 A very good evening aspirants, welcome to the Hindu newspaper analysis brought to you by Shankar IAS Academy. Today's date is 20th of January 2024. Now before getting into the news article discussion, I have an important announcement for you. Shankar IAS Academy's Problems Witness Test Series of 2024 batch 1 is going to start on 22nd January 2024. The test will be conducted on daily basis and it will cover a total of 63 tests consisting of 37 half test, 6 revision test, 7 full test and 10 CZ test. It will also cover 3 mock test as well. You can give the test both on the online and offline modes. You can also choose to write a 50 questions test paper or a 100 questions test paper depending upon your preparation level. So end roll as soon as possible and check your progress in your problems preparation. So with this happy note, let us look into the list of articles for the day displayed here or the list of articles that we are going to discuss today. So without much delay, let us get into the first news article discussion. This text on context article explains about the 10th schedule of Indian constitution. See when the 10th schedule was constituted, it was believed that the provisions will be a panacea for the political corruption and horse trading. Here panacea is nothing but a solution for our problem. But sadly it opened a Pandora's box of issues. Here a Pandora's box is nothing but a metaphor for something that brings about misfortune. This phenomenon is reflected in various instances like biasness of speaker, merger of the party, resignation by legislators to circumvent the provisions and etc. This is what the article is talking about. So in this news article discussion, let us understand about anti-defection and the 10th schedule from exam perspective. So what is anti-defection law? See to have a better understanding about this topic, first you have to understand who is a defector. See a defector is a person who deserts one political party and moves on to another political party for any political gain or money. This attitude is called Aya Ram, Gaya Ram, culture of Indian politics. See in a parliamentary democracy like India, when the legislators are frequently defecting, then the stability of the government will be affected. So to prevent this practice only, the anti-defection laws were brought in. The anti-defection law punishes individual legislators to be specific MPs and MLAs for leaving one party for another. The Indian constitution initially did not have any provision to curb defection. But later, the 52nd constitution amendment act in 1985 introduced the 10th schedule. The 10th schedule has the provisions to curb defection and hence it is called the anti-defection law of India. The 10th schedule was mainly introduced to curb the party hopping and hard stating that was happening among the Indian legislators. To ensure anti-defection, the 10th schedule has various provisions for disqualification of elected members who defect from one political party to another. Let us see the provisions of disqualification one by one. Firstly, a legislator is disqualified if he voluntarily gives up the membership of the political party under whose ticket he came to power. Secondly, legislators can also be disqualified if he votes or abstain from voting in the house contrary to the direction of the whip of his political party. Thirdly, if the elected member who is not a part of any political party joins another political party after getting elected, then he will be disqualified. Fourthly, in the case of nominated members, if he joins a political party after the expiry of 6 months from the date on which he takes his seat, then he will be disqualified. So, these are some of the conditions for disqualification. Remember, there are also some exceptions to disqualification as well. First one is regarding merger of political parties. See, if a member voluntarily gives up the membership of the party as a result of his original party being merged with another party, then he will not be disqualified. Here, a merger is said to take place if two-third of the members of such a party have agreed to that merger. This is the first exception. The second exception is that if a member, after being elected as the presiding officer of the house, that is, Speaker of the Lok Sabha or Speaker of State Legislative Assembly, if they voluntarily give up the membership of their party and rejoins the party after they ceases to hold that office, in that situation, they cannot be disqualified. This exception has been provided in view of the dignity and impartiality of the office of presiding officer. Lastly, if the nominated member joins a political party before the expiry of six months, then he need not be disqualified. So, these are all some of the exceptions provided in anti-defection law. Finally, let us see who makes the decision regarding the disqualification of legislators under anti-defection law. See, any question regarding the disqualification arising out of defection will be decided by the presiding officer of the house. Originally, the act provided that the decision of the presiding officer is final and cannot be questioned in any court. But this was made unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Kihoto Holohan case of 1993. Apart from this, in Siddiq Ali vs. Election Commission of India 1971, the Supreme Court laid down the three test formula for determining which faction is to be recognized as the original political party by the Election Commission. Let me give a glance about the three test formula. Firstly, the aims and objective of the party. Secondly, whether they act as per the party's constitution and reflect their inner party democracy. Thirdly, majority in the legislative and organization wing of the party. So, this three test formula can be used to determine which faction is to be recognized as the original political party by the Election Commission of India. So, these are all certain very important facts that you have to remember about anti-defection law. In this news article discussion, we saw about who is the defector, what are all the provisions for defection, what are all the provisions for disqualification. Then we saw about the exceptions in the anti-defection law. And finally, we saw about who will decide upon the question of disqualification of legislators under anti-defection law. So, these learnt points and now let us move on to the next news article discussion. The successful completion of 150 years of existence of Indian Meteorological Department, IMD. Even