 Welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankar Iyer's Academy. Displayed are the list of news articles selected for today's analysis and their page numbers in Chennai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram editions of the newspaper. The link for the handwritten notes and the time stamping of the news articles are provided in the description box and the time stamping for the benefit of smartphone users is been provided in the comments section. Now let us move on to the first news article. This news article is an open editorial about Kusum scheme. The authors have suggested that with a better design and effective implementation, the scheme has all the chances and opportunities to transform the irrigation economy of India. The syllabus that can be related to or linked to this editorial analysis is displayed here for your reference. Kusum stands for Kisan, Urja, Suraksha, Evam, Uthan, Mahabhiyan. Here Kisan means farmers, Urja means energy, Suraksha means security, Uthan means upliftment and Mahabhiyan means major campaign. So the scheme basically aims to provide sustainable energy supply to the farmers and also sustainable irrigation access to the farmers. In the editorial, it is mentioned that the union cabinet has approved this Kusum scheme with a cash allocation of around some 34,000 crore rupees. Way back in March 2018, the official press release from the government states that the scheme has been formulated since then and the scheme has around four objectives. Firstly, to install grid connected solar power plants in the rural areas where each solar power plant will have a capacity up to 2 megawatts. When we say grid, we actually mean here the main electric network line. The second objective is to install stand alone or separate off grid solar water pumps in order to fulfill the irrigation needs of farmers who are not connected to electric grid. When we say off grid, it means the particular pumps receive the power not from the main electric network line. Then the existing grid connected agriculture pumps has to be solarized. That is they will be fitted with solar panels. Since these grid connected pumps are able to generate power with the help of solar energy, then they need not depend upon the grid power. So this power needs to be taken care and also if there is any extra power generated, then they can sell the surplus power to the state distribution companies and also they can get extra income for the surplus energy surplus power that is generated. And finally, the scheme aims to solarize the tube wells and lift irrigation projects of the government sector. So when we say lift irrigation, it is a method of irrigation in which water is not transported by a natural flow, but rather it is lifted by the use of pumps or by any other means and then transported to the required places. So this scheme aims to tap the solar energy for a sustainable power generation. As we saw, this scheme basically aims to provide non erratic, sustainable energy supply to the farmers with the help of solar energy and when the power is sustainably available, the irrigation will also be available to the farmers. So this will lead to farmers having water security for irrigation and also financial security by selling the surplus or excess solar power that is generated. In March 2019, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has put out a notification telling that the government has approved the launch of this FUSUM scheme for farmers that is to install the solar pumps and grid connected solar power plants. So this scheme is said to have three important components. The first is called as component A where the government aims for 10,000 megawatt of decentralized ground mounted grid connected renewable power plants. Next is component B where 17.50 lakh stand alone or separate solar powered agriculture pumps will be installed. Then the component C where 10 lakh grid connected agricultural pumps that has to be solarized and the scheme aims to add a solar capacity of 25,750 megawatts by the year 2022. The authors of this editorial tell that despite the power subsidies given to farmers, some three crore farmers still use diesel for their irrigation needs. So out of the total farmers, majority are small and marginal farmers. These farmers do not have access to electricity and hence they use diesel to generate power and this diesel is very costly. And they say that more than half of India's net zone area remains unirrigated. There might be several reasons because of this but here the focus has to be because of lack of access to electricity because of usage of diesel which is very costly and there could be other reasons such as non-availability of water etc. When we say net zone area, it means that the total area that is sown with crops. So the authors tell that Kusum scheme could radically transform the irrigation economy if the government chooses two approaches. One is equity by design and the next approach is prudence over populism. Now let us see the first approach which is equity by design. Now this means that the project design should ensure that all categories of farmers should enjoy equitable benefits. Now let's see some suggestions under this approach given by the authors. First the authors say that the Kusum scheme should aim to reduce the existing disparity among states regarding the deployment of solar pumps and the access to irrigation. So across India, 2 lakh solar pumps have been deployed so far. So out of these 2 lakh solar pumps, 1 lakh solar pumps are used in just two states that is in Chattisgarh and Rajasthan. The author says that this is surprising because Chattisgarh actually has a low irrigation demand that is most farmers do not require irrigation to cultivate the crops there. And Rajasthan has a poor groundwater situation that is the groundwater levels are too low to support irrigation or to pump