 A very good evening aspirants, today before going to the news articles discussion session I have an announcement for you. This announcement is regarding Shankar Ayes Academy's new initiative regarding CSAT paper. Shankar Ayes Academy has designed a refresher course called as CSAT plus. This is for those aspirants who score good marks in GS paper in problems but find it difficult to qualify in the civil services aptitude test paper which is called as CSAT paper. So to help the students to easily qualify for CSAT, Shankar Ayes Academy has come up with this initiative. This course starts on 27th January 2022 and the class timing for this course will be from 5.30pm to 8pm. The program is also available in online mode and the admission for this program is open now and by signing up for this course you will be having the benefit of complete overview of CSAT course, you will get to know about the shortcuts for time management and accuracy, you will get to have interaction with the toppers, you will learn the strategy to select easy questions and eliminate the difficult ones and you will also learn about the strategy to improve and manage the English skills. Along with this you will also get topic wise previous year CSAT paper analysis. So the course comes with all these benefits. So those who want to register for this program visit the link that is given in the description of this video. So now we have come to the in the news analysis for the date 21st of January 2022. Today I have chosen these news articles for discussion. We will be discussing the hot topic of amendments to the IAS cadre rules, we will be seeing about gene silencing, we will talk about our webend technology and also about space debris and then we will move on to the practice questions discussion session where we will be discussing problems practice questions. So with this introduction now let us get to the first discussion. So today our discussion is going to start with the hot topic of the day which is the proposed amendments to the Indian administrative service cadre rules of 1954. These amendments have been proposed by the central government yesterday. So in this regard two news articles and an editorial article has appeared in newspaper today. We will cover these articles. Now this news article mentions that a Tamil Nadu MP has urged the central government to drop the proposed changes to the rules. And then this editorial article talks about some examples of politicization of central deputation process in the all India service officers. It also talks about the proposed amendments and how the proposed amendment will have a long impact. And finally the editorial stresses on the fact that why important should be given to cooperative federalism. And then the second news article gives us data about the decrease in central deputation of IAS officers in the recent years. So this is the essence of these three articles. So therefore today in our discussion we will see the important provisions in the IAS cadre rules. Then we will see the recent amendments proposed. And then we will see why central government has proposed these amendments. And we will also see why states are opposing it. And finally we will see the significance of all India services in the central state relations. So let us see all these aspects today. Before that the syllabus relevant to this discussion is given here for a reference. You can take note of it. So now let us start with the important provisions in the Indian administrative service cadre rules of 1954. In short IAS service cadre rules of 1954. Here the first rule we should know is about the rule four. Now this rule states that the strength and composition of each of the state cadders shall be determined by the regulations made by the central government. And these regulations have to be made in consultation with the state governments according to this rule. So here you should note the word consultation. That means here the center just needs to consult with the states and the center need not concur with the states. That is the center need not be in agreement with the states opinion. So this is stated in rule four. Now next important rule we should know is rule five. This one deals with the allocation of members to various cadders. Now the rule five clause one states that the allocation of cadder officers to various cadders shall be made by the central government. In consultation with the state government or the state government concerned. So here also only consultation is required. But the rule five clause two states that central government may transfer a cadre officer from one cadre to another cadre. And this has to be done with the concurrence of the state government concerned. So that means in case of transfer the central government has to concur with the state government. Now next comes the important rule which is rule six. This rule is important because the amendments have been proposed to a clause under this rule only. Now this rule six deals with the deputation of cadre officers. Now according to sub clause one of this rule a cadre officer may be deputed for service. They may be deputed to service under the central government or another state government or they may be deputed to a company association or a body of individuals which is wholly or substantially owned and controlled by the central government or any other state government. So they can be deputed to all these places. But the fact to be noted here is that they may be deputed with the concurrence of the state governments concerned. And also with the concurrence of the central government. So you should note that the concurrence of the state government