 A very good evening aspirants, welcome to the Hindi newspaper analysis brought to you by Shankar IAS Academy. Today's date is 22nd of May 2023, displayed here are the list of news articles that we are going to discuss today. We have chosen news articles from yesterday's newspaper as well. So, without much delay, let us get into the first news article discussion. Now look at this news article. This news article is regarding the reduction of fine amount charged on three persons who tried to smuggle 750 kilogram of sea cucumber worth about 75 lakh rupees to Sri Lanka. Since the three accused person were laborers and were not in a position to raise the amount, the Madurai Bench of Vedras High Court modified the condition of cost imposed on them. Now, even though the news is not very important, knowing about sea cucumber is very important. So, let us learn about sea cucumbers in this news article discussion. Sea sea cucumbers are marine invertebrates that form part of a large animal group called equino-derms. The equino-derms group also contains starfish and sea urchins. The body shape of sea cucumbers is similar to that of cucumbers and that is why they got the name sea cucumber. The sea cucumbers have small tentacle-like tube feet which are used for locomotion and feeding. Note that there are some 1250 known species of sea cucumbers present all over the world. Sea cucumbers are found in all marine environments throughout the world ranging from shallow to deep sea environments. Know that sea cucumbers are benthic meaning they live on the ocean floor. However, they are larvae or planktonic which means they float in ocean with the currents. Now, talking about the size of sea cucumber, see the size of sea cucumber varies depending on the species of sea cucumbers. The size varies from less than 2.5 centimeters to over 1.8 meters. Now, coming to the food habits, sea cucumbers are scavengers and they mostly feed on small food items found on the sea floor. Apart from this, plankton, algae, aquatic invertebrates and waste particles also make up their diet. Now, coming to their importance, sea cucumbers are crucial to the marine ecosystem as they consume decomposing organic matter and convert it into recyclable nutrients for other marine life. In addition to this, the feeding and excretion by sea cucumbers also increase sea water's alkalinity which in turn reduces ocean acidification. So, now coming to India specific information. In India, approximately 200 sea cucumber species are found. All of them are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 against collection, trade or any form of utilization. Know that the two species of sea cucumber found in Indian waters like Holothuria fascogilba and Holothuria nobiles are listed in appendix two of the sites since 2020. Since they are considered as highly priced luxury seafood with the status of wealth and they also have medicinal properties, they always have higher demand. That is why the smuggling is also happening for this species. So, that's all you have to know about this news article. With these learned points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now, take a look at this news article. This article is from the Text and Context page. It says that a new study published in Nature Journal describes a pan genome reference map. The map was built using genomes from 47 anonymous individuals from Africa, Caribbean, America, East Asia and Europe. So, this is the news article given here. So, in this discussion, we'll see the important points mentioned in the news article. Before that, the syllabus relevant to this news article is highlighted here for your reference. You can go through it. Firstly, what is a genome? See, a genome is a complete set of genetic instructions. Each genome contains all of the information needed to build at organism and allow it to grow and develop. So, in simple words, genome is the entire set of DNA instructions found in a cell. In humans, the genome consists of 23 pairs of chromosomes located in the cell's nucleus. It always consists of a small chromosome in the cell's mitochondria. Like I already said, this will contain all the information needed for it, indigable to develop and function. This is because chromosomes are made of DNA. So, genome is like a blueprint of life and it is found in each cell. Now, let us understand what is genome sequencing. See, genome sequencing is a laboratory method that is used to determine the entire genetic makeup of a specific organism or cell type. I will explain in simple terms. Just now, we saw that genome consists of chromosomes, right? This chromosomes contain DNA strings. Know that DNA is made up of four building blocks called nucleotides. These four nucleotides are adenine, A, thymine, T, guanine, G and cytosine C. These nucleotides attach to each other. That is, A gets attached to T, likewise G with C. They get attached to each other to form chemical bonds called base pairs. These base pairs only connect to DNA strands. You can see that here in the image. So, genome sequencing is nothing but a method to determine the precise order of the four letters and how they are arranged in chromosomes. This genome sequencing is important because it helps us understand human diversity at the genetic level. It will also help to find out how we are affected by certain diseases. But the problem here is that sequencing individual genomes of all humans is very expensive. So, to overcome this constraint, scientists believe that instead of