to reach the monthly IIP number. And the data is sourced from various agencies in different ministries or departments of the government. The Department of Industrial Policy and Propulsion is the source for the major chunk of the data for the calculation. So in this discussion, we comprehensively saw about the history of IIP, evolution of IIP as well as the components of IIP. All these are important from the preliminary exam point of view. So with this facts in mind, let's move on to the next segment of the discussion. Our next news discussion is going to be based on this economic article from the business page. This article is based on the recent memorandum from the Department of Expenditure that was approved by the Finance Secretary. And according to the news article, the government has directed all ministries to take the necessary steps to curb the wasteful expenditure and to aim for 20% reduction in controllable expenditure. So what is the controllable expenditure? This is nothing but that can be dispensed with, that is not very essential, which can be reduced. So in this slide, let us see the important points mentioned in this article. Here is the syllabus for your reference. First, let us learn about expenditure in order to understand the article better. Right. And expenditure refers to any payment that is made with cash or credit for the purchase of goods or services. Likewise, a government expenditure refers to spending made by the government for the purchase of goods and services. But government expenditure will also include other components that has been spent on welfare, right, for providing the services and for investments and for subsidies and etc. A government generally spends money towards the supply of goods and services that are not provided by the private sector, but are important for the nation's welfare. For example, free education at the initial stages is provided by the government. This is some service that cannot be provided by the private. So here the government expenditure is directed towards the education that is nation's welfare, which cannot be provided by the private sector. So this is just one of the examples. And the component of the government expenditure thus includes the public consumption, public investment, transfer payments consisting of income transfers, pensions, social benefits as well as capital transfers, right. And apart from these, the government spending also goes to nation's defense, infrastructure, health and welfare benefits as well, okay. And note that there are two major types of government expenditure. So one major head is revenue expenditure. The other major head is capital expenditure. So capital expenditure is something that goes towards a asset creation. Say the government is constructing a port or government is constructing a road or government is constructing schools or hospitals. So these are all capital expenditures. But what is the revenue expenditure? Any expenditure that goes otherwise from the capital expenditure? For example, say government has taken a loan. So it has to service the debt. So it has to pay the interest. So paying that interest will be a government expenditure, but it will be a revenue expenditure. All right. Now with that information in mind, let us move into this article. See, recently the department of expenditure wrote a memo random to different ministries. And through the memo, it directed the ministries to cut the controllable spending by 20% and also to take steps to curb other wasteful expenditures. However, expenditure related to containment of COVID is excluded from the scope of this order. And if you see, at present the government has taken this decision to reduce the public expenditure amid the concerns related to breach of the fiscal deficit target by a lot of states and the ministries for the year following the second wave of COVID pandemic. And the government itself has shared a list of object heads which can be included under the controllable expenditure. So that has included advertising and publicity, foreign and domestic travel, office and administrative expenses, overtime allowances and others. And apart from these, the other items where spending may be controlled are general grants in aid, royalty payments, publications, rents and taxes, ration costs, clothing and tentage and minor works and maintenance. So as per the memo random, the expenditure incurred in 2019-2020 is directed to be taken as the base for the purpose. That is expenditures considered in the 2019-2020 should be cut down by 20% or that is the aim that the government has put forth. So these are some of the important takeaway points from the article with these information in mind. Let us move on to the next segment of the discussion. Now look at this news article. This article is regarding the recently inaugurated China Sri Lanka Friendship Hospital. This is located in the north central province. All right. And this is built with Chinese grant of about 60 million US dollars and it will specialize in treating kidney ailments. So in this context, let us discuss the evolution of Sri Lanka-India relations and its implications for India. So this topic is mainly relevant for your main exam. All right. So here is the syllabus for your reference. See over the last 10 years, China has been paying renewed attention to its ties with Sri Lanka and there has been a large rise in Chinese investments as well in various projects in Sri Lanka and Beijing has also diplomatically supported Colombo on various issues, especially on charges of human right violations after the civil war and all. And in return, Sri Lanka has played an important role in helping China enhance its influence and prestige in the South Asian region. So that's how they have been helping each other. And notably, the Xi Jinping has accorded special focus to China's relationship with Sri Lanka. For example, Xi visit in Sri Lanka in 2014 is the first visit by Chinese president in 28 years. And similarly, the Rajpaksa regime led by the current Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajpaksa and the president, Gautabaya Rajpaksa, have been closer to China as well. And the warmth between the China-Sri Lanka grew after 2009 as China supplied arms and defense equipments to Sri Lankan army during the Ilam war. It was during Rajpaksa's