 Welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankaray's Academy, displayed on the list of news articles taken for today's analysis and their page numbers in different editions of the newspaper. The link for the handwritten notes in the PDF format and the timestamping of the discussed articles will be provided in the description and also in the comment section for the benefit of mobile phone viewers. Now let's move on to the analysis of first news article. Now this news article is about a result of a research on rice and wheat. A team of researchers collected seeds of 16 varieties of rice and seeds of 18 varieties of wheat. The samples were collected from the gene bank that were maintained at these institutions. In this discussion, we will discuss the course of the research study and also the results. The syllabus relevant for the analysis is highlighted here for a reference. First, let us look into how the study was carried out. We saw how the samples were collected. These seeds were taken from 1960s times that were saved up in the lab conditions. They were germinated in the laboratory, then they were sown in pots and they were kept outdoors. They were also treated with necessary fertilizers and they were harvested. The post harvest seeds were studied for their nutrient content. So what did this study found out? See the results are quite interesting. The researchers actually measured the zinc and iron content in the samples. It is found that zinc concentration in grains of rice samples that were released in 1960s was 27.1 milligram per kilogram. In the same time period the iron concentration was 59.8 milligram per kilogram. However, if you take the samples in 2000s or the contemporary samples, the zinc and iron content was depleted. See it is 20.6 for zinc and 43.1 for iron. You can see how the content was depleted. Now if you take wheat, here also we find a similar trend. If you take zinc concentration in 1960s, it was 33.3. The iron concentration was 57.6. However, in 2010s these levels dropped say for zinc it was 23.5 and for iron it was 46.4. Then the study results if you see they are baffling or confusing and the experts point to some reasons. One is that they talk about dilution effect. Now what is this? This is decreased nutrient concentration in response to higher green yield. Now what does this mean? This means that the rate of yield increase is not, it didn't went hand in hand with the rate of nutrient take up by the plants. In other words, this means that the rate of yield increase is not compensated by rate of nutrient take up by the plants. Now the second reason they say is that the soil supporting plants could also be loaned plant available nutrients. So these things take as to the question as to what does this study signify. Note that world sees a huge load of iron and zinc deficiency and about 3 billion or around 300 crore people they depend on rice. In that context, governments like Indian government they have introduced supplement repeals to compensate for the deficiency. However, the study has shown that supplements cannot be a long term solution because the intake is going to be continuously low. That is what we inferred from the contemporary samples from the study. So this brings the focus on the need for bio fortification of food. So therefore we have to know about bio fortification. See it is nothing but the process by which nutritional quality of food crops is improved. How this is improved? This can be done through agronomic practices or by conventional plant breeding methodologies or even by modern biotechnology. See this bio fortification, it aims to increase nutrient levels in crops during the plant growth itself and it may also therefore present a way to reach populations where supplementation activities may be very difficult to implement. Now in relation to this, we would request you to recollect an example of bio fortification about which we have discussed on our discussion on synthetic biology few days ago on 14th June 2021. While recollecting, you may also post the information in the comment section below. So these are some of the information with reference to the analysis of this news article. In this analysis, we discussed about the study, its results, the zinc and iron concentration in rice and wheat in 1960s and we compared it with contemporary times or 2000s or 2010s. Then we discussed about focusing on bio fortification, how it can be done, etc. Now let's move on to the analysis of next news article. Now this news article states that Ebola outbreak in Guinea is over. See the Ebola virus has been in the news frequently in February 2021. The second wave of Ebola virus hit this nation and this alarmed the vulnerable states in Africa. The Health Ministry of Republic of Guinea announced this outbreak of Ebola virus disease that is this new outbreak of this disease on 14th February 2021 and after several measures were taken to contain the outbreak, WHO has now officially announced the end of Guinea's second Ebola outbreak. In this context, let us know about Ebola virus from the exam point of view. The syllabus relevant for the analysis is highlighted here for your reference. See it's a virus disease that's why we say Ebola virus disease. It is earlier or formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever. When we say hemorrhagic, it means there is serious bleeding inside a person's body or there is a large flow of blood from a damaged blood vessel inside a person's body. It is a rare disease but at the same time it is also a very severe disease often leading to fatal illness in humans that is illness that will lead to fatality or death. Now this virus is transmitted to people from wild animals but it spreads in the human population or among the human population through person to person transmission or human to human transmission. But why is this