 Good evening aspirants. Welcome to daily news analysis by Shankar A.S academy. Today's date is 25th November 2023. Displayed here are the list of topics we are going to see today. Now without wasting any time let us get into the discussion. Look at this news article. It says that Sloth Beer Rescue Center at Banner Ghatta National Park has completed 18 years. This rescue center is the second largest sloth beer rescue center in the world. Note that Agra rescue center is the largest sloth beer rescue facility in the world and it is located in Uttarpradesh. So this is all about the news. In this discussion let us understand few important points about Banner Ghatta National Park and also about Sloth Beer. First let us start with Banner Ghatta National Park. This park was founded in 1971 as Banner Ghatta Wildlife Sanctuary. Later in 1974 it was provided with national park status. Apart from biological park it also has a zoo, butterfly park, a safari park and full-fledged animal rescue center. Now talking about the location and geography of the park, Banner Ghatta National Park is located in the Bangalore district of Karnataka and it is situated on Anaykal mountain range. See Banner Ghatta National Park is situated to the north of Mysore Elephant Reserve and it is home to large number of elephants. The elephants use Banner Ghatta National Park as a corridor between Bilighiri Rangan Hills and Sathiyamangalam forest. Note that Swarnamukki river passes through Banner Ghatta National Park. Now coming to the flora and fauna in this park. Sandalwood, neem, tamarin are some of the important trees in the park. Some mammals like Indian elephants, Indian leopard, sloth beer, Indian gazelle and pangolin are also found in the park. So this is all about Banner Ghatta National Park. Now let us see some important points regarding sloth beer. Sloth beer is native to India, Sri Lanka and Nepal. They are also present in Bangladesh and Bhutan. Sloth beers live mainly in tropical areas and mostly in dry and moist forest areas and also in grasslands. Now coming to the physical characteristics, sloth beer have a black coat especially over the shoulders. They also have long curved claws which they used to excavate termites and ants from the ground. So they mainly consume termites and ants. Apart from this they will also eat some fruits and flowers. Now coming to the conservation status of sloth beer, it is listed as vulnerable in IUCN Red List. In India sloth beer is protected under Schedule 1 of Wildlife Production Act 1972. So this is all about the discussion. Here we have seen some important points about Banner Ghatta National Park and some points about sloth beer. With this we shall move to the next topic. Now look at this editorial article. It talks about climate smart agriculture. The article here highlights various advantages and need for climate smart agriculture. In our discussion we will understand the important points mentioned in the article through main sensor writing approach. Before that let's look into the syllabus. This topic comes under GS paper 3 under the topic of different types of irrigation and irrigation system storage. Now look at the question. Climate smart agriculture can address the dual objective of agricultural sustainability and climate change mitigation. In this slide discuss the significance and challenges in implementing climate smart agriculture in India. So the question is very direct. We have to cover two things. One is significance of climate smart agriculture and other one is challenges in implementing in India. And finally in conclusion we have to write about the need for climate smart agriculture. So this is how we are going to approach the question. Now let us start with the introduction. Since the question is about CSA you can write the definition of CSA in the introduction. According to Food and Agricultural Organization climate smart agriculture is an approach for transforming food and agricultural systems to support sustainable development and safeguard food security and climate change. In simple words in simple words climate smart agriculture means changing how we grow the food to help the environment support long-term development and make sure we have enough food even with climate changes. CSA utilizes water smart weather smart energy smart and carbon smart practices to achieve its goal. See there are three pillars of CSA. One is to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and income. Second one is to adapt and build resilience to climate change. Third one is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions wherever possible. So these are the three basics about CSA. So you can use this in the introduction of the answer. Now coming to the main body of answer. As mentioned early the question is asking to write about significance and challenges in implementing CSA. So first let us start with the significance of climate smart agriculture. The points under significance can be placed under two subheading. One is significance of CSA in ensuring agricultural sustainability and other one is significance of CSA in adding climate change mitigation. So we are going to write about agricultural sustainability and climate change mitigation with respect to climate smart agriculture. So first let us see the role of climate smart agriculture in ensuring agricultural sustainability. First is economic viability for farmers. Adopting CSA will ensure financial viability for the farmer. For any agricultural practice to be sustainable it must be economically viable for the farmers. Adopting CSA can result in increased agricultural output and reduction in input cost while it also maintains the ecological stability. So this leads to improved income for farmers. So this is the first major significance. Next is preservation of natural resources. As we already