 A very good evening aspirants, I have an interesting announcement for you to know. 3. Exciting opportunities are knocking on your door to assist you in achieving your dream of clearing the UPSS Civil Services examination. We are here to help you in your prelims and main preparation. Those who have missed to enroll into the most reliable prelims test series offered by Shankaray's academy, your wait is over. Pre-storming batch 3 is starting on November 9th. The first test in this batch will commence on 20th November. Like the other batches, it will also have 66 tests. Now for mains examination, you are all aware about the mains boost 2023, right? Under this, you will be provided 40 mains-oriented tests in 90 days. The booster is a quick plan drafter for you to boost your mains score. It starts on October 31st and will include sectional test, half papers and civil services examination emulators. It is available in both offline and online modes for just 4,500 rupees. On top of that, we are launching a new initiative called SA Augmentor 2023. Under this initiative, you will be provided with four tests to enhance your essays. It is also available in both online and offline modes. You will get a different approach towards essay writing along with pre-essay and post-essay discussions. To further enhance the content of essays, you will be provided with a summarized easy material combined with mentorship. All these for just 6,000 rupees. So, grab these chances to kickstart your problems and mains exam preparation. So, this announcement, now let us move on to the Hindu newspaper analysis. Today's date is 28th October 2022. So, display it here or the list of news articles that we are going to discuss today. So, without much delay, let us get into the news article discussion. Now, take a look at this news article. It talks about the coinage of various kingdoms present in ancient and medieval India. It also deals with Kushan Empire and their coinage system of depicting their gods in their coins. So, let's take this as an opportunity to learn about Kushan Kingdom in detail. So, firstly coming to the question, who were Kushans? See, Kushans were a part of your sea tribe people who populated the present day northwest region of China. Okay? See, because of the expulsion of them from their homelands due to other wiring tribes, they came to occupy the parts of regions of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and northwestern India. See, the extent of the territory is given in this map. You can have a look at it. And remember the time period within which they ruled this territory extends from 1st century CE to 4th century CE. The founder of the dynasty, Kujula, Khadpis, followed Greek religious ideas and iconography. He also followed traditions of Hinduism being a follower of Saivism while the later rulers adopted Buddhism. Now, coming to the most important king of the Kushan dynasty, I hope you would have all heard about the name Kanishka, right? He was the ruler under whom the Kushan Empire reached its zenith. He ascended the throne in 127 CE and ruled it till 150 CE. Here note that Kushans controlled the famous silk root which resulted in economic well-being. As a result of this, they minted a huge number of gold coins. Even though Indo-Greeks were the first to introduce gold coins in India, Kushans issued the most number of gold coins with high intrinsic value. So, these coins only had the images of gods on one side with the opposite side having the ruler's portrait. Here the most important fact to notice, the 4th Buddhist council was held under the patronage of Kanishka. This resulted in Buddhism spreading to far wider areas in central and eastern Asian regions. Other than this, the famous Gandhara art form was patronized by the Kushans. So, the scintillating sculptures of Buddha owes their existence to the Kushans. The famous fasting Buddha sculpture belongs to the Kushan Empire. So, now coming to the capital city of Kushans. See, Kushans ruled with two capitals. One at Purushapura, the present day Peshawar and the other capital at Madhura. So, now coming to the end of the Kushan Empire. See, the empire started disintegrating in the first half of the 4th century CE. The resultant political vacuum was filled by the emergence of the Guptan Empire in the central Indian region. So, this is all you have to know about Kushan Empire with respect to Prevenor examination. So, in this discussion, we saw in detail about the origin of Kushans. We saw that their time period extended from 1st century CE to 4th century CE. We saw that the founder of the dynasty is Kujula, cut pieces. Then we saw about Kanishka. We saw that 4th Buddhist council was held under the patronage of Kanishka. And then we saw some of the important details that we have to remember with respect to Kushan Empire. So, with these learnt points, let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now, take a look at this news article. It talks about the newly introduced Indian Telecom Bill 2022. The article reports that the provisions about Troy in the said bill is now being considered by the government for removal. Also, the article says that a new bill regarding Troy is in plans of the government, which is to be introduced within the next two years. So, this is the crux of the news article given here. In this context, let us learn about Troy in problems perspective. Firstly, let us see the abbreviation of Troy. See, Troy stands for Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. See, we know that the entry of private service providers in the telecom industry brought an inevitable need for independent regulation. So, Troy was established in 1997 by an act of parliament called the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act 1997. So, from this, what you can infer? Yes, Troy is a statutory body. It aims to regulate telecom services including fixation or revision of tariffs for telecom services which were earlier listed in the central government. Okay. Now, coming to the issue discussed in the news article, see to address spam calls and spam messages, the draft telecom bill provides that communications of commercial nature like advertisement and promotion shall be made only with the prior consent of a subscriber or the consumer. See, earlier this was dealt by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India