 A very good evening aspirants. Welcome to the hindu newspaper analysis brought to you by shankarae's academy. Today's date is 25th of january 2024. Displayed here are the list of news articles that we are going to discuss today. So without much delay let us get into the first news article discussion. This image portrays new sound and light show at gold condor fort in Hyderabad. It has been upgraded after three decades and the show depicts the history of the fort. So in this background let us discuss few points about kudub shahi dynasty from prilam's perspective. Firstly what is kudub shahi dynasty? See kudub shahi dynasty refers to the muslim rulers of the gold condor kingdom in the south eastern deccan of india. They are old from 1518 to 1687. Remember they are one of the five successor states of the baamini kingdom. The five successor states are gold condor, bidar, ahamath nahar, bizapur and berar. Now let us see how kudub shahi dynasty gained power in the region. See kuali, kutbul, mulk was an able general in the baamini kingdom. He was a duke and was appointed as the subedar of telangana by sultan muhammad Shah baamini. Later with the disintegration of the baamini kingdom in the early 16th century, kuel mulk gained virtual independence as a result he established the kudub shahi dynasty with gul konda as his headquarters. The kingdom flourished from 1518 until 1687 when aurangizib's army invaded the deccan. Here you can see the extent of the kingdom in the image given here. So the dynasty spanned 171 years in the history of south india and during this period eight kings ruled the land and its people. Remember, kudub shahi rulers were great builders and patrons of learning. They not only patronized persian culture but also the regional culture of the deccan. The gul konda fort, kudub shahi tomb and char minar or proof of their splendid architecture. Now let us see some of the basics about kudub shahi architecture. Firstly, tomes are constructed on a raised square base. Secondly, the main building mostly consists of a single or double storey building with a dome and a huge bulbous dome built on a cylinder. Remember, these bulbous domes offer a profile greater than a hemisphere. Thirdly, a small latized wall can be noticed all around the cylinder. These walls not only cover but also give an ornamental look to the dome. The buildings are aligned in a perfectly symmetrical manner which is a distinct feature of Islamic architecture. Finally, the actual grave of the dome lies underground below the ornated grave in the main hall. The internal ceiling of the dome is painted with the motif of those times. So these are all certain unique features of the kudub shahi architecture. So in this news article discussion, we saw about the kudub shahi dynasty. They ruled from 1518 to 1687 with gul konda as their capital. Kuali Kutmulk who was an able general got virtual independence after the disintegration of Bahamini kingdom and this led to the establishment of kudub shahi dynasty. The kingdom flourished from 1518 until 1687 when Aurangasip's army invaded the Deccan. One of the very speciality about kudub shahi dynasty is their architecture, gul konda fort, kudub shahi tomb and Charminar or the examples for their splendid architecture. So with these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this news article. Recently the much avoided merger of Z and Sony Pictures got cancelled by Sony Pictures. So this has created shock waves across the market. Z has asked Sony Pictures to immediately withdraw this termination of the merger and they have asked the Sony Pictures to implement the merger scheme that had been sanctioned by the national company law tribunal. So this is the crux of the news article given here. The news here is not very important but learning about national company law tribunal is very important. So let us learn about NCLT from Praline's perspective. See the NCLT was constituted in 2016 under the Companies Act 2013. So it is a statutory body which means it was created by a parliamentary law. Remember NCLT was formed to deal with corporate disputes that are of civil nature. This means NCLT works on the lines of a normal civil court in the country. But the difference is that they are constituted specially to deal with civil corporate disputes arising under the Companies Act 2013. Note that NCLT decides the matters in accordance with principles of natural justice. Since it is performing the judicial functions the NCLT is also a Kwasi judicial authority. Now let us see about the benches of NCLT. See NCLT has its principal bench at New Delhi. Apart from this it also has other benches at Ahamadabad, Allahabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. So with these basics now let us understand the composition of NCLT. See the NCLT consists of a president and some other judicial and technical members. The president of the tribunal will be appointed by the central government after consultation with the chief justice of India. Remember the president of NCLT must be a judge of the high court or he should have been a judge of the high court for five years. Talking about the members, the members of the tribunal are appointed by the central government based on the recommendation of a selection committee. So this is about the composition of NCLT. Now let us one by one look at the important functions of NCLT. Firstly, NCLT adjudicates the cases related to insolvency and liquidation of corporate companies. This is as per the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016. Remember here also NCLT deals with insolvency of only corporates under the code. But in the case of insolvency proceedings of individuals and partnership firms, it will be dealt by Debt Recovery Tribunal. Secondly, the NCLT deals with the cases pending under the Sick