 Good evening aspirants. I have an important announcement to make the sixth the pre-storming batch of Shankara A's Academy is about to commence on March 5th, 2023. This batch is specifically designed for experienced candidates. There are total of 25 tests of which 22 will be subject-wise tests including CSAT and the remaining three will be full-length mock test. This will be really helpful for your last-minute revision. So kindly enroll in the program and make the best use of it. So with this note, now we will start with the Hindu Daily News Analysis for the newspaper dated 28th of February 2023. Displayed here are the list of articles that we will take up for discussion today. There are eight articles. Go through it. Without much delay, we will start with the first article discussion. Have a look at this editorial here. This particular editorial is talking about the issues associated with e-waste management rules 2022. See, the problem of managing e-waste is a persisting challenge in a country like India. This is because we are in an era of rapid urbanization, digitalization and population growth. So in order to manage e-waste, the first set of e-waste rules was notified in the year 2011 and it came into effect in 2012. An important component of the 2011 rules was the introduction of extended producer responsibility. Under the extended producer responsibility compliance, producers are responsible for the safe disposal of electronic and electronic products when the consumer discards them. Then in 2016, the government brought e-waste rules 2016. The 2016 rules were more comprehensive than the 2011 rules. It included provisions to promote authorization and products stewardship. So products stewardship is the act of minimizing the health, environmental and other social impacts of a product and its packaging throughout the life cycle of a product. Apart from this, other categories of stakeholders such as producer responsibility organizations were also introduced in these rules. Then in November 2022, the Ministry of Environment and Forest notified a new set of e-waste rules. These rules will come into force from April 1, 2023. These rules are going to address some of the critical issues in dealing with e-waste. But the problem here is that the 2022 rules are silent on some issues. So this particular editorial here talks about such issues with the e-waste rules 2022. So in this discussion, we will understand some important provisions of the e-waste rules 2022 and then we will also see what are the issues associated with it. Before that, the syllabus relevant to this discussion is highlighted here. You can go through it. First, let's start with the basic of e-waste. See, the term e-waste is expanded as electronic and electrical waste. The term e-waste refers to all types of electrical and electronic equipment and its parts. These parts are discarded by the owners as waste without the intention of reuse. To put it simply, the term e-waste means discarded electrical or electronic devices or components. Some of the examples include discarded TVs, laptops, mobile phones, printers, etc. So with these basics, now we will see about some important provisions of the e-waste rules 2022. Firstly, under the 2022 rules, the definition of the term e-waste has been widened. So now, what also comes under e-waste are the solar modules or panels which are discarded as waste. Secondly, the 2022 rules have introduced something called as the recycling targets. This forms a part of the extended producer responsibility. Know that extended producer responsibility is a policy-based approach where the responsibility is placed over the producers of the e-waste. The producer should take care of the treatment and safe disposal of such e-waste. So under the 2016 rules, the EPR mechanism focused more on producers' responsibility to collect back the e-waste. Apart from this, the 2016 rules provided for collection targets to the producers. But if we take the 2022 rules, it has gone one step ahead. The EPR regime in the 2022 rules provides an annual e-waste recycling targets to the producers. So this will help not only in collection but also proper recycling and safe disposal of e-waste. Therefore, we can say the introduction of recycling targets in the extended producer responsibility plan is a major step under the 2022 rules. Thirdly, the 2022 e-waste rules provide for mandatory registration requirements. The manufacturers, producers, refurbishers and recyclers of e-waste i.e. MPRR are required to register under these rules. See, the 2016 rules mandated these stakeholders to obtain authorization from the concerned state pollution control booths. Whereas if we see the 2022 rules, it mandates these entities to obtain registration on the portal which will be developed by the Central Pollution Control Board. Further, the 2022 rules bars the manufacturers, producers, refurbishers and recyclers of e-waste to operate their business without obtaining registration on the portal. So only if they have registered on the portal, they will be allowed to operate. Then, the fourth important provision is the introduction of recycling certificates. Under the 2022 rules, extended producer responsibility recycling certificates has been introduced. This is done to facilitate the fulfilment of EPR targets. The producers of electrical and electronic component can purchase an online EPR recycling certificate which is issued by the Central Pollution Control Board. This is in order to fulfil the recycling target. Know that such