 A very good evening aspirants, I welcome you all to the Hindu Daily News Analysis brought to you by Shankar Ayes Academy. Today, I am going to cover important news articles from the Hindu newspaper dated 21st of February 2023. Displayed here are list of news articles that we will be discussing today. You can go through it. And a kind request to you all those who haven't it, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Do subscribe and hit the bell icon button to get regular notifications regarding our content videos. Now let's get into our first news article discussion. Now look at this article from the text and context page. It talks about the role of gut microbiome in ASD that is autism spectrum disorder. Now before continuing the discussion, I emphasize on the disclaimer given by the authors. See no part of this article should be interpreted as a medical advice. So now in this discussion, we will see about what is autism spectrum disorder. So the contents given in this article is also quite interesting. So we will discuss that as well once we understood about autism spectrum disorder. Okay, now let's start with autism spectrum disorder. See basically autism spectrum disorder, which is shortly known as ASD is the term that is used to refer a group of neurodevelopmental disorders. So autism spectrum disorder is a group of disorder which includes a wide range of symptoms with differing severity. Autism, Asperger's syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder are some disorders under the autism spectrum disorder. And according to the World Health Organization, autism spectrum disorder affects 1 in 100 children. So what happens when someone gets this disorder? See it usually impacts how a person pursues and socializes with others. So it causes problems in social interaction and communication. Even with autism spectrum disorder also exhibit limited and repetitive patterns of behavior. They also lack verbal and non-verbal communication skills. These characteristics can adversely affect once cognitive abilities and over time their quality of life gets affected. If you have seen the Bollywood movie Barfi, Priyanka Chopra would have played the role of an autistic girl. Now coming back, autism spectrum disorder begins in early childhood and eventually causes problems functioning in society. Often children shows symptoms of autism within the first year itself. Now talking about the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, see the persons with autism spectrum disorder have developmental learning delays. For example, they may have difficulty in learning basic skill concepts such as personal hygiene. As I already said, they find it difficult to have social conversations because they have repetitive behaviors. So these are all the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder. Now these symptoms may severely affect the cognitive ability of a person and they suffer from this for a lifetime. So what are the causes of this disorder? See autism spectrum disorder has no single known cause. Researchers are yet to fully understand the etiology of autism spectrum disorder. Here etiology means the study of factors that causes a condition or disease. So know that there is no cure for autism spectrum disorder. But intensive and early treatment can make a big difference in the lives of many children. This is all about autism spectrum disorder. Now as I mentioned earlier, you will see what the article says. For better understanding, first you should understand what is a gut microbiome. See the gut microbiome refers to all of the microbes in our intestines. These microbes perform different functions particularly it aids in digestion and absorption. Interestingly the food you eat affects the diversity of your gut bacteria. Scientists believe that there is a connection between gut and brain. The research also suggests that the gut microbiome may also affect the central nervous system. Here the central nervous system only controls our brain function. See the news article highlights one quote that is fix your gut, fix your brain. So fixing the gut in children with autism spectrum disorder can reduce the burden. This is because some research found that there is an imbalance in the gut microbiome of children with autism spectrum disorder. So fixing the gut in the children with autism spectrum disorder can reduce the burden of the disease. Also there is an under representation of certain microbes that produce salt-chain fatty acids such as fissile bacterium and rosbaria in children with autism spectrum disorder. So a low level of salt-chain fatty acids in autism spectrum disorder could lead to an imbalance in brain function and behavior. So the article says that a healthy gut microbiome is although not a solution but it may be able to help improve the quality of life of individuals with various diseases. So I conclude this discussion with the note eat healthy, feel healthy. That's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion we saw about what is autism spectrum disorder, then we saw about the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, then we saw about the effects of the disorder and finally we saw about the role of gut microbiome in improving the quality of life of persons with autism spectrum disorder. Now with these key points in mind let's move on