 Hello and welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankar IS Academy. The news articles along with the page numbers are displayed here for your convenience. The PDF link of the handwritten notes and timestamping of the discussed news articles are given in the description box and also in the comments section. Let's begin with the first news article analysis. This news article talks about the Italian hydroelectric project in the Debang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh. As per the report, this project will have an installed power capacity of about 3000 megawatts and involves the construction of concrete gravity dams on the tributaries of the Debang River such as Thangan and Dree tributaries. Know that Debang river is one of the tributaries of Brahmaputra river and these details are important for your prelims examination. Now according to this news article, a group of conservationists and former members of the National Board of Wildlife has written to the Environment Ministry seeking rejection of sub-committees approval for this power project. See this Italian hydroelectric power project was proposed in 2014 since then it is awaiting for forest clearance approval. The project is based on the river Debang and it falls under one of the richest biogeographical provinces of the Himalayan zone. The project involves cutting of about 270,000 trees in the forest area, therefore the forest clearance from the ministry is mandatory. In such cases, the forest advisory committee advises the union government whether to approve or reject such proposals. And this forest advisory committee is constituted under Forest Conservation Act of 1980, therefore it is a statutory body. Whenever a project requires diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes, the union government forwards such proposals to forest advisory committee and FAC that is forest advisory committee considering all the options gives its recommendations to the union government. And these recommendations are not binding on the government. And we can say these recommendations are advisory in nature. In this context the sub-committee of FAC favor the construction of Italian hydro power project in the Debang Valley district of Arnachal Pradesh. In this context we should know some of the important aspects of Arnachal Pradesh because Arnachal Pradesh is one of the richest biogeographical provinces in eastern Himalayan zone and the state has about 20% species of countries wildlife. The state of Arnachal Pradesh is also part of bio-diversity hotspots in our country and it has one of the important biosphere reserve known as Dehang Debang biosphere reserve and this proposed power project is also part of eco-sensitive area and any kind of construction in this region would be detrimental to bio-diversity and its conservation. In the context of this news article try to know that Italian hydroelectric project that is the location of Italian hydroelectric project, the significance of Dehang Debang biosphere reserve for your prelims examination. Now let us move on to the next news article analysis. This editorial article is a response article to some of the important proposed amendments to the electricity act of 2003. See the central government has proposed significant amendments to bring reforms in the power sector. As we know that on April 17, 2020 the Ministry of Power released a draft electricity amendment bill 2020. The ministry also invited for comments, observations and suggestions from all sections of the society. So in this context we will be discussing some of the important proposed amendments along with some of the viewpoints of the authors of this editorial. The syllabus relevant for the analysis of this editorial is highlighted here for your reference. Now we know that many state distribution companies are assigning electricity distribution in a particular area or city to franchises or sub-distribution licensees. While this is happening on one side there is a lack of clarity in the legal pros and with respect to the functioning and other aspects of sub-distribution licensees. So it is proposed that the distribution companies if they desire they may engage franchises or sub-distribution licensees to distribute electricity. So in such cases the sub-distribution licensees will distribute electricity on behalf of the state distribution company in a particular area or city. So there might be such a system that the distribution licensee to distribute electricity will be the discum. Therefore the ultimate responsibility for ensuring quality distribution of electricity in the overall jurisdiction lies with the state distribution companies. In this context the authors of this editorial feel that this provision will bring mostly private agencies as sub-distribution licensees because these sub-distribution agencies are more likely to carefully select more profitable segments that are now available for the discum. See the concern is that the proposed bill is silent on the restrictions on such franchises. See restrictions for such franchises to operate in some areas are required to safeguard or reserve at least some of the profitable areas to the state distribution companies only then the proposed measure may assist discums because most of which are already reeling under significant losses. And the next amendment proposed is to give greater concessions to the renewable power developers. See the amendment proposes to levy penalties for non-fulfillment of obligation by discums in buying electricity from renewable and hydro sources of energy. And this amendment is proposed in section 142 of the electricity act of 2003. And this section deals with punishment for non-compliance of directions by appropriate commission. See the authors feel that this will increase the burden of already suffering discums because discums have to pay a lot of money as fixed costs to the power generators who generate power by non-renewable means. And these fixed costs are irrespective whether discums purchase the agreed level of power or not. In addition to this when they purchase power from power generators they also pay additional charge in connection with the fuel cost for the power generators. So we can say that discums are mandated to adhere to the