sequencing individual genomes, genomes can be sequenced collectively. See, individual genome sequencing is like other card. It will be unique for everyone. But collective genome sequencing is like some membership card. It is like having a single card for all the members of a gym or some organization. So, collective genome sequencing is like having a single genome identity card for everyone living in a region. Now, let us say a genome is sequenced. What should be done after that? See, a newly sequenced genome should be compared to a reference map called a reference genome. This only will help us understand about the differences between the newly sequenced genome and the reference genome. We already have a reference genome. It was developed in the year 2001. This development helped scientists to discover thousands of genes which are linked to various diseases. It helps to better understand diseases like cancer at the genetic level. Also, it helped to design novel diagnostic tests. Despite these advantages, the reference genome had some disadvantages. See, the reference genome of 2001 was only 92% complete. So, it contained many gaps and errors. This is the first disadvantage. Secondly, it is not a representative of all human beings. Meaning, it is not a collectively sequenced genome. Rather, it was built using mostly the genome of a single individual who has mixed African and European ancestry. So, later on, the scientist tried to rectify the problems associated with the reference genome. The reference genome map has been refined and improved to have a complete end-to-end sequence of all the 23 human chromosomes. So, it is now complete and error-free. But the second disadvantage is not dealt with. The reference genome map does not represent all of human diversity. This only is changed in the study published in The Nature Journal. The study describes the making of pan-genome map. This only we saw in the introduction. This map was built using genomes from 47 anonymous individuals from Africa, Caribbean, America, East Asia and Europe. See, you do not have to understand the technicality of the pan-genome map because it is not necessary for our examination. Regarding our examination, just know that 2001 reference genome is a linear sequence, but pan-genome is a graph. We saw the genetic representation of both. 2001 reference genome was built using mostly the genome of a single individual while pan-genome map was built using the genome of 47 individuals. So, now, before concluding the discussion, let us see the significance and disadvantages related to pan-genome. Firstly, let us see the significance. See, any two human may have more than 99 percentage similarity in their DNA. But still, there will be at least 0.4 percentage difference between any two individuals in their DNA. Now, this may look very insignificant, but just think about this. Human genome consists of 3.2 billion individual nucleotides, considering that 0.4 percentage difference is a huge amount. It is like 12.8 million nucleotides. So, for this reason only, pan-genome map is very significant. Secondly, a complete and error-free human genome map will help us understand the human diversity better. It will also help us understand genetic variants in some populations. It will help us in understanding certain health conditions. Most importantly, the pan-genome reference map has added nearly 119 million new letters to the existing genome map. This has already aided the discovery of 150 new genes linked to autism. Now, looking into the disadvantages, see, the major disadvantage is that genomes from many population are still not part of it. For example, genome from the Indian subcontinent, anti-genous groups in Asia and the Oceania and West Asian regions are not represented in the current version of the pan-genome map. So, that's all regarding this news article discussion. In this news article discussion, we saw in detail about what is genome, what is genome sequencing, then we saw about pan-genome map and how it helps us to identify diseases. So, with these learned two points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now, take a look at this news article. It talks about ONDC. The news article firstly explains us about ONDC, then it also tells us why government is trying to push it. And finally, it also explains what the critics have to say about it. So, we'll understand about them in this particular discussion. So, what is ONDC? See, ONDC stands for Open Network for Digital Commerce. It is an initiative by the Indian government to change how e-commerce works. Its main goal is to democratize e-commerce and to provide alternatives to existing e-commerce sites. Now, think of it this way. When you want to buy something online, you usually go to a specific website or app like Amazon or Flipkart, right? These are called e-commerce platforms and they dominate the market. But with ONDC, the government wants to create a different kind of system. The government wants to shift from the current model. In the current model, each platform operates individually. Now the government wants to create an open network model. In the open network model, buyers and sellers can connect across different platforms. To understand this better, let's use an example. Imagine you want to buy a phone. Normally you would go to Amazon or Flipkart to find it right. But with ONDC, you cannot buy that phone directly from a seller on a different platform. Let's say there is a seller who only lists their product on