 A very good evening aspirants. Welcome to the Hindu newspaper analysis brought to you by Shankara A.S. Academy. Today's date is 26th of July 2023. 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. Look at this article from the editorial page. Recently, the Rajasthan Assembly passed a bill on July 24, 2023, which is the Rajasthan Platform Based Geek Workers Registration and Belfast Bill 2023. By passing this bill, now Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to pass a bill for the welfare of geek workers earning their livelihood through online platforms. So, the author of this article speaks about geek economy by keeping this bill in mind. So, in this news article discussion, let us try to understand some of the important points mentioned in the news article. Before that, the syllabus relevant to this news article is highlighted here for your reference. You can go through it. First, the author explains about the geek economy. So, what is geek economy? See, the geek economy refers to a working arrangement where individuals work on short term and they perform contract based tasks without any traditional employer-employee relationships. Companies use platforms and apps to connect consumers with workers like how Zomato and Swiggy connect delivery partners with customers. Now, this setup allows employers to evade responsibilities. Employers often do not provide fair wages, proper working conditions and social security benefits to these geek workers. According to the author, this happens because of the exploitative nature of the geek economy. Firstly, the article highlights that geek workers like those driving for Uber or Vola are often treated as partners. Actually, they should be referred to as employees, right? By this way, companies try to get rid of their responsibilities towards the well-being of these so-called partners. The platform operators take a substantial commission. They control various aspects of the job through algorithms. So, they can easily block a worker's access to the job. This leaves these workers without any job security. As a result of all these, the geek workers face many challenges. Apart from this, the geek workers have limited bargaining power and they face difficulties informing effective unions due to the nature of their work. Many geek workers are left without social security benefits which are essential for dealing with emergencies like illnesses or old age. To address all these challenges only, the Rajasthan government passed this new bill for geek workers. Now, the author of this article appreciates the Rajasthan bill and talks about its importance. And if you have to appreciate the bill, you should know about this bill in the first place. So, let me give you a brief on the Rajasthan platform-based geek workers' registration and welfare bill 2023. See, the primary objective of this bill is to provide legal recognition and social security benefits to geek workers operating in the state of Rajasthan. It aims to create a formal system for the registration of geek workers and aggregators and it also seeks to establish a welfare board to oversee their rights and welfare. Hope you got the essence of the bill. Now, what are the key provisions of the bill? See, firstly, the bill mandates the registration of all geek workers and aggregators who are operating within the state of Rajasthan. This registration process is crucial for bringing geek work into the formal economy. Then the second main component of the bill is the creation of the Rajasthan platform-based geek workers' welfare board. This board will be responsible for overseeing the welfare and rights of geek workers in the state. It will consist of two representatives from geek workers, two representatives from aggregators and two civil servants. See, the welfare board will play a crucial role in guaranteeing social security benefits to geek workers. This may include benefits like accident and health insurance, disability benefits, maternity benefits and other forms of social security. These are the benefits that regular employees receive from any employer. Thirdly, the geek workers will be registered under a comprehensive database created by the government. Each geek worker will be assigned a unique ID. This will serve as an identifier for them within the formal system. So, these are all some of the important provisions of the Rajasthan law. Talking about the benefits offered by the bill to the geek workers, firstly, the geek workers will be officially recognized and protected under the law. This gives them access to various legal rights and benefits. Secondly, the geek workers will have access to social security benefits. This provides them with financial protection during times of need or crisis. Thirdly, the welfare board ensures that geek workers have a platform to address any grievance they have. This ensures fair treatment and protection of their rights. It also promotes inclusivity and ensures that they are not left vulnerable to exploitation. Now, you should understand why the author prices the Rajasthan law as a significant breakthrough for geek workers. The author also talks about something called the Hamal model. See, the Hamal Panchayat union was formed more than 60 years ago in Maharashtra. The Hummels were laborers who carried sacks for merchants, but they lacked basic rights and benefits. So, to address this, they fought and won a law that set up a Mathadi board. This board registered both workers and merchants and it ensured that merchants deposited workers' wages under levy for social security with the board. It also facilitated access to benefits like gratuity, health and education benefits. The Rajasthan law is inspired from the Hamal model. It applies the principles of this Hamal model to the geek economy. It requires all aggregators and workers to be registered with the board. A fee will be levied on each transactions on the platform and this fee will fund the social security fund for geek workers. The board becomes an important grievance reticence mechanism and provides transparency in transactions. See, note this