to the next news article discussion. Now have a look at this article from the text and context page. It talks about the issue of Chinese incursions in and around the islands present in the South China Sea. See this is not a new article. This article was first published on 18th of July 2020 and it has been republished today in the Hindu. This is because of a recent dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. As you can see from the image provided here there is an aggressive laser usage by a coast guard ship belonging to China near the coastal waters of the Philippines. This made the Philippines to protest against China over its assertive South China Sea policy. This is why the article relating to China's South China Sea policy has been republished today. Now in this discussion we will try to see the important points provided in this article. Now before getting into discussion the syllabus relevant to this topic is given here. You can go through it. Now let's start with South China Sea. See this map now. Here you can see the location of South China Sea. It is located in the west part of the Pacific Ocean bordering the eastern part of South East Asia and the south eastern part of East Asia. Major countries located adjacent to South China Sea are Vietnam, China, Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia. Here note that Indonesia also lies near the outer borders of South China Sea. So this is all about the location of South China Sea and the countries present adjacent to it. As you can see from the image, the pink colored area of South China Sea which is highlighted here is claimed by China citing historical reasons. But if you pay close attention, you can see that the area claimed by China nearly includes all the territorial waters of countries like Vietnam and Philippines. This is where the problem arises. Apart from this, the uninhabited islands of parcel and spatly are also claimed by China. Here note that China calls the border of South China Sea as 9' line and it is also claiming the 9' line. The blue colored line which is displayed here is the 9' line according to China. Now coming to the issue, the Philippines had previously approached the permanent court of arbitration challenging the excessive claims of China in South China Sea. The Chinese claims were challenged by the Philippines as they were in violation to the provisions of UN Convention on Laws on the Seas. The permanent court of arbitration has ruled that China's claims of historical rights over South China Sea has no legal basis. The permanent court of arbitration also said that Beijing had no historic rights to resources present in the waters of the South China Sea. But China dismissed the judgment as null and void. This is about the judgment pronounced by the permanent court of arbitration and the subsequent reaction of China. Now talking about the significance of South China Sea, here note that South China Sea is not just important for the littoral countries present near South China Sea and it is also crucial for the maritime trade. See, South China Sea has been a transit point for trade since early medieval times. South China Sea also contains abundantly rich fisheries. Apart from this, South China Sea has huge repository of mineral deposits and hydrocarbon reserves. All this denotes the economic significance of South China Sea. Now moving on to see about the stand of different countries present near South China Sea. See even though China didn't obey the permanent court of arbitration's order on South China Sea, majority of countries which were located in South China Sea didn't raise their voice against China. According to the article, the reason for the adoption of restraint by these countries against China was due to the deep economic linkages of these countries with China. Now if you take the Philippines, the Philippines did not press for enforcement of the permanent court of arbitration's award and accommodated itself to the status quo. In return, China adopted a peace-metal strategy here. See, China is trying to resolve the boundary disputes bilaterally and it is also working on a code of conduct with the Asian countries with whom China is having disputes. As I said earlier, the countries present near South China Sea are not explicitly opposing China. But now, these aggrieved countries have begun to strengthen their respective navies. The author quotes some examples here. That is, the Vietnam is buying advanced submarines from Russia. Then the Philippines is buying the Brahmos missile from India. So this shows the growing discontent among the Southeast Asian nations who have border disputes with China. While the countries are avoiding direct military confrontation with China, they are at the same time strengthening their navies and deepening their military relationships with the United States. This is all about the current strategy envisaged by the countries to confront any future incursions by China inside their territorial waters. Now moving on to see about India's specific information relating to South China Sea. See India has trade links with the countries which are located in the South China Sea. According to the article, India must continue to actively pursue its defence diplomacy outreach in the Indo-Pacific region to safeguard India's interests there. Then India's defence diplomacy