saw climate smart agriculture involves weather smart, water smart, energy smart and carbon smart practices. In addition to this CSA promotes crop diversification and increases water efficiency. So this helps land degradation and improves soil health. So this leads to sustainable use of natural resources. So this is the second major significance. Next is ensuring food security. See adopting climate smart agriculture also helps to ensure food security. Data suggests that India might face crop yield decline of about 9% due to climate change. So this can be addressed by adopting climate smart agriculture. By using resilient crop varieties, improved water management techniques and diversified farming methods the CSA helps farmers to cope with the impacts of climate change. So thereby it ensures food security for future generations. So these are the significance of CSA in ensuring the agricultural sustainability. Next we shall see the significance of CSA in adding climate change mitigation. First one is reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The agricultural sector produces a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2018 17 percentage of greenhouse gas emissions is from agricultural sector. So implementing climate smart agriculture can reduce the emissions from agriculture sector. In CSA we use agroforestry, use of native plant variety, correct use of fertilizers, conservation tillage and crop rotation. So these practices reduces greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector. So this will help mitigate climate change. Next is carbon sequestration. Components of CSA like agroforestry helps in enhancing carbon storage. The increased agricultural productivity will prevent farmers from clearing new forest land for agriculture. So this will help in reduction of deforestation and habitat destruction. So this will in turn help to mitigate climate change. The last one is promotion of renewable energy. Some climate smart agricultural practices involve the use of renewable energy resources. So climate smart agriculture uses solar powered irrigation, biogas digesters. So this also helps in mitigating the climate change. You can mention these points to highlight the significance of climate smart agriculture. So we have addressed the first part of question. For the second part of the answer we have to write about the challenges in implementing CSA. The first important challenges limited awareness. People are not aware about CSA and its benefits. Due to this lack of awareness it is difficult to convince the farmers to take up climate smart agriculture. The next important challenge is financial constraint. In short term adopting climate smart agriculture can be costlier. But most of the farmers in India are small and marginal farmers. In addition to this farmers in India do not have ready access to formal credit. So this prevents farmers from investing in climate smart technologies. The next important challenge is lack of access to technology. See even if farmers are willing to invest in climate smart agriculture there is lack of access to technology in India. This is because the agricultural technology sector in India is still in beginning stage. So this lack of access to technology is a major challenge for climate smart agriculture. The next one is government's fragmented policy. See India has various policies regarding climate smart agriculture. National adaptation fund for climate change. National innovation climate resilient agriculture. Soil health mission. Biotech Kisan and climate smart village. Are few examples of government initiatives in focusing climate smart agriculture. But these government efforts are fragmented. So this leads to insufficient coordination amongst stakeholders towards climate smart agriculture. So this is also a major challenge in implementing climate smart agriculture in India. So this is all about the challenges in adopting CSA. Now we have completed the body of answer. Let us take up the conclusion part. As already mentioned we can write about the need for CSA in conclusion part. On one hand traditional forming practices are becoming less productive due to climate change. On other hand due to increasing disposable income and changing dietary practice the demand for food is increasing. So climate smart agriculture practices will help address the increasing demand for food. It will also help to mitigate the impacts of climate change. So adopting CSA is a win-win situation for Indian farmers. So in this way you can end the answer. So this is all regarding this discussion. We have seen the significance of climate smart agriculture. The challenges in implementing it and need for climate smart agriculture. Now let us move to the next topic. Look at this news article. There was recent outbreak of H9N2 avian influenza virus in northern China. This infection is affecting avian population in China. And it is also causing clusters of respiratory illness in children. In this backdrop our union health ministry also conducted a meeting. The ministry noted that there is low risk to India from the avian influenza cases and respiratory illness that is happening in China. The ministry also said that it is closely monitoring the outbreak of H9N2 cases. So this is the crux of the news article. In this discussion let us understand some points about H9N2 virus infections. H9N2 virus is a subtype of influenza A virus. It is commonly referred to as bird flu virus. This virus is primarily affecting birds and poultry populations. It is also capable of infecting humans. But the infections in humans are rare. See the symptoms of H9N2 infections are very mild in humans. This factor leads to under-reporting of infection cases. Now coming to the discovery of virus. H9N2 subtype was isolated for the first time in 1966 in USA. Later in 1999 the first