 Good evening aspirants. Welcome to the Hindu News Analysis session by Shankara IS Academy for the date 1st in November 2021. The list of articles we are going to discuss today is displayed here. So without wasting much time, let's start our discussion today. Let us start today's discussion with this article. This article is about death row inmates. See the author here mainly focuses on the recently published report titled Death Voti, a mental health perspective of the death penalty. This report was published by Project 39A of the National Law University, Delhi. So before moving into the article, let us see a little bit about Project 39A. We know about Article 39A of the Constitution right. Article 39A is a part of the directive principles of state policy. Article 39A provides for free legal aid to the poor and the weaker sections of society and ensures justice for all. Project 39A is inspired by Article 39A of the Indian Constitution. See the Project 39A team based on National Law University does research on the policies and practices of the criminal justice system of our country. This team aims to create discussions about the legal aid torture for and seeks mental health in prisons and the death penalty. So these are some of the facts about Project 39A. So now moving on. See the report that is Death Voti, a mental health perspective of death penalty explores three aspects. The first is the mental health of the death row prisoner. The second aspect is the intellectual disability of the death row prisoner and the final aspect is the psychological impact of being on death row. This report is important because the data on the mental health conditions of the death row inmates is very scarce. So this report helps us understand this issue which is most often neglected from our everyday discussions. Okay, the report took into consideration 88 death row inmates and assessed them. Of the 88 assessed, 30 were found to be with depressive illness, 19 with anxiety disorders and three prisoners were reported to be having psychotic episodes. Another important finding is that eight death row inmates had attempted suicide and close to 50% said they had considered suicide as an option. Additionally, of the inmates assessed, nearly 11% were diagnosed with intellectual disability. These are some of the important findings of the report. See these figures show us a grim life of a death row inmate. So do you think it is right to impose death penalty on a person with mental health illness? Is it a morally right thing to do? While we ponder on this question, let us see what is the view of United Nation Commission on Human Rights. Okay, see the United Nation Commission on Human Rights recommends that the death penalty must not be imposed on people with mental disorder. The reason is that people with mental disorder or intellectual disability may not be able to restrict their lawyers to mount a robust defense. This prevents their right to a fair trial. So what is India's stand regarding this? See in India, the Indian Penal Code has a insanity defense. That is, when accused is mentally insane, then normal law won't apply to him. But the catch here is that this insanity defense is hard to prove in court. See, even when there is a obvious history of mental illness, courts in India are usually unwilling to consider the plea of insanity by defense lawyers. See, consider the state of Maharashtra versus Santoshmarthi Mane 2014 case, for example. Here, Mr Santoshmarthi Mane took a Maharashtra straight road transport corporation bus and went on a rampage. This claimed nine lives. The Bombay High Court gave death penalty to the man. But this man, that is Mr Santoshmarthi Mane, was undergoing treatment for mental illness when this incident took place. When mentioned about this in the court, the court replied, a mere incidence of treatment is not sufficient. It has to be established that at the time of commission of an offense, the accused was of unsound mind and incapable of understanding the consequences of his action. But this is difficult to prove. Any psychiatrist would find it difficult to certify whether the person has a mental health condition at the precise moment when the offense was committed. So, this needs to change. See, even Supreme Court in the Shatturangan Chauhan versus Union of India 2014 case said that, in case of mental illness, death penalty should be commuted to life imprisonment. Despite this, courts do not consider mental illness as a factor when imposing punishment. The report argues that the courts should follow the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in the Bachchan Singh versus State of Punjab, 1980 case. The guidelines talks about the extreme mental or emotional disturbance at the time of commission of crime as an aspect. So, by taking into account the psychosocial approach, the courts could make their judgments more human. So, now we have some understanding about the legal position in India regarding mental health and death penalty by looking at these three important cases. We shall now see why mental health illness should be given due consideration. See, mental illness has many social determinants to it. A person who was abused as a child is more likely to have mental health issue as an adult. Further, there is also a circular connect between mental health and poverty. See, mental illness is more common among the poor, and poor mental health shrinks people's economic opportunity, thus pushing them into poverty, making them both a kind of a vicious cycle. So, it is not fair to award the same punishment to the people who have mental health issues. So, the courts must give due consideration to mental health issue. So, through this report, Project 13&A team aims to trigger a discussion regarding this aspect. So, now regarding the relevance of this article to our exams. See, questions