 a very good evening aspirants welcome to the hindu newspaper analysis brought to you by shankarae's academy today's date is 28 july 2023 displayed here or the list of news articles that we are going to discuss today so without much delay let us get into the first news article discussion take a look at this text and context article it focuses on the recent flooding that occurred along the river yamuna see the essence of the article is that this gross mismanagement of yamuna floodplains is the cause of flooding so in our news article discussion today we'll discuss about the points mentioned in the article in detail before that the syllabus relevant to this news article is I'll take here for a reference you can go through it first of all what is the floodplain see a floodplain is a flat area of land adjacent to the river it normally extends from the banks of the river to the outer edge of the valley you can look at this image for a better understanding remember a floodplain consists of two parts the floodway and the flood fringe the main channel of the river is called floodway beyond the floodway is the flood fringe the flood fringe extends from the outer banks of the floodway to the edge of the river valley for perennial rivers the floodway or stream channel has water for almost all year round the flood fringe receives water mainly during the rainy season and during floods so having this basic understanding now let us see about the yamuna floodplain see the river yamuna enters New Delhi from Palla village and exits oklah barrage the yamuna floodplains are two kilometer wide on each side along deli the river flows for about 22 kilometer this 22 kilometer along with the two kilometer wide floodplains is designated as the o zone by the deli development authority and this area is approximately 6700 hectares so what are the importance of yamuna floodplains see the floodplains act as natural flood control yamuna floodplains act as a natural sponges that can observe excess water during heavy rainfall or when river overflow this helps mitigate the impact of floods thereby protecting adjacent areas from severe flooding secondly they play an important role in groundwater recharge see during periods of flooding water from river water infiltrates into the ground and recharges the underlying aquifiers this process helps maintain groundwater levels and provides a reliable water source for human use thali the yamuna floodplains also play an important role in floodwater storage and slow release see indian monsoon is known for its uncertainty right there are years when we receive excess rainfall and there are years when we receive deficit rainfall with climate the indian monsoon has become more and more unpredictable to address this issue we need a floodplain the floodplains help in ensuring stability in water availability and help balance between years of excessive rainfall and years of low rainfall since the floodplains can hold large volumes of water during floods they also act as natural reservoirs during the years of lean monsoon the water stored in the floodplains is slowly released over time this low release of water over time helps regulate river flow preventing sudden surges and maintaining more consistent water levels downstream lastly the yamuna floodplains also provides livelihood opportunities see of the 9700 hectares of yamuna floodplains in delhi 3330 hectares or farmlands as of 2020 forming is mainly practiced along the pala and hiranki villages farmers use the rich silt deposited by the river to grow crops like rice wheat and flowers on one hand forming has low ecological footprint and on the other hand it provides livelihood opportunities to farmers and in turn curbing distress migration so these are all some of the important roles played by the yamuna floodplains now the problem in delhi is that due to heavy in migration and lax government regulations many human settlements emerged along the floodplains mainly along the flood fringes and this year due to unpredictable rains in july river yamuna started swelling this resulted in the river's pilling over into its flood fringe and in turn flooding the human settlements located there this is what happens when us humans fail to recognize the river's right to expand see i mentioned that flooding happens due to increasing human settlement in the yamuna floodplains right but when did the problem start when did human settlements start emerging along the floodplains of the river see the first phase of settlement happened post independence from the refugees from western panchap started settling along the floodplain then during the first and second five-year plan period the government promoted rapid urbanization during this period rajgat the ring road and the thermal power plant were constructed in the yamuna floodplains then during the 1982 asian games more than one million migrant laborers came to delhi from the neighboring states they were tasked with building flyovers sports facilities and luxury apartments but they were not provided any formal housing so once the asian games got over these laborers settled along the yamuna floodplains like this slowly wave after wave illegal settlements increased along the floodplains the judiciary took some steps towards the issue for example in 2004 delhi high court ordered eviction of unauthorized settlement on the floodplains due to this order around two lakh people were evicted then in 2016 the national green tribunal imposed a blanket ban on agriculture related activities till the yamuna is restored and made pollution free but both these backfired although the judiciary acted with right intentions the clearing of unauthorized settlements and farming areas along the yamuna floodplains resulted in the increase in