though the department was started by British to understand Indian monsoon, it plays a key role in our meteorological predictions. Know that IMD makes a region-specific models for both the monsoons of India. Apart from this, it gives a comprehensive district-wise analyst on the monsoon. This erratic data alerts the policy makers of our country. So, it urges the necessity of region-specific plans to improve climate resilience of our country as well. This is the crux of the news article given here. So, in this news article discussion, let us learn about climate change and their impacts using our mains answer writing approach. Before that, the relevant syllabus to this topic is highlighted here. You can go through it. Now, let me read the question for you. What are the major impacts of climate change? Discuss the mitigation and adaptation strategy employed by our country to tackle it. See, this is one of the easiest structural question. Here, two parts of the question are demarcated clearly. So, our purpose for these type of questions is very simple. We just have to answer accordingly to the structure. So, in the first part of the answer, you have to write about the impacts of climate change. And in the second part, you have to write about the mitigation and adaptation strategies of India. Since the question primarily revolves around climate change, you can start the intro by explaining about climate change. You can write that climate change refers to a long-term change in the temperatures and weather patterns of the world, though it can be a natural phenomenon due to changes in the sun's activity or large volcanic eruptions. Our concern is regarding the anthropogenically induced climate change. Know that it poses a socio-economic threat to various developing countries including India. As India is placed between the dichotomy of development versus conservation, it becomes important for us to understand the impacts of climate change and the mitigation steps taken by the government. In this way, you can give a link to the body part of the answer. Now, coming to the body of the answer, as I said earlier, here you have to write about the impacts of climate change on India in the first half of the answer. Some of the impacts of climate change includes, firstly, its impact on health. According to World Health Organization between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year. This will be due to climate change induced heat stress and associated issues like malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and etc. See, this data may look like a bizarre correlation, but if you analyze keenly, climate change will affect the social and environmental determinants of health like clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter and etc. Also, it increases the risk of health infections like zoonotic diseases. For example, COVID-19. Due to all of these reasons, they will pose a huge risk to the health architecture of developing countries like India. Secondly, its impacts on agriculture. We know that the agriculture sector employs a significant portion of India's population that is almost 50%. They are particularly susceptible to climate change. Specifically, the extreme events like droughts, floods and pest infestations will hamper the crop yield resulting in loss of farmer's income and may lead to farmer's suicide. Apart from this, India's agriculture is largely rain-fed in nature. So, any climate change can induce irregularities like El Nino, change in climate pattern, change in sea surface temperature and etc. All these factors can affect the monsoon of India, which is our lifeline. Thirdly, its influence on inflation. See, it may look new, but climate change is increasingly affecting the macroeconomic politics of the country. Let us see how firstly, erratic monsoon, extreme weather events and rising temperatures will disrupt the agriculture productivity of the country. This may lead to supply-side shocks and subsequent inflationary pressures on our economy. For example, inflation in onion prices shoot up to 327% in December 2020 due to unseasonal rains. We would have not forget about the tomato prices which went over 168% in June 2022 due to heat waves and cyclone-led crop damage. Now, the inflationary impact of these disruptions will reflect in the entire sector of economy. For example, an estimate of RBI says that up to 4.5% of India's GDP could be at risk by 2030, owing to lost labour hearts from extreme heat and humidity. Fourthly, its influence on infrastructure. See, physical infrastructure like bridges, roads, ports, electric grids and communication systems are the lifeline of our country. They play a very vital role in a country's development. But sadly, climate change-induced extreme weather events like heavy rain, floods, snow or temperature changes can destroy the existing structures and facilities of the country. For example, nearly 40% of the United States population lives in coastal area. This is the same with India as well as major economic cities over in the coast. They will be heavily affected by sea level rise and another issue is the urban floods. We all know about the urban floods in Chennai, Mumbai. They are a recurrent phenomenon which is affecting the economic activity and assets of the city. Finally, their influence on poverty and migration. See, climate change will increase the factors that led to poverty. The events like urban floods will damage the slum, destroys houses and livelihoods of urban poor. It also affects their livelihood as extreme heat wave can make it difficult for the poor to work in outdoor jobs. Note that the UNHCR data shows that over the past decade, that is between 2010 to 2019, weather-related events displaced and estimated 23.1 million people on average each year. This is leaving many more vulnerable to poverty. Now you can write these points in the first half of the answer. Now in the second half of the answer, we have to write about the mitigation and adaptation strategy followed by India. For example, you can write that. Firstly, with respect to the National Action Plan on Climate Change, NAPCC, this action plan identifies eight core national missions to work on various sectors like solar energy, enhanced energy efficiency, sustainable habitat, water, sustaining the Himalayan ecosystem, Green India and etc. This is the comprehensive plan of India in combating the various aspects of climate change. Secondly, India took various initiatives like International Solar Alliance, Mission Life