recycling certificate issued by the CPCB will be valid only for two years. Thereafter, the producer need to purchase a new recycling certificate. And the final important provision is related to the incorporation of penal provisions. The e-waste rules 2022 introduced penal provisions related to environment compensation under the Environment Protection Act of 1986. So the environment compensation can be imposed on an entity which aids the violation of 2022 rules. So the 2022 rules bitens the scope of imposing environmental compensation. So these are some of the important provisions of the e-waste rules of 2022. Now we will understand the issues associated with these rules. First of all, know that there are two important stages involved in efficient e-waste recycling. They are component recovery and residual disposal. Here the term component recovery means the adequate and efficient recovery of rare earth metals. By recovering rare earth metals from waste, we can reduce our dependence on fresh resources of these metals. Then coming to the term residual disposal. This means safe disposal of the leftover residual which is generated during the e-waste recycling. Now coming to the 2022 rules, the 2022 rules do not provide a clear mechanism about component recovery and residual disposal. Therefore, in order to ensure maximum efficiency, the activities of the recyclers must be recorded in the system. Apart from this, the government authorities should periodically trace the quantity of e-waste that went for recycling and the recovery towards the end. Now coming to the second issue. The 2022 rules do away with the responsibilities of the producer responsibility organizations and dismantlers of e-waste. The 2022 rules place all the responsibility of recycling with the authorized recyclers. So as per the 2022 rules, the authorized recyclers will have to collect a quantity of waste, recycle them in order to generate digital certificates through the portal. Earlier it is these PROs that acted as intermediaries between producers and formal recyclers by binding for contracts from producers and then arranging for recycling. Now due to these changes in the rules, fresh challenges might emerge. This is because now the companies are no longer required to engage with PROs and dismantlers. Now coming to the final issue. In our country, mostly informal players play a crucial role in handling e-waste. Know that nearly 95% of e-waste is channelized through the informal sector. Therefore, the informal sector also holds immense potential to improve the state of e-waste management. If we take the 2022 rules, it does not recognize the informal sector that handles e-waste. This could account for illegality of the informal sector in dealing with e-waste. So to conclude, the government should take consistent efforts towards increasing consumer awareness. Then it should also concentrate on improving the existing infrastructure and it should help in enhancing the product designing and in adopting green procurement practices. So these efforts should be supplemented by establishing a robust collection and recycling system on the ground. With this, we have come to the end of this discussion. Through this discussion, we learned about e-waste. We saw that they are nothing but discarded electrical or electronic components and we also saw some important provisions of the e-waste rules of 2022 and we finally saw what are the issues in the 2022 e-waste rules. With these points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion. Now take a look at this text and context article. It talks about a new drug testing mechanism called organ chips. So what is first of all drug testing? See, if you are attempting to bring a drug or medicine into the market, the formulation has to be first tested, right? So first researchers identify the chemical components that can be used to treat a condition. They do this using modelling and other techniques. Then they shortlist the chemicals that perform well and then they test them on cells which are grown in the lab or they even test it on animals. So based on these trials only, the drugs is tested for its efficacy. But the problem is that the animals can mimic only some human diseases well. So now there is a new mechanism for drug testing called the organ chips. The advantages of organ chips over the conventional drug testing mechanisms are discussed in this article. So in this context, let us learn about organ chips and its advantages. See, organ chips are small devices containing human cells. So these cells mimic the environment in human organs. It can imitate the blood flow and breathing movements of human cells. So we can say that they serve as a synthetic environment in which a new drug can be tested. So these organ chips are designed in such a way that they accurately recreate the natural physiology and mechanical forces that a cell experiences in a human body. In short, they resemble the original organs of our body. Therefore, the organ chips act as a medium to test new drugs and see the effects of these drugs on our human body. This is all about organ chips. Now let's see the steps which are involved in the development of a drug. See, a drug development is a very complex process. It involves preclinical and clinical trials. As I already said, the preclinical trials can be done on animals which closely resemble human beings. Animals used here include mice, rats, hamsters and guinea pigs. And this usually depends on the drug that is being tested. Sometimes drugs are