human case of H9N2 was reported from Hong Kong. After that several human infections have observed in China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar and Egypt. India also have several reported cases in the past. Now coming to the symptoms. The birds and poultry that are infected with H9N2 virus show the symptoms of depression, reduced weight and reduced feathers. This can cause economic losses in poultry industry due to reduction in meat and egg production. Now coming to the symptoms in humans. As said earlier H9N2 infections have very mild symptoms in humans. The affected persons have symptoms of cough, fever, nasal discharge, sore throat and headache. Now the infection is also causing a cluster of respiratory illness among children in China. Now talking about the transmission of virus. H9N2 influenza virus can be transmitted between birds by air droplets, dust, feed or water. The virus can be transmitted from birds to humans during processing of infected meat and eggs. It can infect humans while feeding the poultry. As H9N2 infections can be transmitted from birds to humans it is termed as zoonotic infection. Now finally let us see the prevention and treatment options available to address H9N2 infections. Fascinating poultry is one of the important steps to prevent H9N2 infections. Apart from this active surveillance programs will also help to control the spread of this virus. In addition to this using antiviral drugs on the infected poultry will also help to reduce the symptoms. So this is all about the H9N2 virus infection which is currently happening in China. So this is all about the discussion now let us move to the next topic. Look at this news article Indian government is going to build strategic natural gas reserves. Here strategic reserves means storage facilities created to store fuels. The strategic reserves for natural gas would be built using old depleted hydrocarbon wells. See India has 5 million tons of strategic petroleum reserves but there are no strategic reserves for storing natural gas. These strategic reserves help the government to store excess natural gas and use it when there is global supply disruption. The government said that strategic facilities would be built in India's western and north eastern regions. See India's share of natural gas in its energy mix is currently about 6.2%. India is aiming to increase this share to about 15% by 2030. So building the reserves will significantly help to achieve this goal. So this is all about the news article. In this discussion let us understand few points about strategic petroleum reserves of India and we will also see about how natural gas is stored. See strategic petroleum reserves refers to storage of crude oil in underground facilities. The excess crude oil is stored in strategic reserves during less demand. Later the government uses these reserves during huge demand. The reserves also help the government to ensure a stable supply of crude oil during the times of geopolitical uncertainty or supply disruptions. See India has several underground strategic petroleum reserves. They have total capacity of storing 5.33 million metric tons of crude oil. Currently India has three operational reserves located in two states. One is Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Second one is Mangaluru in Karnataka and third one is Padur which is also in Karnataka. Note that in 2021 government has approved the establishment of another two strategic facilities. One at Chandikul in Odisha and another at Padur which is in Karnataka. So this is all about the strategic petroleum reserves of India. Now coming to the storage of natural gas. Like petroleum natural gas can be stored in underground facilities. During the period of low demand natural gas are stored in such facilities and later during the period of high demand they are used. Natural gas can be stored using three main types of underground facilities. Firstly natural gas can be stored in depleted natural gas fields or oil fields. It can be even stored in underground mines. Secondly it can be stored in salt caverns. Note that salt caverns are underground spaces formed by dissolving the rock salt under the ground. And finally natural gas can be stored in water aquifers. Here the water aquifers have water bearing sedimentary rock formations that are overlaid with impermeable cap rock. So look at this diagram. So these are the ways natural gas is stored under the ground. So this is all about the discussion. Now let us move to the next topic. Now look at this news article. It talks about recent crystal report on insolvency and bankruptcy code. The report says that IBC has improved the credit culture in India by resolving a significant amount of stressed assets with better recovery rates. The report also says that IBC's success story is slowly dissipating. The report says that in March 2019 the recovery rate was around 43% but it got reduced to 32% in September 2023. In addition to this there was also increase in average resolution time from 324 days to 653 days. So the report clearly shows that the performance of IBC is declining. According to the report the poor performance was due to limited judicial bench strength and delays in identification and acknowledgement of default. So this is all about the news article. In this context let us discuss about the basics of IBC. See insolvency and bankruptcy code is a reform enacted in 2016. This reform is an amalgamation of various laws relating to insolvency resolution of business firms. See we know that we have large amount of bad loans in India. These bad loans were bringing our economy down. So this is why the insolvency and bankruptcy code was created to control and resolve the bad loans. Now we have a question what is insolvency and what is bankruptcy. See insolvency is a situation where individuals