water for irrigation. But if you see states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, they are using a lot of diesel pumps for irrigation and we can see that they have not managed to use large number of solar pumps. So there is a disparity in the usage pattern and this disparity highlights poor budget allocation by state governments towards installing the solar pumps and also lack of initiative by the state nodal agencies. We saw that the component B of the Kusum scheme aims to install some 17.5 lakh standalone solar powered agriculture pumps by the year 2022. The authors say that these pumps should be installed in an equitable manner in all the states. They also suggest that the central government should incentivize the states through target linked financial assistance that is giving the money based on the achievement of targets. The purpose is to achieve equity between the states that means there should not be much disparity among the states. First the authors discuss about achieving equity within states that is within a state there should not be much disparity. For example 90% of Bihar's farmers are small and marginal farmers. But so far if you see they have received only 50% of the government subsidies on solar pumps. So that's what the authors say here. So there is no equity in terms of subsidies given by the state government. Here if we decode 50% of subsidies goes to small and marginal farmers that means other 50% goes to large farmers. It is equal 50% goes to small and marginal farmers 50% goes to large farmers. We are focusing on equitable distribution or equity that means if assisting based on the needs a large farmer may require 10 rupees whereas a small farmer may require the assistance has to be equitable rather than being equal. When we say marginal farmer it means a farmer cultivating agricultural land up to one hectare or up to 2.5 acres. When we say small farmer he means a farmer cultivating agricultural land more than one hectare and up to two hectares and large farmer means those farmers who cultivate agricultural land more than two hectares. So we saw in Bihar that though 90% of Bihar's farmers are small and marginal farmers only 50% of subsidies for solar pumps goes to them. But if you take Chattisgarh 95% of the beneficiaries for subsidies from solar pumps are belonging to socially disadvantaged groups. So Chattisgarh has tried to bring equity by focusing on the socially disadvantaged groups. So the authors state that the central government should make note of such disparities that exist within the states and it should make sure that a share of central financial assistance should be given to farmers with small land holdings and those who are belonging to socially disadvantaged groups. Then the authors have discussed about reducing the disparities among the various categories of farmers that is among small and marginal farmers and other are large farmers. The government notification it is stated that 30% of the total cost will be borne by the center and 30% by state government and remaining 40% has to be borne by the farmers in which 10% will be by down payment and 30% will be by loans. This is the cost sharing mechanism proposed irrespective of the categories of farmers. The authors are therefore telling that the same cost sharing mechanism will create inequity between small and marginal farmers versus the large farmers. Now this is because 30% has to be obtained through loans but difficulty is more for small and marginal farmers to get loans from the banks because they will be having less repayment capacity whereas large farmers it will be easy for them to have the access to credit from the banks. So what they are saying is if there is going to be same cost sharing mechanism for all categories of farmers this will create inequity between small and marginal farmers versus the large farmers. Therefore they are telling that the central and the state government should consider increasing their share of contribution, financial contribution especially for the small and marginal farmers. So as to bring equity among all categories of farmers. Now let's see the next approach which is prudence over populism. Here the authors have discussed about the competency of the scheme which is solarization of 10 lakh grid connected agriculture pumps. Now governments have been giving subsidies for farmers who are using power through grid connected energy supply. So here grid connected means farmers would have enjoyed the power subsidies by the government for a long time. But we can see the off grid farmer who was generating power with the help of diesel actually needs the financial support for solarizing the agricultural pumps. So the authors tell that this competency must be again reviewed by the government because the government is proposing to solarize 10 lakh grid connected agriculture pumps. But the authors here ask the government to review this to also include solarization of off grid agricultural pumps also. Also if the subsidies are given to grid connected farmers they would start earning regular income for supplying the surplus electricity. So they may be meaning that this is like wasting the taxpayers money because these farmers will get the subsidy on one side and also the income on the other side for the surplus electricity generated. Therefore the authors suggest that for such grid connected pumps the scheme should only provide central government subsidy of up to 30% only for solarization of grid connected agriculture pumps. And the states share of 30% for grid connected farmers should be used to incentivize the distributing companies which will procure energy from the farmers. So this will save some money for the government. Now this is what we call as prudence that is wise usage of resources. Populism here refers to political ideas and activities that are intended to get the support of common people by