in Mainz most probably won't come based on this, because this is a microscopic topic, and most questions in our GS paper will be more macro and broad. But aspects of this discussion can be used in your Mainz answer. See, these cases that we saw in our discussions can be used in a GS paper 2 question regarding death penalty, or in a GS paper 3 question regarding mental health. The humane aspect of our discussion can also be used in your ethics answer. See, you can even mention about the Project 39&A team in your answers when the question asks about the role of civil society in the society. So, as I always say, Mainz exam is about resourcefulness and writing practice. So, try and include the aspects and facts we discussed today in your answers to make your answer look more a researched one, which will help you fetch more marks. So, now let us conclude this segment and move on to the next article. Now look at this news article. It reports that the senses of the Indus River Dolphin is about to start as a part of the project by the central government. So, this is the news here. Now keeping the news aside, let us first learn about the Indus River Dolphin, which is focused here. And then we will move on to see what are the important points mentioned in the article. See, dolphins are indicator species of a healthy river system. And when you take India, we have two freshwater dolphin species. And they are the Ganges River Dolphin and the Indus River Dolphin. See, the Indus River Dolphin is also known as Boulon. According to the IUCN, it is classified as an endangered species. Indus River Dolphins are included under the head Cataeans. See, the term Cataean refer to a order of marine mammals which comprises of whales and the dolphins. A fascinating fact about the Indus River Dolphin is that they have very small eyes. Their eyes are so small that scientists believe they are functionally blind. They can only sense the level and the direction of the light. So, to compensate for that, they use echolocation to locate their prey. And note here that until recently, it was believed that these dolphins were endemic to Pakistan. But then this notion changed in 2007, when a viable population of Indus Dolphins were discovered in Punjab's Hurricane Wildlife Sanctuary. And also, the Indus River Dolphins were found in the Lower Bias River. Following this, the Indus River Dolphin was declared as a state aquatic animal of Punjab in 2019. And since then, research is being done on the current distribution, habitat use and the population abundance of the mammal. And the research is carried out by the Punjab's Department of Forest and Wildlife Preservation in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund for India. The Punjab government has also taken the initiative for conservation of dolphins and their habitat. Remember, the present census which is mentioned in today's article, that is the enumeration of freshwater dolphins is actually being undertaken as a nationwide project of the central government. So, don't get confused between the two. So, along with the research, importance is also given to engage the communities situated in the banks of the river by encouraging community-led biological monitoring. See, this community-based biological monitoring is a process in which the local citizens are included in the decision-making process and also in the assessment of the development of natural resources. So, on that line, various villages around the hotspot sites of the dolphin's occurrence are said to be developed as a model for this community-led conservation process. So, these are the important takeaway points from this article. So, with this, let us conclude our discussion and take up the next news article for our discussion. Now, our next news discussion is going to be based on this editorial article. As we know, the schools in many states are once again resuming their functions after a huge break caused by the corona pandemic. And this particular editorial is written in that backdrop. So, the author here basically throws light on the need to ensure the nourishment and nutritional needs of our country, especially among the school children. Because so far, due to the spread of the corona pandemic and the lockdowns, the children stayed within the confines of their homes. But now with the changing scenario, they have no other choice but to face the new challenges which are on their way when they leave their homes. So, the author takes this opportunity to highlight to us the need to focus on the nutrition of children and also ensure that they are armed with good immunity. So, this is the basic crux of the editorial here. Now, with this idea in mind, come let us approach this article discussion. The syllabus covered by this editorial is highlighted below for your reference. See, the problem of inadequate nutrition is not something new to India, because even before the onset of the pandemic, India was facing significant nutritional challenges. As I said earlier, the author here mainly deals with the importance of ensuring child nutrition. When you take India, we face triple burden of malnutrition. And this triple burden of malnutrition refers to the three problems of under nutrition, overweight or obesity, along with the deficiency of micronutrients like that of iron, zinc, calcium and several vitamins. This is a serious matter which needs to be paid attention to, mainly when it comes to children and adolescents. Since it is during this phase of their life, they have a rapid growth in their body and their nutritional needs also get vastly increased. In fact, both childhood and adolescence are two conjoint periods in which we can witness continuous growth and development among the children. So, that means when the children and adolescents are malnourished, then they are at the higher risk of compromised immune