or companies are unable to repay their outstanding debt. If you take bankruptcy it is a situation whereby a competent jurisdiction has declared a person insolvent. To put it simply bankruptcy is a legal declaration of insolvency and it is a legal declaration of one's inability to pay off their debts. So insolvency refers to a situation whereas bankruptcy refers to a legal state. If you are insolvent you are simply not in the position to pay off your debts whereas if you are declared bankrupt then you have to pay off your debts either by selling off your assets or by restructuring payment process with the help of government. Here note that not all insolvencies will lead to declaration of bankruptcy. Now coming to the quote insolvency and bankruptcy code has created various institutions to facilitate the resolution of insolvency. First comes insolvency professionals. These professionals will administer the resolution process. They will manage the assets of the debtor and provide information for the creditors to assist them in decision making. Next insolvency professional agencies. See insolvency professionals will be registered with insolvency professional agencies. These agencies conduct examinations to certify the insolvency professionals and enforce a code of contact for their performance and there is information utilities. See information utility is a professional organization whose function is to gather, assemble, accumulate, validate and disseminate financial information from the companies and creditors to facilitate insolvency process. A person can rely on the information stored in information utility before investing in certain companies. So this ensures that a person's investment is secured. Next there is educating authorities. The insolvency and bankruptcy code recognizes NCLT constituted under section 408 of the companies act. NCLT national company law tribunal is educating authority for the purpose of insolvency resolution and liquidation for corporate persons. NCLT works on the lines of normal court laws in the country. Now we shall see about DRT. The IBC also recognizes DRT which is also constituted under section 3 of recovery of dips due to banks and financial institutions act 1993. It is an educating authority for the purpose of insolvency resolution regarding partnership firms and individuals. Finally the most important institution of IBC is insolvency and bankruptcy board. See the insolvency and bankruptcy board regulates the insolvency professionals, insolvency professional agencies, information utilities set up under the code. The board will consist of representatives from Reserve Bank of India, Ministry of Finance, Corporate Affairs and law. So in this discussion we have seen basic support insolvency and bankruptcy code and some points about national company law tribunal and dip resolution tribunal. Now we have come to the problems practice question discussion. Look at the first question. It is a national park located in South India. It has the world's second largest sloth pier rescue center. Swarnamikki river passes through the center of national park, dry dcds cub forest, tropical dry dcds forest and tropical moist mixed forest are the type of forest seen in the national park. So which of the following national park is described above. As we have seen in the discussion it is Bannerigata national park. So the correct answer is option C. Now moving on to the second question, with reference to strategic petroleum reserves of India, consider the following statements. They are currently maintained by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, ONJC. This statement is incorrect. Strategic petroleum reserves are maintained by Indian strategic petroleum reserves Ltd. It was created in 2004 and it functions under Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Moving on to the second statement, they are located in Mumbai and Gujarat. This statement is also incorrect. As we have seen in the discussion, there are three strategic petroleum reserves in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. So this statement is also incorrect. So the correct answer is option D. Neither one nor two. Now looking at the third question, with reference to H9N2 av influenza virus, consider the following statements. It is not known to cause infection in humans. This statement is incorrect because it can cause infection in humans as it is a zoonotic infection. The vaccination of poultry can help to prevent the spread of H9N2 infections. Yes, this statement is correct. So the correct answer is option B. Two only. Now looking at the fourth question, consider the following statements about national company law tribunal. It is a statutory body established under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 to educate on insolvency and bankruptcy cases. This statement is wrong. It is a quasi judicial statutory body established under Companies Act 2013 and not under IBC Code 2016. Now coming to the second statement, NCLT has jurisdiction over companies, limited liability entities, individuals and partnership firms. This statement is also wrong. NCLT has jurisdiction over companies and limited liability entities. Depth recovery tribunal has jurisdiction over individuals and partnership firms. Now moving on to the third statement, appeals against the decision of NCLT are made to the Supreme Court. This statement is also wrong. Appeals against the decision of NCLT are made to the National Company Law Appealate Tribunal. So the correct answer is option D. None of the above, since all the three statements are wrong. This is all about the problems practice question discussion. With this, we have come to the end of the discussion. If you like the video, please share it with your friends and don't forget to subscribe to Shankara E.S. YouTube channel. Thank you.