 Good evening, aspirants. Welcome to the Hindi News Analysis by Shankar A.S. Academy. The list of articles which has been chosen for today's analysis along with the page numbers of Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Tiruvannanthapuram Medicines are provided here. The link for the handwritten notes and the time stamping for the displayed articles is provided in the description box below. And for the benefit of smartphone users, the time stamping is also provided in the comments section. Let us move on to our first article discussion. This article is about the Sikkim knotweed. The syllabus that can be linked to the discussion of this article has been underlined here for your reference. The article has stated that the Sikkim knotweed have invaded the landscapes of Neelgiris. This Sikkim knotweed is scientifically known as Polygonum mole. It belongs to the Polygonaceae family. The news article is saying that the Sikkim knotweed has invaded Neelgiris because this Sikkim knotweed is native to the Himalayas and it is not native to Neelgiris. We can identify this from the name itself. Also, you have to note one point here. That is, there is one another knotweed which is known as Himalayan knotweed. This Himalayan knotweed is a different species from Sikkim knotweed. This Sikkim knotweed is threatening the biodiversity along streams and rivers in the upper Neelgiris. It has been found in Dottavetta, Kodappa Mound, Adasolai and the Kettivali of Neelgiris. The conservationists say that this plant has spread to the Neelgiris only in the last couple of decades. That is, it has spread in the last some 20 to 30 years. Also, this Sikkim knotweed is spreading fast. They usually grow along the sides of streams and rivers. But now, it has also started spreading to the sides of the roads. This means that they can spread even more quickly to other locations also. If it grows in this manner, then it will cover huge expanses or areas of land. So, it will leave little space or it will leave no space for other native plant species to grow there. That is why it has become a serious cause for the concern of conservationists. This knotweed is among 27 different species of invasive flora or invasive plants that has been identified in the western guards. And it is one of the newest species of flora that has been found to be expanding in that region rapidly. They pose a threat to the native landscapes and biodiversity in the western guards. Conservationists believe that the knotweed could have been brought to the Neelgiris by visitors and it could have been accidentally released into the landscape. Now, let us see some facts about this Sikkim knotweed. As we saw earlier, the Sikkim knotweed is scientifically known as polygonum mole. It belongs to the polygonaceae family. Polygonum mole is an edible as well as a medicinal herb. Edible means it is fit to be eaten. It is an herb with straight stems that can grow up to 1 to 1.5 meter tall. It is found as a ground cover species. Ground cover species are the plants that grow thickly and that grow close to the ground. These ground cover species or plants have the purpose of holding the soil in place. It adds nutrients to it and it will not allow weeds to increase. So, this species is highly important for its soil stabilization value. The plant is found in forest, scrub and damp grounds, slopes and also it is found in valleys. The species is distributed at an elevation range from 1200 to 3500 meter from eastern Asia to Indian Himalayas and even in the southwest China. The species is available in Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Northern Myanmar, Nepal and Thailand. Particularly in India, the species is found in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh and then also in Sikkim obviously and then Joshimath of Uttarakhand and Lahol and Spiti and Chamba districts of Himachal Pradesh. In Nepal, the species has become endangered because of the unsustainable extraction from the forests. This extraction is for the edible purpose as it has high demand in the market. Some of the uses of this Sikkim knotweed are that its seeds and young shoots are used in either raw or they are used in cooked form. As we saw that it is an edible plant. Its tender shoots are also eaten for quenching thirst that is for satisfying the thirst. This plant is also an efficient soil binder and it covers the ground very well as we saw earlier and then it is a very fast growing plant and it is used to revegetate and stabilize landslides. Now these are the some of the most important uses of this Sikkim knotweed but in the beginning we saw that Sikkim knotweed is an invasive flora or it is an invasive species. So now let us understand what it actually means. Invasive species or invasive alien species is an alien plant which means it is not native to that place and it belongs to a foreign country or it belongs to some other location. These invasive species is also referred to as exotic species, introduced species, foreign species or non-indigenous or non-native species. So we can say that it is a species that has been introduced by humans intentionally or otherwise through a human agency or it has been accidentally introduced from one region to another. Now the alien plant that has escaped from its original ecosystem and that is reproducing on its own in a the regional ecosystem is considered as a naturalized species. These naturalized aliens become successful to spread in the ecosystem and they displace the native biota that is they displace the plant life of that particular region. So it threatens the valued environmental agricultural and personal resources. Not only the invasive alien species have the ability to displace or replace native plants and animal species but they also disrupt the nutrient cycles. Humans have been transporting animals and plants from one part of the world to another for thousands