capital incentive projects along the floodplains which are more dangerous to yamuna floodplains bus deports akshirdham temple complex commonwealth games village metro deports luxury apartments and highways were constructed along the yamuna floodplains this is how human settlement emerged along the floodplains it is not like the government did not know about the ill effects of allowing human settlements along the floodplains there are many government regulations that have provisions regarding conservation of floodplains but it is in the implementation where the government has failed for example the yamuna floodplain was designated as a protected area free from construction in the delhi master plan of 1962 then in the year 2000 the central groundwater authority notified the floodplains as protected for groundwater management finally in the draft master plan for delhi 2041 the yamuna floodplains were designated as zone o it was subdivided into two parts river zone that is active floodplains and river front along the river zone that is active floodplain construction is prohibited so the rules and regulations are in place but the implementation is not happening this has led to more encroachment and risk of flooding now finally let us see what can be done to avoid flood encroachment which is the main root cause of all the misery that delhi is facing right now see the solution is proper floodplain zoning floodplain zoning is a way of managing the use of land in areas that are prone to flooding the main purpose of floodplain zoning is to reduce the risk of damage and protect people and property from the dangers of flooding floodplain zoning basically involves dividing the floodplain into different zones each zone will have specific rules and restrictions on what can be built or done there for example in areas close to the river or stream where flooding is most likely to occur they will have stricter rules in these areas construction of homes or buildings is restricted or even prohibited this helps in minimizing the potential for loss and damage during floods on the other hand areas further away from the river or stream may have fewer restrictions and certain activities like parks or agriculture might be allowed this is because the risk of flooding is lower in those areas so in essence floodplain zoning helps in ensuring that development is balanced with the natural processes of the floodplains in addition to floodplain zoning steps like creating climate resilient infrastructures desulting drains creating green areas and improving drainage systems can also help reduce the risk of flooding so in conclusion we can say that although natural hazards like flooding will continue to happen in the future but by taking proper steps we can prevent these hazards from turning into a disaster that's all regarding this news article we saw in detail about what led to flooding in the amount of floodplains what are the reasons for the human settlement in the floodplains and how the issue can be sorted out so these learned points now let us move on to the next news article discussion this business page article says that our government is open to introducing a protection linked incentive that is PLI scheme for investments in the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors the government is of the opinion that the PLI scheme will help in reducing import of chemicals which can be produced in India this is the cracks of the article given here in this context let us quickly revise about what is this PLI scheme see the protection linked incentive or PLI scheme was introduced by the government of India the scheme aims at promoting domestic protection and reducing imports it provides performance linked incentives to businesses the scheme aligns with the make in India initiative and it encourages both foreign and domestic companies to expand their production and exports for example let's consider the automobile industry under the PLI scheme automobile manufacturers or offered incentives based on incremental sales of cars manufactured in India this means that if a company increases its sales of domestically produced cars compared to the previous year it becomes eligible for incentives this encourages companies to produce more vehicles domestically so this will not only boost employment opportunities but also reduce the country's reliance on imported automobiles the eligibility criteria for availing the PLI scheme differ across sectors to be eligible companies must have a registered manufacturing unit in India the minimum investment requirements also vary depending on the sector like rupees 10 crore for micro small and medium enterprises rupees 100 crore for others and approximately thousand crores for investment-oriented companies so far the government has announced the PLI schemes for 14 sectors the 14 sectors are mobile manufacturing manufacturing of medical devices automobiles and auto components pharmaceuticals bulk drugs speciality steel telecom and networking products electronic products white goods like acs and leds then renewable energy products textile products solar pv modules advanced chemistry cell acc battery and finally drone and drone components see the scheme will provide an incentive of four percentage to six percentage on incremental sales of goods manufactured in India to eligible companies for a period of five years let me explain the working of the scheme with an example imagine there is a company called xy that manufactures electronic devices like smart phones in India under the PLI scheme xy would be eligible for incentives based on their incremental sales of domestically manufactured phones which means the increase in sales compared to a base year let's say in the base year xy sold one lakh