must focus on the areas like bilateral military exercises, then extending humanitarian assistance to the countries in need, and shared patrolling of Malacastrite with the help of littoral nations present there. Apart from this, partnerships like the comprehensive strategic partnerships that India has concluded with Australia, Japan, Indonesia, the United States, and Vietnam could also be extended to Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore. This would help India to extend its foothold over the South China Sea region. Other than this, India must also try to increase its military capacity of the tri-service Andaman-Nikobar Command. Then the extensive geostatic value of Andaman-Nikobar Lens should be used to its fullest potential as the islands work the world's most important sea land. And particularly in the time of China's assertiveness all across the world, India cannot afford to continue undervaluing the strategic importance of Andaman-Nikobar Islands. So infrastructure development to operationalize a big contingent of Indian Navy on Andaman-Nikobar Island should become a top priority for India. Okay, now with this, we have come to the end of this discussion. In this discussion, we saw about the location of the South China Sea, then the significance of the South China Sea, then we saw about China's assertive policy with respect to the South China Sea, then about the permanent court of arbitration's verdict on the issue, then we moved on to see about current strategy employed by the Southeast Asian nations to deal with China. And finally, we ended our discussion by seeing how India can extend its influence in both Indian and Pacific oceans. Now with these key points in mind, let's move on to the next news article discussion. Now see this article here, it says that two elephants got stuck in an elephant-proof trench near Mudumalai Tiger Reserv and the forest department officials have rescued them. Now in this context, we will use this opportunity to learn about Mudumalai Tiger Reserv. See Mudumalai Tiger Reserv is located in the Neelgris district of Tamil Nadu. Note that Mudumalai Tiger Reserv is situated near the tri-junction of three states including Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Mudumalai Tiger Reserv is also a part of Neelgris Biospera Reserv. Note that Neelgris Biospera Reserv is the first biospera reserv in India, declared in 1986. Now see this image here, Mudumalai Tiger Reserv has a common boundary with Vayanad wildlife sanctuary of Kerala on the west, then Bandipur Tiger Reserv of Karnataka on the north, then the Neelgris north division on the south and east, and Gudurur forest division on the southwest. This is all about the location of Mudumalai Tiger Reserv. Now talking about the forest cover of Mudumalai Tiger Reserv, see the assessment of 2009 forest survey of India says that the Mudumalai Tiger Reserv has 47.05 square kilometer of very dense forest, then 214.98 kilometer square of moderately dense forest and 56.16 kilometer square of open forest. So we can say that Mudumalai Tiger Reserv has all three major types of forests. Okay, this is all about forest cover of Mudumalai Tiger Reserv. Now talking about the climate of Mudumalai Tiger Reserv, see the climate of Mudumalai is moderate. Mudumalai Tiger Reserv experiences cold weather during the month of December or the beginning of January and hot weather is experienced during the month of March and April. This is all about climate. Now talking about the flora and fauna, the Mudumalai Tiger Reserv has tall grasses which is commonly referred to as elephant grass. Then a bamboo of the gaint variety also grow there. Apart from this valuable timber species like deek, rosewood and so on are also seen in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserv. Now coming to the fauna, Mudumalai Tiger Reserv is inhabited by a variety of animals which include tiger, elephant, indian gar, panther, sambar, spotted deer, barking deer, mouse deer, common langur, malabar jain squirrel, wild dog, mongoose, jungle cat, hyena, etc. Apart from these animals, the important bird species like malabar, whistling thrush, peacock and jungle fowl are also found in Mudumalai Tiger Reserv. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion we saw about the location of Mudumalai Tiger Reserv. Then we saw about the forest cover and climate of the reserve. Then we moved on to see about the floor on fauna present in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserv. See this topic is very much important for your Trillium's exam. So make note of each and every points that we discussed. Now with these key points in mind let's move on to the next news article discussion. Now have a look at this snippet displayed here. It reports about the training provided to the Filipino officers by the indian navy to operate Brahmos supersonic missile systems. See the training was offered to the Filipino officers as a part of 374.96 million US dollar deal for Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles signed between indian filipines. This is what is given in this article. Now in this context let us learn about Brahmos missile system in Pillium's perspective. First of all know that Brahmos is a supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by different research and development organization that is