tenure, Beijing has started its debt diplomacy in Colombo. See this debt diplomacy is quite important. And let's understand that debt diplomacy is nothing but where the China extends huge loans. Okay. And in return, they expect some diplomatic favors from the recipient country. Right. So this is what is debt diplomacy. And apart from that, they lend huge loans at good rate of interest. And what happens is at some point, the recipient country, the country receiving the debt sleepwalks into a trap. All right. That is, it will not be able to repay the debt. So the country invariably starts obeying the country that gave the debt that here it is the China. So China has been playing this debt diplomacy for quite some time now. And Colombo is also part of its plan. And if you see, it offered to construct a port that was low on feasibility, that is nothing but the Humbun Tota port. Okay. And China also extended high interest loans that the island nations would never be able to pay back. Just now we saw that as debt, debt diplomacy. Right. Then there was a new phase in Sri Lanka-China relations from 2015 onwards. Here the government under Maithripala Siresena came to power. His government was concerned about the Gallup in growth of the Chinese influence because of the largely opaque financial and the commercial deals. And these financial and commercial deals that are opaque were entered in the Rajpaksa regime itself. And Siresena was very vocal about his anti-China approach. But however, China has begun to pay a renewed attention to Colombo under the proposed One Belt, One Road Initiative and the Maritime Silk Road projects. Then in 2020, Rajpaksa regime came to power again in Sri Lanka with Gotapaya as the president, his brother. Right. And the increasing warmth between China and Sri Lanka naturally caused concerns in India. And in this strategic context, there has been a lot of discussion as to how the Humbun Tota and Colombo ports would adversely impact India's strategic interests. And these concerns became stronger after the docking of the Chinese submarines at the Colombo port in 2014. Right. Now know that the Humbun Tota port was always troublesome for India. The Sri Lankan government had initially requested India to invest in the building of the Humbun Tota port. And India declined this request because of the serious doubts regarding the commercial viability. But then China grabbed the opportunity and entered into an agreement with Sri Lanka. Okay. And another concern is China's heavy investments in the Colombo port. And Colombo is a strategic and economically important for India. And Indian companies use this port for unloading of cargo from large ships and then ship it to India on smaller boats. So apart from these, over the last few years, the military operations between China and Sri Lanka have also been deepening. And see, India is worried about Chinese investment in ports in Indian Ocean, as it might be part of China's larger plan called String of Pearls strategy. And this strategy is to ensure its maritime domination in the region. Have a look at this map. The dotted lines marks the String of Pearls, right? Starting from China. Here we must discuss the impact of India's neighborhood first policy. And our policy of this focuses on creating mutually beneficial people-oriented regional frameworks for stability and prosperity. And the perceived pro-China and anti-India Rajpaksa regime, unlike the earlier times, has not uttered a single strident against India during the tenure. And recently, India also abstained from voting on the UN resolution against Sri Lanka for war crimes during civil war. So these things we can say are a sign that India-Sri Lanka relations are warming up. So this is the end of the discussion on this editorial. In this editorial, we just saw how the dynamics between China-Sri Lanka is shaping up and what is the implications for India in this regard. So with that information, let's move on to the next part of the discussion. So with that article, we are now at the fag end of today's discussion. We are in the practice plenary section. We have three questions for discussion today. We'll go over it one by one. Now have a look at this question. Today's editorial contained an article about Iran's political scenario. That might not be relevant for our UPSC preparation, but however, the geography of Iran could be very important for us. In that context, we'll be discussing this particular question. So which of the following countries share land border with Iran? Ask us the question. So let us have a look at this map. We have some countries bordering Iran. So we start with Pakistan. So Pakistan borders, Afghanistan borders, Turkmenistan borders. And we also have Caspian Sea over there. And we have Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, Iraq as the land borders of the country. And apart from that, we have Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman as a maritime area surrounding the Iran nation. All right. And have a look here. This port, Bandar Abbas is a port that makes news very often. So this port lies in the Persian Gulf and it also forms a part of the international not so transit corridor. So that is why this port is important. So with that knowledge, let's approach this question. We saw the bordering states and Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia do not have land borders with Iran. So our correct option will be one, three and five only, which is option A. Now let's move on to the next question. This question is about index of industrial production. This is a factual question. Which of the following ministry releases the IIP? And from the discussion, we know it is option C, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Now let's move on to the next question. Silverline project that is often seen in news is associated with which of the following state. And from the discussion, we know it is associated with the state of Kerala. It connects from Trivandrum to Kasargod across the state. So this brings us to the end of the discussion on practice preliminary question. Here are some of the main questions that are being displayed. Write the answers and post it in the comment section for peer review. So with that, we are wrapping up our discussion today. 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