is necessary here. And further in case of disagreement between the central government and the state government according to this rule the matter will be decided by the central government. And once the central government decides on the matter the state government should implement the decision of the central government. This is mentioned in the rule six clause one or sub rule one and the changes or the amendments have been proposed in this rule only. But that is also a sub rule two under this rule six. According to it no cadre officer shall be deputed to any organization or body except with her or his consent. That is without their consent they cannot be deputed as per this rule. So these are the important rules that you should know in IS cadre rules of 1954. Now in addition to these rules there are also some good conventions that are carried out which have helped in the healthy functioning of center state relations. One of the important convention is that no officer was sent on central deputation against their will. See this was mainly done according to rule six clause two as we just saw. And it was also done as part of the convention. In addition to this every year the states would also prepare an offer list of officers who had opted for the central deputation and while preparing this list the states normally does not withhold any names arbitrarily. So once this offer list is prepared the center would choose officers only from among this list. So that means this offer list gives the names of the officers who are on offer from the states for deputation. And once the center choose the officers from this list the states would relieve the officers at the earliest possible. So these were the common conventions regarding the deputation. But recently due to intrusion of politics in the deputation process these healthy conventions are not followed. And here we need to blame both the center and the states. For example if you take recently in 2021 the central government unilaterally issued orders for the central deputation of the chief secretary of West Bengal. This led to a major uproar why because these orders were issued just before the officers last day in service. So through this the center was on twisting the rival party in West Bengal. So here the center was at fault. Now there is another example. Here in 2014 a senior IPS officer from Tamil Nadu relieved herself from the state service in accordance with the center's direction. See here first the state government gave clearance but at the last moment the state IPS officer was suspended by the state government. So here the state government was at fault. So these two examples show that both the center and states have been politicizing the process especially the deputation process and it has been affecting the smooth functioning of the governments. Now to solve these issues and to tip the scale to its side central government has announced the amendments to IS cadre rules. And mainly four amendments have been proposed to the rule 6 sub rule 1. That is the one which deals with the deputation of cadre officers. So let us see these amendments now. The first proposed amendment says that in case of any disagreement between the center and the state the matter shall be decided by the central government and the state has to give effect to the decision of the center within a specified time. See currently in the rules the words within a specified time is not present. So because of this the states delay the implementation of this order of central government and now this amendment will put a stop to such delays. This is the first proposed amendment. Now the next amendment is proposed with reference to the first one. That is what will happen in a situation when there is still delay from state government's side in posting a state cadre officer to the center. According to the proposed amendment when there is delay it means that the state government did not give effect to the central government's decision within the specified time. So that means at this scenario the amendment proposes that the officer shall stand relieved from the cadre from the date as specified by the central government. See as of now the officers have to get a no objection clearance from the state government for central deputation. This is where the delay is caused by the state government. That is they will delay in giving the no objection clearance. But if this amendment comes into force then it will change the requirement for clearance because if even after the specified time the state government delays the deputation process then the officer will stand relieved from the cadre. Now the third proposed amendment is that the center will decide the actual number of officers who are to be deputed to the central government in consultation with the state. So this amendment actually makes it mandatory for the state government to provide a certain fixed number of IS officers for central deputation every year. Now the fourth and final proposed amendment is in specific situations where services of cadre officers are required by the central government in public interest then the state shall give effect to the decision of the central government within a specified time. So that means if the central government requires the services of a cadre officer for any public interest then the state government has to obey it. So these are the proposed amendments to the IS cadre rules. Now the central government has some arguments as to why it has proposed these amendments. First central government is arguing that the states are not sponsoring adequate number of officers for central deputation. So the number of officers