giving them whatever they want. But the government should make sure that it is using its resources ideally and optimally while bringing in schemes for the people. And this is what the authors refer to as prudence over populism. The authors have also given some other suggestions to improve the functioning of the proposed scheme that is to replace the existing grid connected pumps before solarizing them. Because if you are going to use the existing grid connected pumps to solarize them this may not be inefficient. So replacement of pumps is necessary before solarizing. Next the authors have also proposed to use the surplus energy for post harvesting processes rather than selling them to the distributing companies or feeding them to the grid. They are saying that this will improve farm incomes by providing power supply that is required for value addition of agricultural processes at the local level. Here when we say post harvest processes it means that the processes that provide value addition to the grown agricultural products. Then the authors are saying that this particular scheme should not favor only a certain section of farmers. Therefore they want to design the scheme in a better way and if implemented effectively it may totally change the irrigation economy of India by providing an affordable, reliable and equitable access to energy and water. These suggestions are important because if you see the present Indian irrigation economy it is suffering from constant focus on subsidies based assistance and unreliable and discontinuous power supply and also from inequitable distribution of resources. With this we come to the end of the analysis of this open editorial. The displayed practice question will be discussed in the last session. This news article is related to National Green Tribunal's guidelines to the states with respect to management of biomedical waste. The syllabus that can be covered or linked to based on the analysis of this news article has been shown here for your reference. The National Green Tribunal has asked all states and union territories to provide a report on the amount of biomedical waste that is generated in their respective jurisdictions. It also has asked them to set up a common treatment and disposal facilities of the biomedical waste if that arrangement or the facility has not been done yet. And the district magistrates or the district collectors were asked to monitor the complaints with respect to biomedical waste management and handling rules of 2016 two times in every month. When we say biomedical waste it comprises of human and animal anatomical waste and treatment apparatus such as needles that are used in healthcare facilities such as hospitals, laboratories, blood banks all come under this biomedical waste. And according to a report by Central Pollution Control Board in the year 2015 it states that healthcare facilities in India generates almost 500 tons of biomedical waste every day. A recent study by associated chambers of commerce and industry has said that the waste generation is expected to grow at 7.4 percent every year and it will reach around 775 tons per day by the year 2022. Now biomedical waste is actually highly toxic and infectious if not treated properly it can become a severe health threat. That is one of the reasons why Green Tribunal has asked the states to set up immediately a common treatment and disposal facilities for the biomedical waste. The biomedical waste management rules of 2016 deals with establishing a common treatment and disposal facility. And it is said that biomedical waste are actually posing high risk to the environment particularly to the soil, air and it may also lead to water pollution. An untreated biomedical waste are actually a breeding ground for the growth of vectors disease carrying vectors such as you know worms and rodents. We can see the transmission of certain diseases such as typhoid, cholera, hepatitis and AIDS through the injuries from previously used needles and stringers. These used needles and stringers are actually biomedical waste. So transmission of such diseases are possible. The injuries caused by used needles or stringers are in other words biomedical waste. Now let's see some of the important provisions that are mandated in the biomedical waste management and handling rules of 2016. These rules actually cover almost all stakeholders those who generate, collect, store and transport the biomedical waste. All these stakeholders are also responsible for the effective disposal of these waste. And if there are certain damages that are caused by improper treatment of biomedical waste, the relevant stakeholders are actually liable or answerable. The jurisdiction or the ambit of these rules covers not just the mainstream healthcare facilities such as hospitals and clinics but also even it covers vaccination camps, blood donation camps like this. It deals with the provisions such as immunization for all health workers in a regular period or regular time frame and also providing training to healthcare workers regarding biomedical waste segregation and mixing of hazardous and non-hazardous waste and the management of with respect to the hazardous and non-hazardous waste. And also as you have seen already it mandates the state government to establish common biomedical waste treatment and disposal facilities where the facility operator has been asked to ensure the timely collection of biomedical waste from the healthcare facilities such as hospitals, clinics, vaccination camps, etc. The national now the national green tribunal is a statutory body that is established by a legislation called as National Green Tribunal Act of 2010. It is established with the objective to provide effective and expeditious or a faster disposal of cases related to the protection of environment, cases related to forest conservation and cases related to conservation of other