long term power purchase agreements signed with the power generators. So while adhering to the purchasing obligations in renewable sector and if there is some reduction in purchase from conventional power generators then the fixed cost must be paid to the conventional power generators as a result of this giving more concessions to the renewable power developers will further burden the finances of distributing companies. Then the next amendment which is significant and most contentious is that the state commissions have to determine tariff for retail sale of electricity without any subsidy under section 65 of the Electricity Act of 2003. As of now section 65 of the Electricity Act of 2003 deals with the provision of subsidy given by the state governments to consumers or class of consumers and this measure is interpreted by the authors of this editorial as that the central government proposes to eliminate the cross subsidies in the retail power tariff structure. And if this is going to be implemented that is in the absence of crop subsidies each consumer class will be charged based on the total servicing cost to that particular consumer class without any kind of cross subsidies. In such a scenario the rural population will be paying the steepest prices because the servicing cost and losses to discums are higher in servicing electricity to rural areas as compared to urban areas. This is because servicing rural consumers require longer distribution lines and a greater number of step down transformers are needed to solve the rural areas. We know that the power distribution companies have to generate and collect the revenues to sustain their operations more efficiently for which either cross subsidies or necessary or some kind of financial support from central government to state governments are directly to distribution companies or necessary. Otherwise this will severely affect the finances of distribution companies. In other words it may affect the finances of the state governments. Now we will see one more important amendment that is to have one selection committee for selection of chairpersons and members of both the central and state electricity regulatory commissions. In this context we should note that electricity is mentioned in the concurrent list of Schedule 7 of Indian constitution. Also know that taxes on the consumption or sale of electricity is listed in the state list of the Indian constitution. In such a scenario the central selection committee to select the chairpersons and members of state commissions not only erodes the regulatory autonomy and independence but also the concurrent status of the electricity sector. Then the next important proposal is to establish a centralized electricity contract enforcement authority. See the chairperson and the members of this authority are also to be selected by the same select committee that is proposed to select the chairpersons and members of central and state commissions. As a result of establishment of this authority the power to educate upon disputes relating to contracts will be taken away from state electricity regulatory commissions and will be vested in this new authority. As a result of this move the authors feel that those states that are under the burden of high priced power purchase contracts and have idle fixed costs will have no way to come out of their present weak financial situations. These are some of the important opinions of the authors. With this we have come to the end of analysis of this editorial article. The displayed practice question will be discussed at the end of the session. Now let us move on to the next news article analysis. This news article is about super cyclone Ampan and we know that we are in the middle of fighting against COVID-19 pandemic and this super cyclone is going to cause irreparable additional damage to human lives and environment. As per the Indian meteorological department the storm system right now positioned in the Bay of Bengal and developed into a super cyclone on Monday and is expected to make landfall along the West Bengal-Bangalades coast on Wednesday. The syllabus relevant for the analysis of this news article is highlighted here for your reference. Now in this contest let us discuss the definition of a cyclone. Then its different names like tropical cyclones, hurricanes, typhoons, willy-villies, then we will also discuss about its structure and finally we will discuss the classification of cyclones based on the intensity scale. Now that the word cyclone has been derived from Greek word cyclose which means coiling of a snake. This is because if you look at the structure of a tropical cyclones it resembles like a coiling of a snake. The tropical cyclone is a rotational low pressure system and based on the latitudinal positions these cyclones are classified further into tropical cyclones and extra tropical or temperate cyclones. If the cyclones develop that is within the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn these cyclones are known as tropical cyclones and if the cyclone develops beyond the tropics it is known as extra tropical or temperate cyclone. In today's analysis we will be discussing in detail about tropical cyclones and know that there are different names for tropical cyclones that is hurricanes in Atlantic Ocean and typhoons in the western Pacific and the South China Sea and willy-villies in the western Australia. Now we will discuss the structure of a tropical cyclone. See a tropical cyclone forms when the central pressure falls by at least 5 to 6 hectopascals from the surrounding. From this surrounding and the maximum sustained wind speed is about 62 kilometers per hour. The center of a cyclone is a calm area which is known as eye of the storm and the diameter of the eye varies from 10 to 30 kilometers. Around this calm and clear eye there is a cloud region about 150 kilometers in size and in this region there are high speed winds moving with a speed of about 152 to 250 kilometers per hour and there is also thick clouds coverage with heavy rainfall and from this region that is away from this region the wind speed gradually decreases. Know that tropical cyclones rotate in counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in southern hemisphere because of this