is not sufficient to meet the requirement at the center. So actually as per the existing rules the states have to maintain 40 percentage of their sanctioned post in the central deputation reserve. This central deputation reserve is what is called a CDR. But the problem is states are not meeting their CDR obligations. That is they are not maintaining the 40 percentage criteria. And it could also be found that the number of officers sponsored by the states to serve the union government are much less than the reserve. Actually according to the data available with the department of personal and training the CDR utilization has gone down from 2011 to 2021. That is it has reduced from 25 percentage in 2011 to 18 percentage presently. So due to this the central government has proposed the amendment. Now the second argument put forward by the central government is that the existing rules did not have specific provisions to cater to situations when services of all India service officer may be warranted in the center. Such services may be warranted to meet specific situations such as a major disaster or national security. And that is why the fourth amendment was proposed by the central government according to it. Now the third argument put forward by the central government is that all India service officers having specific domain expertise may be required for any important time-bound flagship program or flagship project. But the current CADR rules do not have a specific provision to cater to such situations. And that is why these amendments have been proposed. So these are the arguments put forward by the central government for the proposed amendments to IAS CADR rules. But the state governments are concerned with this amendments and that is why they are opposing it. Let us see why. See the first concern is regarding the mandatory allocation of certain fixed number of IAS officers for central deputation every year. So what this means is this amendment actually compels the state government to offer IAS officers for central deputation. And secondly it compels even the officers even when they are not wishing to go on central deputation. And according to the author of the editorial the real reasons for shortage of IAS officers at the center is due to the poor working conditions in junior level posts. And even in senior level posts there are opaque and arbitrary system of empanagement. And there is also lack of security of tenure at all levels. So due to these issues only the IAS officers are not opting for central deputation. And that is why the state governments are unable to provide more number of officers for central deputation. But the central government is citing that state government is not just providing officers. And that is why they are requiring the amendment. So here author is of the view that instead of the proposed amendment the government must focus on addressing the issues in the central deputation first. Now the second concern is in regard to the amendment that states that in specific situation the central government in public interest shall seek service of cadre officers. Now here author argues that this provision will make the state governments worried. Why because this amendment does not define the specific situation. So it has the potential to be misused for political considerations. Now the third concern is that the proposed amendments will also have a long term impact. It will have grave implications for the independent security and morale of IAS officers. According to the author this could even make the states to doubt the loyalty of IAS officers. So if they begin to doubt the loyalty then the states will start to prefer officers of the state civil services to handle as many posts as possible. So this will reduce the number of IAS cadre posts and it will also reduce the annual intake of IAS officers by the states. And if this happens then in due course the brightest minds of our country will choose state services only and they will no longer opt for IAS as a carrier. So this was the third concern. And fourthly overall these amendments works against the spirit of cooperative fatalism. And that is why it will affect the center state relations. See solving this issue regarding IAS cadre rules is quite important to have a smooth functioning center state relation. And why do we need a smooth functioning center state relation. To understand that let us see its significance. See first of all Sardar Vallabhai Patel considered the all India services as essential to knit the administrative framework of the vast and diverse country like India into an integrated whole. He felt that all India service would provide a connecting link between implementation at the field level and policy making at the top level. So Sardar Vallabhai Patel considered all India services as an essential ingredient in center state relations. And secondly we know that all India service cadres serve the central government as well as the state government. So when they work with the state governments they gain grass root experience of the district and when working with the central government they take a wider view of reality. So through this they are able to redesign the state policy in tune with the national needs. And further their role is much important during a presidential role in the states because at these times the all India service officers act as representatives of the union government and they smoothen the transition. So they essentially act as a bridge between the union government and the state government. And finally the all India service provides uniform standards of administration to the country because these