tested even on cells that are grown on plastic beds in the lab conditions. If the preclinical trial results are favourable, then the researchers can now begin the next stage of trial which is nothing but human clinical trials. So this is the complete process through which a new drug is tested for its toxicity. So only after these processes it can be brought into market for commercial use. Now the new organ testing mechanism that we are talking about is recently brought forward for use in preclinical trial stage. See, this is done to increase the efficacy of the drug trials. Now we will see what are the advantages of organ chips. Organ chips are capable of modelling different aspects of the human body. See, it can even model the three-dimensional geometry and the flow of fluids like blood and lymph. This is why they are very much better than the plastic-based cell culture trials. Here note that preclinical trials that are carried out on plastic cell beds cannot predict the efficacy of a drug against a particular disease in the presence of multiple organ interactions. This is where organ chips distinguishes itself because organ chips allows the drug trials to be carried out even in the presence of multiple organ interactions. Which means it does not need a very clean isolated system. So these are the advantages that are associated with using organ chips for drug trials over the plastic cell beds. With this we have come to the end of this discussion. So through this discussion we learnt about organ chips. We saw that organ chips are nothing but the cells which mimic the environment in human organs so that they can be used to test new drugs. We also saw what are the advantages of the organ chips over the plastic-based cell culture trials. With these points in mind now we will move on to the next article discussion. Now look at this article here. This text and context article talks about the suspension of the Nuclear Arms Control Treaty by Russia which Russia has signed with the US. Besides this, Russia has also said that it will resume its nuclear weapon test if the US does it. And if this happens, it will end the global ban on nuclear weapon tests that we follow since the Cold War times. So as a response to this, US has said that Putin's move is deeply unfortunate and irresponsible. This is about the news article given here. So in this discussion let us see about the Nuclear Arms Control Treaty and why the Russian President suspended the treaty and what are the implications of it. Before that the syllabus relevant to this discussion is highlighted here. You can go through it. Now first of all what is Nuclear Arms Control Treaty? See in the initial days of Cold War both the US and the Soviet Union aggressively expanded their nuclear arsenals. But just before the end of Cold War the then leaders of the US and the US Soviet Union declared that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. And this marked the beginning of the Nuclear Arms Control Treaty. So from then on, both the countries had engaged in many bilateral talks and they signed multiple treaties. So now this is for what purpose? This is to keep a check on each other's nuclear arsenals. The first formal dialogue between Russia and US is called the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks otherwise known as SALT. It started between the two countries in the year 1969. The second one is the Anti Ballistic Missile Defense Systems Treaty. This treaty provided for the shooting down of any incoming missiles and this was signed in the year 1972. But later George Bush administration pulled out of the pack in the year 2002. And the third one is the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. This was signed in the year 1991 but it expired in the year 2009. And the fourth one is the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty which was signed in the year 2002. This is also known as SALT or Moscow Treaty. But know that the New START Treaty replaced the 2002 SALT Treaty. This New START Treaty was signed in the year 2010 and it came into force from February 2011. When the current US President Mr. Joe Biden took office in 2021, the treaty was extended for another five years. Now we will understand what is the significant provisions of this particular treaty. Firstly, under the treaty the two countries cannot deploy more than 1550 strategic nuclear warheads. Also, they cannot deploy more than 700 long-range missiles and bombers. Apart from this, the treaty also limits each of them to 800 deployed and non-deployed launchers and delivery vehicles. Secondly, under the treaty each side can carry out up to 18 short term that is for 32 hours on site inspections. That is, every year they can inspect each other's strategic nuclear weapon sites 18 times with short notice. So by this they make sure that the other country has not crossed the limits of the treaty. Thirdly, under the treaty Russia and US exchange data twice a year. They share data on ballistic missiles and on bombers, tech sites, nuclear bases etc. Fourthly, the treaty mandates the two parties to send notifications within five days if at all they change or update something in their stockpile. For example, if one country is moving any missile to a new base or it is deploying a new warhead to the system, then the other country has to be updated about the same within five days. Fifthly, according to a report by the Washington Post, the treaty gave both the countries seven years to reduce their stockpiles. This includes nuclear