rotation cyclones can be very distinctive and this system can push water towards the shore even if the storm is hundreds of kilometers away from the shore and we can say that these are the first indications of an approaching cyclone. As we know that the eye of the cyclone is a low pressure system and it can lift the water surface at the center of a cyclone and this rising water may be as high as 3 to 2 meters as compared to its surroundings. And it appears like a water wall moving towards the shore. As a result of this the sea water enters the low lying coastal areas and causing severe loss of lives and property. It also reduces the fertility of the soil and continuous heavy rainfall may further worsen the flood situation and high speed winds accompanying a cyclone can damage houses communication system and it can also leads to great damage to environment. This is all about tropical cyclones. Now we will see the classification of cyclones as per the Indian Meteorological Department. IMD classifies tropical cyclones based on intensity scale into six categories depending upon the wind speed of the storm. If the wind speed is about 51 kilometers per hour then it is known as depression and if the wind speed further increases it can be further classified into deep depressions, cyclonic storms, severe cyclonic storms, very severe cyclonic storms and the highest classification is known as super cyclonic storm if the wind speed is more than 222 kilometers per hour. So based on the wind speed Indian Meteorological Department has classified cyclone ampen as super cyclonic storm and this cyclone is expected to have wind speed of about 232-240 kilometers per hour and can cause great damage to coastal districts of India particularly the states like Odisha and West Bengal. With this information in your mind try to track and update further events associated with super cyclone ampen because the relevant or associated articles will be there in your newspaper in the next couple of days. With this we have come to the end of analysis of this news article. The displayed practice question will be discussed at the end of the session. Now let us move on to the next news article analysis. This question is based on Kaveri rework. The background for this question is that the chief minister of Tamil Nadu state announced that water would be released from May 2 dam for Kuruvai cultivation. Here Kuruvai cultivation refers crops grown in Kaveri delta of Tamil Nadu state. The crops that are grown in this delta are mostly paddy and the health of these crops and the eventual livelihood of these farmers are extremely dependent on abundant flow of water in the Kaveri river. In this context we should know about Kaveri river system. Know that Kaveri river rises on Brahmagiri hills of the western gods in southwestern part of Karnataka. From there it flows in southeasterly direction for about 765 kilometers through the states of Karnataka and then through the state of Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river is the third longest river in south India after Godavari and Krishna river. In the upper course of this Kaveri it is joined by two important tributaries such as Hemavati and Lakshman Tidha. Some other famous tributaries of Kaveri river are the Khabeni, Amravati, Noyal and Bhavani rivers. See the Kaveri basin is an interstate basin covering areas in the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Pudicherry. There are a number of dams built along the meandering path of Kaveri river and one of the important dam across Kaveri river is the Meitu Dam which is located at Meitu in Salem district of Tamil Nadu state. This dam is frequently in news because of the Kaveri water dispute between the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The other important dams across Kaveri river are Krishna Raja Sagar Dam or KRS Dam, Amravati Dam and then Kallanai Dam. With this information let's take up the given question. Here three statements are given and you have to choose correct statements. If you look at the second statement it mentions that Hemavati, Lakshmanathita, Tungabhadra, Noyal and Bhavani are the famous tributaries of Kaveri river. This statement is incorrect because Tungabhadra is the tributary of Krishna river. So the correct answer for this question is one and three only. This question is based on association for democratic reforms. The news article talks about report prepared by association for democratic reforms which focuses on donations declared by regional political parties during the financial year 2018-19. As per the ADR report more than half of the income of about 23 regional political parties came from unknown sources during the financial year 2018-19. In this context it is important to focus about the association for democratic reforms because this organization is one of the important organizations in our country working for to bring transparency and accountability in our political parties. This association that is the association for democratic reforms is an Indian non-governmental organization which works in the area of electoral and political reforms. ADR was established in 1999 by a group of professors from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmadabad. Now we'll see the some of the important contributions made by ADR that is based on a public interest litigation filed by ADR Supreme Court of India in 2002 made a disclosure of criminal financial and educational background mandatory for candidates contesting elections. Furthermore ADR conducts multiple projects aimed at increasing transparency and accountability in the political and electoral system of our country. ADR releases some of the important reports titled as election watch and political party watch reports. With this information let's take up the given question they have given two statements and you have to choose correct statements. Here the two statements given are correct and talks about association for democratic reforms. Therefore the correct answer is option C both one and two. This question is based on this news article which talks about national bank for agriculture and rural development. The news article says that NABAR dispersed about 20,500 crores to cooperative banks and regional rural banks for lending to