Flipkart and you usually use Amazon for your online shopping. With ONDC, you would still be able to buy from that Flipkart seller even though you would have registered on Amazon. So, it breaks the barrier between platforms and allows you to have more choices as a buyer. The government believes that this change is important because right now the e-commerce market is dominated by a few big platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. They want to level the playing ground and reduce the control these platforms have. For example, some platforms are accused of promoting certain sellers in which they have indirect stakes. This means they might give more visibility or advantages to those sellers. So, this can create an unfair advantage, right? Additionally, some food delivery apps charge high commission from sellers. This makes it harder for small businesses to compete. The government sees ONDC as a way to make these private platforms less dominant and give more opportunities to sellers and buyers. However, there are critics who question whether ONDC will really bring benefits. They argue that sellers already have the freedom to list their products on different platforms and buyers can shop across platforms too. There are also private websites that offer price comparison services helping buyers make informed decisions. Critics say that the dominance of platforms like Amazon and Flipkart might not be solely because of their control over buyers and sellers. They also pointed out that businesses naturally have some level of control over their property. So, the monopoly of these platforms might not be so different from what we see in other industries. So, what lies ahead of ONDC? See, as ONDC is being rolled out, the government faces the challenge of creating an effective alternative to existing e-commerce platforms. The government needs to make sure that products from various sellers can be listed on the open network and also see to it that the system works smoothly. Then e-commerce platforms invest in exclusive processes to onboard and list sellers. For example, they prioritize products that are popular and likely to attract buyers. Also, platforms may feature best-selling or highly rated items. If the rules of the open network prevent platforms from benefiting from their investments, they may hesitate to continue those efforts. This hesitation could impact the quality of service available to consumers. So, it could affect the overall shopping experience for buyers. So, building an effective marketplace for the sale of goods and services will be a key challenge for ONDC. The government's technocrats will need to find ways to make the open network effective and competitive while still providing a far and inclusive environment for buyers and sellers. So, that's all regarding this news article discussion. In this news article discussion, we saw about ONDC, its advantages and disadvantages. So, with these learned points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now, look at this article from yesterday's newspaper. See, recently, researchers have studied the potential of forests to accumulate carbon. In the study, they have taken a hypothetical situation into consideration. They assumed a situation in which there are no human forest management activities. In such conditions, the biomass of forest will increase by 44.1 pettagrams of carbon. This represents 15% more carbon, which would only offset about four years of carbon dioxide under current emission rates. So, this is the cracks of the news article given here. In this context, let us understand what is carbon sink and what are the methods of carbon sink? So, what is a carbon sink? See, a carbon sink is natural or artificial deposits which have the ability to observe and store the carbon in the atmosphere. To put this in simple words, carbon sinks absorb carbon dioxide in the atmosphere similar to sponge, which absorbs the water in its surrounding. The process by which the carbon sink absorbs the carbon is known as carbon sequestration. Carbon sinks play a vital role in mitigating the effects of the global warming and climate change. The carbon sinks are classified into two categories. They are natural carbon sinks and manmade carbon sinks. Firstly, we'll look into natural carbon sinks. See, plants, soil and ocean are three main natural sinks. As you all know, plants take in CO2 and releases oxygen during the photosynthesis process. In this process, plant converts carbon dioxide and water into glucose using the solar radiation energy. In this way, plants act as a natural carbon sink. The carbon absorbed by the plants is not completely utilized for photosynthesis process all the time. The extra carbon, which remains after the photosynthesis, will be transferred to soil through the roots of the plants. In this way, soil also acts as a natural carbon sink. Similarly, ocean are also one of the most important natural carbon sink. They absorb about 25% of CO2 released into the atmosphere. You may wonder how the oceans can act as a carbon sink. The answer to this lies with phytoplankton. See, the phytoplankton consists of marine bacteria and algae which absorbs the carbon in the atmosphere and tend to store them in the ocean. The natural carbon sinks are capable of observing 50% of carbon that is being emitted into the atmosphere. Now we're going to look into the manmade carbon sinks. See, manmade carbon sinks involve engineering techniques use of technology or combination of both to