smartphones now in the following year xy manages to sell one lakh 20 000 smartphones then they would be eligible for incentives on the 20 000 incremental units sold the incentives provided would be in the range of four percentage to six percentage of the value of those 20 000 additional smartphones this is how the PLI scheme actually works now let us see why this scheme is significant see firstly it boost domestic manufacturing as i already said the PLI scheme encourages companies to increase their production capacity this contributes to reducing the country's reliance on imports and strengthens the make in india initiative second significance is the creation of employment opportunities the PLI scheme incentivizes companies to expand their manufacturing facilities in india this results in generation of employment opportunities in india then it will help in reducing import dependency the scheme encourages domestic companies to increase their production and compete globally therefore it helps to decrease the need for importing goods from other countries then it will also encourage technological advancements to quantify for incentives companies need to enhance their production capabilities right this will encourage companies to adopt advanced technologies and practices finally it will also help in attracting foreign investment so these are all some of the important points that you have to remember about PLI scheme a very important and an innovative scheme so make note of it and use it in your main sansa writing so with these learned points now let us move on to the next news article discussion take a look at this news article recently the union health ministry announced that it is going to relax the norms for biosimilars in response to the health ministry's announcement a section of scientists and doctors has urged the health ministry and department of biotechnology to not to ease the norms for biosimilars they pointed out that relaxing the norms would affect the safety of the patients and it would create other hazardous effects some health experts say that about three percentage of biosimilar drugs are found to be of non-standard quality even when regulations are in place then imagine what will happen if the norms are relaxed so they urged the health ministry not to relax the norms for biosimilars this is about the news article given here so in this news article discussion let us understand what is this biosimilars but to understand biosimilars you should first learn about biologics biologics refers to the biological medicines that have been developed from living organisms like human animal microorganism and etc basically the biologics consist of sugar protein nucleic acid or living entities like cells and tissues biologics are mostly developed using biotechnology methods like recombinant DNA technology or using other cutting-edge technologies some of the examples of biologics include vaccines gene and some blood products like plasma and serum now here you might have a doubt how biologics are different from conventional drugs see most of the conventional drugs are developed using chemical synthesis methods here chemical synthesis methods refers to the process by which one or more chemical reactions are performed to convert a raw material into a final product since conventional drugs are produced using chemical synthesis methods the structure of the drug is always identifiable this means that a finished conventional drug can be analyzed to determine all the various components of the drugs this factor helps the researchers to develop conventional drugs with similar composition but if we take biologics most of the biologics are developed using biotechnology methods and they contain complex mixtures of biological components from living organisms here the issue is some of the components of a finished biologic may be unknown therefore the biologics are not easily identified or characterized this is the main difference between biologics and conventional drugs having this understanding now let us see what is biosimilars see biosimilars refers to the biological medicine that is highly similar to already approved biological medicine so we can say that biosimilars are an identical copy of already approved original biologics here the biologic which is used to develop biosimilar is called the reference product now talking about the problems with the biosimilars see as we already saw it is hard to identify the confidence present in biologics this is because biologics contain a complex mixture of biological components from living organisms so developing biosimilars with the help of biologics may end up in developing low standard drugs this is the main problem with the biosimilars and that is why scientists are urging the government not to relax the norms that's all regarding this news article in this news article we learnt about a new term called biosimilars so with these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion look at this text and context page see today that is july 28 is world hepatitis day so five quiz questions related to hepatitis appeared in the news today we'll try to answer the quiz questions but before that we shall learn few facts about hepatitis and its types what is hepatitis see in general hepatitis refers to the inflammation of the liver the liver inflammation occurs when there is a damage to the liver cells look at the image here this is how an inflammatory liver looks like here the liver has become enlarged beyond its normal size this inflammation of the liver is only termed as hepatitis now what causes this liver inflammation see mostly liver inflammation can be caused by several viruses like hepatitis a virus hepatitis b virus and so on remember if the inflammation of the liver is