point. It is a very good case study to write in your essay answer writing. Coming back, now what are the implications of the Rajasthan law? See, the Rajasthan law is a significant step forward in providing fair work and social security to geek workers. It sets a precedent for several laws in other parts of the world. So, in essence, the Rajasthan platform-based Geek Workers Act is an important milestone in safeguarding the rights of geek workers. It paves the way for a more just and equitable future for workers in the digital era. Hope similar laws gets implemented in other states as well or it is fine to have a national framework to uniformly implement this in all states. So, these are all the important points that you have to remember about this news article discussion. In this news article discussion, we briefly saw about what is geek economy, then we saw what are the challenges faced by them, then we saw about the key provisions of the bill. Finally, we ended with the implications of the Rajasthan law. So, with these learned points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this friend page article. See, recently 26 opposition parties from across India have united to create the India Alliance. India stands for the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. The main objective of this alliance is to challenge the ruling National Democratic Alliance NDA led by the BJP in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha election. This alliance is now planning to move a no-conference motion against the Narendra Modi government in the Lok Sabha. The motion aims to force the Prime Minister to address the ongoing unrest in Manipur. In this context, let us learn two important concepts, no-conference motion and trust motion or flow test. First, let us take up the no-conference motion. See, a no-conference motion is a parliamentary procedure used by the opposition to express lack of confidence in the ruling government. It is moved when the opposition believes that the government does not have the majority support in the lower house of the parliament, that is Lok Sabha. The purpose of a no-conference motion is to test the government's strength. Mainly, it is used to force the government to prove its majority. Now, what is the procedure to move a no-conference motion? See, any member of the Lok Sabha can move a no-conference motion. The member needs to give a written notice of the motion to the speaker of the Lok Sabha. The speaker reads out the notice and if at least 50 members support the motion, the speaker announces the date for the discussion on the motion. Now, the discussion takes place 10 days after the motion is accepted. During the discussion, the government has to defend its policies and prove that it still enjoys the majority support in the house. If 51% of the members of the house vote in favour of the no-conference motion, it is passed. Now, the government is deemed to have lost the majority and has to resign from office. That is, if the government fails to prove its majority during the vote, it must resign from office. This is the no-confidence motion. Now, what is trust vote or floor test? See, a trust vote is also known as floor test or motion of confidence. It is just the opposite of a no-confidence motion. Basically, it is a procedure for the government to demonstrate its majority in the Lok Sabha. The prime minister who leads the ruling government usually proposes the motion of confidence. Now, what are the occasions for a trust vote to be taken? Firstly, when a new government is formed after a general election, the person who is selected as the prime minister seeks a trust vote. He or she does this to prove their majority in the Lok Sabha. Secondly, when a government loses its majority due to the withdrawal of support by coalition partners or due to defections. See, more often, a government is formed by a coalition of different political parties. They work together to run the country. Sometimes, one or more parties in the coalition may decide that they will not support the government because of any disagreement. When this happens, the ruling government may lose its majority. So, in this case, it can choose to seek a trust vote so that they can regain the legitimacy and support. Third, in some cases, a trust vote may be used as a strategic move by the government. This is done to consolidate its position and secure public support for important policies or decisions. Now, what are the procedures for a trust vote? See, firstly, the prime minister moves the motion of confidence in the Lok Sabha. Then, the government must demonstrate its majority during its session on the motion. Now, the members of the parliament, that is MPs, vote on the motion. If the government secures a majority of votes, it retains power and continues to govern. On the other hand, if the government fails to obtain the required majority, it may either resign or face a no-confidence motion moved by the opposition. So, these are the two important differences between no-confidence motion and a confidence motion or a trust vote or a flow test. Now, with these learned points, let us move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this news article. See, according to the news article, yesterday Lok Sabha passed the Biological Diversity Amendment Bill 2021. The bill aims to amend the Biological Diversity Act 2002. So, in this news article discussion, we shall see some of the important changes brought about by the amendment bill. Firstly, let us see briefly about the Biological Diversity Act 2002. See, the act was enacted to realise the objectives of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in short called as CBD 1992. The main objective of the 2002 Act is conservation of biological diversity in India and their sustainable use. The act also aims to ensure fair and equitable sharing of the benefits that arise from using biodiversity. The act also led to the establishment of National Biodiversity Authority NBA at the apex level, then State Biodiversity Board SBB at provincial level and Biodiversity Management Committee BMC