functions. This is why it is always insisted to give them a healthy diet. And in the case of girls, it becomes even more important to ensure a nutritious life, since their nutritional status impact not only their health, but also the generations that come. So, even more important should be given to the girl children, okay? See for every problem, there will be some that is responsible for it. This happens for malnutrition as well. And only if we understand to manage the causing agents, we will be able to faster immunity. One major factor that contributes to malnutrition, especially at this point of time, is the disruptive socio-environmental factors. These socio-environmental factors affects the diet quality of the children. When you take the urban parts of the country, which mostly comprises middle class and the affluent community, the children here usually have a problem with restricted movement, inadequate socialization, and even a weak physical contact. And these factors have put the children on stress. And in most cases, this gets coupled with the consumption of higher carbohydrate and high sugar foods with the lack of proper diet diversity. And this ultimately results in the imbalanced micronutrient, which endangers their health and makes them vulnerable to infections. So, to counter these causative agents, it is always important to ensure a balanced diet with adequate diversity. That is, we should not limit ourselves with a minimum calorie requirement, but we should include all the necessary nutrients. And when we provide the children with a balanced diet that is filled with all the necessary nutrients, we are actually providing them with a solid foundation for an active and healthy life. Know that the immune response of our body in each stage relies on the presence of many micronutrients. See, micronutrients are nothing but vitamins and minerals, which are needed by the body in very small amounts. They are primarily available in fruits, vegetables, greens, nuts, legumes, and whole grains. And these micronutrients are essential for the production of enzymes, hormones, and other substances which contribute to immune function, a healthy growth, and a healthy development. So, when the quality of the food that people eat fails to meet the micronutrient requirement, they end up not getting the essential vitamins and minerals which are needed for their growth and development. This micronutrient deficiency is also known as hidden hunger. And this hidden hunger can be combated only when affordable, accessible, and diverse food sources are made available across India. Likewise, the habit of munching high calorie snacks and sweetened beverages which are devoid of beneficial nutrients should also be discouraged. So, to put it simple, maintaining an ideal body weight with regular physical activity along with adequate water intake, enough sleep, and lower screen time will help us in building and regulating the children's immunity. See, one good measure that was taken towards addressing the nutritional needs of the children is the Pradhan Mandri Poshan Sakthi Nirman Yojana that is PM Poshan. It is a mid-day meal program which is now extended even to the students of the pre-primary levels of government and government-aided schools. It comes as a welcome step as we prepare to reopen the schools. So, to conclude, for ensuring the nutritional needs of our younger generation, the presence or absence of COVID-19 doesn't matter because at the end of the day, all we need is a good immunity because only that will lay the foundation for our long-term well-being. See, since good nutrition, safe food, and positive lifestyles are the cornerstones of a great immune function, it is our collective responsibility to ensure that our children are nurtured and nourished. So, as the popular saying goes, health is wealth. Once we address these health-related issues, we will obviously end up in being a wealthy nation. And with this, let us wind up this editorial discussion. And with the points we discussed in our mind, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now, let us take up this article for our next discussion. This article talks about the exchange-traded funds and how the exchange-traded funds are starting to offer a new investment opportunity. Though this news is not important for us, we can take this as an opportunity to learn some facts about exchange-trader funds or ETFs. See, the ETFs are a basket of security that are traded on the exchange just like a stock. ETFs are a composition of index just like BSE Sensex. Let me explain. See, the Bombay Stock Exchange or the BSE has more than 5000 companies listed under it. But the Sensex published by the Bombay Stock Exchange tracks the top 30 stocks that are listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange. That is, the Sensex indexes the top 30 stocks traded in the Bombay Stock Exchange. Similar to the Sensex, the ETFs indexes or tracks the stocks that are mentioned under it. See, an ETF can own hundreds or thousands of stocks across various industries or it could even own stocks from one particular industry alone. When you look closely, the ETFs and the mutual funds sound similar, but there is a key difference between them. See, the price of the exchange-traded fund or the ETFs fluctuates all throughout the day since it is traded in the stock market throughout the day. The mutual funds on the other hand are traded only once, that is when the market closes. This is a key difference between them. So, in other words, the exchange-traded funds are mutual funds that are listed and traded on the stock exchange just like shares. Another important sub-classification under the exchange-traded fund is the bond ETF. See, this bond ETF may include government bonds, corporate bonds, state or local bonds and even municipal bonds. So, what are the advantages of