warheads that are launched using long-range missiles, submarines and bombers. And in the year 2018, both countries met the prescribed arms limit. We saw that the treaty came into effect in 2011 and the limits were met by 2018, that is within the time given by the treaty. So these are some important points that you should know about the Nuclear Arms Control Treaty. See, US and Russia together hold 90% of the world's nuclear arsenals. And this new start treaty is the last remaining nuclear weapon control agreement between the two countries. We just now saw that inspections are allowed as by the treaty, right? But for three years, the inspections were not conducted. Mainly, it was put on hold due to COVID-19 pandemic. So in the year 2022, US again discussed about restarting the inspections. But it was postponed by Mr. Putin. Now Russia has suspended the treaty altogether. Now why did Russia suspend the new start treaty? Russia is saying that on one hand, the NATO and US are trying to inflict strategic defeat on Russia. And on the other hand, they are trying to get the Russian nuclear facilities. Russia is saying this because on one hand, the US is pushing for the resumption of inspections of Russian nuclear facilities under the treaty. And on the other hand, NATO allies are helping Ukraine to mount drone attacks on Russian air bases. So Russian air bases host the nuclear capable strategic bombers. According to reports, Russian military shot down the drones that struck two bomber bases deep inside the country. And this is the reason why Russia said that it is suspending its participation in the new start treaty. Also, Mr. Putin said that NATO's nuclear capability includes the nuclear weapons of Britain and France. But these two countries are not a part of the nuclear arms control treaties. So Russia said that it wants to understand the aspirations of NATO members. That is Britain and France and it wants to take into account the strategic arsenals of these two countries. And only then it will return to any discussion on the treaty. So now what are the implications of this? Will it again start an arms race? According to analysts, this will not trigger arms race. This is because Russia has not withdrawn from the treaty, it has just suspended it. This suspension could be a part of Russia's political message to the West. Which is providing massive assistance to Ukraine. Analysts are saying that this move by Russia will not trigger arms race for another reason. Which is, Russia has announced that it has no plans to breach the limits on warheads prescribed in the new start treaty. Additionally, the Russian foreign ministry said that it would continue to notify US about the test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles. So this is considered as Russia's way of putting pressure on US and its European allies to stop supplying arms to Ukraine. Finally, before concluding our discussion, let us see what does the Russia's suspension move mean for the global arms control. The NATO Secretary General said that the move by Russia made the world a more dangerous place. One of the major consequence of this suspension is that it will give opportunity for other nuclear countries to increase their arsenal. Yes, the other nuclear armed countries such as China, Pakistan, Iran, Israel and India will use this opportunity to build their nuclear capabilities. Here, the major problem for US is the China's nuclear arsenal. As of now, China is the major threat for US. So experts are saying that Russia's suspension for nuclear arms control treaty will hamper arms control cooperation between US and China. So with this, we have come to the end of this discussion. In this discussion, we saw about the major nuclear control treaties that were signed between the two countries. We saw in detail about the New START Treaty which was signed in the year 2010 and we saw some significant provisions of this arms reduction pact. We then saw why the Russian President suspended the New START Treaty and we also saw what are the implications of this move. With these points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion. Now, take a look at the daily quiz. The questions here are related to Raman Effect. See, today is National Science Day. That's why this daily quiz related to science is published here in the Hindu. Now, we are not going to see about the questions which are displayed here. But we will take this opportunity to look at the science behind Raman Effect. See, normally when the sun rays enters the Earth's atmosphere, it scatters in all directions. This is due to the presence of small molecules present in the atmosphere. Sir Sive Raman in the first part of 20th century conducted elaborate studies on the scattering of light. As a result, he found answers to some of the most unanswered questions relating to the scattering of light. We will see some of his observations now. See, Raman discovered that there are two different types of scattering that take place. One is the Elastic Scattering while the other is the Inelastic Scattering. In Elastic Scattering, photons of light which are scattered have the same energy as the incident photon. This type of scattering of light is called the Rayleigh Scattering. Now, coming to the second type of scattering called the Inelastic Scattering. Inelastic Scattering refers to the scattering of photon which results in the scattered photon having a different energy than the initial incident photon. Here note that Inelastic Scattering can be further divided into