of years. Sometimes they do it deliberately for social or personal gain and sometimes they do it accidentally also. In most cases such introductions are unsuccessful but when they become established as an invasive alien species the consequences can be catastrophic. Even the IUCN defines the invasive alien species as an alien species which becomes established in natural or semi-natural ecosystems or habitat. It is an agent of change and it threatens native biological diversity. Then according to the Convention for Biological Diversity, invasive alien species are the second largest cause of biodiversity loss in the world. It imposes high costs to agriculture, forestry and aquatic ecosystems. In fact it is said that introduced species are a greater threat to the native biodiversity than the combination of pollution plus harvest plus disease itself. So you may know how harmful these invasive alien species are to the biodiversity. With this we have come to the end of this article analysis. This news article is about heritage bylaws that will regulate the construction activities near three different heritage sites in the national capital territory of Delhi. The syllabus with which the analysis of this news article can be linked is given here for your reference. The heritage bylaws which will regulate the construction activities have been tabled or introduced in both the houses of parliament. The three heritage sites are Purana Gila, Kairul Manazel Mosque and Sher Shah Gate. These heritage sites are situated in New Delhi as we saw earlier. First let us know what is meant by a bylaw. In general context bylaw means a rule or law which is established by an organization or the local communities in order to regulate them. This bylaw will be created as per the provisions given by some higher authority for the purpose they intend to create that bylaw. In general context the higher authority can be the legislature that is the legislative arm of the government or even a government body which can be an organization, authority or an institution of the government. With respect to today's context the higher authority is the legislative arm of the government of India which is nothing but the parliament. Now this heritage bylaw shall be laid or tabled before both the houses of the parliament as per section 20e clause 6 of the Archaeological Sites and Remains Amendment and Validation Act of 2010 which is also called as AMASR Act of 2010. In this news article the member secretary of national monuments authority which in short NMA has said that the heritage bylaws has been laid on the table of both houses of parliament. So two sets of heritage bylaws have been drafted under AMASR Act of 2010. Now this AMASR Act of 2010 describes about the prohibited areas and regulated areas near the protected national monuments. Prohibited areas are those areas that are located in a 100 meter span or a 100 meter radius from the protected monuments. The area starting from 100 meters from the protected monument till 300 meters away from it is called the regulated area. Also no construction activity is allowed in a 100 meter radius of that protected monument. But the building work or construction work starting from the 100 meters till the 300 meters from that heritage structure is regulated by the bylaws. So the heritage bylaws have been drafted basically to regulate the construction activities near the protected monuments. Now as per section 20e clause 1 of AMASR Act of 2010 a competent authority has to be notified by the central government who shall prepare heritage bylaws in respect of each protected monuments and protected area. Here the competent authority for Delhi is the Archaeological Survey of India. So ASI or the Archaeological Survey of India has prepared two heritage bylaws for these three sites. Now let us see about these three heritage sites which are mentioned in the news article for which the bylaws have been drafted. The three heritage sites are Purana Killa for which one heritage bylaw has been drafted and the other two are Kairul Manazil Mosque and Sher Shah Gate for which one heritage bylaw has been drafted. Here Purana Killa means Old Fort. The gateway and the walls of this Purana Killa were built by Humayun in the 16th century. Then the Kairul Manazil in Urdu means most auspicious mosque. It is located just opposite to Purana Killa. It was built in the year 1561. The news article mentions that this mosque is made of a rubble masonry like the one given in this picture and this mosque is an example for mosque come Madrasa of early Mughal period. Madrasa means a college for Islamic instruction. So Kairul Manazil was used for worshipping and for educational purposes also. Then next is the Sher Shah Gate which is located near the Kairul Manazil. This gate is believed to be an entrance to the old city of Delhi which was built by Sher Shah. The gate is largely built with red sandstone therefore it is also known as Lal Darwaza. Lal in Hindi means red and Darwaza means door or gate. So now let us see in brief about National Monuments Authority. It has been formed as per AMASR Act of 2010 and that is why it is a statutory authority also. As per AMASR Act of 2010 National Monuments Authority or NMA is constituted with a chairperson and it will have up to five full time members and five part time members and there will also be a member secretary. The act mandates that the Director General of Archaeological Survey of India to be the ex official member. Several functions have been assigned to this National Monuments Authority for the protection and preservation of monuments and the sites. Mainly it manages the prohibited and regulated areas around the centrally protected monuments. One among the responsibilities of NMA is to consider the grant of permissions to applicants for construction related activity in the prohibited and regulated area. Also know that the