caused by the virus then it is termed as viral hepatitis apart from viruses several other factors like drugs and alcohol consumption then certain genetic disorders can also cause liver inflammation moving on to the types of hepatitis see there are five type of hepatitis like hepatitis a b c d and e each type of hepatitis is caused by a different hepatitis virus now let us learn about the one by one first let us take hepatitis a see hepatitis a is caused by hepatitis a virus h a v hepatitis a is mostly a foot-borne illness it can be spread through contaminated water and unwashed food note that hepatitis a can be easily transmitted especially in children but the good thing is that hepatitis a is least likely to damage the liver it is usually mild and completely resolved within six months now coming to hepatitis b see hepatitis b is caused by the hepatitis b virus h b v it is transmitted through exposure to contaminated blood needles syringes or bodily fluids it can even transmit from mother to baby in some cases hepatitis b may lead to long-term liver damages and liver cancer now coming to hepatitis c see hepatitis c is caused by the hepatitis c virus h c v like hepatitis b it is also transmitted through infected blood or from mother to newborn during childbirth in the long-term hepatitis c can also lead to liver cancer now talking about hepatitis d see hepatitis d is also called delta hepatitis it is a serious liver disease caused by the hepatitis d virus h d v it is transmitted through direct contact with infected blood hepatitis d is a rare form of hepatitis that only occur in conjunction with hepatitis b infection know that hepatitis d virus cannot multiply without the presence of hepatitis b okay so we can say that hepatitis d occur in the person when such person is affected with hepatitis b now talking about hepatitis e see hepatitis e is a water-borne disease caused by the hepatitis e virus h c v hepatitis e mainly occurs in the area where there is poor sanitation hepatitis e is predominantly found in africa asia and south america so these are all the facts about the types of hepatitis talking about the symptoms the symptoms of hepatitis include fever loss of appetite diarrhea nausea abdominal discomfort and jaundice in some cases hepatitis can also cause liver cancer talking about its prevention see the prevention of hepatitis transmission varies depending upon the type for example hepatitis e or most commonly spread through food and water so some activities like washing the hands carefully after using the bathroom then avoiding fruits and vegetables that are washed or grown in unsanitized water can prevent the transmission of hepatitis a and e now coming to hepatitis b c d as i said earlier these types of vaccines commonly spread through infected blood or bodily fluids so activities like using unused and clean needles then avoiding the sharing of toothbrushes and razors may help to prevent the spread of hepatitis b c and t talking about the vaccination exit hepatitis c all other types of hepatitis can be prevented by administering vaccine so remember currently there is no vaccine for hepatitis c now with these accumulator informations let us try to answer the quiz questions look at this first question the question has to find the segments in the liver see as hepatitis is related to liver inflammation this first question about liver was asked as you all know liver is the largest organ in the human body it is located in upper right part of the abdomen it performs various functions in our body like controlling chemical levels in the blood then breaking down fats and so on remember anatomically liver is divided into eight independent segments each segment of the liver has its own inflow and outflow of the blood so the correct answer for this question is eight segments moving on to the second question this question asked you to find what was the original name of hbv vaccine see hepatitis b vaccine or hbv is used to prevent hepatitis b infection the original name of this vaccine is recombi wax hb or recombi wax hepatitis b this vaccine was developed using recombinant DNA technique that's why the name recombi wax was used okay i'm not really very sure about this answer we'll wait till tomorrow to confirm what is the right answer okay now look at this third question recently paleopathologist cracked a 200 year old puzzle the puzzle is what killed Beethoven they figured using DNA analysis finally that it was hepatitis b egged on by his love of consuming spirits what recombinant of the genus composer did the experts use to arrive at their conclusion this is the question see the person mentioned here Beethoven he was a german composer and pianist who was born in 1770 he was one of the most admired composer in the history of western music later he also got many health complications subsequently the hearing of Beethoven also deteriorated so he used some hearing aids sadly he died in 1827 but the reason for death was not known for many years the recent DNA analysis revealed that the cause of Beethoven's death was due to severe liver inflammation associated with alcohol consumption and hepatitis b infection here coming to the question what remnants of Beethoven are used to arrive at the cause of the death the correct answer is the hair of Beethoven it is used to arrive at the cause of the death now coming to the fourth question vaccines are available for some strains of hepatitis not for others which are they see we saw the answer for this already the correct answer here is hepatitis c now moving on to the final question medication has been proven to cure one particular stain of hepatitis studies show that about 95 percentage of those with the infection are cured with these drugs which strain is it see