services are common between the central and the states. They provide uniform standards of administration from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Dwarka to Debrugad. So this helps in building cooperation between the center and states. So that is why functioning of all India services without any problem is important for center state relations. And that is why we need to first solve the problem of ISCADR rules now. So let us see what are all the other arguments put by the central government for proposing this amendment. And what are all the arguments put by the state government for opposing such amendment. So with this we have come to the end of this discussion. Today we saw the important provisions in ISCADR rules. Then we saw the proposed amendments and why central government has proposed the amendments and why it has been opposed by the state governments. So with these points in mind let us move on to the next discussion. So this news article is reporting about an incident where a Chinese satellite would have collided. It would have collided with space debris. So there was a near possible collision of this Chinese satellite with the space debris. Now the satellite which is in question here is the China's single satellite. It came as close as 14.5 meters from the pieces of debris. And according to the news article this debris was a result of a recent Russian anti-satellite missile test. In this test Russia blew up an old satellite as a part of its missile test. So the blown up pieces have been accumulated as debris there. So this has aroused international anger and again this become a place for USA to blame Russia. So USA has accused Russia for carrying out such a dangerous test which created a cloud of debris. So this is the crux of the news article. Now this space debris is becoming greater issue as it is posing many threats. So today we are going to focus about space debris and the dangers posed by them. The syllabus relevant to this discussion is given here for a reference. Now first of all what is this space debris? See generally when we say debris it means scattered pieces of rubbish or scrap. So in the same manner space debris refers to the rubbish or scrap material in space. So what could be these materials? It could be natural meteoroids or even artificial orbital debris. Now we know that meteoroids are the space rocks that range in size. They could be like dust grains or even they could be small asteroids. Why? Because most of these space rocks are pieces of larger bodies that have broken off or that have been blasted off and these larger bodies could be comets, asteroids, sometimes moons or even other planets. So meteoroids are the blast of pieces from comets, asteroids, moons and planets. Now because of this some meteoroids are rocky and some are metallic and some could even be a combination of rock and metal. And importantly note that these meteoroids orbit the Sun. Now as I just said these meteoroids are logically scrap leftover from the comets, asteroids, planets etc. So they constitute space debris. So when you say space debris it also includes these natural meteoroids. Now next it also includes artificial orbital debris. So what is orbital debris? It is any human made object in orbit about the earth and it no longer serves a useful function. Now such debris include non-functional spacecraft, abandoned launch vehicle stages, mission-related debris and even fragmentation debris. So these are human made and remember most artificial debris are in orbit about the earth and they also orbit the earth. So simply the orbital debris term is used for space debris created by humans and that is why this is important to us. Here remember the main difference between a meteoroid and orbital debris. Meteoroids they orbit the Sun whereas these orbital debris also orbit the earth. So in this manner let us see some interesting facts about space debris especially the orbital debris. Now these orbital debris are in different size because they are just broken pieces of materials. So some are even larger than a soft ball. According to the available data there are approximately 23,000 pieces of debris orbiting the earth in this size. And these debris which are larger than a soft ball they travel at speeds up to 17,500 miles per hour. And note that this speed is fast enough to damage a satellite or a spacecraft. So this is one size. And there are also debris in the size of marble or even larger that is they will be up to 0.4 inches or 1 centimeter. And according to the available data there are half a million pieces of debris which are in this particular size. And there are more than 100 million pieces of debris which are about one millimeter and larger. Here one millimeter would be 0.04 inches. And then we also have a smaller micrometer sized debris. Now the problem with such smaller debris is that even tiny paint flecks can damage a spacecraft when they are traveling at high velocities. See here when we say fleck it refers to a patch or a dot or even a strain of color. So these even tiny paint flecks can damage a spacecraft. And it should be noted that a number of space shuttle especially their windows are replaced because of damage caused by these paint flecks. Now in this image you can see a damaged window for spacecraft. And this is caused by a paint fleck. So you can see the extent of damage it can cause. Now we will think that when a debris is of greater size it will be creating more problems. But actually the millimeter sized orbital debris they pose the highest mission ending risk. Especially they pose risk to the most robotic spacecraft that operate in low earth orbit. So there