Industrial Company Facial Provision Act 1985. This act was enacted to detect unviable that is the sick companies that has potential systematic financial risk. So if any cases are filed under such act, it will be dealt by the NCLT. Finally, NCLT plays a crucial role in facilitating mergers and acquisitions. See, when two or more companies wish to merge, they must seek the approval of the NCLT. The tribunal examines the proposal and ensures that it is in compliance with the relevant laws and regulations. So if the merger is approved, the NCLT oversees the process of integration and ensures that the interest of all stakeholders are protected. Also note that if anyone is aggravated by the decision of the NCLT, then they can make an appeal before the National Company law appellate tribunal NCLT. And the decision of the NCLT can be appealed to the Supreme Court. So these are all certain important facts that you have to remember about NCLT. NCLT is a statutory body specifically deals with corporate disputes that are of civil nature. NCLT decides the matter in accordance with the principles of natural justice. Apart from that, it helps in insolvency and liquidation of corporate companies. Then it takes cases relevant to sick companies and NCLT oversees the process of integration when two or more companies wish to merge or acquire. So these learned points and now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this news article. According to the news article, the Varanasi District Court ordered that the report of a scientific survey of the Yanwapi mask should be made public. Remember, this survey was conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India ASI. As per the news article, this move will allow all petitioners, both Hindus and Muslims to access the document. So this is the crux of the news article given here. So in this context, let us understand about ASI from Prillam's perspective. Say the Archaeological Survey of India or ASI is a premier institution for doing archaeological research in India. It is an attached agency of the Ministry of Culture Government of India. Know that it engages in archaeological research, protection and conservation of archaeological sites and all archaeological activities in the country is conducted by ASI. The archaeological activities are undertaken under the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act AMASR Act 1958 and Antiquities and Art Trusher Act 1972. The findings of ASI are released in their publications. They include Ancient India, Epigraphia, Indica and Indian Archaeology a review. So with these basic understanding about the ASI, let us track back the origin of ASI. See, archaeological and historic pursuits in India began with the effort of Sir William Jones. He founded Asiatic Society on 15th January 1784 in Calcutta. Later in the year 1871, the Archaeological Survey of India was created as a government department with Alexander Cunningham, elected as its first director general. Remember, Alexander Cunningham is also known as the father of Indian Archaeology. Until 1904, there was no legislation to protect the important monuments of the country. But during the time of Lord Cursor, this situation got changed with the passage of Ancient Monuments Preservation Act of 1904. This law gave the ASI a firm footing and since then ASI has been successfully conducting functions like doing excavations, rediscovering the past and safeguarding important heritage structures and etc. After independence, it became a statutory body under the AMASR Act 1958. The ASI is headed by a director general and is headquartered in New Delhi. He is assisted by an additional director general, two joint director general and 17 directors to carry out his duties. So this is regarding the origin of ASI. Now let us see the functions of ASI. Firstly, it conducts archaeological excavation and exploration as we saw earlier. Secondly, it preserves the protected monuments and archaeological sites as they are of national importance. Apart from this, it engages in the chemical protection of monuments and antiquarian remains to preserve it later. Additionally, ASI also performs the Archaeological Survey of Monuments. Not only archaeological studies but also it conducts epigraphical and numismatic studies of the site. To display all these ASI will set up site museums. An important point to note here is that ASI also conducts archaeological expeditions outside India. Lastly, it engages in archaeological operations in and around archaeological sites. So these are all certain important points that you have to remember about ASI. Remember ASI is a premier institution for doing archaeological research in India. It is an attached agency of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The findings of ASI are released in their publications Ancient India, Epigraphia Indica and Indian Archaeology are review. It was first founded in the form of Asiatic Society in 1784 in Kolkata by Sir William Jones. Later, it was made into a government department with Alexander Kaningam as the first Director General in 1871. Later in 1904, Ancient Monuments Preservation Act of 1904 was constituted. This helped ASI to conduct functions like doing excavations, rediscovering the past and safeguarding important heritage structure. Only after independence that is in 1958 ASI became a statutory body and today ASI even conducts archaeological expeditions outside India. So these are all certain important facts that you have to remember about ASI from the problem's perspective. With these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this news article. It talks about Telecom Act 2024. The article is conveying that this recent act has introduced significant structural reforms in the telecommunication sector. The intent of such reforms is to have a long lasting