two subtypes. One is the Stoke Scattering and other is the Anti-Stoke Scattering. In Stoke Scattering, the scattered photon will have less energy when compared with the incident photon. The second type of Inelastic Scattering is the Anti-Stoke Scattering. In the Anti-Stoke Scattering, the scattered photon will have more energy when compared with the incident photon. This is all about the two types of Inelastic Scattering. Now, what is this Raman effect? It is based on the differences in the energies that we were discussing earlier. So, Raman started experiments to study how light behaved when it is passed through various substances. One of the experiments gave a clear result. When a light of only one color, that is a monochrome light was passed through a liquid, the light that emerged had smaller traces of another color. This meant that the molecules in the liquid were changing the color of the light passing through it. The discovery created a sensation around the world and this is only called as the Raman effect. In 1930, Sosevi Raman became the first person from Asia to be awarded a Nobel Prize in any field of science. The date of the discovery, that is February 28, is now celebrated as the National Science Day in India. Since Sosevi Raman is frequently in news, UPSC may ask a question relating to Raman effect. So, kindly have an understanding about this. With this, we have come to the end of this discussion. So, through this discussion, we came to know about the three different types of scattering discovered by Sosevi Raman. Now, we will move on to the next article discussion. Take a look at this article. It talks about the recent Delhi High Court's observation on the Agni path scheme. See, the High Court of Delhi has said that Agni path is a well thought scheme for the recruitment of persons in the armed forces. The court said this because a bunch of petitions were filed challenging the Agni path recruitment scheme. This is what is given in this article. In this context, let us learn about the Agni path scheme. See, we all know Agni path is a personal recruitment scheme for the different services. So, under this scheme, around 45,000 to 50,000 soldiers will be recruited every year. And most of them will leave the service in just four years. Only 25% of those who were recruited will be allowed to continue for another 15 years under permanent commission. The most important thing to note here is this new system of recruitment under the Agni path scheme is only for the personals below officer ranks. Know that non-officer rank personals are those who do not join the forces as commissioned officers. Now, what is meant by commissioned officers? It refers to those who have been selected permanently for working with the armed forces and they are assigned ranks. It generally refers to the leadership positions. However, the recruits under Agni path scheme will perform only an executive task because the leadership positions are reserved for commissioned officers. Now, what are the eligibility criteria to become Agni veers? Under the Agni path scheme, aspirants between the age of 17.5 years and 21 years will be eligible to apply. Very recently for the recruitment year 2022-23, the upper age limit has been increased from 21 to 23 years. So, the recruitment standards will remind the same. The recruitment will be done twice a year through the recruitment rallies which are organized across the country. Now, what happens after selection? Once selected, the candidates will go through a six-month training and they will be deployed for three and a half years to perform their duties as defence personals. During this period, they will get a starting salary of Rs. 30,000 along with additional benefits which will go up to Rs. 40,000 by the end of the four-year service. And besides this, 30% of their salary will be set aside under the SEVA NITI program. And an equal contribution will be made by the government every month and this amount will accrue interest over time. At the end of the four-year period, each soldier will get Rs. 11.71 lakh as a lump sum amount which will be tax-free. They will also get a Rs. 48 lakh life insurance cover for the four-year period. In case of death, the payout will be over Rs. 1 crore including the pay for the persons and served tenure. However, as I said earlier, after four years, only 25% of the batch will be recruited back into the respective services. And this will be for a period of 15 years. For those who are reselected, the initial four-year period will not be considered for retirement benefits. This is all you need to know about the Agnipath scheme. See here, I have covered holistically from eligibility criteria to the salary package. Now let's see why Agnipath scheme was introduced and also about the advantages associated with it. Firstly, the average age of armed forces in India is 32 years now. But this will come down to 26 years in the next 6-7 years. This will be due to the implementation of the Agnipath scheme. This is the first advantage of implementing Agnipath scheme. Secondly, it is said that Agnipath will increase employment opportunities for the youth in the country. The soldiers will acquire skill and experience during the four-year service and this will enable them to get employment in different fields after their service. This will also lead to the availability of higher skilled workforce in the economy, which will lead to productivity gain and overall GDP growth in the country. Thirdly, there is high pension burden for the government. So