virus appearing often in headlines while there are many viral infections that are transmissible? Now this is because the average Ebola virus disease case fatality rate it is around 50% that is around 50% of people out of 100% of people those who are diagnosed may die from this disease. This is because the term case fatality is the proportion of people who die from a specific disease among all the individuals who are diagnosed with the particular infection. Note that case fatality rates in Ebola cases is varying from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks. Now to substantiate this point we can consider the impact of Ebola virus in the state of Guinea. As we said earlier this is the second wave of Ebola virus that hit the state. In addition the article adds that containment of this outbreak in the current year it was majorly helped by the experience that was gained from 2014-16 Ebola epidemic. See during 2014-16 period the fatality rate was so high that around 11,300 people died in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Therefore the spread of Ebola virus has become a cause of concern. So till now we saw few facts about this disease. Now let us see some historical facts. See this disease first appeared in the year 1976. At that time it affected Africa in the form of two simultaneous outbreaks, one in South Sudan and the other in Democratic Republic of Congo. Here the virus-impactant DRC or the Democratic Republic of Congo occurred in a village near the Ebola river. That is why the disease is named as Ebola virus disease. However in the since 2015 as we could see WHO and the world has moved away from naming a particular disease with stereotype that may be linked to a particular population or a particular area. That is the reason why the very recent global pandemic infection called as COVID-19 is not named as Wuhan virus rather it is coronavirus disease 2019. Now coming to our main discussion after a gap of 50 years since 1976 Ebola virus has once again struck. But this time the impact is on West Africa. The 2014-16 outbreak in West Africa was the largest Ebola outbreak since the virus was discovered in the year 1976 and know that the outbreak started in Guinea this time and then moved across land borders to Sierra Leone and Liberia. As a response to this WHO in August 2014 declared the deteriorating situation in West Africa as a public health emergency of international concern. Now in addition to this information let us know what are the measures taken by global healthcare systems or at the global level to contain and prevent the spread of Ebola virus. In addition to this information let us know some measures taken at the global level to contain and prevent the spread of Ebola virus. First let us focus on treatment. Second let us talk about vaccination. With reference to treatment two monoclonal antibodies which are in mazib and ibanga were approved for the treatment in adults and children for the Ebola virus infection. This drug was approved by US Food and Drug Administration in late 2020. With respect to vaccination among several vaccines one vaccine called Air Vivo was found to be effective in protecting people from the Ebola virus. This vaccine was approved by US government and was also pre-qualified by WHO for this particular use. In addition to these curative methods and vaccination available the WHO also proposes risk reduction measures which include reducing the risk of human to human transmission, outbreak containing measures, reducing the risk of possible sexual transmission, reducing the risk of transmission from pregnancy related fluids and tissues. So this is all about Ebola virus. With this let us move on to next news article which is titled as a COVID-19 trigger for tuberculosis. Now this news article throws light on the recent emergence of tuberculosis infections or cases in the state of Kerala. Article costs or projects some doubt on the impact of COVID-19 in the increase of tuberculosis cases. Though there is no conclusive evidence to prove this point, emerging evidence from various studies finds a new connection between COVID-19 and tuberculosis. The studies highlight that coronavirus is activating the inactive TB infection or coronavirus is triggering reinfections in those who are recovering from COVID. In this context let us know in brief about tuberculosis. See tuberculosis is caused by bacteria called as mycobacterium tuberculosis. This bacteria most often affect their lungs. Similar to Ebola virus, TB also spread from person to person. See when people with lung TB, when they cough, sneeze or spit, TB germs were propelled into the air. A person needs to inhale only a few of these germs to become infected. However, this disease is curable and preventable. And coming to the facts, know that around 14 lakh people died from TB in the year 2019. And TB is also one of the top 10 causes of death and is the leading cause from a single infectious agent worldwide. More worrying fact is that in 2019, 87% of new TB cases accounted only from 30 countries. And of these 30 countries, 8 countries accounted for two-thirds of the total where India is leading the count. Therefore, ending the TB epidemic by 2030 has become health targets of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Till now, we were seeing few facts and the global response for TB. Now let's see response from our Indian government. See India is committed to eliminating tuberculosis by 2025 itself. This is five years ahead of global target by WHO. Now this commitment is strategically planned under the program called as National Tuberculosis Elimination Program. Now to fulfill this commitment, India has taken few measures. One is the Nikshai Ecosystem. Now this term Nikshai, Nikshai can be divided into Ni and Shai. Ni is like how we use in English unfriendly like that. So Shai means TB. So this term