at the local bodies level. Even though the act led to the establishment of these bodies, they also had some issues. For example, traditional Indian medicine practitioners, the seed sector, industry and researchers raised the complaints about the act as it imposed a heavy complaints burden on them. Also, it has been 20 years since the act was enacted. A lot of changes have happened since then and this is why our government decided to amend the act. Now, let us quickly see the changes brought about by the amendment. See, the first changes regarding approval. The BDA Act 2002 makes sure before obtaining biological resources or associated knowledge in India, prior approval or intimation should be made to the regulatory authority, either regulatory authority or I think but the NDA and the SBB. According to the 2002 act, four entities have to get approval from the NBA. Such entities includes foreign individuals, non-resident Indians, companies not registered in India and companies registered in India and having non-Indian participation in share capital or management. See, the amendment bill makes changes to the last entity alone. It is changed to companies registered in India which are foreign controlled companies as under the Companies Act 2013. Also remember, according to the 2002 act, the entities mentioned here have to get approval from the NBA. Likewise, the entities like Indian citizens and companies registered in India should get approval from the SBB before biological resources and associated knowledge for commercial utilisation. The 2002 act also provides exemptions for certain entities. These entities need not get approval from either NBA or SBB. Such entities include local people and community, cultivators of biological diversity and people who practice indigenous medicines. The amendment bill adds certain entities to the exception list. The entities include codified traditional knowledge practitioners and Aayush practitioners. So, in addition to local people, cultivators and people who participate in indigenous medicines, these entities are also exempted from getting approval from the SBB. In addition to this, when any entity uses biological resources from cultivated medicinal plants, that is the one which does not occur naturally, they are also exempted from receiving approval from NBA or SBB according to the amendment bill. So, these are all some of the important changes brought about by the bill regarding to approvals. Now, the second change is regarding intellectual property rights IPR. See, according to the 2002 act, all entities either foreign or India need to seek the approval of NBA before an application is made for a patent. That is, only if the NBA approves, an application for a patent can be filed. The amendment bill changes in this regard according to the new bill. There is no need to seek approval before the application of the patent, but approval must be received before the grant of the patent. In addition to this, the amendment bill makes a distinction between foreign and domestic entities. The foreign entities need to get the approval of the NBA before the grant of the patent, but domestic entities need not get approval from the NBA for getting a patent. But they must get themselves registered with the NBA. So, now it is enough for the domestic entities to get the approval of the NBA before commercialization of the patent. These are the changes brought about by the amendment regarding to IPR. Now, the third change is regarding benefit sharing. Here, benefit sharing refers to requiring applicants, especially the commercial entities, to share monetary and non-monetary benefits with creators or holders of associated traditional knowledge at local people. The 2002 Act makes benefit sharing provisions applicable to research, commercial utilization, as well as biosurvey and bioutilization for certain entities. The amendment bill removes the applicability benefit sharing from research and biosurvey and bioutilization. So, only commercial utilization benefit sharing is applicable. Then according to 2002 Act, the terms of benefit sharing are determined by the NBA for all entities. The amendment bill makes a distinction between foreign and domestic entities. According to the amendment bill for the domestic entities, the SBB will determine the benefit sharing based on the guidelines set out by the NBA. Then the amendment also makes changes in regards to the parties involved in framing the benefit sharing agreement. According to the 2002 Act, the benefit sharing should be in accordance with the mutually agreed terms and conditions between the applicant, that is the commercial entity. Then the local body is concerned and the benefit climbers, that is the local people. But according to the new amendment bill, the terms should be in accordance with the mutually agreed terms between the applicant and the Biodiversity Management Committee, BMC, that is the district level body represented by the NBA. So, these are all the changes brought about by the amendment bill in regard to benefit sharing. Finally, the amendment made changes in regards to offenses and penalties. According to the 2002 Act, offenses like failing to get approval or failing to provide prior information were punished with imprisonment of up to five years or a fine or both. But the amendment bill removes jail term and in its place awards a penalty ranging between 1 lakh rupees and 50 lakh rupees. And these penalties are provided by an adjudicating officers of the rank of joint secretary of the central government or the rank of secretary of the state government. These are all some of the notable changes brought about by the Biological Diversity Amendment Bill 2021. Make note of all these points. You can use it in your main sansa writing. So, in this news article, we saw about four important changes brought by the amendment bill. First is regarding the approval. Second is regarding the intellectual property rights IPR. Third is regarding benefit sharing. And finally, we saw about the changes regarding offenses and penalties. With these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this