remove carbon from the atmosphere. The research and investment on manmade carbon sinks are increasing because of the increased carbon emission levels. Some of the manmade carbon sinks and techniques used in them are firstly using engineered timber instead of cement, steel and other such materials. On one hand these timbers serve as a carbon sink and on the other hand the carbon emission involved in the manufacturing of cement will reduce. Apart from this mineral sequestration of CO2 is another method which is being explored to create carbon sinks. Thirdly, carbon capturing by ocean floor injection. In this method the CO2 is injected into depleted oil reservoir or into the ocean floor and finally imitating mineral carbonation can be used to remove carbon from the atmosphere. In this process the natural minerals are turned into carbonate rocks like limestones using CO2. So that's all regarding this news article discussion. In this news article discussion we saw about carbon sinks and their types. So with these learnt points let us move on to the next news article discussion. Let us take up this news article for our next discussion. It is about a recent supreme court judgment. The judgment is regarding the immunities enjoyed by president of India. First we'll see some basic informations about the immunities enjoyed by the president and then I'll tell you what the judgment is about. See the president of India is the head of the state. Know that she or he enjoys certain immunities so that he or she can discharge duties without any disturbances. Article 361 of the Indian Constitution lays down the immunities available to the president. Now we'll see them one by one. Firstly president is not answerable to any court for the exercise and performance of the power and duties of her office. There is an exception here. See the conduct of the president can be reviewed by any court or tribunal which is appointed by either house of the parliament for the investigation of the charges under article 61. Article 61 is nothing but the impeachment of president. So while investigating for impeachment charges her conduct can be reviewed. Remember this. Secondly no criminal proceedings can be started against the president during her term. Thirdly no process for the arrest or imprisonment can be issued from any court during president's term of office and finally no civil proceedings can be instituted against the president during his term of office if the act is done in the personal capacity but if the two month notice is given to the president and if the notice expires after two months then a civil proceedings can be instituted. The notice should state the nature of the proceeding, course of action, the details of the other party including name, description, place of residence and the relief climbed by the other party. So these are the immunities enjoyed by the president under article 361. Now let us come to the news article. See as per the news article a petition was filed before Supreme Court by Glock Asia Pacific Limited against the union government. The company had a contract with the union ministry of homophies for the supply of Glock pistols. Due to a problem the company issued a notice invoking arbitration in July 2022. The company nominated a retired judge of the Delhi High Court as the sole arbitrator but ministry of homophies replied that the arbitrator will be appointed by the secretary in ministry of homophies. For this Supreme Court said that it will be contrary to section 12 clause 5 of the arbitration act. This is because arbitrator should be an impartial and independent person. So appointing someone from the ministry amounts to conflict of interest. For this additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhatti argued that the contract in the present case stands on a different footing because it is entered in the name of president of India. For this Supreme Court said that government cannot claim immunity from the application of law merely because one of the parties is the president of India. Here Supreme Court referred to article 299 of Indian constitution. Article 299 only lays down the formality that is necessary to bind the government with contractual liability. It does not give the government power to break the statutory law. So remember this that's all regarding this news article discussion. In this news article discussion we saw about the immunity provided to president of India. So with these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now take a look at this news article. It says that the task force of volunteers constituted under the Namami Ganga program have been continuously keeping a check on littering and poaching in the Ganga river. So using this as an opportunity let us learn about river Ganga. To have a better understanding just look at this map here. See the Ganga's river runs through north India and it is a sacred river to those who follow Hinduism. The Ganges river rises in the Gangu III glacier in the Himalayas which is located in the Uttarkasi district of Uttarkand. When the eyes of this Gangu III glacier melts it forms the clear waters of the Bahirathi river. As the Bahirathi river flows down the Himalayas it joins the Alaknanda river at Devprayag. From there the combined rivers get the name D. Ganga. Know that the Ganga river empties into Bay of Bengal and the mouth forms the Ganges river delta which is the largest river delta in the world. Now coming to Ganga river basin. See the Ganga river basin is part of a