that is Troy, but the draft bill takes it out from the purview of Troy and gives the government the power to take stringent measures against such violators. The other issue is that the government would no longer be required to seek recommendations from the Troy before issuing licenses to telecommunication service providers. So, because of these provisions, the primary responsibility of Troy which is to regulate the telecommunication industry is watered down. This led to concerns from various sections of the civil society. Because of this outrage, the government now plans to do away with all the amended provisions relating to Troy presented in the set draft bill. So, this is all about the issue discussed in the news article. Additionally, we shall see some of the facts relating to Troy. See, the headquarters of Troy is located at New Delhi and the Troy's mission is to create and nurture conditions for growth of telecommunications in the country so that it will enable India to play a leading role in emerging global information society. One of the main objective of Troy is to provide a fair and transparent policy environment which promotes a level playing field and facilitates fair competition. So, in perseverance of this objective, Troy has issued from time to time a large number of regulations, orders and directives. These regulations or orders provided the required direction to the evolution of Indian telecom market. This has helped the Indian telecom market to move from a government owned monopoly to an open competitive market. These directions, orders and regulations issued cover a wide range of subjects including tariff, interconnection and quality of service as well as governance of the authority. So, now coming to the important point, note that the recommendations made by the Troy are not binding on the central government. So, that's all you have to know about Troy. See, in this news article discussion, we saw in detail about telecom regulatory authority of India. Make note of all these points very, very important from the preliminary point of view. So, these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now, take a look at this news article. It talks about the issue of single use plastics. Now, suddenly it is in use because Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board that is TNPCB has issued orders for the strict enforcement on the ban of single use plastics. The article reports that the Central Pollution Control Board has written to all state pollution control boards previously asking them to crack down on single use plastics through an intensive drive till December this year. So, this is the cracks of the news article given here. In this context, let us see what is single use plastic and also the effects of it on the environment. Now, coming to the term single use plastics. See, single use plastics or low utility, high littering potential plastics which are used and disposed by humans in a very short period of time. To be precise, they are used only once before they are disposed of. Some of the examples of a single use plastics are plastic carry bags, plastic flags, plastic sheets used for foot wrapping, spreading on dining table, plastic plates, plastic coated tea cups, plastic water packets, plastic straws, etc. Remember to uphold the spirit of Azadika Amrit Mahotsa, a defining step to curb pollution caused by littering and unmanaged plastic waste was taken by the Union government. What it did? It banned the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified single use plastic items all over the country from July 1, 2022. So, to implement the ban strictly across India, Central Pollution Control Board had been issuing directions towards state counterparts. So, this is what is given in today's news article. Now, with this basic information, let us see some of the ill effects of single use plastics on our environment. Firstly, human health. See, human health is harmed by single use plastics. When left to degrade, single use plastics leech many harmful chemicals into the environment like bisphenol A. They release endocrine disrupting chemicals that bio-chimulate in humans and can cause cancer and impact reproductive hormones. Secondly, single use plastics which are also micro plastics get in the mouth, stomachs and digestive systems of fishes, birds and animals. This is making it hard for them to breathe and eat. The non-decomposition of all these plastics becomes part of the food chain of aquatic and subsequently human life also. Now, thirdly, as you know, single use plastic is produced from fossil viewers. The process of extracting and creating these plastics emits huge amount of greenhouse gases. Therefore, single use plastics increases the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. So, this is all regarding the effects of single use plastics. So, through this discussion, we came to know about single use plastics and the ill effects of single use plastics. So, with these learned points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now, have a look at this editorial article. See, this editorial article says that the number of government schemes are reduced and this is done by either slashing the schemes or by cutting funds to the scheme or by merging several schemes into one umbrella scheme. The reduction in the government schemes have done even by improper utilization of funds. So, in this news article discussion, let us discuss some of the important facts given in the news article discussion. You can use all these details as a value addition in your main examination. That is why we have chosen this news article. So, now before getting into the news article discussion, the syllabus relevant to this news article is highlighted here for your reference. You can go through it. So, to begin with, see the article says that over the past three years, over 50% of existing central government sponsored schemes have been discontinued, subsumed, revamped or rationalized into other schemes. So, here you have to know about what is this centrally sponsored scheme. See, centrally sponsored scheme or CSS is nothing but a certain percentage of the funding is borne by the states and the implementation is by the state government. While there is another type of scheme which is called as central sector