editorial article. This article is speaking about the importance of circular economy and resource efficiency. Currently, it is in use because India has prioritized resource efficiency and circular economy as one of the three core themes for discussion in the G20 forum. This is the crux of the news article given here. In this context, let us learn few points about circular economy and resource efficiency which may news today. The syllabus relevant to this news article is highlighted here. You can pass the video and go through it. Firstly, what is this circular economy and resource efficiency? See, circular economy refers to the sustainable economic model that focuses on reusing and recycling of existing materials rather than using new or virgin materials. For example, let us say a construction company is in need of steel for its new apartment project. Imagine the construction company already has some steel, but it is too old and rusted. Now if the company gets new steel from the market, the old steel will be accumulated as a waste, right? Here comes the circular economy. See, if the company recycles and reuses the unused old steel, it will reduce the use of new steel and avoid the accumulation of waste. This is what the circular economy actually means. It helps us to reduce the conception of fresh natural resources and avoid the creation of waste. Now, what does the term resource efficiency mean? Resource efficiency refers to the sustainable and effective use of earth's limited natural resources while minimizing impacts on the environment. Re-manufacturing, repair, maintenance, recycling and eco design are some of the examples of resource efficiency. According to India, resource efficiency and circular economy are the two powerful strategies that can effectively minimize the dependence on natural resources. Since India is currently working hard to achieve the sustainable development goals, India has prioritized resource efficiency and circular economy in the G20 Forum. Now, talking about India's priority areas, see India is focusing on four priority areas for the circular economy during its G20 presidency. First is circularity in the steel sector. Secondly, extended producer responsibility, EPR. Thirdly, circular bioeconomy and finally establishing an industry-led resource efficiency and circular economy. Now, we shall understand about these priority sectors one by one. Firstly, let us take the circularity in steel sector. See, most of the G20 member countries have committed to achieve net zero emissions. For example, India has set a target to achieve net zero emission by 2070. To achieve the target of net zero emissions, most of the G20 member nations are working to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. One of the ways to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions is this circularity in the steel sector. Here, you might have a doubt. Why is the focus given to steel sector? See, some studies have pointed out that about 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions comes from iron and steel production. Apart from this, there is also a growing demand for steel, especially in developing countries like India. So to tackle steel sector emissions, there needs to be a transition towards a circular steel sector. This means that the waste steel generated during the production process or the unused old steel can be reused or recycled. This would help to reduce the greenhouse gas emission that arises from iron and steel production. But in order to meet this goal, G20 member countries should ensure collaboration in the aspects of knowledge sharing, technology co-development and technology transfer. Currently, India has released the presidency document for knowledge exchange on the circular economy in steel sector. This document can act as a potential blueprint for net zero emission in the steel industry by reducing resource utilization and minimizing wastage. This is about the first key area that is the circularity in steel sector. Now the second priority area is nothing but the extended producer responsibility. See EPR is a policy framework that encourages the manufacturers to design environment friendly products. Basically, EPR attempts to move the burden of waste management away from consumers and government. And it places the burden back into the hands of the manufacturers. Thereby, it encourages manufacturers to decide less wasteful, less harmful and less toxic products because at the end, they are only responsible for the waste they produce. In the G20 forum, India emphasized the significance of integrating the EPR framework. See, different countries have implemented different EPR models. So, India has advised the G20 member countries to share their best practices in the EPR framework. Apart from this, India has also stressed for effective implementation of EPR to promote the growth of the recycling infrastructure and waste collection system. This is about the second priority area. Now the third priority area is regarding the circular bioeconomy. See, a circular bioeconomy is an economy powered by nature. It is a new economic model that emphasizes the use of renewable natural capital and focuses on minimizing waste, replacing the wide range of non-renewable fossil-based products currently in use. India adopted many measures to implement the circular bioeconomy. For example, India has been working towards the adoption of biofuels. India has announced the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Yojana. This particular scheme aims to provide financial support to set up second generation ethanol projects. In addition to this, India has also launched the Goa Bar Dhan scheme. This scheme aims to convert cattle, dank and other organic waste into compost, biogas and biofuels. This promotes sustainable agriculture and also reduces pollution. Apart from this, the Indian government has also launched the sustainable alternative towards affordable transportation in short called as SA-TAT scheme. This scheme promotes the use of compressed biogas as an alternative green