larger river basin consists of the nearby Brahmabutra and Meghna rivers. They are collectively known as the Ganges Brahmabutra Meghna river basin and it is one of the largest river system in the world. Know that the term river basin refers to the land area that is drained by a river and its tributaries. Now moving on to see about the areas where the Ganga flows through. See the river Ganga passes through the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Vispingal. The Ganges river basin extends to the state of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Vispingal, Mantya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Haryana, Uttarkhand, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of Delhi. Now talking about the tributaries, the principal right bank tributaries of the Ganga river include the Emuna, the Sone and the Damodar. And the important left bank tributaries of the Ganga include the Ram Ganga, the Gagra, the Gomathi, the Gantak, the Kosi and the Mahananda. So that's all regarding this news article discussion. With these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now take a look at this news article. According to the article the southern regional power committee SRPC has identified Tuthukudi as a potential site for setting up of green hydrogen plants. Here Tuthukudi has been selected because of the accessibility to port. The SRPC has instructed the state load dispatch center and Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation Limited, in short called as TAN Transco to provide details regarding the plans for establishing green hydrogen plants and power requirements for those plants. So this is the crux of the news article given here. So in today's news article discussion let us understand why green hydrogen is promoted by our government and in that line we'll also see about national hydrogen mission. Now before that the syllabus relevant to this news article is highlighted here for your reference. You can go through it. So we'll start with national hydrogen mission. See the union cabinet approved the mission on 4th January 2022. The aim of this mission is to make India a hub for the production and export of green hydrogen. The ministry of new and renewable energy will be responsible for the implementation of this mission. The sub-components of the national hydrogen mission are firstly under the strategic interventions for green hydrogen transition program in short called as SITE. Financial incentives will be provided for domestic manufacturing of electrolyzers and production of green hydrogen. Secondly the mission will also support pilot projects in emerging end-use sectors and production pathways. For example it can be used in steel production companies. It can be used as batteries and etc. Thirdly public private partnership framework for research and development will be facilitated under the mission and finally coordinator skill development programs will also be undertaken under this mission. So ultimately the outcomes of this mission by 2030 are development of green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 mmt per annum then total investment of about 8 lakh crore rupees then creation of over 6 lakh jobs and reduction in fossil fuel imports over 1 lakh crore rupees. So far we are seeing about green hydrogen only so what are these green hydrogen see we all know that hydrogen is the most common element in nature right mostly it exists only in combination with other elements. Hydrogen is considered as potential clean fuel to replace the depleting fossil fuels that makes hydrogen very relevant today. Talking about green hydrogen see this type of hydrogen is produced using electrolysis of water. Electrolysis is a process by which electric current is passed through a substance to induce a chemical change. In electrolysis process the water is split into hydrogen and oxygen and in this way hydrogen is produced. Most importantly this type of hydrogen uses only the current produced from the renewable energy sources that is why it is known as green hydrogen okay so based upon how they are produced hydrogen can be classified into many other types. Each type of hydrogen is associated with one color for example black or brown hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced from the fossil fuels like coal using gasification process. Gray hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced from the natural gas using steam reforming. Blue hydrogen also refers to hydrogen produced from the natural gas using steam reforming method but the difference is that the carbon produced in the process is stored underground. So likewise there are few hydrogen types listed here you can go through it. Now coming back let us end our discussion by seeing some of the applications of the green hydrogen. See firstly as I already said they can be used as replacement of fossil fuels in many sectors like fertilizer production petroleum refining steel production etc secondly hydrogen can be used as fuels in vehicles vehicles with hydrogen as a fuel will help to reduce the carbon emission so this will help India in achieving the target of net zero emission by 2070. Thirdly it can be used for long duration and finally it can be transformed into electricity which in turn will help in producing decentralized power generation. So that's all regarding this news article. With these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now take a look at this news article yesterday the maximum temperature breached 