and etc. They are the global mass movement which aims to nudge individual and collective action to prevent the environment. Thirdly, India is regularly meeting the INDC targets set by itself. And in recent COP, India has presented the following five elements of India's climate action. This is popularly known as Panchamurthy strategy. The five pillars of the strategy is given here. You can go through it. Fourthly, India is a pioneer in taking steps which are reducing fossil fuel emissions. For example, it has taken steps like enforcing Bharat Standard Norm 4, promoting EV through FAME program, then implementing odd event rules for vehicles and etc. You can write these points in the second part of the answer. Now coming to the conclusion part, here you can write that scientific evidence of climate change is clear. It is a reality and we should fight it. The impacts of climate change is a threat to human well-being and the health of the planet. India, being a responsible and aspiring country should play a key role in coordinating the activities of climate change. As given in the recent report of IPCC, any further delay in global action will miss the closing window to secure a livable future to our next generation. This way you can complete the answer for this question. So in this news article discussion, we saw about the 150-year celebration of IMD. Then we saw about what is climate change, their impacts on different aspects. And then we saw the mitigation and adaptation strategy followed by India. So with these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. This news article talks about disinvestment by government. As per the article, the government's earnings from disinvestment may reach around 15,000 crore rupees this year. But this number is much lower than the 51,000 crore rupees target set in the 2023 budget. So a survey conducted by care-edge ratings suggests that the disinvestment goal for the year 2024-25 might be reduced to 40,000 crore rupees. This is the crux of the news article given here. So in this news article discussion, let us understand about disinvestment in problems perspective. See as you all know, investment refers to the conversion of money or cash into securities, debentures, bonds or any other claims on money. Disinvestment is an exact opposite term to investment. Disinvestment involves the conversion of money claims or securities into cash or money. It typically includes the sale or liquidation of assets or subsidiaries of an organization or government. Remember, disinvestment can be done both partially or fully. And here comes the question why disinvestment is done. See, a company or a government organization will typically disinvest an asset. Either as a strategic move for the company or for raising resources to meet general or specific needs. So if a company or an organization or government requires capital, it undergoes a process called disinvestment. Now, depending upon the approaches to disinvestment, it can be classified into three major types. It includes minority disinvestment, majority disinvestment and complete privatization. Minority disinvestment happens when government tries to preserve the majority stake in the company which is around 51%. So it sells out only the minus stake and retains the majority with the government itself. Since it has the majority stake, it also have the power to control the management of the organization. Similarly, when it comes to majority disinvestment, the government gives up the majority stake in the government-held company. And when it comes to privatization, the company's entire ownership is transferred to a buyer. As a result, 100% control of the company is passed on to the buyer. So these are all the different types of approaches to disinvestment from the government's perspective. Now, let us see the benefits of disinvestment one by one. Firstly, it helps in raising valuable resources for the government. Secondly, the government can focus more on core activities like infrastructure, defence, education, healthcare and law and order. Thirdly, it will result in a leaner government with reduction in the number of ministries and bureaucrats. This can be attributed to the slogan of the current government, which is minimum government and maximum governance. Apart from this, it also benefits the markets and economy by bringing about greater efficiencies for the economy and markets as a whole. Then it benefits the taxpayers too. See, letting go of these assets is best in the long-term interest of the taxpayers as the current yield on these investments is abysmally low. So what are all the drawbacks of disinvestments? See, the first one is loss of public interest. To put it in simple words, we know that the PSUs or resources of the nation, they belong to the people. By selling them to private company, government is seriously affecting the people's welfare. Second is the fear of foreign control over the disinvested assets. Third is the issue with workers. For example, jobs for lakhs of workers in the PSUs will fall in danger by privatisation. Finally, is the less number of bidders for the stake. That is, even though government plans to disinvest, there are actually less number of people willing to participate. So these are all some of the important points I have to remember about disinvestment, why it is done, some of its positives and negatives. With these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. This news article talks about Project Starlink of SpaceX. Remember, SpaceX is a Elon Musk's company. The news is that Project Starlink is likely to receive government approval next week. This approval would allow Starlink to provide broadband internet services to users through satellite technology. Already, Geo satellite communications led by Mukesh Ambani and Bharati Enterprises led by Sunil Bharati have received similar licenses from the government to offer satellite-based internet services. So in this context, let us understand about Starlink project, how it works, who are all the beneficiaries and their advantages. Firstly, know that the simple idea behind Starlink is that governments or companies would send up small satellites into space that would be high-speed internet to users with the help of ground stations or terminals back on Earth. These small satellites will be built into a broadband network with a cluster of orbiting spacecrafts. So the primary objective of Starlink is to offer global internet coverage, especially in areas where traditional internet infrastructure is challenging