National Monuments Authority functioned under the Ministry of Culture. With this we have come to the end of this article discussion. The displayed practice question will be discussed in the last session. Moving on to the next article discussion which is about the representation of the People Amendment Bill of 2019. The syllabus with which the analysis of this news article can be linked is given here for your reference. The article states that a private member bill has been moved in Rajasabab. The bill is representation of People Amendment Bill of 2019. See we know that the basic function of parliament is to make laws and all legislative proposals have to be brought in the form of bills before the parliament and we also know that a bill is a statute or law which is in draft position and it cannot become a law unless it has received the approval of both the houses of parliament and also the ascent of the President of India. So this means the process of law making begins with the introduction of a bill in either of the house of parliament. Now this bill can be introduced either by a minister or a member other than a minister. If it is introduced by a minister then it is called as a government bill and if it is introduced by other than a minister then it is known as a private members bill. The minister mentioned here means the council of ministers which includes the cabinet ministers and the ministers of states. Now this representation of People Amendment Bill is introduced by the member of Rajasabab. That is why it is called as a private member bill. Now this bill has two main proposals. One is state election funding and then next is to remove per candidate's expenditure limit of 70 lakh rupees. Now let us see about the first proposal that is about the state election funding. It is also called as public funding of election. This state election funding is a process of government giving funds to political parties or candidates to contest election. So now a question arises about who is eligible for state funding. This bill proposes to allot funds according to each party's recent electoral performance. That is their vote share in the recent election. So for this state funding the bill proposes to introduce a fund in the name of national election fund. Under this national election fund each political party could be allotted funds according to their recent electoral performance. Now you have to know that this is not the first time our government is exploring the possibility of state election funding. Earlier also we have government reports regarding this. Like the report submitted by the Indrajit Gupta committee on state funding election in the year 1998 which recommended partial state funding and even the second ARC report that is administrative reforms commission report which is named as ethics in governance. It also recommended partial state funding but the law commission report on reform of the electoral laws which was released in 1999 recommended full state funding. On the other hand the national commission to review the working of the constitution in 2001 it did not endorse or it did not support the state funding but rather it suggested an appropriate regulatory framework before the implementation of state funding. Now along with this there are several other countries such as Germany and Canada which have already experimented this state funding. But in India we are already having indirect state funding. By this we mean for example in India as per section 13A of income tax act tax exemption is given to the registered political part. So instead of paying taxes that money can be used for election purposes. This is what we are calling as indirect state funding. So what is the advantage of this state funding? First advantage is to limit the influence of vested interest money and to limit the influence of black money in the political parties and in elections also. By vested interest we mean having a strong personal interest in something because you get an advantage from it. So if any organization or company is providing the money because of the vested interest then the political party works in favor of that company or organization. That is why state funding is more important and we know that black money is unaccounted money. So with state funding it will be curbed from using it in elections. Also it will decrease the entry of criminals into election processes because criminals have more money which is often black money. So we can say that state funding will reduce the corruption and other forms of undemocratic actions of political party. Along with this the state funding will help to attract honest ordinary candidates to get to participate in the election process because honest candidates may not possess the money that is needed to contest election. This will be solved by state funding. But there are some negative aspects of this state funding also. For example state funding can increase the distance between party leaders and party members because currently the party members also bring in money for the party to function and contest election. So they also have a say in the functioning of the party. If state funding is given then the party leaders may think that only their decisions could be considered in the functioning of the party. Then it will increase the burden on government's fiscal policy also because now government has to allot money for the state funding. So it is a burden on the government. Also in the future it can turn political parties into organs of the state that is they will support the ruling party rather than being a part of civil society. This is because the government is funding their party then they think that they have to agree to whatever the government has to say. Hence there will not be any healthy criticism of the government. Thus on a whole after analysing the advantages and disadvantages we can say that state