are many instances in which a functioning satellite or a spacecraft was damaged by space debris. For example if we take in 2009 a defunct russian spacecraft it collided with and destroyed a functioning US commercial spacecraft. Now the problem was that initially this US spacecraft was damaged. Now in addition to this this collision even added more debris to the space debris. According to the estimates more than 2300 pieces of large trackable debris and many even smaller debris have been added to the inventory of space junk. So from this you would have understood the extent of threat posed by the space debris to the countries and their space and even to their communication technologies. So now actually why we are in such a situation. See the rapid increase of space activity has accelerated the creation of orbital debris. So it threatens the safety of spacecraft and crews. This also affects the sustainability of the space environment in low earth orbit. Here in this graph you can see the data about the number of space launches over a period of time. So that is an increasing trend since 1956. Even though after 1984 that was a drop but then again after 2004 there is an increasing trend. Now this mainly happened because of the advent of commercial launch industry and miniaturized satellites. These commercial launch industries and miniaturized satellites have significantly decreased the cost of owning and even launching a spacecraft. So this has led to launching of spacecrafts by many countries. So this in turn have increased the orbital debris. For example I have given you a pictorial representation here. Now this picture refers to the earth before 1957. You can see the space is clean but if you see the picture taken in 2010 here you can see the white dots. These dots represent the space debris and you can see how far earth has been surrounded by these space debris. So before concluding this discussion let us overall see the concerns posed by these orbital debris. The most important concern as you already saw is the possibility of collision and when there is a growing number of debris in space the risk of collision is also higher and here in this graph you can see the collision data. Now in addition to this there is also higher and greater risk of incurring financial and operational losses. See this acts like a ripple effect because due to the collision financial losses are incurred. Now other than these financial and operational losses there are also economic losses to the countries. Why? Because assume that a communication satellite of a country is damaged by a space debris. So that means here the country did not just lose the satellite but it has also lost its entire communication network and this will be leading to major economic losses. So these are the concerns and risks posed by these space debris. So to save humans from such disasters the solution is first reducing space debris generation and second we can also clean up the existing space debris. Actually there are some measures suggested by experts for cleaning up the space debris but we'll see these measures some other day. Today we are just ending with the discussion about space debris along with the concerns. So overall space debris are just space junk. It could be of two types one it could be a meteoroid or second it could be artificial orbital debris. These orbital debris are created by humans that is their man-made and this is the result of non-functional spacecraft abandoned launch vehicle stages etc. Now these debris come in different sizes. It could be larger than a softball or it could be even micrometer sized and we saw that millimeter sized orbital debris represent the highest emission ending risk. And finally we saw that the reason for such a situation is due to the increase in space activity. This was due to the launch of commercial launch industry and miniaturized satellites. And finally we saw the concerns first is the possibility of collision then we have financial losses then operation losses and also economic losses to the countries. So with these points in mind now let us move to the next discussion. So our next discussion is based on this news article. It mentions that the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force have selected 84 anti-armor weapon through a competitive process. This weapon belongs to Swedish defense manufacturer called as Saab. So from exam perspective let us see some important facts about this 84 weapon system. See firstly this is a single shot weapon which means it can hold only one round of ammunition and then it has to be manually reloaded after every shot. And secondly it is an anti-armor weapon. This means that this weapon can be used to destroy light armored vehicles and even used to destroy enemy fortification. See basically this weapon is used by the infantry to attack different kinds of targets and these targets could be behind heavy bricks or even behind concrete walls or they could be within a field fortification or in a light armored vehicle. Wherever they are they could be targeted using this 84 weapon because it can destroy the enemy fortification also. Now this 84 anti-armor weapon is disposable weapon. That means it has a preloaded ammunition so once it is fired the weapon cannot be reused. So this makes the cost of 84 weapon system very cheap. Now next this weapon is a recoilless rifle. See recoil means the backward thrust which is generated when a gun is fired. But this weapon system has no recoil to it. Instead of that a forward inertia of the projectile is balanced by the inertia of propellant gas that is ejected from the rear end of the barrel. As you can see in this