DRDO and the Russian government. Know that the name Brahmos is a combination of the names of two rivers that is the Brahmabutra of India and the Moscow of Russia. Now coming to the technical theories of the missile as I already said Brahmos is a supersonic cruise missile. Know that Brahmos is a two-stage missile system. The first stage is fueled by a solid propellant based booster engine. This stage brings the missile to supersonic speed. Then the second stage is a liquid ramjet stage. This stage takes the missile closer to the speed of Mach 3. Here note that if the speed of the missile is said to be more than Mach 1 then the missile is called as supersonic missile. As I already said the Brahmos missile can travel up to a speed of Mach 3 and this is why Brahmos is also called as supersonic missile. Now coming to the operation of Brahmos missile the Brahmos missile operates by the fire and further principle. It means that once the missile is launched it can hit the designated target even without the launcher not being in line of sight of the target. This fire and further principle is incorporated in Brahmos using the advanced software systems that are embedded in the missile. And know that the destructive power of the missile is due to its large kinetic energy generated by the missile on impact. Also know that Brahmos can be launched from air, land, sea and also from underwater using the submarines. Here note that the range of Brahmos missile system is 290 kilometer. Other than this the Brahmos missile system has a very low radar signature. This means that due to its lightning speed the probability of enemy radar catching hold of the path of the missile is very low. Apart from this accuracy is also high for the Brahmos missile system in compared with other cruise missile systems across the world. This is all about the Brahmos missile system. Now before ending our discussion we will see a few points relating to Brahmos 2 missile system. See just like Brahmos 1 India and Russia are now developing a new generation of Brahmos called the Brahmos 2. Brahmos 2 would have a speed of more than Mach 7. Since the speed of Brahmos 2 is higher than the speed of Mach 5 it is called as hypersonic missile. Here note that the missiles which travel over the speed of Mach 5 are called hypersonic missiles. If you recall Brahmos 1 this having a speed of only Mach 3. So from this we can say that Brahmos 2 would travel nearly at double the speed of its older counterpart that is none other than Brahmos 1. And also note that Brahmos 2 would have a range of 1000 kilometer and it would be powered using a scramjet engine. This is all about Brahmos 2. Now with this we have come to the end of this discussion and this discussion we saw about Brahmos missile systems. Then we saw about the technical details of the Brahmos missile and finally we saw some facts regarding Brahmos 2. Now with these key points in mind let's move on to the next news article discussion. Now have a look at this editorial here. This editorial article is written in response to the recent allegations of sexual harassment raised by some of India's wrestling sportswoman. In view of the sensitivity of the issue the union sports minister has constituted an oversight committee to investigate the charges raised against the president of the wrestling Federation of India. The committee is headed by a lady Olympic medal holder. See this incident is clearly an example of challenges faced by women in workplace. Here the author of the article suggests some of the measures to overcome these challenges. Now in this discussion we will learn the points provided in this article. Now before getting into discussion the syllabus relevant to this topic is given here you can just go through it. Now let's start with the challenges faced by women in workplace. The first and foremost challenges the lack of economic development. See the periodic labor force surveys annual report for 2020-21 says that the participation of women in the total labor force has grown. According to the report labor force participation rate has gradually increased from 17.5 percentage in 2017-18 to 25.1 percentage in 2020-21. And the worker population ratio has also increased from 16.5 percentage in 2017-18 to 24.2 percentage in 2020-21. Here know that labor force participation rate is calculated by dividing the labor force with the total working age population. Here the working age population refers to the people aged between 15 to 64 so it includes both employed and unemployed. On the other hand worker population ratio is the percentage of persons employed among the persons in population. As we saw just now the participation of women in the total labor force has grown but the issue here is it is still much less when compared to men. So this is the first issue. Secondly even if women participate in labor force they are under represented in senior managerial position and over represented in low paying jobs. The main reason for both these challenges is the patriarchal social structures and mindsets. This includes the societal prejudices where people think women cannot balance private family and political life. There is also another reason called internalized patriarchy. See it is a phenomenon where women themselves consider that it is their duty to pre-artist family and household. Therefore the