the correct answer is hepatitis c despite the vaccine not being available for hepatitis c it is curable in more than 95 percentage of cases see people who test positive for hepatitis c should be treated with direct active antiviral drugs that is daa drugs okay so these are all some of the points that you have to make note of with respect to hepatitis with these learned points now let us move on to the next news article discussion take a look at this editorial article it speaks about some serious concerns regarding the forest conservation bill on july 26 the Lok Sabha passed the forest conservation amendment bill with no significant alteration from the initial version presented in march it ignored strong public objections that highlight a number of concerns the preamble of the bill promises to achieve net zero emissions by 2070 creating a carbon sink increasing forest cover and improving the livelihoods of forest dependent communities however the operative part of the bill shows little assurance to the preamble so this is the crux of the editorial article given here so in this news article discussion we shall see some of the important points mentioned in the editorial article before that the syllabus relevant to this news article is highlighted here for your reference you can pass the video and go through it now talking about the bill see this amendment bill acknowledges the need to address current development requirements but it significantly deviates from the original forest conservation act of 1980 regarding the newly proposed amendments the environmental experts are concerned about three key aspects of the bill they are narrow definition of forest exclusion of significant track of forest area and granting of sanction to additional activities now let us discuss these three aspects in detail firstly the narrow definition of forest see the bill will significantly restrict the application of the landmark godha verman judgment of 1996 this judgment actually extended the scope of the original 1980 act according to the judgment even the areas with trees can be considered as forest rather than just areas legally notified as forest but the current amendment narrows the scope of the forest conservation act because it includes only legally notified forest and forest notified in government records this change in definition could potentially impact around 28 percentage of india's forest cover while these forests may include just fruit orchids and plantations they are also needed for conservation of india's rich biodiversity if you don't understand let me explain it with an example for example imagine there is a forest land in nahaland which is not recorded as forest by the government but this forest has been protected by indigenous tribes for centuries let's assume the state government didn't identify this forest despite the godha verman judgment since this forest is not identified by the state government according to the new amendment the government is free to allow the destruction of these forests for construction and development now this narrow definition of forest in the bill might ultimately lead to exploitation of more forest areas this is the first concern now coming to the second concern that is the exclusion of significant tracks of forest areas see the bill excludes certain fragile ecosystems from requiring forest clearances also the security related infrastructure development within 100 kilometer of international borders is exempted from getting clearance this exemption engages the ecologically crucial areas like the forest in the northeast in india and the high altitude himalayan forest which are globally recognized as biodiversity hotspots now this is the second concern thirdly the bill introduces exemptions for construction projects like zoos safari parks and ecotourism facilities see artificially created green areas and animal enclosures are very different from natural ecosystems which provide a bouquet of ecosystem services that contribute significantly to human well-being another important concern in the bill is that it also grants unrestricted powers to the union government to specify any desired use beyond those specified in the amendment these provisions raise legitimate concerns about the potential exploitation of forest resources without adequate environmental scrutiny because of these concerns the bill has been met with widespread criticism from environmental groups forest right activists and opposition parties also note that the bill does not mention the forest rights act 2006 which gives forest people certain rights over forest land this means that forest people may not be consulted before the land is diverted for non forest purposes this could lead to the disempowerment of forest people and the violation of their rights take for example in napal involving forest people in the management of forest has helped to increase forest cover from 26 percentage to 45 percentage in just three decades if india is to meet its climate goals it should involve forest people in the management of forest apart from this the forest conservation act of 1980 took a protective approach to forest clearances making the process time consuming and expensive but the proposed amendment does not address these flaws instead it simply exempts certain sectors from the FCA's requirements according to the author this is not a good solution because it removes an important check on the environmental impact of development projects currently the bill is being debated in the rajeshaba and it is not yet clear whether it will be passed or not however the concerned rise about the bill or series and they should be carefully considered before the bill is finalised that's all regarding this news article in this news article