image here this is the projectile gas blowout. So this thrust generated by the projectile gas blowout counters the recoil. So this makes the 84 system recoilless which is actually an advantage. But still there are certain disadvantages to this blowout mechanism. Why because this back blast or the back blowout may sometimes cause severe burns and it can cause over pressure injuries to even a friendly personnel who is near the area. And sometimes it might even injure the user of this weapon especially if it is used in a confined space. And finally such a back blast may also reveal the user's position to the army because a blast generates a lot of light. So the enemy will immediately know the position of the user. But this disadvantage has been rectified in the new variant of 84. This variant is called 84 CS AST. Now India has ordered this variant also. So that means this variant can be fired even within confined spaces such as from inside buildings, bunkers and other urban environments. And note that mainly this variant has two modes. One is the breach mode and the other is the blast mode. Now in case of blast mode the main charge will detonate when it is in contact with the target. So this mode is used to destroy structures. So once it comes in contact with the structure it will detonate. But in case of breach mode the main charge will detonate only after it breaches the target. That means in this mode the projectile will not explode in contact with the building but it will enter the building and then explode thereby defeating the enemy. So that is why this breach mode is used to defeat enemies who are inside a building. So this makes the 84 CS AST variant a perfect candidate for urban warfare. And moreover this is a single soldier operated weapon system and it has already proven efficacy against structures, landing craft, helicopters, armored vehicles and personnel. So it could be used against all these enemy structures. With this we have come to the end of this news article discussion. In this discussion we saw about a weapon system called as 84 weapon system which is manufactured by a Swedish company. So now let us move on to the next discussion. Now our next discussion is based on this news article. It talks about a proposal made by the Union Environment Ministry. This proposal is to rank and incentivize states based on their quickness in providing environmental clearances to proposed infrastructure projects. So mainly it will rate these state environment impact assessment authority and it will rate its level of transparency, efficiency and accountability. Now this proposal has been criticized by environmentalists because they fear that this will lead to providing of environmental clearances without proper scrutiny so as to meet the time limit. So let us see what happens. This is the crux of the news article. Now in this context let us see few facts relevant to the examination about the state environment impact assessment authority. See this authority is constituted under the environment impact assessment notification of 2006. As you know this notification was notified under the Environment Protection Act of 1986. Now this authority is empowered to grant environmental clearances. As you know environmental clearance is provided to those projects that does not damage environment. So the main purpose of environmental clearance is to mitigate pollution and to protect the environment. Now in this regard this authority is assisted by a committee called as state expert appraisal committee. This appraisal committee scrutinizes the projects and it forwards its recommendations to the authority. Now after getting these recommendations the authority uses it for taking a decision on granting a environmental clearance. So first the expert appraisal committee scrutinizes the project then it gives recommendations to the authority then authority decides whether to grant the clearance or not. Now what about the composition of this authority. So basically the authority is constituted by the central government and it comprises of a chairman and three members. And one member is a member secretary who is to be nominated by the concerned state government or the unitary administration. Now such member secretary shall be a serving officer of the concerned state government or the unitary administration and she should be familiar with environmental laws. Then the other two members shall be either a professional or expert and they should fulfill the eligibility criteria given in the notification that is the EIA notification. Now the state environmental impact assessment authority has two important roles. Firstly they can impose certain restrictions on new projects or activities which have environmental impacts. And secondly they can also prohibit new projects or activities or they can prohibit the expansion or modernization of existing projects in activities. And this prohibition is done based on the potential environmental impacts of such projects. Now we know that under the EIA notification the projects are classified into two. They are classified into category A and category B. This is mainly to provide the environmental clearance and also to assess the potential environmental impact of such projects. Now in this the projects which fall under the category A requires environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change. That is the Union Ministry. But the projects which fall under category B they require environmental clearance first from the state environment impact assessment authority that is the authority which we are discussing about. So that means this authority is involved in providing environmental