women don't think about participating in labor force and this is becoming a cycle again and again. Apart from this gender pay gap, job security, problem of transport, lack of basic facilities like toilets, restrooms etc. Then the dual responsibility that is the family and work. See these are all some of the reasons which hinders one participation in the labor force. Then the third and most important issue faced by the women in workplace is safety issues. See according to the editorial the violence in the form of sexual harassment at the workplace is both direct and structural. On one hand we can see a gradual improvement in environment for reporting direct violence. On the other hand indirect violence remains poorly addressed. This is mainly because of the fact that they are embedded deep in our social and economic structures. See indirect violence happens when men at the workplace take undue advantage of the historical fact that the society is still patriarchal. Then women also fearing to report such violence because again they have to report it to a male higher official who might be a friend of the offender. Even if women report to that male higher officer the allegations largely fall under section 509 of the IPC that is to insult the modesty of a woman. See there is a specific offense relating to sexual harassment under section 354 A of the IPC but the allegations taken under section 509 of the IPC by the male higher officer. In most of the cases when the women report such indirect violence the offender is projected as the victim and the responsibility to prove that the offender is guilty is placed upon the woman who is the actual victim. So this also becomes the problem to the woman. So the author of the article says this powerful phrase which says when it comes to power emerging from the majority numbers matter. So the author encourages women to participate in workforce especially in the leadership positions. See when the number of women in leadership positions are not enough to generate confidence in subordinates women in lower positions will feel reluctant to voice their grievances. See these are all some of the challenges faced by the woman in workforce. And the author suggests some of the goals to improve the workplace environment for women. Now we'll see them one by one. Firstly the short-term goals. See the short-term goals may include establishing the necessary woman-friendly infrastructure then forming internal complaint committees and spreading awareness about grievance letters law and procedure. Secondly the medium-term goals. See the medium-term goals may include the increase of female participation in the labor force then improvement of two-thru-tail ratio and providing incentives to prevent draw ports like paid maternity leave, paid menstrual leave etc. Here two-thru-tail ratio expresses the relationship between the forces employed to perform the core missions and the resources or infrastructure used to manage and support those forces. The improvement of two-thru-tail ratio will create job vacancies. This is all about medium-term goals and finally the long-term goals. See in the long run it is essential to address the deep-rooted structural and cultural violence which puts women in a disadvantageous position. So to conclude unless society as a whole works tirelessly to bring out the necessary changes in the existing socio-cultural and economic structures to eliminate indirect violence against women the status quo against women may not change. And that's all regarding this discussion. This discussion we saw about what are all the challenges faced by women in the workforce and the workplace. Then we saw about the goals to improve the workplace environment for women. Now with these key points in mind let's move on to the next news article discussion. Now see this article here it says that yesterday the cabinet committee on appointments has appointed former union commerce secretary and retired civil servant BVR Subramaniam as the chief executive officer of Nitiayog. Now in this context we will use this chance to make a quick revision on Nitiayog. See Nitiayog is the premier policy think tank of government of India. It provides directional and policy inputs to the government. So Nitiayog basically designs strategic and long-term policies and programs for the government of India. Apart from this Nitiayog also provides relevant technical advice to the center states and union territories. Now remember that Nitiayog is neither a constitutional body nor a statutory body but it was an outcome of an executive resolution. See Nitiayog has two hubs. The first one is team India hub. This hub works in coordination for the involvement of Indian states with the central government. Then the second hub is knowledge and innovation hub. This hub enlarges the capabilities of institutions think tank. Okay this is a brief about Nitiayog. Now talking about the objectives of Nitiayog see the Nitiayog was set up with broad set of objectives. Now we will see them one by one. Firstly national development is a top priority of Nitiayog and therefore Nitiayog aims to evolve a shared vision on this line. When it says shared vision it means that it includes all constituents of the country which are nothing but the states. Secondly Nitiayog aims to foster cooperative federalism through supportive