impact. It has provisions for sharing and surrendering unused spectrum and harmonising different spectrum bands. It also introduced a sandbox for academia to experiment with new technologies. Overall, the act aims to modernise and streamline the telecom sector promoting innovation, efficient spectrum management and clear regulations for infrastructure development. Even though the act has various advantages, the article raises many concerns regarding the Telecom Act. This is the corrects of the news article given here. In this context, let us understand the Telecom Act 2023 using our mains answer writing practice. Let me read out the question for you. Discuss how the Telecom Act 2023 attempts to bring several structural changes to current regulatory mechanism in the telecom sector. Also mention what are the associated concerns. This question can be asked in GS paper 2 under the syllabus, government policies and intervention for development in various sectors. See the question here demands two things. Firstly, we have to write about the changes brought by the bill. Secondly, we have to write about the concerns or challenges associated with the bill. In the conclusion, you have to mention the way forward or you can write a balanced answer. Moving on to the introduction part, here you can write about the bill itself. For example, you can write the Telecom Act 2023 seeks to amend and consolidate laws relating to development and operation of telegraph and telecommunication networks and the possession of radio equipments. The act repeals three existing acts. They were the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraph Act of 1933 and the Telegraph Wireless Unlawful Position Act of 1950. These colonial era archaic laws were repealed to reform the telecom sector that has changed significantly in the last few years. So, you can write the introduction in this way. Moving on to the main body of the answer, here in the first part you have to write about the key provisions of the bill. Now, let us see them one by one. Firstly, about authorization for telecom related activities. According to the Act, obtaining prior approval from the central government is mandatory for providing telecom services, establishing operating or expanding telecom networks. Their permission should be obtained for possessing radio equipments as well and the bill allows the government to take back the spectrum that is unutilized. Secondly, with respect to the allocation of spectrum, the spectrum will be assigned by auction except for certain specific uses. In some specific use cases, spectrum will be allocated on an administrative basis. These include purposes like national security and defence, disaster management, wealth forecast, transport, satellite surveillance like DTH and satellite telephony and BSNL, MTNL and public broadcasting services. Thirdly, power of inception. See, the Act gives enormous power to the central government. The government can suspend, assume control of or oversee any telecom service in case of public emergency or national security concerns. The bill empowers the central and state governments or a government-authorized officer to seek interception, disclosure and suspension of powers in case of a public emergency or interest or safety. Fourthly, Digital Bharat Nidhi. There was an existing fund to provide telecom services in underserved areas. This fund has been renamed as Digital Bharat Nidhi under this bill. The fund will also be used for results and development purposes. Fifthly, biometric authentication of users will be created. So, from now on, telecom entities have to carry out biometric authentication of their users in order to curb fraud. So, these are all important provisions of the bill. Now, moving on to the concerns or the challenges with respect to the Act. See, the first one is regarding internet shadow. The Act has a specific provision enabling the government to order suspension of the internet. The Act basically says that the government has the ultimate authority when it comes to internet shadow with no judicial oversight. See, this provision goes against the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Information Technology. The second issue is with respect to privacy and surveillance. Another clause of Act lets the government notify standards and ensure compliance of encryption and data processing in the telecom. This raises the question of whether it empowers the center to possibly prevent popular chat apps from encrypting text messages. This goes against the user's right to privacy. Thirdly, legal challenges to administrative allocation. See, Supreme Court's 2G spectrum allotment, ruling of 2012 has recommended auction of scarce natural resources. The administrative allocation provision may go against this ruling. Fourthly, ambiguity in definitions. See, its definitions of telecom, telecom services and what constitute a message are so broad that it potentially leaves a door open for wide interception. This alleged that these definitions have been kept wide open to potentially regulate online platforms as well as apps like WhatsApp and OTT platforms. So you can write these concerns in the second part of your answer. Moving on to the conclusion part, here you can suggest some of the way forward. Firstly, you can write about the checks and balances to prevent misuse only a declared national emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution to trigger executive action. Any such action must require parliamentary approval. Secondly, respecting the right to privacy, the message interception and service suspension part must align with fundamental rights like the right to privacy. Thirdly, transparency. The government must address privacy concerns with an open mind by considering the vast power that the text of the bill