 Good evening aspirants. Welcome to daily hindi news analysis brought to you by Shankar I.S. Academy for the date of 2nd august 2023. Displayed here are the list of news articles we are going to discuss today. Let us get into the discussion. Have a look at this news article. Narcotics control bureau has prevented the spread of Zambada cartel by arresting 3 accused persons. The cartel is one of the largest drug trafficking organization in the world. It operates in UK, Canada, US and South Africa and recently it has spread in India. Thanks to NCB such a huge drug cartel has now been dismantled. This is the crux of the news article given here. In this context let us discuss about NCB Narcotics Control Bureau. NCB was created in 1986 under Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985. NCB functions under Ministry of Home Affairs. An important thing to note here is that NCB was created in accordance with Article 47 of Indian Constitution. As you all know Article 47 comes under DPSP part and it says that state should try to prohibit the conception of intoxicating drugs. So that's why NCB was created. Basically NCB collect the data and intelligence, analyze them, understand the mode of operation and closely coordinate with state police, CBI and other law enforcement agencies to combat drug trafficking. Also note that controlling drug abuse is the responsibility of central government and not the state government. Another important function of NCB is to raise awareness about the dangers of drug abuse. In addition to this it also coordinates with international agencies to stop drug trafficking. NCB was part of global operation called Operation Trans. This operation was conducted to stop the illegal drug trafficking at international level. As mentioned in the news article NCB has arrested Zambada Cartel which operates in Darknet. Here the Darknet refers to hidden internet platform used for selling drugs and other illegal activities. There is a similar organization called CBN, Central Bureau of Narcotics. Do not confuse this with NCB. Both are different organizations and have different functions. This Central Bureau of Narcotics CBN functions under the Department of Revenue. While NCB which you have seen earlier functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Right? CBN is regulated by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. Its headquarters is in Gwalior, Mathya Pradesh. The CBN issues license to farmers to cultivate OPM Poppy. Many of us think that OPM cultivation is completely prohibited in India. It's not true. OPM Poppy can be cultivated in areas notified by the government. At present it is only allowed in three states Mathya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The licenses for OPM cultivation are issued by this organization Central Bureau of Narcotics. This is very important. I don't want you to miss it. OPM cultivation is regulated by Central Bureau of Narcotics and not by Narcotics Control Bureau. Understood? So this is all about this discussion. Let us move to our next topic. Look at this news article. It is about Yazidi Genocide that happened in Middle East. Let us know some basic things regarding this news. Yazidis are religious minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan. We have heard this region called Kurdistan in news very often. It is a conflict region which includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. So this region is a Kurdistan. Right? These Yazidis follow a distinct religion which are based on Zoroastrianism and Islam. Because of their unique religious beliefs, Yazidis have faced centuries of persecution by both Sunni and Shia Muslims. Today majority of Yazidis live in Sinjar Mountain in Iraq. Note that this Sinjar Mountains is an important conflict region in Iraq. And in this region only thousands of Yazidis were killed by Islamic State in 2014. This massacre of Yazidis by Islamic State is declared as act of genocide by United Nations. The genocide against Yazidis was a systematic attempt to wipe out the entire population of Yazidis. The goal of Islamic State was to destroy their identity and their way of life. However, the genocide is still ongoing and there are still thousands of Yazidis who are persecuted. This genocide is a reminder of dangers of intolerance and extremism. It is also a reminder of importance of protecting the religious minorities. This is still relevant in many parts of the world. Now this topic is in news because recently Britain government officially acknowledged the genocide of these Yazidi people by Islamic State. So let's recall the important points here. Who are Yazidis? Where do they live? What is the region of conflict? The places we have seen in this discussion were highly important for prelims exam. As UPC has habit of asking important places in news and conflict regions around the world, we cannot miss this one. Now let's move to our next topic. Take a look at this editorial article. This article speaks about digital personal data protection bill. See, the central government is going to introduce a new data protection bill in the parliament. Several opposition members are objecting to the introduction of this bill. They are saying that the final draft of the bill was not shown to Parliamentary Standing Committee. Because of these reasons only, the topic of digital personal data protection bill appeared in the news today. In this discussion we will see some issues regarding this bill. Now first let us understand some basic points about this bill. See, in 2017 the union government constituted a committee to examine the issues relating to data protection. This committee was chaired by Justice B. N. Sri Krishna. And based on the recommendations of this committee, personal data protection bill was introduced in Lok Sabha. This was in 2019. But unfortunately the bill was withdrawn from the parliament in 2022. The central government said that it will compose a new comprehensive law for personal data protection. Hence, the government introduced draft digital personal data protection bill 2022. See, many of the concerned citizens shared their suggestions on the bill. So based on the feedback, some changes were made to the draft bill. But as I said earlier, the final draft of the bill is not shown to the public. This is what the concern of opposition members. Now with this background, let us understand the issues with the bill. See, one of the provisions of this bill seeks to amend the Right to