with the introduction of Agnipath scheme, this high pension burden for the government can be brought down because only 25% of the Agni ways get retained as a permanent officer each year. Here, one important point to note is that India pays more for the pension of retired soldiers than the amount it pays for its current serving ones. This will be changed if Agnipath gets implemented. So these are the advantages associated with the scheme. Now coming to the disadvantages. Firstly, the temporary nature of employment provided by the scheme is an issue. The Agnipath scheme will provide employment to the youth of the country only for four years. Secondly, since their recruits are appointed for a temporary period, there will be no pension for Agni ways after their retirement. Thirdly, opponents of this scheme claim that a six months training will be insufficient to meet the demands of the armed forces. So these are the disadvantages associated with the Agnipath scheme. With this, we have come to the end of this discussion. So in this particular discussion, we saw that Agnipath is a recruitment scheme for the defense. And here only personnel below officer ranks are recruited. We also saw what are the eligibility criteria to become Agnipath. We also saw a little on Seva Nidhi program where each soldier will get a lump sum amount at the end of their service. And we also saw what are the advantages and disadvantages associated with the scheme. With these points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion. Look at this news article. It says that the archaeological survey of India has found a 1300 year old stupa in Sugapada Hamlet in Odisha's Cheshpur district. This hamlet is a mining site for the Gondhalite stones and it also forms a part of the Lalip Giri Buddhist site. Here the Gondhalite stone is a type of foliated metamorphic rock that is used for temple construction in Odisha. The stupa was found when the Gondhalite mining activity was taking place in the region. Now due to the presence of the stupa, the ASI has taken control of the mining site. The ASI will now try to retrieve the site fully, restore it to its original form and protect the site. This is about the news article. In this context, we will see about the various features of stupa and also we will see some important stupas in India. So first, what is a stupa? See stupas are basically mounts and they contain bodily remains or objects used by Buddha. The tradition of erecting stupas existed even before the Buddhist era. And later on the stupa construction came to be associated with Buddhism. Since stupas contain the relics that were considered sacred, the entire stupa came to be regarded as a symbol of both Buddha and Buddhism. According to the Buddhist texts known as Ashoka Vadanath, Ashoka distributed Buddha's relics to every important town and he ordered the construction of stupas over them. This is why even though stupa construction was there even before Buddhism originated, it came to be associated with Buddhism. An additional point that you have to notice here is that the Mahapari Nibbana Sutta quotes a conversation between Buddha and Ananta where they talk about stupas. Having gone through the basics, now we will see the structure of stupas. The stupas consist of a cylindrical drum and a hemispherical anda with a Haramika and Chandra on the top. Here anda is the hemispherical mount which symbolizes the mount of dirt which was used to cover the remains of Buddha. Haramika as you can see is a square railing on the top of the mount. This balcony-like structure depicts the abode or place of residence of the gods. Then we have the Chaitri or the Chhatraspire. It is a triple umbrella structure present inside the Haramika. The Chaitri basically symbolizes the Axis Mundi or the Axis of the world. The stupa consists of a square platform known as methi. This methi is surrounded by Vedika or the boundary wall. The boundary wall, if you can see, is made in the form of railings. The Vedika is believed to separate the stupa from the surrounding world and in turn makes the stupa sacred. Between the methi and Vedika, there is a Pradikshinapada or circumambulatory path. As a form of worship, the devotees walk around the Pradikshinapada. Then we have the Dorana or gateways. These Doranas are decorated with sculptures that depict the Jataka tales. So this is about the structure of stupas. Now we will see some important stupas in India. First is the great Sanchi stupa in Madhya Pradesh. Then there is Bharuth stupa in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. This stupa has been first built by the Maurian king Ashoka in the 3rd century BC. But if you see many works of art, particularly around the gateways and railings, they were apparently added during the Shunga period. Then there is Damik stupa in Sarnath Uttar Pradesh. The Damik stupa marks the precise location where the Buddha preached his first discourse to his first five disciples. Then there is Piprava stupa in Siddharth Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh. This stupa may have been the burial place of a portion of Buddha's ashes that were given away to his own Shakya clan. In the south, we have Amaravadi stupa in Andhra Pradesh. This particular stupa was developed during the period of Satavagana and Ishvaku dynasty. Then there is Sannati Maha stupa on the banks of the Bhima river in Gala Burki district of Nath and Karnataka. These are some of the important stupas of India. So in this particular discussion, we understood