natural resources. At present according to the website of official website of national green tribunal there is a 4 person 4 judicial members and 2 expert members. So with this we come to the end of the analysis of this news article. Now the displayed practice question will be discussed in the last session. This news article is about automotive sector. The syllabus for this news article analysis is displayed here for your reference. Now this news article discusses about the statements given by the chairman and managing director of MRF tyres which is one of the leading tyre manufacturing companies in our country and he has said that the present year particularly the present financial year will be a very challenging year for the automotive sector. This is because the industry is undergoing various kinds of regulatory changes and one such regulatory change is to switch over from BS4 norms to BS6 norms by April next year. He tells that the automotive sector will be highly strained or it will be highly volatile especially for the next six months because of this shift to BS6 norms. BS means Bharat stage so BS norms are standards that are related to the levels of gaseous emissions when a fuel like petrol or diesel is burned by a vehicle. Now right now India has BS4 norms in place. India will switch over to BS6 norms from 1st April 2020. Every time when we are switching over to next higher standards remember that less pollutants will be emitted by the vehicles. Some of the pollutants emitted from the vehicles that are mentioned in the BS standards are hydrocarbons, nitrous oxides, carbon monoxides and particulate matter. Now reducing this pollutants level is a very challenging task. For this the entire manufacturing of the vehicle needs to be changed. For example the engine design needs to be changed. Even the tires that are used in the vehicles need to be redesigned. Now changing even a single design requires changing the entire product line in an industry. We saw the BS6 emission standards will come into effect from 1st April 2020. So it is going to be challenging to the entire automotive industry and also the allied industry such as original equipment manufacturers, the tire industries etc. Now if you take from the perspective of tire industry they have to align their production in line with the BS6 requirement of manufacturing of a vehicle. The Indian automotive industry is presently at an inflection point. They are saying both opportunities and challenges are there. When we say inflection point we mean a time where an entire change of course of work or a turning point here in this context it may either lead to positive growth or it may become a huge setback. Now some of the impacts that will be caused because of the switch over to BS6 standards in the present you know next 6 to 7 months is that there will be low consumer sentiments. One such sentiment could be that vehicle buyers would wait to buy a better version of vehicles after 1st April 2020. Now this will lead to low consumer demand till April 2020 and there will be a problem of inventory buildup for the industry. When we say inventory this means stocks and buildup means accumulation. So whatever that will be produced till the end of March 2020 will be accumulated if it is not sold out in the market and this will lead to loss for the manufacturers. The next issue is that as we saw earlier the original equipment manufacturers like those who manufacture engines tires etc. They have to align their production with the new design in line with the demand of the vehicle manufacturers to conform with the BS6 fuel and emission standards. For this the automotive manufacturers have to invest huge money to produce new vehicles as per the required BS6 norms. This will also increase the overall prices of the vehicles. Also the fuel that will be used in these vehicles has also to be clean or refined better than the BS4 fuel to meet the BS6 requirement. So the fuel prices is also expected to increase in the future. So with this there is also a possibility of increase in insurance costs of the vehicle and the vehicle launches by the automotive companies are expected to reduce in the near term. So these issues are on one side and there is also another challenge by the electric vehicle sentiment because it is expected that the electric vehicles will give a tough competition to the existing fossil fuel based automotive sector. Now the news article mentions that the electric vehicle segment is a sunrise industry which means a new industry that is likely to grow in the future. And with respect to electric vehicles we have discussed FAME India 2 scheme during our 10th April analysis which speaks out the incentives given to electric vehicle segment. FAME stands for faster adoption and manufacturing of electric vehicles in India and recently in one of our editorial analysis we saw the various budgetary provisions that have been announced by the finance minister during the recent budget speech the provisions that are enabling provisions too for the purchase and adoption of electric vehicles in India. So therefore the overall theme is that the entire automotive sector predicts some uncertainty in the coming months. With this we come to the end of the analysis of this news article. This news article is about Pakistan opening up its airspace almost after a period of almost around six months. The syllabus related and linked to the analysis of this news article has been highlighted here for your reference. Pakistan has reopened its airspace for all flights after a gap of six months since the Balakot air strikes. The Balakot air strikes are conducted by Indian air forces as a response to the terrorist attack in Pulwama where more than 40 Indian security personnel were killed. The responsibility for the Pulwama terrorist attack was claimed by a terrorist organization based in Pakistan called as Jayshi Mohammed. So