the exchange-traded funds? See, the first advantage is they offer a diversified portfolio to investors, so that when there is a risk, the investor doesn't face a huge loss. The second advantage is instant liquidity. See, we saw that the exchange-traded funds are traded in the stock exchange throughout the day. So, this offers instant liquidity to the investor. Liquidity here meaning the ETFs can be instantly converted into cash. The final advantage is the ETFs are cost-effective. See, unlike the mutual funds that are usually managed by high-profile fund managers, the ETFs don't have a fund manager associated with them. So, we can save in commissions. So, these are some of the important facts regarding exchange-traded funds. In addition to this, let us see what is Barth-22. See, Barth-22 is an exchange-traded fund launched by the government in 2019. This contains stocks of 22 public sector units. The Barth-22 exchange-traded fund has a well-diversified portfolio with six sectors that is basic materials, energy, finance, fast-moving consumer goods, industrials, and utilities. So, in this discussion, we saw some important facts regarding exchange-traded funds, the difference between exchange-traded funds and mutual funds, advantages of the exchange-traded funds, and finally, we saw what is Barth-22. So, with this, let us conclude this segment and take up the next article for our discussion. Now, let us take up this article for our discussion. See, very recently on 31st October 2021, that is yesterday, the G20 summit came to an end, and as per the news article, world leaders failed to arrive at a time-bound agreement on climate change. See, the G20 or the Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of 19 countries and the European Union. The G20 has committed to providing 100 billion dollars to help developing countries meet their clean energy targets. While the G20 leaders agreed to end international financing for new coal plants by 2021, they did not make any commitments on a domestic level to ending the use of fuel for power generation. Besides commitment on climate change, the countries have pushed for vaccine equality to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. The G20 leaders agreed to ensure that 70 percent of the world population is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by mid-2022. The leaders also agreed to form a joint task force to tackle the pandemic. See, they also agreed to boost the resilience of supply chains through voluntary technology transfer hubs, such as newly established messenger RNA or mRNA centers in South Africa, Argentina and Brazil. So here, let me add a little bit about mRNA vaccine. See, the traditional vaccine has an inactivated or dead disease-causing organism or the protein produced by the organism to produce immune response in our body, whereas the mRNA vaccine tricks our body to produce the viral protein. So this viral protein that is produced by our body evokes the immune response. An additional point here is that a Pune-based biotechnology company called Genova Biopharmaceuticals Limited has produced a mRNA-based COVID vaccine. They are calling this vaccine as HGCO19, which is waiting for government approval. Okay, so no moving on. See, the final statement given by the G20 members is they have planned to achieve the global net zero on carbon emission by or around the mid-century. They did not make a solid commitment regarding the achievement of global net zero emission. They have just given a statement regarding this. So with this, let me add a few more facts about G20. See, the G20 all the group of 20 was formed initially to focus only on the global macroeconomic issues. When it was established, it was initially called the summit on financial markets and the world economy. See, G20 is just an informal grouping. The G20 has no permanent secretariat or a headquarters. Currently, Italy holds the presidency of G20, so this is why the summit is held in Italy. So these points might help you in your prelims preparation. So take note of that. Okay, so no moving on. See, apart from the above mentioned points, India in the G20 summit has formally endorsed a website created by Indian climate specialist that lists the historical carbon dioxide emission of developed countries. This move of India comes just before the 26th United Nations Conference of Parties summit that is about to begin in Glasgow. Okay, know that the goal of the database is to draw attention to the imbalance in emission between the developed and the developing countries. See, the website has been conceptualized and developed by independent researchers from India. This website focuses on equity and all the data in the website are evidence based. See, the key fact that the database highlights is that it is only fair that the developed countries must commit to steeper targets towards curbing emissions than developing countries. This is a move by India to reiterate the common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities paradigm mentioned in the Kyoto Protocol. See, when accounting for the size of its population, India is among the lowest per capita emitters. This underlines India's demand for climate justice. See, climate justice should be at the heart of the negotiations in the COP26. See, India is also reluctant to agree to a fixed time frame to achieve net zero because India argues that before achieving its climate commitments, India must first strive to lift its population from poverty. So, in this segment we discussed about the recent G20 summit. We also discussed a little bit about a history of G20 and some points relating to messenger RNA vaccine. And finally, we concluded with the Claimate Equity Monitor website recently launched by the Indian government. So, with this, let us conclude this discussion and take up the last topic of today's