funding can bring positive result only if there is a strong regulatory framework. The regulatory framework will ensure the transparency and accountability of spending inside the political parties. Otherwise it will lead to state funded money to be used for vote buying only. If the money is used for vote buying then it will make the whole election process as ineffective. Now the second proposal discussed in the bill is about removing of per candidate's expenditure limit of 70 lakh rupees. The main issue with this expenditure limit is that parties cannot spend their money which was legitimately raised by them. Also if we take inflation into account then the cost of election campaigning and the maintenance cost of political parties is only increasing day by day. So the 70 lakh rupees which has been fixed now may not be sufficient to be used in the election process. Thus when there is appropriate expenditure limit along with proper accounting system then only the election process will implant the sense of democracy inside the Indian society. With this we have come to the end of this article discussion. Moving on to the next article discussion which is about the declining mangrove cover in the state of Kerala. The syllabus with which the analysis of this news article can be linked to is given here for your reference. The news article states that the forest department of Kerala has submitted a proposal to the state government for establishing the mangrove and marine biodiversity foundation. This foundation will help to undertake conservation efforts of mangrove forests in the state of Kerala. This is because the mangrove cover in the state of Kerala has largely reduced. This proposal was submitted in a special session to celebrate International Mangrove Day. This special session was organized by the forest department and the Kannur-Kandal project. The International Day for the Conservation of Mangrove Ecosystem was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in the year 2015. It is celebrated each year on 26 July so remember this. Now let us see in brief about mangroves then we will discuss about the article. Mangroves can be trees, shrubs or ferns that can occupy the boundary between the land and the sea. They form in the tropical and subtropical intertidal coastlines. Intertidal coastlines means the mangroves mainly grow in or adjacent to areas between the high tide and the low tide near the coasts. The roots of mangroves are regularly exposed to saline waters so the mangroves are salt tolerant plants. At times they are also exposed to freshwater surface runoffs and also to flooding. Mangroves get their nutrition from these tidal saline and freshwater resources and also from coastal soils and from silt that gets deposited from the surrounding land after erosion. So why is this mangrove so important? If we see from the ecological point of view their stilt roots and pneumatophores help to impede or restrict the water flow. Pneumatophore is an aerial root that is a root that is growing above the ground which is specialized for the gaseous exchange. Now this restriction of water flow helps in enhancing the deposition of sediment in areas. This ultimately stabilizes the coastal shores and it provides breeding ground for fishes. So mangroves support numerous flora avifona that is birds and it also supports wildlife. These mangroves are natural hatcheries since they act as a breeding ground for animals like fish, crabs and water fowls. Now these mangroves moderate monsoonal tidal flood and they also reduce the inundation or flooding of the coastal lowlands. Also mangroves guard against natural calamities like tsunamis, storms and floods. Very importantly the mangroves act as a natural barrier and it prevents coastal soil erosion. So mangroves are a much better and cost effective option than sea walls in protecting the state's coastline. So these are the reasons for which mangroves need to be conserved. As per the proposal which is made by the Forest Department of Kerala the mangrove and the marine biodiversity foundation would have a cell that focuses exclusively on mangrove conservation only. The cell would ensure the participation of biologists and wildlife experts in the conservation efforts. Then under mission mangrove, mangroves in various districts have been declared as reserve forest. Here mission mangrove is a mission to conserve mangroves of Kerala. Also know that forests is mentioned as a subject under the concurrent list as per the seventh schedule of the Indian constitution. So both the state and the central government can enact laws on subjects mentioned under concurrent list but if there are any issues the centre's decision would be final. Now in this news article one of the initiatives taken by Kerala is mentioned. Thus initiative is the Kannur Kandal project. Kandal in Malayalam means mangroves. It is a mangrove conservation initiative of the wildlife trust of India and a private industry called as Apollo Tires. This Kannur Kandal project aims to ensure the survival of existing mangrove cover in the Kannur district of Kerala and it also aims to increase the area of mangrove cover across the district. Now also know that Kannur has a 7.55 square kilometre of mangroves that is around 45% of Kerala's total mangrove forest cover is in Kannur and nearly 90% of these forests are under private ownership and are therefore highly threatened. A mangrove interpretation centre has been launched under this project to focus on mangrove-based research and education and also on restoration of mangrove cover through community and government participation is also done under this mangrove interpretation centre. With this we have come to the end of this article discussion. The displayed practice question will be discussed in the last. Moving on to the next article discussion which is about elephant senses. The syllabus with which the analysis of this news article can be linked to the discussion is given here for your reference. Now from this picture you can see that Karnataka has the largest population of elephants followed by the states of Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Also see that elephants are present in Antaman and Nicobar islands as well. The news article mentions that Kerala may have under counted almost 2700 elephants in the latest elephant senses. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change have updated the figures of 2017 elephant senses and it has found that Kerala has under counted almost 2700 elephants. The actual name of this elephant senses is Synchronized Elephant Population Estimation India 2017. It is conducted under the AGS of Project Elephant Division which comes under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The elephant senses is conducted once in five years. Now in the earlier 2017 senses, it was reported that Kerala had only 3054 elephants whereas the updated senses shows that Kerala is having 5706 elephants. Now the main thing that we need to know here is that how the elephants are counted during the senses. Usually two methods are followed. One is direct count method and another is indirect count method. Direct count method means directly counting the elephants. Sample block counts are done for larger populations and total counts of elephants will be done for small elephant groups that are scattered and also it is done for solitary individuals that is those elephants that live alone. Here sample block means about 5 kilometer area will be selected and the total elephants which are present in that area will be counted and the numbers will be derived based on probability but know that this method will not give the exact number of elephants. And the next method is the indirect count method where the population of the elephants are estimated based on the elephant dung that is the feces of elephant. So just have an idea of these two methods. With this we have come to the end of this article discussion. The displayed practice question will be discussed in the next session. Now we have come to the last session for the day that is the practice questions discussion session. If you look at the first question it is based on archaeological sites and remains amendment and validation act of 2010. The first statement has been given as national monuments authority has been formed as an autonomous body as per the provisions of this act. Now during our discussion we discussed that a national monuments authority was formed under this act so it is a statutory body but also know that it is an autonomous body. So this statement is correct. Now if you look at the next statement it states this act also provides heritage bylaws for prohibited and regulated areas for each centrally protected monuments and sites. Now we know that this statement is correct because our today's discussion was based on these heritage bylaws only and it was provided by this archaeological sites and remains amendment and validation act. So this statement is also correct. The question has asked for the correct statements as both the statements are correct. The final answer to this question is option C both 1 and 2. Now if you look at the next question it is based on mangroves. The first statement states mangrove forests are commonly found in hilly region. Now during our discussion we discussed that mangroves can be trees shrubs and ferns that occupy the boundary between the land and the sea. So that means they are not in the hilly regions. So this statement is wrong. Now the second statement states that mangrove forests are not found in the state of Kerala due to the presence of western guards. Now after saying the first statement you will think that western guards is a hilly region so there will not be any mangrove forest but Kerala is not full of western guards. One part of Kerala has western guards. So this means other parts can have mangrove forests and if you remember our discussion today the discussion was about conservation of mangroves in the state of Kerala only. So this statement is also wrong. The question asks for the correct statements since none of these statements are correct. The correct answer and the final answer to this question is neither one nor two. Now this next question is based on elephant population estimation of 2017. The first statement states the state of Karnataka has recorded the largest population of elephants in India. Now this statement is correct. Karnataka has the largest population of elephants in India as we saw during the discussion. This is followed by the states of Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. And also remember that the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar islands has certain elephant population as well. So this statement is correct. If you look at the next statement it states the population of elephants is estimated using direct count only. Now our today's discussion was based on the estimation of elephant population and we saw that two methods are used for this estimation. One is direct count and another is indirect count and this indirect count method is based on dunk spottings. If you see as per this 2017 report indirect count method has been exclusively done in the states of Tripura and Nagaland and also in Andaman and Nicobar islands. So this means statement two is incorrect because it states it is estimated using direct count only. Here the only word should not be included. The question asks for the correct statements since statement one is the correct answer. So final answer to this question is option A one only. With this we have come to the end of our today's sessions. If you like the video don't forget to like, comment and share and do subscribe to Shankar IS Academy YouTube channel for more updates on civil service examination preparation.