grants it. The government must also conduct rulemaking with obsolete transparency and consultation. So certain amendments like these can be done to the Act so that the Act becomes more relevant to the telecommunication sector. So this way you can conclude the answer for this question. So these are the points and now let us move on to the next news article discussion. This news article talks about Meka Datu project. The deputy chief minister of Karnataka has said that the Karnataka government is committed to finish the project. He criticized the BJP members of the parliament from the state for not obtaining permission for the project from the central government. This is the crux of the news article given here. So in this context let us revise about the issue around Meka Datu project. See the Meka Datu project is situated in the Ramanahara district of Karnataka along the Kaveri river. This project aims to construct a balancing reservoir across the river Kaveri. It is actually a multi-purpose project with several objectives. Some of its objectives are to utilize additional 4.75 tmc that is 1000 million cubic feet of water from the proposed project to provide drinking water facility to Bangalore metropolitan region. But the Meka Datu issue is a continuation of the long existing Kaveri river water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. As you all know Kaveri is an interstate river with its upper hilly catchment lying in the Karnataka and Kerala states on the lower part in the plains of Tamil Nadu. It rises in the Brahmagiri ranges of the western guards in the Kurg district of Karnataka, Harangi, Hemavathi, Shimsha, Arkavathi, Lakshmana Tirtha and Swarnavathi or the major tributaries joining the river Kaveri in the Karnataka territory. Kabini which drains the north Malabar of Kerala state flows through Karnataka and joins Kaveri. Bhamini, Amaravathi and Nuiyal or the tributaries to the river in the Tamil Nadu. Remember there are two interstate agreements signed in 1892 and 1924 on the Kaveri river. The 1892 agreement is a general agreement relating to a number of interstate rivers. The 1924 agreement relates to the irrigation development in the basin of Kaveri alone. Both the 1892 and 1924 agreements are permanent. But later the Karnataka government constructed four new dams across the tributaries of Kaveri like Harangi, Kabini, Hemavathi and Swarnavathi. For none of these they have obtained the prior consent of Tamil Nadu. So in 1969 Tamil Nadu appealed to the then prime minister of India to agiricate on this unilateral action. Later the center used its powers under the Interstate River Water Dispute Act 1956 to constitute the Kaveri Water Dispute Tribunal in 1990. The tribunal submitted the report in 2007 which was challenged in the Supreme Court. Based on the Supreme Court judgment in 2018, the center notified the Kaveri Water Management Scheme. It constituted the Kaveri Water Management Authority and the Kaveri Water Regulation Committee. The state of Tamil Nadu is strongly opposing the Mekadatu project because it thinks that the dam is constructed. Then there will be much regulation in the river flow that will lower the water release required for Tamil Nadu. So this is the issue surrounding the Mekadatu project. So in this news article discussion we saw about the Mekadatu project and then we saw about the Kaveri river. It is a river that flows from Karnataka to Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Putchheri. It has its origin in the Brahmagiri range of the Western guards in the Kurg district of Karnataka. Mekadatu project is planned across River Kaveri. It is actually a multi-purpose project with several objectives. So with this let us move on to the next part of the news article discussion which is the preliminary practice question discussion. Look at this first question about ASI. Three statements are given and you have to find which of the statements given above is or are correct. First statement says it is under the control of Ministry of Culture. This statement is correct. Second statement says Maharashtra has the highest number of protected monument in India. This statement is incorrect. See there are 3686 centrally protected monument or sites under the ASI in the country. The numbers have now increased to 3693. Uttar Pradesh has highest number 749 monument or sites followed by Karnataka, 506 and Tamil Nadu 413. So this statement is incorrect. Now the third statement says in India to be declared as ancient monument the site has to exist for at least 100 years. See according to monument and archaeological sites and remains act 1958 an ancient monument means any structure, erection or monument or any place which has been in existence for not less than 100 years. So this statement is correct. So the correct answer here is option A1 and 3 only. Now moving on this question has three statements and you have to find how many statements given here are correct. See here the correct answer for the question is option C all the three, all three statements given here is correct. Moving on this question is about NCLT. Here you have to find how many statements given here are correct. First statement is incorrect. The NCLT deals with corporate dispute that are only civil in nature. The second statement says the decision of NCLT can be appealed before the national company law appellate tribunal SCLAT. The decision of NCLT in turn only be appealed to the Supreme Court. The third statement here is correct. So the correct answer here is option A only one. Moving on this question is about Kudup Shahi dynasty. Three statements are given and you have to find how many statements given here are correct. Here all the three statements are correct. So the correct answer here is option D1213. 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.