farmers. In this context we should know about important aspects of NABAR and these aspects are very important for your prelims examination. See NABAR was established based on the recommendations of a committee to review the arrangements for institutional credit for agriculture and rural development. And this committee was headed by Mr. Sivaraman. That is why this review committee was popularly known as Sivaraman committee. Based on the recommendations of Mr. Sivaraman committee the government enacted NABAR Act of 1981. Based on the provisions of NABAR Act of 1981, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development came into existence in 1982 by transferring the agricultural credit functions of RBI and refinance functions of then agricultural refinance and development corporation. Therefore we can see that NABAR is a statutory body established as per the Act of Parliament. And it is a national financial institution mandated to promote sustainable agriculture and rural development in our country. Furthermore the NABAR Amendment Act of 2017 empower the union government to rise the paid up capital of NABAR to about 30,000 crores. And in 2019 Reserve Bank of India transferred its all NABAR shares to the government of India. Therefore at present NABAR is completely owned by the central government. In addition to this one of the important functions of NABAR as per the Banking Regulation Act of 1949 empowered NABAR to conduct inspection of state cooperative banks, central cooperative banks and also regional rural banks. Also know that NABAR is one of the important organizations in our country which is accredited by global funding institutions in order to receive international funding. In this context know that NABAR is accredited to Green Climate Fund which is one of the world's largest dedicated fund to help developing countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance their ability to respond to climate change. This Green Climate Fund was set up by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2010. To deploy its resources the Green Climate Fund will work through a wide range of institutions to finance projects and programs related to climate change. So to access this funding the institutions will go through a process of accreditation and NABAR got this accreditation in 2015. With this information let's take up the given question. Here four statements are given and you have to choose correct statements. If you look at the second statement it is mentioned that it is established through executive resolution of cabinet and this statement is incorrect because NABAR was established as per the NABAR Act of 1981. So NABAR is a statutory body therefore if second statement is incorrect you can remove options B and D and we have discussed that NABAR is an accredited body to global climate fund. So the correct answer for this question is option C 1, 3 and 4 only. Now let's take up this question which is based on the news article which talks about a rare palm species endemic to South Andaman. Here the question is pinanga undermines is sometimes seen in news is the correct answer for this question is option B that is a rare palm species endemic to South Andaman. In this context know that the prefix pinanga is a genus in a family called arichoccia in a major group called angiosperms. Here angiosperms refer flowering plants. This plant is endemic to Andaman therefore the suffix andamanensis is added to prefix pinanga. So the scientific name is pinanga andamanensis. Let's understand this logic with one more example which is covered in our target UPSC 2020 series of November month video. In this video we have covered polypedates bengalensis. Here polypedates refers a genus of frog species and the frog is discovered in West Bengal. Therefore the suffix bengalensis is added to polypedates. So the scientific name of this species is polypedates bengalensis. From this you can understand that prefixes stand for genus and suffixes refer to the place where they are discovered. Also know that these suffixes can also be named after important personalities like sports persons, politicians etc. So if you are aware of this logic you can arrive at the correct answer for this question without knowing anything about pinanga andamanensis. Here the news article says that the entire population of pinanga andamanensis is about 600 species and naturally occurs only in a tiny evergreen forest in South Andaman's Mount Harriet National Park. This is all about pinanga andamanensis and for prelims examination remember its name and its location. With this information let us take up a few more practice prelims and main questions. In this question two statements are given and you have to choose correct statements. Statement one says dihang debang biosphere reserve is located in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. Second statement says pakke tiger reserve is a part of dihang debang biosphere reserve. Here first statement is correct and the second statement is incorrect. Know that dihang debang biosphere reserve is located in eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh whereas pakke tiger reserve is mostly located in southwestern part of Arunachal Pradesh which is not part of dihang debang biosphere reserve. So the correct answer for this question is option A one only. Let's take up practice main questions. This question is relevant to GS2 paper that is does the proposed amendments to the Electricity Act of 2003 ensure effective mechanism for fixing the existing financial challenges of distribution companies. This question is a 15 marks question. Let's take up one more practice main question which is relevant to GS1 paper. The question is explain how tropical cyclones are formed. Also examine the impact of these cyclones on India. This is a 10 marks question and you have to write in 150 words. For practice main questions we request aspirants to post your written answers in the comment section and your posted answers will be evaluated and suitable feedback will be given within the reasonable time frame. With this we have come to the end of analysis of today's Hindu newspaper. If you like the video please do like share comment and subscribe Shankar IS Academy for more updates on UPSC examination.