scheme, in central sector scheme 100% of funding is done by union government and it is implemented by the central government missionary. Okay. So, just have this clarity. This article talks only about centrally sponsored scheme. So, now coming back, the author says that this reduction in schemes has various impacts across different ministries. To understand this better, let us see an example. Take union ministry of woman and child development. Currently, there is only three schemes under this ministry. They are the mission Shakti, mission Vatsalya and Poshar 2.0. Do you think it is sufficient? No, right. See, India is a country where women and children contribute 67.7% of its population. So, their empowerment, protection and their wholesome development in a safe and secure environment is crucial for sustainable and equitable development of the country, right? If this happens only, then we can achieve transformational, economic and social changes. Now, when all the schemes are subsumed under one or when certain schemes are discarded abruptly, how will the objectives of these schemes will be met? It is a question, right? Likewise, take the example of mission Shakti. This scheme alone replaced 14 schemes like the beti bachau, beti padau, scheme, woman helpline, WHL and many more. So, here what is happening is, see, under mission Shakti, there are two subschames. One is sambal and other is samathya. Under the sambal subscheme, which is for safety and security of women, the erstwhile schemes like one stop centre that is OAC, women helpline, WHL, beti bachau, beti padau, BB, BP or subsumed. And under the samathya subscheme, which is for empowerment of women, the erstwhile schemes like Ujwala, swadhaar, gray and working women hostel have been included with modifications. Then, even the existing national creche scheme for children of working mothers and Pradhan Mantri Matruvandrayojana, that is PM-M-VY, which were under the umbrella scheme of integrated child development scheme, ICDS, have now been included in samathya. So, here the author says that, this kind of reduction in scheme is not good. Also, to support his view, he quotes some more schemes as examples. Let us see them one by one. Take the example of Nirbaya fund. See, we all know that Nirbaya fund is a dedicated fund set up post 2012, that is after the Nirbaya gang rape case. It was set up with the focus on implementing the initiatives aimed at improving the security and safety of women in India. The fund was called Nirbaya fund and it included schemes like One Stop Center, Universalization of Women Helpline, Mahila Police Volunteer, then the Emergency Response Support System, Central Victim Compensation Fund and many more. So, what happened to this scheme is, see rupees 1000 crore was allotted to the fund annually from 2013, but it all remained largely unspent. For example, as of financial year 2021-22, approximately 6214 crore rupees was allotted to the fund since its launch. But the dispersed amount was only 4138 crore and among the dispersed amount, just 2922 crore was actually utilized and the remaining 660 crore rupees was dispersed to the Ministry of Women and Child Development. In that also, only 181 crore rupees was utilized as of July 2021. So, here from the schemes we have discussed so far, you can come to a conclusion that schemes are subsumed in various other umbrella schemes and hence the actual funding is reduced. But women, they still continue to face significant risk in public spaces. This is the sad reality. Now next, let us take the case of fertilizer subsidies. See, this is also declining over the last few years. See, the actual government spending on fertilizers in financial year 2022-2021 reached 127921 crore rupees. But in the following year, that is financial year 2021-22 budget, the allocation was 79,529 crore rupees only. But later it was revised to 140122 crore rupees. Now, again in financial year 2022-2023 budget, the allocation is reduced. In that, the allocation for NPK fertilizers, that is nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers was 35% lower than revised estimates in financial year 2021-22. See, this kind of budgetary cuts have led to fertilizer shortages and former anguish. This is because of the rise in fertilizer price after the Ukraine war. So, here are the other questions. How will we incentivize farmers to continue agricultural operations? Now, not only this, take the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, that is MGNREGA. Even for this, the fund allocation is reduced. Yes, the fund allocation went down by approximately 25% in the financial year 2022-23 budget. But when you take the demand for this scheme according to the economic survey 2022-23, the demand was higher than pre-pandemic levels. Also, it is said that the actual funding dispersal for this MGNREGA has often been delayed. So, this kind of fund cuts and improper disbursement leads to a decline in confidence over the scheme. Then, take the example of Garib Kalyar, Rojgal, Abhyan. See, it is a massive rural public works scheme to empower and provide livelihood opportunities to the returning migrant workers and rural citizens. It was launched on June 2020 and it was a 125-day Abhyan with a resource envelope of 50,000 crore rupees. But what happened is, approximately 50.78 crore person days of employment were provided at an expenditure of approximately 39,293 crore rupees. So here, you must note that this scheme subsumed 15 other schemes. The author regards this as a black mark because over 60 million to 100 million migrant workers who were seeking informal jobs were left out. And the fund allocation is further shrinked. The issue does not stop there. Even in healthcare too, there was reduction of schemes. For example, the agritated social health activist that is Asha, who are the first reporters, they have been delayed in salaries for up to six months. And even regularization of their jobs continues to be a struggle with wages and payments struck at minimum levels. So, Asha workers whose family is solely dependent on this salary suffers. So by highlighting all these examples, the author concludes by saying that rather than downsizing government schemes and cutting funds, one should right-size the government. That is, we should rise our aspirations towards better public service delivery. For