initiatives. Thirdly Nitiayog makes mechanism for plans at the village levels. Fourthly Nitiayog pays attention to national security while making developmental plans across the borders. Fifthly Nitiayog also tries to ensure the progress of vulnerable sections in the country. And finally Nitiayog receives feedback on the policies and then make improvements on the shortcomings. Okay this is all about objectives of the Nitiayog. Now talking about its composition Nitiayog comprises of the prime minister as the chairperson then there is a governing council composed of chief ministers of all the states and union territories with the legislatures and in the case of union territories without legislatures the governing council would include the left-wing and governors of union territories. Then there are regional councils composed of chief ministers of states and left-wing governors of union territories to address specific issues in the particular state or a region. Apart from this Nitiayog also has full-time organizational framework which is composed of a vice-chairperson four full-time members two part-time members from the leading universities or research organizations then four ex-officio members of the union council of ministers and a chief executive officer. Here the chief executive officer is having the rank of security to the government of India. Apart from all these experts and specialists in various fields are also incorporated in Nitiayog. This is all about the composition of Nitiayog. Now in the exam point of view I am going to give you an additional fact regarding the indices released by Nitiayog. Just remember the names of the indices I am going to provide you. This will help you during your exams. See the indices released by Nitiayog include STG India Index India Innovation Index then School Education Quality Index then Composite Water Management Index then State Health Index District Hospital Index and State Energy Index. Just remember the names of the indices I said UPC may put a question like which of the following indices are released by Nitiayog like that. So just remember the names I provided. With this we have come to the end of this discussion. In this discussion we saw about the Nitiayog its establishment then we saw about the objectives of Nitiayog and finally we saw some points regarding the composition of Nitiayog. Now with these key points in mind let's move on to the next part of the next article discussion that is to discuss preliminary practice questions. Now look at this first question. This first question is regarding Brahmos missile systems. Now look at this first statement. Brahmos is capable of carrying nuclear warheads. See this statement is correct. Brahmos can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. So statement one is correct. Now coming to the second statement it solely uses liquid fuel based engine for attaining high speeds. See this statement is incorrect because Brahmos uses both solid and liquid fuel based engine for propulsion. So statement two is incorrect. Now the question is asking for correct statement. So the correct answer for the question is option A1 only. Moving on let's take up the second question. Here in this question a condition is given we have to identify this condition reflects which of the given four disorders. Now I'll read out the condition. It refers to a range of conditions characterized by some degree of impaired social behavior communication language and a narrow range of interests and activities that are both unique to the individual and carried out respectively. The symptoms start to appear within two years of birth. Although it is not curable its symptoms can be addressed with appropriate interventions. Which of the following disease or disorder is described here. Here four options is given we have to find the above said condition is describing which disorder. See as we saw in the discussion it is autism spectrum disorder which leads to these conditions. So the correct answer for the question is option A autism spectrum disorder. Moving on let's take up the final question. Now look at this question Malabar whistling thrush sometimes seen in news is a species of butterfly bird fish frog. Know that the Malabar whistling thrush is a whistling thrush in the family of music apidae. The bird has been called whistling school boy for the whistling calls that they may cut dawn and they have a very human quality. The species is a resident in the western gods and associated hills of peninsular India including central India parts of the eastern gods and so on. As we saw in the discussion it also seen in mudumalay tiger reserve and know that it falls under least concern category of IUCN red list of threatened fishes. So the correct answer for the question is option B bird. And this is the quiz question for you today. I will post this quiz question in the community section try to answer it and the answer for the quiz question is posted in the comment section of the quiz question itself. You can verify it and displayed here are the main questions for your practice. Go through the questions write your answers and put it in the comment section. With this we came to the end of the video. If you like our analysis please like comment and share and don't forget to subscribe to Shankar IS Academy YouTube channel. Thank you for listening.