discussion. Now, let us take up the last article for our discussion today. According to the article, the first ship of the Project 15B state of the art stealth guided missile destroyer named Vishagapatnam being built at the Masa Goan Docks Limited was delivered to the Navy. So, what is Project 15B? See, Project 15B includes a class of guided missile destroyers. They are an improved variant of the Kolkata class destroyers. They are being built by the Masa Goan dock limited for the Indian Navy. This Masa Goan dock limited is located in Maharashtra near Mumbai. See, the contract for the construction of the four Project 15B destroyers was signed on January 2011. A total of four ships are being built under the project and these four ships are named after major cities from four corners of the country. The names include Vishagapatnam, Marmaghav, Impal and Surat. See, the Project 15B ships are equipped with cutting edge advanced technology and they are on par with the best ships of their class. See, these ships have been designed indigenously by the Indian Navy's directorate of naval design. So, they are indigenously designed by the Navy's directorate of naval design. Note this. See, each ship designed by the directorate of naval design have a span of 163 meters. And at the beam, the length is 17.4 meters and each ship displaces a total of 7300 tons. These ships will be propelled by four gas turbines to achieve a total speed of 30 knots. See, the P15B destroyers incorporate new design concepts for improved survivability and sea keeping. The hull of the ship is designed such that it has enhanced stealth features. The P15B destroyers retain the hull design of the Kolkata class destroyers. See, a stealthy ship shape can be achieved by constructing or altering the hull of the ship. For those who are not aware, see, hull is a watertight enclosure of the ship, which protects the cargo, machinery, and accommodation space of the ship from the weather, flooding, and structural damage. Look at the image here. This is the hull of the ship. See, project P15B class ships will be equipped to carry and operate two multi-role helicopters also. And these ships are packed with an array of state-of-the-art weapons and sensors including multifunctional surveillance radars and vertically-launched missile systems for long-distance engagement of shore, sea-based, and air targets. The indigenous weapons systems installed in the vessel is given here in this image. Just go through it for your reference. These ships, which contain a significant amount of indigenous content, are a true symbol of our country's self-reliance in warship design and shipbuilding. This is significant due to the recent push given to the make in India. So, with this, let us conclude our news-article discussion and now let us take up the prelims practice questions. Let's take up the first question. The question is, in the context of Ganges River Dolphin, consider the following statements. The first statement is, it occurs in the Indus, Ganges Brahmaputra, Meghana, and Karnafuli, Sangu river systems of the South Asian subcontinent. The second statement is, they can only live in freshwater and are essentially blind. The third statement is, they prefer deep waters in and around the confluence of two or more rivers. The fourth statement is, they share their habitat with crocodiles, freshwater turtles, and wetland birds. They are asking for the correct statements. See, the Ganges River Dolphins occurs in the Indus, Ganges Brahmaputra, Meghana, and Karnafuli, Sangu river systems of the South Asian subcontinent. As per the government sources, the movement of the Ganges River Dolphin follows a seasonal pattern. It is observed that the animals travel upstream when the water river races, and from there they enter the smaller streams. So, this shows that the first statement is correct. See, the Ganges River Dolphins can only live in freshwater and are essentially blind. And due to this, they hunt using echolocation. And also note that being a mammal, the Ganges River Dolphin cannot breathe in water and they must resurface every 30 to 120 seconds. Because of the sound it produces while breathing, the animal is popularly referred to as So this shows the second statement is also correct. Note that the Ganges River Dolphins generally prefer deep waters in and around the confluence of two or more rivers. And likewise, they share their habitat with crocodiles, freshwater turtles, and wetland birds. And from this we can infer that third and the fourth statement are also correct. So, since all the given statements are correct, the correct option is option D, that is 1, 2, 3, and 4. So, moving on to the second question. This is a previous year question. This question appeared in the 2020 prelims paper. See, four options are given. Each option has four countries. They are asked to find which group contains the members of the G20 countries. See, we know G20 is an international forum that brings together world's major economies. See, this member countries make up 80% of the world's GDP and 75% of the world's trade. And they account for 60% of the global population. The members of the G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. So, from this we can see option A is correct, that is Argentina, Mexico, South Africa, and Turkey are members of the G20 group of countries. So, moving on to the last question for today. See, this question is based on the Project 15B which we discussed in the newspaper discussion. So, four options are given. They have asked for the correct option. So, from the discussion we know, the correct option is option B. Project 15B is in fact a series of guided missile destroyers. The main question based on today's discussion is displayed here. Please write the answer and post it in the comment section. 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