45 degree Celsius mark in parts of Delhi. This data was given by the India Meteorological Department IMD. The officials at IMD said that from May 24 onwards a fresh western disturbance from the Mediterranean or Cass VNC could bring some relief from hot weather conditions in and around Delhi. So this is the crux of the news article given here. In this context let us understand the reason for the extreme weather events experienced in and around Delhi. First of all know that Delhi is characterized by extreme climate. It is very hot in summer that is between April to July and very cold in winter that is between December to January. The average temperature can vary from 25 degree Celsius to 45 degree Celsius during summer and 22 degree Celsius to 5 degree Celsius during the winter. Now coming to the reason of such extreme climate. See the main reason for Delhi's extreme climate lies in its geography. Unlike Mumbai and Chennai Delhi is a landlocked city. If you take Chennai and Mumbai both Mumbai and Chennai have maritime climate as they are situated along the coast of Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. During daytime sea breeze which flow from sea to land brings down the daytime temperature of a coastal station and during night time land breeze which flows from land to sea will help to bring down the extreme cold of coastal areas. Apart from this the presence of a large amount of water nearby the land area is also able to modify the weather. So we can say that since both Mumbai and Chennai are located near coastal areas they experience less severe summer and winter. But if you take Delhi, Delhi is a landlocked city and it is far away from the sea. So there is no land or sea breeze available to influence the local weather. This is one of the main reason for the extreme climate in Delhi. Apart from this Delhi's proximity to the Tha desert is also one of the reason for extreme climate in Delhi. See the winds flow from the Tha desert result in hot and dry continental winds. This makes Delhi feel hotter than usual. So that's all regarding this news article discussion. With these learnt points now let us move on to the next part of the news article discussion which is the preliminary practice question discussion. Now look at this first question. This question is about sea cucumbers. Three statements are given and you have to find the correct statement given here. Now look at the first statement. It says that they are found only in tropical marine waters. See this statement is incorrect. Sea cucumbers are found in all marine environment throughout the world ranging from shallow to deep sea environments. So this statement is actually incorrect. Second statement in India sea cucumbers species are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. This statement is actually correct. We saw that in the discussion itself right. So look at the third statement. They are scavengers that feed on small food species found on the sea floor. This statement is also correct. So the correct answer for the question is option B21310 because the first statement is incorrect here. Now moving on look at this question about river Ganges. Five rivers are given and you have to find which are the left bank tributaries of river Ganges. See from the given rivers Ranganga, Gomathi and Kosi are the left bank tributaries of Ganga whereas Hinden and Humayun Ganga are the left bank tributaries of Yamuna. So if you could find that you can easily arrive at the answer. So the correct answer for this question is option C12141 because Hinden and Humayun Ganga are tributaries of Yamuna. Now moving on look at this third question about residence immunity. It is a two statement question. Statement one if a contract is paid in the nature of president of India then it is immune from the application of all statutory laws. See this statement is actually incorrect. We saw that in the discussion except right. Article 2009 only lays down the formality that is necessary to bind the government with contractual liability. It does not give the government power to break the statutory law. This is said by the recent judgment of supreme court. So even if a contract is made in the name of the president of India government cannot enjoy immunity from the application of law. So this statement is incorrect. Now look at the second statement. President is not answerable to any court for the excise and performance of duties of the office. This statement is actually correct. It is one of the immunities enjoyed by president under article 361. So the correct answer here is option B211. Now look at this question which of the following factors affects the temperature distribution of a particular place. First one is latitude, then distance from the sea, then altitude and ocean currents. You have to choose the correct answer here. See the correct answer for the question is option D123 and 4. All of the factors actually influence the temperature distribution of a particular place. Now the questions displayed here is the quiz question for you today. Just go through the question, try to answer it in the comment section. Now the questions displayed here are the mains practice questions for you today. Just go through the question, try to write an answer and post that in the comment section. So with this we came to the end of the news article discussion. If you like the video, hit like, do comment and don't forget to subscribe to Shankar IS Academy YouTube channel. Now, thank you so much for listening.