Information Act, RTI Act. The bill says that all information that is related to privacy of a person may be denied by public information officers. This means that the bill will weaken the scope of RTI Act. The data protection bill proposes amendments to section 8 of RTI Act. This amendment will exempt all personal information from disclosure. This will lead to dilution of transparency and accountability of the government. So as per the amendments, it would be easier for public information officers to deny information to citizens. As a result, most of the information could be denied to citizens. This would effectively make RTI Act ineffective. This is one of the issues with the bill. The second issue is regarding wider powers to central government. The bill empowers the executive to draft rules and notifications on vast range of issues. For example, central government can exempt any government or private sector entity from the provisions of data protection law. This would be done by merely issuing a notification. So this provision would allow the government to arbitrarily exempt its friendly private companies and some government bodies from the provisions of data protection law. So this will result in immense violations of privacy of citizens. This is another issue. Then the final issue regarding the bill is autonomy of data protection board. The bill proposes to establish a data protection board. This board will be responsible for enforcement of provisions of the bill. But the bill does not provide enough autonomy to the board. As per the bill, the central government is empowered to determine the strength and composition of the board. Apart from this, central government is also empowered to determine the process of selection and removal of its chair portion and other members. The bill also says that chief executive who is responsible for managing data protection board is to be appointed by the government. See, all these factors arise concerns. As the central government is provided with wider powers to manage the board, this data protection board would function as per the center's direction. So there would be no autonomy to the data protection board which ultimately defeats the aim of data protection in our country. So to conclude, the concerns surrounding the data protection bill need to be urgently addressed before the bill is introduced into parliament. That's all. So in this discussion, we have seen what is data protection bill, what are the major provisions and what are the major issues regarding this bill. That's all about this discussion. Let us move to our next discussion. Have a look at this news article. It says that Kerala High Court upheld the order of Lokayutta bench. The case is regarding alleged misuse of Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund. This is the news. In this context, let us revise about Lokayutta. First, let us see how Lokayutta came into existence. In 1966, the first administrative reform commission passed recommendations for creation of Lokayutta. According to the commission's recommendation, two independent authorities, one at central level and another at state level, were to be appointed. They have to look into complaints regarding public functionaries including the MPs as well. According to the recommendations of this commission, Lokpal bill was passed in Lok Sabha in 1968. But this bill lapsed due to the dissolution of Lok Sabha. Since then, the bill was introduced many times in Lok Sabha but lapsed. Only until 2011, the bill was finally passed after eight failed attempts. The Lokpal and Lokayuttas Act 2013 resulted in the establishment of Lokpal at center and Lokayuttas at state level. In this discussion, we shall only focus on Lokayutta. See, the Lokayutta is an anti-corruption authority constituted at state level. It investigates the allegations of corruption, grievances and allegations regarding public servants. Before passing of Lokpal and Lokayuttas Act, there were several states in India that passed the laws creating Lokayutta. The first state which created Lokayutta was Odisha in 1970. Later, different states like Maharashtra in 1971, Rajasthan in 1973, Mathya Pradesh in 1975, etc. They all passed laws to create Lokayutta. Now, almost all the states in India has passed legislations for the creation of Lokayutta. The structure of Lokayutta is not same in all states. Some states have created only Lokayutta. Some states have created both Lokayutta and Uppalokayutta. Whereas some states have designated the officials as Lokpal. The Lokayutta usually has a chairperson and some members. The chairperson and the members are appointed by the governor of respective state. The chairperson and members are appointed by governor based on the recommendations of selection committee. The composition of the selection committee varies from state to state. Like the appointment procedure, there is no uniformity regarding the jurisdiction of Lokayutta. In Karnataka, allegations against chief minister can be investigated by Lokayutta. But in Tamil Nadu, the chief minister is not covered under Lokayutta. See, annually, Lokayutta presents a consolidated report on its performance to the governor of the state. Then, the governor places this report before the state legislature. These recommendations made by Lokayutta are only advisory and not binding on the state government. So, this is all regarding this discussion. We have covered some basic points about Lokayutta. Let us move to the next discussion. Take a look at this editorial. This editorial article is about Shakti scheme launched by Karnataka government. The article here covers the positives and challenges associated with the scheme. In our discussion, let us see all the points mentioned in the articles in detail. Before getting into the discussion, I have highlighted the syllabus regarding this discussion. You can go through it. Let's start with the basics of Shakti scheme. The Shakti scheme is a flagship scheme of Karnataka government. The main objective of this scheme is to financially empower women by providing them free-of-cost bus service. The women beneficiaries can travel anywhere and there is no distance limit. But there are certain limitations in this scheme. Firstly, this is only applicable within the boundary of Karnataka state. Secondly, a smart card is mandatory for the scheme. But till the smart card is made available, women beneficiaries can show their other card driving license, voter ID card or any other identity card