transportation So this also helps in the circular bioeconomy approach. Overall, India has set up many examples for the circular bioeconomy. So India can use these examples in the G20 forum to persuade the member countries to follow a circular bioeconomy approach. Now coming to the final priority area, this is regarding the establishment of industry-led resource efficiency and circular economy. See, industries are crucial in advancing resource efficiency and circular economy practices. This is why India has envisioned an industry coalition in the areas of resource efficiency and circular economy. The main idea behind this industrial coalition is that it aims to achieve enhanced technological collaboration in the fields of resource efficiency. These are all the four priority areas. So to conclude, global platforms like G20 plays an important role in addressing key climate issues. Apart from this, the G20 forum also presents various solutions to address the climate-related disasters. One such solution is the adoption of resource efficiency and circular economy. Just now, we saw various factors about resource efficiency and the circular economy. We hope such approaches will provide promising pathways towards a more sustainable and resilient future. That's all regarding this news article. With these learned points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this news article. Yesterday, the Union Finance Ministry informed the Rajeshaba Dutta Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, that is the CBIC, has detected GST evasion of about 11,000 crore rupees. Apart from this, the CBIC has also identified more than 9,300 fake GST registrations. See, this mishap was identified after a special compliance drive conducted by the CBIC in the past two months. This is about the news article given here. So in this news article discussion, we shall understand a few points about Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs from an exam perspective. First of all, know that in 1964, the erstwhile Central Board of Revenue was split into two bodies like the Central Board of Direct Taxes, CBDT, and the Central Board of Excise and Customs, CBEC. Later in 2018, CBEC was renamed as the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. The name got changed after the implementation of the goods and services tax. Now talking about CBEC, see, CBEC was established under the Central Boards of Revenue Act 1963. So it is a statutory body, the CBEC functions under the Department of Revenue of the Union Ministry of Finance. Talking about its composition, the CBEC consists of a chairman and six other members. Basically, the chairman is the senior most Indian revenue service that is IRS officer of Customs and Indirect Taxes. Note that the chairman is appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet. Now coming to the members, see, there are totally six other members. They are responsible for six various roles like investigation, customs, IT legal and compliance verification, administration and vigilance, tax policy and finally GST or Central Exercise. This is about the composition, talking about the functions of CBEC. Firstly, the CBEC is responsible for the policy formulation relating to levy and collection of indirect taxes like custom duty, central excise duty, central GST and integrator GST. Secondly, the CBEC exercises overall supervision over customs and central GST units located across the country. Thirdly, the CBEC is tasked with collection of various customs duties like duty on land customs stations, duty on inland container depots, duty on special economic zones and duty on container freight stations. Apart from this, the CBEC also collects custom duties on international airports, seaports, custom houses and international air cargo stations. And finally, the CBEC works towards the prevention of smuggling through international airports, sea, land customs stations and border checkpoints. These are all some of the important points that you have to remember about CBEC. So with these learnt points, now let us move on to the next part of the news article discussion which is the preliminary practice question discussion. This question is about the new biological diversity amendment bill 2021. Four statements are given. You have to choose how many statements given here or correct. First statement says, for accessing biological resources foreign entities need approval from the NBA while the domestic entities need approval from the SBB. Second statement says, Benefit sharing applicable only for commercial utilisation of biological resources. Third statement says, Offences like failing to get approval or failing to provide prior information is now punishable with financial penalty. Fourth statement says, Domestic entities need to get approval from the NBA only before the commercialisation of the patent. So here all the statements given here are correct. These are exactly the amendments made to the Biodiversity Act 2002. So the correct answer here is option D all the four. Now, moving on this question is about central board of indirect taxes and customs. CBIC statement one says it is a constitutional body. Since this statement is actually incorrect, CBIC was established under the Central Boards of Revenue Act 1963. So it is a statutory body, not a constitutional body. Now the statement two says it is responsible for the policy formulation regarding the levy and collection of indirect taxes. This statement is actually correct. Now the third statement says it works towards the prevention of smuggling through CE and international airports. This statement is also correct. So here the correct answer for the question is option B only two, only the second and third statements are correct here. Now the questions displayed here are the main practice questions for you today. Just go through the questions, try to answer it in the comment section. With this, we came to the end of this news article discussion. If you like the video, hit like, do comment and don't forget to subscribe to Shankar AAS Academy YouTube channel. Now thank you for listening.