Nikshai refers to eradication of TB, right? So it is the National TB Information System, which is a one-stop solution to manage information of patients and monitor program activity and performance throughout the country. Then we have Nikshai Poshan Yojana, meaning Elimination or Eradication of TB and Associated Nutrition Program. This scheme is aimed at providing financial support to TB patients for their nutrition. Now then the next one is a campaign called as TB Harega Des Gitega. See Harega means losing. Gitega means winning. So we can translate this as TB to lose and India to win campaign. So this campaign was launched in September 2019. It is showcasing the highest level of commitment for the elimination of TB. Then we have Saksham project. Saksham means mentally strengthening the TB patients or making the patients capable and able to fight tuberculosis. So it's a project of taught institute of social sciences which has been providing psychosocial counseling to drug resistant tuberculosis patients. So these are some of the information with reference to the analysis of this news article. In this analysis we discussed about the new or the recent Ebola outbreak in Guinea. Then we discussed about few facts about Ebola virus. Then we also discussed the impact of COVID-19 on tuberculosis in the context of Kerala. And we saw global response and also Indian response. Now let's move on to next news article analysis. This news article states that National Commission for Safai Karamcharis has taken so much of cognizance of the case of harassment of Punjab president in a particular district in Tamil Nadu. In this context let us know about National Commission for Safai Karamcharis from exam point of view. See this commission was constituted in the year 1994. While it was constituted it was constituted as a statutory body by an act of parliament called as National Commission for Safai Karamcharis act of 1993. And initially when it was constituted it was constituted for a period of three years only. That is up to the end of March of 1997. Meaning as per subsection 4 of section 1 of this law it was ceased to exist after 31st March 1997. But the validity of the act was extended up to March 2002 then again up to February 2004 through series of amendments that were carried out in 1997 and 2001. However with the lapse of this law from February 29 of 2004 the commission is acting as a non-statutory body functioning under union ministry of social justice and improvement. Right now the tenure of the body is extended from time to time through government resolutions. Very recently it was extended in 2019 to be there up to the end of March of 2022. Now coming to the functions of the commission it is elucidated in the 1993 law. However with the enactment of the prohibition of employment as manual scavenges and the rehabilitation act of 2013 the mandate and scope of this commission was enlarged. So as per section 31 of this particular act commission shall perform certain functions such as monitoring the implementation then inquiring into complaints with respect to contravention of provisions of the act then recommending further action in relation to that then advising central and state governments for effective implementation. In fact the commission can take so motto cognizance of matter relating to non-implementation of the act. Note that in the discharge of its functions the commission shall have powers to call for information with respect to any matter specified from any government or local or authority. If you come to its general mandate these are the general mandate. Very importantly it can investigate specific grievances and take so motto notice of matters relating to non-implementation of programs or schemes in respect of Safaikaram Charis, non-implementation of decisions, guidelines, instructions aimed at mitigating the hardships of Safaikaram Charis then non-implementation of measures for social and economic upliftment of Safaikaram Charis. So like that there are series of matters on which it has investigating power and also to take so motto notice. It can also study and monitor working conditions including those of health safety and wages of Safaikaram Charis working under various kinds of employers including government municipalities, Punjags and it can also make recommendations. So these are some of the mandates of this commission in general that is other than the prohibition of employment as manual scavengers and the rehabilitation act of 2013. With this information let's move on to next part of the discussion. This news article states that Lebanon leaders may face sanctions. See Lebanon is currently facing one of the world's worst economic crisis since 1850s. Because of this the country is pressurized from external authorities to resolve their financial crisis by striking a deal with international monetary fund. In this context let us discuss in brief about Lebanon from prelims perspective. See it is located on the eastern shore of Mediterranean Sea. It consists of a narrow strip of territory and it is one of world's smaller sovereign states. Its capital is Beirut. This country has a border with Syria in the north and in the eastern side and it shares a border with Israel in the south. So these are few map based information. Now let us know about the climatic conditions. See Lebanon is included in Mediterranean climatic region which extends westward to the Atlantic Ocean. See winter storms formed over the ocean move eastward through the Mediterranean and this brings precipitation during that season. Therefore as we know the winter rainfall is the distinct feature of Mediterranean climate and this is experienced in Lebanon. Whereas if you take summer the Mediterranean receives very less or no precipitation. Therefore in short the climate of Lebanon is generally subtropical and it is characterized by hot and