as a part of Balakot air strikes Indian air forces has targeted the camps of this Jayshi Mohammed organization. So since Indian air force has conducted this Balakot air strikes Pakistan has closed its airspace and now after a period of six months Pakistan has cancelled the notams it has issued earlier for its airspace. When we say notams they are noticed to airmen that are issued by national authorities. These noticed to airmen is to inform the aircraft pilots using a particular country's airspace regarding the condition of the airspace and services and whether any potential hazard can be found in a particular airspace and whether the airspace is closed or not. So in order to inform these particular facts a notice to airmen is issued by a particular country. When Pakistan has closed its airspace it has severely affected those flights that regularly use the airspace of Pakistan. Particularly flights to and from India were severely affected. In addition to Indian flights central Asian bound flights and flights from Southeast Asia and some flights bound to Europe and United States are also affected because if the flights usually travel over the airspace of Pakistan when Pakistan denies the airspace those flights has to change the route of travel. Closing of airspace therefore will lead to increase in operational costs as the flights has to take longer routes now to reach their destination and this will lead to increased fuel expenses because the route length will now increase and they are saying that the fuel expenses alone constitute around 40% of an airline's operational cost and the airlines now since they are taking longer routes they have to stop midway for refuelling. This will also lead to additional expenses and in order to meet the additional duty hours more pilots and cabin crew will be required. So these all these things will lead to increase in operational costs of airlines. This increased operational cost will lead to increased fares and sometimes cancellation of flights also. So though the passengers were at the receiving end because they had no option than paying the excessive fares that are charged by the airline operators. News article says that Air India was the worst affected Indian aircraft because of the closing of Pakistan's airspace to the tune of around Rs 490 crore. So now that Pakistan has reopened its airspace it is a big relief for aircraft operators because it will considerably decrease the travel time which will also be a great relief to the passengers and as we have seen this will also lead to reduction in additional fuel consumption and this will also reduce additional operating costs. So now with reduced fare more passengers will opt to travel therefore the operators will get more profit. Root length will be reduced and therefore fuel emission will also be reduced which will be good for the environment. One information according to international air transport agency is that around 220 flights use the Pakistan airspace every night between Asia and Europe. International air transport agency is headquartered in Montreal in Canada and it represents around 290 airlines that are operating in more than 100 countries and it represents 80 percent of total air traffic. This international air transport agency plays an important role in safety audit and fixing the fares and also simplifying air travel and they also have some environmental friendly goals such as maximizing the fuel efficiency and thereby reducing carbon emissions etc. When we say airspace it is the space above a particular nation's territory that is controlled by the government of a particular territory. According to outer space treaty of 1967 airspace ends where outer space begins that means outer space is free to use outer space generally is a zone that is beyond 100 kilometers above the earth's surface. Every sovereign state has sovereignty over its airspace it regulates using its aviation laws and those aircrafts that are using the airspace of a particular country are subjected to the law of the particular territory. So a particular state can prohibit or restrict foreign flights from entering its airspace by issuing notice to airmen or notams as Pakistan had done earlier. These are some of the information with respect to this news article. With this we come to the end of this news article analysis and have a look at the practice question we will discuss it in the last session. Now this question is with respect to biomedical waste management rules of 2016. If you see the preliminary examination question paper this year they have dealt with extended producer responsibility with respect to e-waste management and handling rules of 2011. In one of the options we can also find biomedical waste management rules. So a similar question can be expected. So in this question they have given two statements and are asking which of the above statements are correct. Correct statements they are asking. So the first statement it covers the blood donation camps and vaccination camps apart from hospitals and clinics. Now we saw that during our analysis in addition to normal or conventional healthcare facilities such as hospitals and healthcare clinics this biomedical waste management rules also covers blood donation camps and vaccination camps. So the first statement is correct. Now the second statement it provides for using barcode system to tag containers carrying biomedical waste. Now this statement is also correct because that is one of the salient feature. This barcode system for bags and containers containing biomedical waste will help improve the segregation, transportation and disposal system. Therefore this statement is also correct. So the correct answer for this question is option C both 1 and 2. Now this question is with respect to airspace of a country. Now they have given two statements and are asking to select the correct answer using the