clearance to the projects that fall under category B projects under EIA notification of 2006. So these are the few crucial facts that we need to know about the state environment impact assessment authority. Now let us move to the next discussion. Now our next discussion and the last discussion for today is going to be based on this news article which has been taken from the Hyderabad edition. It talks about a bio drug. This bio drug is developed to treat cancer and this bio drug is derived from turmeric through a gene silencing approach called as RNA interference and this drug has been developed by the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology in collaboration with National Chemical Laboratory. So both CCMB and NCL are CSIR entities. So today we are going to see about this gene silencing approach and also few facts about the bio drug derived from turmeric. Before that the syllabus relevant to this discussion is given here for your reference. See worldwide we know that cancer is one of the leading causes of death. It accounted for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020 and there are treatment options available to treat cancer and mainly chemo drugs that is chemotherapy drugs are administered along with removal of the tumor but the chemotherapy is non-specific and it is toxic. So it has many side effects. Therefore there is a leading quest to find believable therapeutic interventions to replace such chemo drugs. So in this manner only this recent development in the non-toxic bio drug mentioned in the news becomes important. This drug as I already said is derived from turmeric through RNA interference. This RNA interference is a gene silencing approach. So we will understand what is bio drug first and then we will see gene silencing. See bio drug is a substance that is made from a living organism or its products. This bio drug is used in prevention diagnosis or treatment of cancer and other diseases and such bio drugs include antibodies it includes interleukins and vaccines. See interleukins refers to a protein which mediate communication between cells. Now because of this the bio drug is also called as biologic agent or biological agent. So now what about the gene silencing approach. See this is an approach which is used to block the expression of a gene. For example it could block production of proteins. And one of the approaches in gene silencing is the RNA interference in short RNAi. Now to understand RNAi we need to briefly know about RNA and its functions. See as you know RNA stands for ribonucleic acid. It is a complex compound that functions in cellular protein synthesis. This RNA even replaces DNA as a carrier of genetic codes in some viruses. Now the three most well known RNAs are messenger RNA, transfer RNA and ribosomal RNA. These are present in all organisms. Now all these carry out biochemical reactions which are similar to enzymes and they also have complex regulatory functions in cells. Therefore RNAs play an important role in normal cellular process and they also play an important role in diseases. But today our focus will be on mRNA that is messenger RNA. See this messenger RNA carries the genetic codes from the DNA in the nucleus to the ribosomes. As you know ribosome is the site of protein translation. It is situated in the cytoplasm of the cell. Now why the genetic codes need to be carried by mRNA because the information in DNA cannot be decoded directly into proteins. So first such information needs to be transcribed or copied into the mRNA. Now each molecule of mRNA encodes the information for one particular protein. So this mRNA specifies the incorporation of a particular amino acid within the protein. As you know a basic structure of protein is a chain of amino acids and that is why amino acid is the building block of protein. So this mRNA specifies the incorporation of that amino acid. Now after the information is transcribed to mRNA it moves to the cytoplasm and depending on the code carried by the mRNA a specific protein is produced. Therefore the key role of mRNA is protein synthesis. So now you have understood about mRNA and what it does. Now let us see how gene silencing works. Now we know that RNA is generally single stranded but there are also double stranded RNA molecules. Now these double stranded RNA are key activator of innate immune system. See this innate immune system is a defense system with which we are born. And this double stranded RNA molecule helps in silencing a specific messenger RNA. And this RNA will be the one which will be carrying a code for a disease causing protein. So such mRNA will produce disease causing protein sometimes. Now such mRNA is silenced by the double stranded RNA molecule. Now how it silences is the double stranded RNA binds to the disease causing mRNA. And this is done by producing a multi protein complex. This multi protein complex is called as the RNA interfering silencing complex. In short risk RASC. So this complex prevents the translation of mRNA in the ribosome which is present in the cytoplasm. Now this entire process of binding on to the disease causing mRNA and preventing the translation of mRNA is what is called as gene silencing. And this is done by the double stranded RNA. In short DS RNA. Now here the multi complex protein used is risk NO. And that is why this is RNA interfering process. And this takes place in all eukaryotic organism as a method of cellular defense. But if you remember that not all mRNA causes disease causing proteins. So in short the double stranded RNA interferes the mRNA that causes diseases. This is called as RNA interference or RNAi. So this prevents the