to implement or available. The project has the potential to bring high-speed internet to rural and remote areas and it will bridge the digital divide and enhance connectivity in regions where traditional internet infrastructure is not feasible. So the entire project is nothing but building a broadband network with a cluster of orbiting spacecrafts that would beam high-speed internet to users with the help of ground station or terminals that operate in Earth. Now let us see how this Starlink works. See Starlink utilizes advanced technologies including phased array antennas on the ground to communicate with the satellite constellation. The use of these technologies aims to provide users with a more reliable and high-performance internet connection. Talking about the advantages, firstly it will provide reduced latency between sender and receiver as the satellites are placed in low-Earth orbit. Here latency is nothing but the amount of time it takes for a data packet to go from one place to another. Secondly, as I already said it can deliver internet to remote part of the world, especially in areas where traditional ways that is using fiber optic cables has failed to deliver internet. But still the project has certain concerns. Firstly, since the satellites are smaller with lower height, their signal cover only a relatively small area. As a result, many more satellites are needed in order to reach signals to every part of the world. Secondly, it increases the number of satellites in space and thereby it increases space debris and increases the risk of collusion. Thirdly, the development and deployment of satellite constellation like Starlink raises various commercial and regulatory considerations including spectrum management, space debris mitigation and international cooperation. So these are all certain important facts that you have to remember about Starlink. It is a very important project, so make a note of it. With these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. This text and context article talks about the working principles of LED lights and their importance. So in our news article discussion today, let us see the significance of LED lights. Firstly, know that LED or the liquid emitting diode or semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric current is supplied. LEDs operate based on the principle of electro luminescence. When an electric current passes through a semiconductor material, it releases energy in the form of light. That is what the word electro luminescence means, luminescence that is light produced electrically when an voltage is applied. So what is the difference between LED and fluorescent bulbs? See basically light emitting diodes produce light by electro luminescence which I said earlier. But the fluorescent bulbs they produce light by emitting mercury vapor. This vapor then emit ultraviolet light that stimulates a phosphor coating on the inside of the bulb thereby producing visible light. This is the very basic difference between the fluorescent bulbs and LEDs. Now let us see the advantages of LEDs over the light bulbs. Firstly, energy efficiency. See LED lights are highly energy efficient. They can convert a higher percentage of electrical energy into visible light. This efficiency helps in reducing electricity consumption and lowering energy bills. Secondly, longevity. LED have a significantly longer lifespan compared to traditional lightning sources. They can last 10 of thousands of hours reducing the frequency of replacements and maintenance cost. Third is instantaneous illumination. LED's light up instantly when powered on without any warm up time. This characteristic is especially beneficial in applications where immediate and consistent illumination is required. Fourthly, durability. LED's are solid state lights that track fragile components like filaments or glass bulbs. This makes them more durable and resistant to shocks, vibrations and external impacts. Lastly, color range. See, LEDs are available in a wide range of colors and their color output can be controlled more precisely than traditional lighting sources. This flexibility is particularly useful in applications by specific color temperature or effects or desired. Finally, the most important thing is that the environmental impacts of LEDs is generally lower than traditional lighting sources. They are mercury-free and contribute to energy saving and helps in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. So, these are all certain important facts that you have to remember about like emitting diode with these learnt points. Now, let us move on to the next part of the news article discussion, which is the preliminary practice question discussion. Now, look at this first question, which government agency in India is primarily responsible for overseeing the disinvestment process and strategic sale of public sector assets? See, the correct answer here is option D, Ministry of Finance. Actually, Department of Investment and Public Assert Management. DIPIM and the Ministry of Finance, they deal with all matters related to management of central government investments in equity including disinvestment of equity in central public sector undertakings. So, the correct answer here is option D, Ministry of Finance. Moving on, which of the following semiconductor material is commonly utilized in the fabrication of light emitting diode LEDs? See, the correct answer here is gallium arsenide. Moving on, what is the purpose of Starlink project initiated by SpaceX led by Elon Musk? The correct answer here is option D, Global Internet Courage. Moving on, this question is about anti-defection law. Two statements are given and you have to find which statement given here is overall correct. First statement says the law specifies that a nominated legislator cannot join any political party within six months of being appointed to the house. This statement is wrong. He can join any political party within six months. But after the expiry of the first six months, if he or she is joining a political party, then he will be a defector. Now, the second statement says the law does not provide any time frame within which the presiding officer has to decide a defection case. This statement is correct. So, the correct answer for the question is option B, 2 only. So, with this, we came to the end of the news article discussion. If you like the video, hit like, do comment and don't forget to subscribe to Shankar IAS Academy YouTube channel. Now, thank you so much for listening.