given code. First statement airspace of a country includes the space above its territory and also the outer space. Now during our analysis with respect to Pakistan reopening its airspace for various flights we saw that airspace of a country includes the space above the territory of a country but it does not include outer space outer space is free. This is because the outer space treaty of 1967 says that airspace ends where the outer space begins. So therefore the first statement is incorrect. The second statement a country has sovereign power over its airspace and can regulate the flights and persons in its airspace using its laws. Now this statement is correct using a civil aviation law a country can regulate the flights and also can regulate the persons using its airspace. So the second statement is correct first statement is wrong. So the correct answer for this question is option B two only. Now this is a main question affordable reliable and equitable access to energy and water is the need of the to address the agrarian crisis. Examine the challenges and measures to tackle agrarian crisis in the light of the above statement. The statement given in the question focuses on access to energy and water that has to be affordable reliable and equitable. Today in our open editorial analysis we saw with respect to equitable access to energy and water. So in this question you have to examine the challenges and measures in the light of the given statement. Challenges and measures have to be focused on the two themes access to energy and access to water with respect to the dimensions of affordability reliability and equitable access with respect to access to energy we can say disrupted power supply and then we can say non-connection of many farming households to the main electricity grid and thereby they are forced to depend on diesel for accessing the power supply. Then you can say this dependence also leads to high costs of accessing the power particularly for the access of water for irrigation purposes. Here as a measure we can say solar pumps. Here we can talk about the Fusum scheme and some of the other challenges in accessing the water could be failure of monsoon, monsoon deficit, rainfall deficit and then failure in storing the excess water that pours during monsoon or rainfall for the purposes of irrigation by constructing various structures such as dams etc and then we can also say the disrupted power supply that leads the farmers not able to access the water resources. You can also add any other challenges that you find relevant to this question and some of the measures that can be taken from today's editorial with respect to equitable distribution is that the authors have stated that the cost sharing mechanism it was 30 by central government 30 by state government and 40 by the farmer even this 40 it has to be 10% down payment 30% as by loans. So for equitable access it has to be different for different categories of farmers there should not be one size fits all approach. So here you can say that the cost sharing mechanism in the Fusum scheme has to be reviewed by the government and with respect to access of water you can also suggest measures such as constructing necessary water storage structures you know to have better access to water and also having proper supply chain management. So these are some of the points that you can take from our today's analysis to answer this question. Next now this is a question based on general studies paper 2 health care in India is one of the largest sector in terms of revenue and employment formation of large number of health care facilities is associated with generation of huge amount of biomedical waste. Discuss the initiatives by the government for proper disposal and the threats associated if the waste is not properly treated. For this in the first paragraph for some three four lines you can tell the present situation we during our analysis we saw the 2015 report by Central Pollution Control Board it tells that 500 tons of biomedical waste is being generated every single day and a report by ASSO, CHAM associated chambers of commerce and industry tells that by 2022 there will be 775 tons per day that is the generation of biomedical waste. So these are the scenarios so with increase in health care facilities there will be commensurate increase in biomedical waste also. Here they're asking to discuss the initiatives by the government for proper disposal. One such initiative we can highlight the selling features of this rules of 2016 some of them we have discussed in the analysis such as inclusion of all stakeholders and their liability for damages and the jurisdiction to cover even vaccination camps blood donation camps in addition to hospitals and clinics and providing training to health care workers regarding waste segregation and with respect to hazardous and non hazardous waste management and every state government has to establish a common biomedical waste treatment and disposal facility. So these are some of the selling features that we can see from biomedical waste management and handling rules of 2016. If not properly treated what are the threats we know that the biomedical waste is highly toxic and highly infectious so it will become a severe public health threat if not treated properly and it is also the untreated biomedical waste can also become breeding ground for growth of various disease carrying vectors and we can see transmission of diseases such as typhoid hepatitis cholera and AIDS through the biomedical waste particularly used needles and syringes. So these are some of the things that you can answer if these wastes are not treated properly. With this we come to the end of today's Hindu news analysis. If you like the video press the like button, comment, share and subscribe to Shankar Reyes Academy YouTube channel for more updates and content on civil services preparation.