specific mRNA from expressing. That is it prevents it from protein production. And therefore it prevents the disease causing protein thereby preventing us from diseases. And this is why gene silencing through RNAi approach is a promising tool for targeted and focused therapy because it is specified to a target. Here the target is the disease causing mRNA. And that is why it could be used in treating chronic diseases like cancer. But there is an issue with this method. The issue is it lacks a safe and effective delivery method for RNAi molecules. But this problem has also been addressed by the bio drug produced by CSIR entities. This bio drug contains the nano curcumin structures which is derived from turmeric. These nano curcumin structures are used to encapsulate RNAi and other molecules which helps in targeting the specific tissue or the specific protein. So what is this curcumin? This curcumin is a hydrophobic bioactive ingredient. It is found in a rhizome of a turmeric plant. Now this curcumin has nutraceutical properties meaning it has variety of biological and pharmacological action. However, it has certain drawbacks such as it has very low water solubility and it has poor bioavailability. That is its extent and rate at which the drug enters systemic circulation is poor. And then it also has poor metabolism. So due to these drawbacks successful therapeutic applications could not be done. But now the researchers have enhanced the biological and pharmacological activity of curcumin and this has led to overcoming the drawbacks. And mainly for this they have used the efficient delivery systems particularly nano encapsulation. See when they say nano encapsulation it refers to the process of encapsulating substances with various coating materials at the nano scale range. So here the RNAi is delivered by coating a bio drug which contains nano curcumin structures. And for this purpose nano curcumin was developed. This nano curcumin is nothing but the nano range formulation of curcumin. Now this is what has increased the biological and pharmacological benefits of curcumin. So therefore this curcumin is basically itself a well known nutraceutical or substance which provides medical or health benefits and it also has high anti-cancer properties and anti-inflammatory properties. So when this curcumin is combined with the RNAi then it could really bring success in the cancer treatment. And now the researchers have found that the nano curcumin with RNAi has proved to be helpful in retardation of tumors which provided a six month survival. These tumors were present in the aggressive models of colon cancer and breast cancer. So based on this even this methodology or technology can be used for other cancers also. So let us hope that this proves to be a successful model. So in this discussion we saw about mRNA and especially about RNA interference technology which is a gene silencing approach. And then we saw how nano curcumin will be efficient along with RNA interference for treating cancer. So these points in mind. Now let us move on to the next discussion which is the practice questions discussion. Now let us take up this first question. It asks consider the following statements with reference to a bio drug called nano curcumin. First statement it is derived from name tree. This statement is incorrect because we saw that curcumin is present in turmeric plant and the nano curcumin was produced from this curcumin only. So that means this nano curcumin is also derived from the turmeric plant and not the name tree. So the moment you know that statement one is incorrect you can eliminate options A and D because here the question asks for the correct statements. Now the second statement it has high anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. This statement is correct. Basically turmeric itself has these properties. And then this third statement says it is used in cancer treatment. This statement is correct because the news article was regarding this only. So since both 2 and 3 are correct the correct answer to this question is option C 2 and 3 only. Now this next question asks which of the following are examples of anti-armor weapons? M72 law Carl Gustav 8.4 centimeter recoilless rifle RAC 1 and 2 Apilas law 80. See actually the correct answer is option D all of the above. All of these are anti-armor weapons. Just note that M72 law is produced by a Norwegian company. It is used by US military. And then the second Carl Gustav rifle was originally produced by a Swedish company called as Carl Gustav Stad's company. But this company was later merged into the Saab Dynamics company. We saw the 84 anti-armor weapon right. It belongs to this Saab Dynamics company only. And then the RAC 1 and 2 Apilas it is designed by a French company and this is used by various countries including France. Now next is law 80. It is developed and now currently manufactured by a British company called as Hunting Engineering. So the correct answer is option D all of the above. Now let us take two main questions based on today's discussions. Now this question is about space debris's discussion. And this is framed on the ISCADR rules amendments discussion. So those aspirants who are interested can write answers to these questions and post it in the comment section. And whenever we get time we will review your answer. So with this segment we have come to the end of today's in the news analysis. If you like this video like, comment and also share. And those who have not yet subscribed to our Shankar IS Academy YouTube channel please subscribe to receive timely updates of the videos regarding civil services preparation. Thank you.