example, we need to build capacity for an efficient civil service to meet today's challenges. The government can provide a corruption-free welfare system by running a modern economy and providing better public goods. So, this is all you have to know about this news article discussion. Now, I presented all the data for you to understand the current reality. You really don't have to memorize all the data. You can get an idea about what was happening before and what is going on now. I hope this discussion is very helpful for you. So, with these learnt points, let us move on to the next news article discussion. Have a look at this news article. See, this news article talks about the hate speech. Now, suddenly hate speech is in news because Azam Khan, who is a Samajwadi party leader, have got three years' imprisonment for hate speech. Now, let us not get deep into the issue as it is not very important. Instead, let us know about hate speech. And then we shall also see some of the laws related to hate speech in India. So, let's start with the question, what is hate speech? See, there is no specific definition of hate speech. But in the 267th report of the Law Commission of India, hate speech is defined as an incitement to hatred primarily against a group of persons. This group of persons is defined in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and religious belief. So, in simple words, hate speech is any word written or spoken, sign or visible representations within the hearing or sight of a person with the intention to cause fear or allurem or incitement to violence. So, here what you have to notice, some of the provisions in law actually criminalize all actions like speeches, writings, signs and the presentations that create violence and spread this harmony between communities and groups. So, now let us see some of the legal provisions regarding these hate speech in India. See, provisions related to hate speech can be found both under Indian Penal Code that is IPC and under Representation of People's Act. See, under IPC there are three sections which you have to make note of. First are Sections 153A and 153B of the IPC. Both the section punishes acts that cause enmity and hatred between two groups. Then comes the section 295A of the IPC. This section deals with punishing acts which deliberately or with malicious intention outrage the religious feelings of a class of persons. Now, the third section that you have to remember are Sections 5051 and 5052. See, both make the publication and circulation of content which may cause ill will or hatred between different groups and offence. So, this is regarding IPC. Now, under Representation of People's Act in Sections 123 Clause 3A and 125 of the Representation of People Act. Both bars the promotion of animosity on the grounds of race, religion, community, caste or language in reference to elections and included under corrupt electoral practices. So, these are all some of the safeguards provided against hate speech in our Indian Penal Code and Representation of People's Act. Now, here comes the question why hate speech should be curbed. See, there are numerous reasons for that. First is internal security. I hope you all remember about Musafar Nahar Royce of 2013. It was triggered by a fake video that incited communal passions. So, to prevent such kind of spread of hatred among two communities and to maintain internal security, these laws are very important. Second reason for why hate speech must be curbed is because hate speech ignites extremist sentiments. Now, thirdly, to prevent mob lynching and spread of misinformation and disinformation, curbing the hate speech is very, very important. I hope you all remember the Delhi Royce. The Delhi Royce is a very good example of misinformation and disinformation. So, in order to curb all these and to live in peace and harmony, hate speech must be curbed. So, in this news article discussion, we saw in detail about what is the hate speech and we saw about some of the legal protection under IPC and RPA and then we saw why hate speech must be curbed. So, these learned 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 question. Which of the following kingdoms ruled the northwestern part of Indian subcontinent during the post-Maurian period? First kingdom is Parthians, Satavahanas, Kushans, Sunga and Kanwa. So, you have to pick the correct pair here. See, the correct answer for the question is option B1 and 3 only. See, Parthians ruled the northwestern part of India. They were people of Iranian origin. So, statement one is actually correct. Statement two is wrong because Satavahanas, they ruled the present-day Deccan region. They did not rule northwestern part of Indian subcontinent. So, this statement is wrong and from our discussion itself, you could have known that Kushanas ruled over the northwestern part of India. So, this statement is correct. Now, coming to last two options, both these two options are incorrect because Sunga and Kanwa dynasty ruled over the central Indian region. So, the correct answer for the question is option B1 and 3 only. Now, moving on, this question is about Troy. Statement one, it is a statutory body and statement two, it is mandatory for the government to implement the recommendations of Troy. So, you have to choose the correct statement here. See, from our discussion itself, we know that statement one is actually correct. It was established as a statutory body in the year 1997 by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act. Statement two is incorrect because from the discussion itself, we saw that government does not have to listen to Troy's recommendations. Even though Troy functions as an independent regulator. So, here the correct answer for the question is option A1 only. Now, the two questions displayed here are the quiz question for you today. One question is a previous year question. Try to answer that in the comment section and the other is regarding hate speech. The question displayed here is the main practice question for you today. Just go through the question, write an answer and post the answer in the comment section. So, with this we came to the end of the news article discussion. If you like the video, hit like, do comment and don't forget to subscribe to Shankarae's Academy YouTube channel. Thank you for listening.