dry summers along with mild and humid winters. Now let's come to the drainage pattern. See it is clear that Lebanese rivers are mostly winter streams. They drain the western slopes of Lebanon mountains. But here the only exception is Littani river because it flows southward in Albuqua and it empties into or drains into Mediterranean Sea. See these are few important facts about Lebanon, its climate and drainage pattern. Now let's move on to next part of the discussion. Now let's take up this news article which is about the status of Indian black money in Swiss banks. So in this slide let us have a brief understanding of black money before moving into the important points that I mentioned in the news article. See black money when we say it simply it is any income on which the taxes imposed by the government have not been paid and these wealth may consist of income that are generated from legitimate activities as well as from illegitimate activities. Here illegitimate activities refers to smuggling illicit trade and banned substances which can be narcotics or psychotropic substances then counterfeit currency, arms trafficking, terrorism and also corruption. Now you may wonder why whenever we talk about black money there is a mention about Swiss bank or about why Indians deposit their black money in Swiss bank. There are several reasons with respect to that. One of them is that the Swiss banking law of 1934 it prevents bank from disclosing any information regarding an account even the existence of an account without the permission of depositor. They will share such information or they will disclose such information only in cases where severe criminal activity is suspected. In addition they also include low levels of financial risk that is the Swiss banks include low levels of financial risk. So because of these reasons the Swiss bank accounts are so popular with banking customers all over the world. Now coming to the news article say as per some reports from Swiss national bank the Indian funds in Swiss banks has risen to 20,700 crore at the end of 2020 from being at the level of 6,625 crore at the end of 2019 and it is reported that this has marked the highest in the 13 years. Now about this the Indian finance ministry states that there does not appear to be any significant possibility of increase of black money or deposits of undeclared incomes of Indian residents in the Swiss banks. They are saying some reasons for it one is that the estimation of 20,700 crore hints that official figures reported by banks to Swiss national bank then it does not indicate the amount of black money held by Indians in Switzerland. When it says there are several other factors that might have contributed to the increase in deposits other than black money one is that the business of Swiss bank branches located in India then increasing interbank transactions between Swiss bank and Indian banks then increase in liabilities that are connected with outstanding derivative financial instruments then increase in funds held by trustees then increase in bond securities and various other financial instruments. So these are some of the reasons why finance ministry says the actual increase is not because of rise in black money. With this let us move on to next part of the discussion. We have come to the last session the practice questions discussion session see this question with reference to biofortification. The question reads which of the following statements accurately describes biofortification method to strengthen the plant system that are weakened by pest technique to improve nutrition quality during the growth process of crops bracing for food scarcity of future in the event of climate change. None of the correct answer is option B. See this question with reference to black money three statements are given which of the statements given above are correct. It is the income on which taxes imposed by the government or public authorities have not been paid this statement is correct. Second statement it consumes a part of the tax thereby leading to the increase in government's deficit. This is true for a set of income when taxes are not paid it reduces the revenue for the government therefore the government has to balance this deficit by increasing taxes decreasing subsidies then increasing borrowings and what happens with borrowing it leads to further increase in government's debt because of interest burden. If the government is unable to balance the deficit it has to decrease spending that affects the development. So second statement is also correct it increases government's deficit. Third statement it is maintained in the form of cold immovable property and other secret manners which is also correct. So the correct answer for this question is option D 1 2 and 3. See this question a map based question they are asking Mediterranean Sea is a border of which of the following countries Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. Now if you know that Jordan is a landlocked country you can easily eliminate options A and D because they include Jordan in the answer. Now if you see options B and C you need not worry about Lebanon because they are saying anyway Lebanon is sharing border because both say three in their options. You have to say whether Iraq shares border with Mediterranean Sea or whether Syria. You know that Iraq it shares border with Persian Gulf and not with Mediterranean Sea. So the correct answer for this question is option C 3 and 4 only. We have given two practice main questions. You may write the answer and post them in the comment section for peer review. With this we come to the end of today's the Hindi news analysis. If you like the video click the like button, comment, share it among those who are in need of such resources and subscribe to Shankari's academy for more updates on civil service exam preparation.