to avail the benefit. This scheme is only available in buses operated by Karnataka state transport corporation. These are some of the points related to Shakti scheme. Now let us see what are the advantages of this scheme. Firstly, this scheme will make public transport more accessible to women. Secondly, as more women start using public transport, it will be safer for women to travel anywhere. Then this scheme will help the economically disadvantaged women and provide financial independence to many women. This scheme will also aid working women and further increase the women participation in workforce. Finally, the scheme will democratize the public spaces. Here, the democratizing public spaces means making sure that everyone has equal access and right to use public places, regardless of their background or social status or gender. These are some of the advantages of the scheme. Although the scheme has many advantages, the scheme is also facing some criticisms as well. The first criticism is that the scheme is discriminatory towards men. And the second criticism is that the scheme is labeled as a freebie. The authors of the editorial counters this criticism and provide valid arguments. Let us see the first criticism. This scheme cannot be called as a freebie. The government provides certain amenities free of cost and these amenities are funded by taxpayer money. See, the amenities like public schools, public hospitals, public parks and public roads are provided by government free of cost as they have positive externalities. Here, the term positive externalities means good or beneficial side effects that an action can have on people, which is not the main intention of the action. For example, if the government is building a new highway to connect Visakhapatnam and Chennai, the main intention is to establish connectivity between two metropolitan cities. But the positive effect here is that the villages all along the highway will develop. This is called positive externalities. Likewise, Shakti scheme also has many positive externalities. For example, it makes public places more gender equal. As we do not mention public schools or public hospitals as a freebie or a handout, similarly we should not mention free cost to bus ride as a freebie. The second criticism is that some claim that Shakti scheme is discriminatory towards men. See, it is true that Article 15 of Constitution prohibits discrimination on specified grounds including gender. But as we live in a patriarchal society, there are certain places where preferential treatment must be provided for women. For example, we provide reservation for women and we also provide certain scholarships for women to empower them. Also note that Article 15 of Constitution allows the state to make special provisions for women and children. So, this is all about the arguments regarding Shakti scheme. Now let us see some other steps taken by government to empower women. Let's take Bedi Bachavo and Bedi Padavo scheme. This scheme aims to improve the declining child sex ratio and promote the education and welfare for girls. The next one is Pradhan Mantri Ujwala Yojana. This initiative provides free LPG connections to women from below poverty line families. Then there is Pradhan Mantri Matruvandana Yojana. Through this scheme, the government aims to provide financial assistance to pregnant and lactating women for their first live birth. The next initiative is Nirbaya Fund. This fund was set up to support initiatives for women's safety and security. Finally, the government also provides reservation for women. The government has implemented reservation policies to ensure women's participation in local government bodies through constitutional amendments. These are some of the steps taken by government to empower the women. Even after taking so many initiatives, the goal of empowering women is not yet fully achieved. This is mainly due to limitations in government initiatives. Now let us see what are these limitations? First limitation is implementation gaps. While various schemes and programs are introduced, there are often challenges in their effective implementation at grass root level. Bureaucratic hurdles, corruption, lack of awareness among beneficiaries prevents the successful execution of these initiatives. The second limitation is the regressive attitude of society towards women. Indian society has constructed various social barriers, stereotypes and prejudices that can limit women's access to education, economic opportunities and decision making roles. This is one of the main reasons why the government programs are not reaching the women. Then the third limitation is limited access to resources. Many women, particularly those in rural areas and marginalized communities, have limited access to resources. They still face barriers in accessing resources such as credit, land and technology which are essential for their economic empowerment. Then there is an issue of digital divide. Women especially in rural areas face challenges due to digital illiteracy and have inadequate access to technology. This can hamper their participation in digital economy and other opportunities. These are some of the hurdles that prevent government initiatives aimed at empowering women from becoming a success. This is all regarding this discussion. Let us move to our next topic. We have come to the PRIMS practice questions. Take a look at this question. It's about Narcotics Control Bureau. So the question is which of the following is not a function of NCB? The first three options are functions of NCB because it investigates cases, prosecutes the cases in court and raises awareness. But look at the option D, regulating the cultivation of opium poppy. It is the function of Central Bureau of Narcotics, CBN, as we have seen in the discussion. So the correct answer is option D. Now the second question. This question is about the Sinjar region in Iraq. We have seen in the discussion. So the Sinjar region is related to genocide of Yazidi people by Islamic state. All other options are wrong. So the correct answer is B. Take a look at the quiz question for the day. Try to answer it in the comment section. Now let us move on to the mains practice question. This is the mains question for you today. Please try to write the answer and post it in comment section. We have come to the end of our discussion. If you like the video, please share it with your friends and subscribe to Shankara's YouTube channel. Thank you.