what are stupas. We saw that stupas are basically mounts that contains the bodily remains of Buddha. Then we saw about the structure of stupas. We saw that stupas consist of a cylindrical drum and a hemispherical anda with a haramika and chhatra on the top. Then we also saw some important stupas in India. With these points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion. Now have a look at this data point here. This data point gives us an overview about the consumption of tobacco across the country. The data point says that in 2019-21, the consumption of tobacco among men in both smokable and chewable forms was higher in the north eastern states than the rest of India. If we take only the smokable forms of tobacco, the consumption share in 2019-21 was higher in the northern states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, then Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the eastern state of West Bengal. Now if we take only the chewable forms of tobacco, the share in 2019-21 was higher in the states of Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. If we look at the southern states, the share in 2019-21 was relatively low with regard to both forms of tobacco consumption. However, among those who smoked, the share of those who consumed more than 5 sticks a day was much higher in many southern states. So we can say that the smokers are few in the southern states but those who smoked in the southern states have consumed more than 5 sticks in a day. This is what is given in this paragraph of the data point. Now in this discussion, we will understand the points provided in this data point. Now look at this map here. This map shows the percentage of all men aged between 15-49 who smoked in 2019-21. This percentage of men includes those who smoked cigarettes, beauties, cigars, pipe or hookah. Here, the share of smokers was much higher among some northern and all northern states except Assam. While the share of smokers was low in the south, it was even lower in the western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Now look at this map here. This map shows the percentage of all men aged between 15-49 who chewed putka, tobacco, pan masala in 2019-21. The share was much higher in the north-eastern, eastern, some central, western and northern states. But if we take southern states and some northern states, they have a very relatively low share. Now moving on to map 3, this map shows the share of male smokers who smoked more than 5 sticks a day. The share in all the southern states, some northern states and some northern states was higher than the rest of India. The data point says that in India, the overall share of cigarette or beauty smokers is coming down. Now look at this table here. When compared to 2005-6, the share of smokers came down by over 10% in 2019-21. Also, the rural urban gap became negligible by 2019-21. However, among those who chewed tobacco, there was no change among rural uses whereas among urban uses, there was a decline. Now look at this chart here. As per this chart, the share of those who smoked more than 9 sticks a day reduced significantly. But those who smoked less than 5 a day have increased. See, some researchers are saying that the increase in the prices of cigarettes over the time have reduced the cigarette smoking. This is a positive note. But on the other hand, the prices of BDs and other chewable forms have not increased much. This is the reason why the consumption of BDs and other chewable forms have not seen much reduction. So the government needs to take steps to regulate the prices of tobacco. This will help in reducing the consumption of tobacco. So in this particular discussion, we saw some of the recent trends about tobacco usage in India. So with these points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion. Now look at this article here. According to the article, there is a growing confrontation between the western countries and the Russia-China axis. This is obstructing the government's plan for the G20. This will also affect the rising net dialogue of the Ministry of External Affairs that is planned this week. This is about the news article given here. Using this as an opportunity, we will revise about G20. First of all, note that G20 is expanded as the Group of 20. So it is the premier forum for international cooperation. Here, the countries cooperate on aspects of international economic and financial agenda. It brings together the world's major advanced and emerging economies. Note that the G20 was created for two reasons. One is as a response to the financial crisis that happened in the emerging economies in 1990s. Second, it is formed as a means to recognize that some countries are not adequately represented in global economic discussion and governance. In December 1999, the finance ministers and central bank governors of advanced and emerging countries met for the first time in Berlin, Germany. Here, an informal dialogue was conducted and key issues related to global economic stability were discussed. So, G20 was founded in 1999 as a forum for the finance ministers and central bank governors. Here, they discuss global economic and financial issues. After that, the finance ministers and central bank governors met annually. India on its part has hosted a meeting of G20 in the year 2002. But, note that G20 was raised to the summit level in 2008 only. This was to address the global financial and economic crisis of 2008. Now, let us see who all constitutes G20. See, G20 comprises