we saw some of the objectionable provisions in the forest conservation amendment bill so with these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion take a look at this news article it says that Pradhan Mantri Gram in Sadak Yojana PM Gsy has not been able to complete the construction of all the roads that were planned under the first and second phases this has caused a lot of inconvenience to people living in rural areas who are still waiting for road connectivity so the parliamentary panel has asked the government to take steps to complete the construction of the remaining roads and to ensure that the targets under the scheme are met so in this context let us learn about Pradhan Mantri Gram in Sadak Yojana see the Pradhan Mantri Gram in Sadak Yojana PM Gsy was launched in 2000 to provide all weather road connectivity to unconnected villages in India this scheme is funded jointly by the central government and the state governments under this scheme roads are constructed to a minimum standard of 7.5 meters width and 100 mm thickness the roads are also designed to be all-weather meaning they can be used throughout the year regardless of the weather conditions rural roads constructed under the scheme will be in accordance with the standards set by the Indian Roads Congress IRC which was set up in 1934 now coming to the important objective of the scheme see firstly it aims to provide road connectivity to all villages with a population of 500 or more in the plains and 250 or more in the hills secondly the scheme aims to improve the quality of existing rural roads also it targets on promoting the economic development and social inclusion in rural areas now what is the funding pattern as I already said the union government bears 90 percentage of the project cost in respect of projects sanctioned in northeast and Himalayan states whereas for other states the union government bears 60 percentage of the cost remaining will be funded by the state governments so it is a centrally sponsored scheme now moving on to the achievements of the scheme see as of March 2023 PM Gsy has connected over 178,000 villages in India the scheme has helped to improve the connectivity of rural areas to markets schools and hospitals this in turn has led to increased economic opportunities and improved access to essential services for rural communities despite these achievements there are some drawbacks in implementing the scheme the government has not able to provide the necessary funds to complete all the projects under PM Gsy this has led to delays in road construction and some villages have had to wait years for their road to be built the Panchayati Raj institutions are responsible for implementing PM Gsy projects in rural areas however these PRIs have not been involved in the planning and execution of these projects this has again led to delay of projects in some areas like the hilly states the working season for road construction is limited due to the weather this can lead to delays in project completion additionally the difficult terrain in these areas can make road construction more challenging and expensive in some areas like those affected by left wing extremism there are security concerns that can hinder road construction so these are all some of the challenges in implementing the scheme which is delaying its completion overall the scheme is a major initiative to improve rural connectivity in India it has helped to promote economic development social inclusion in rural areas so these are all some of the important facts that you have to remember about Pradhan Mantri Gram in Sathak Yodjana that's all regarding the hindu newspaper analysis for the day now let's move on to the next part of the newspaper analysis which is the preliminary practice question discussion look at this first question which of the four options given best defines the term biosimilar see the correct answer here is option C biosimilars refers to a biological medicine that is highly similar to already approved original biological medicine okay so the correct answer is option C now moving on look at this question about production linked incentives scheme three statements are given and you have to find how many statements are correct here first statement incentive is provided for incremental sale of domestically manufactured goods second statement both foreign and domestic companies are covered under the scheme now the third statement says recently the chemical and petrochemicals sector is included under PLA scheme see here this third statement is alone incorrect as we saw in the discussion the government is open to inclusion of chemicals and petrochemical sectors under the PLA scheme but it is still not included under the scheme okay so here the correct answer is option B1 Lee 2 now look at this question about Pradhan Mantri Gram in Sathak Yodjana three statements are given and you have to find how many statements given here are correct see here the correct answer for the question is option A1 Lee first statement is actually correct the scheme is partially funded by central and state governments so it is a centrally sponsored scheme now the second statement is actually not correct scheme aims to provide road connectivity to all unconnected villages in the country not just Himalayan and northeastern states now the third statement is also incorrect the scheme is being implemented by ministry of rural development so here the correct answer for the question is option A1 Lee 1 now moving on displayed here are the main practice questions for you today just go through the question try to write an answer and post it in the comment section with us 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 IAS Academy YouTube channel now thank you for listening