of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, UK and USA. The G20 countries together represent around 90% of global GDP and they represent 80% of global trade and 2 thirds of the world population. Now, how does G20 work? See, G20 does not have a permanent secretary trade. So, it is the G20 presidency that steers the G20 agenda for one year and hosts the summit. The presidency is supported by the TRICA. Now, what is TRICA? It basically includes the previous current and incoming presidency. Now, India holds the presidency of the G20 from 1st December 2022 to 30th November 2023. During India's presidency, the TRICA will comprise Indonesia, India and Brazil respectively. So, in this particular discussion, we saw what is G20. We saw that it is nothing but a premier forum for international cooperation. It consists of world's major advanced and emerging economies. So, G20 was founded in 1999 as a forum for finance ministers and central bank ministers and they discuss global economic and financial issues. We also saw the members of G20 and we finally saw the working of G20. With this, we have come to the end of the Hindu daily news analysis. Now, we will move on to the next part of our discussion, which is practice questions. Now, we will start with a prelims practice question. We have six questions for today. Five will be discussed by me and one will be the practice question for the day. Question number one. Some Buddhist rock-cut caves are called chaityas while the others are called vigaras. What is the difference between the two? Chaityas were the places of worship and assembly of the monks and it consists of stupa within the structure at one end. The vigaras on the other hand are the monasteries where the monks used to live and it acted as the accommodation during rainy days. So, the correct answer here is option B. Chaitya is a place of worship while vigara is the dwelling place of the monks. Question number two. Consider the following statements regarding G20. Statement number one. The first G20 summit was hosted by the United States in Washington in November 2008. Statement number two. India is holding the presidency for the 18th G20 summit and this is the first time India is holding the G20 presidency. See here, statement number one is correct. The first summit was hosted by the US president in Washington in November 2008 to develop a coordinated response to the global financial crisis. At the first summit, the leaders discussed the causes of the global economic and financial crisis and agreed to implement an action plan. Here, statement number two is also correct. 2023 G20 Delhi summit is the upcoming 18th meeting of the G20. This summit is scheduled to take place in Bregati Maithan, New Delhi in 2023. So, the correct answer here is option C both one and two. Question number three. With reference to Raman effect, consider the following statements. Raman effect is the result of blocking of sunlight by the molecules present in the atmosphere. Statement number two. National Science Day is celebrated to mark the discovery of Raman effect. Which of the statements given above is a rare correct. Here, statement number one is incorrect. Raman effect is relating to the scattering of light and not the blocking of light. Here, statement number two is correct. National Science Day is celebrated in India on 28th of February every year to mark the discovery of Raman effect by Sir Siviraman. So, the correct answer here is option B two only. Question number four. The crop is grown under a wide range of climates but requires a fast free period of 90 to 120 days. Optimum mean daily temperature for growth of the crop is between 20 and 30 degree Celsius. The crop is sensitive to water logging and demands well aerated and drained soils. Which one of the following is that crop? The correct answer for this question is option C tobacco. Question number five. With reference to Agni path scheme, consider the following statements. Statement number one. Initial recruitment under the scheme is same for all the three armed forces. Statement number two. Seva Nidhi package is accorded only to the soldiers who are retained in the armed forces after initial four years of service. Which of the statements given above is a rare correct. Here, statement number one is incorrect. Separate recruitment drives are organized by the armed forces according to their specific needs. So, there is no initial recruitment which is same for all three armed forces. Statement number two is incorrect. Seva Nidhi package which includes contribution from both the individual and the government will be given to the soldiers who are moving out of the armed forces. Here note one important point. Soldiers who are retained by the armed forces after the initial four years of the service will only get what they have contributed towards the package. Here, the government contribution towards the Seva Nidhi is not given to the soldiers who are going to continue with the armed forces after four years. So, the correct answer for this question is option D neither one nor two. Now, this is the quiz question for the day. You can easily answer this question from the discussion that we had today. Read the question carefully and post the answers in the comment box below. This blade here are the main question for your practice. Interested aspirants can write the answer and post it in the comment box below. If you have found a video to be useful, like the video, share it with your friends, subscribe to the channel. Happy learning.