 A very good evening aspirants, welcome to the Hindu newspaper analysis brought to you by Shankar A.S academy. Today's date is 29th of January 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. Now take a look at this news article, it talks about the reasons for multi-dimensional problems faced by the Munre Turutu population. Munre Turutu is a group of small islets located near the Astamudi lake in the district of Kullam, Kerala. According to the article, the said island is facing problems of steady land subsidence, tidal flooding and low agricultural productivity. This has resulted in a mass exodus of the population living there. So this is the crux of the news article given here. In this context, let us learn about the geography of the Munre island and the problems faced by it. We will also see about some of the solutions suggested by the article. Okay, now as I already said, Munre islands are a group of inland islands located in the southern state of Kerala. It is an island group located at the confluence of Astamudi lake and the Kallada river in Kullam district. Here note that it is a group of eight small islets comprising a total area of about 13.4 square kilometers. Islet is nothing but a small island. Okay, now this island is also known as sinking island of Kerala. Now let us see the reasons why it is called so. See the low laying areas of the island are prone for submerging due to the high tides. Due to this only the island is known as sinking island of Kerala. Other than this, the island is also facing problems of frequent land subsidence. Now let us see briefly about land subsidence. Land subsidence is defined as a gradual settling or sudden sinking of the earth's surface due to removal or displacement of subsurface earth materials. Here the term subsurface refers to the area below the surface of the earth. Okay, the materials found below the surface of the earth include rock, groundwater, minerals, etc. And they are termed as subsurface earth materials. Okay, now the removal or displacement of these subsurface earth materials will lead to land subsidence. So this is about land subsidence. Now coming back according to the study which is reported in today's news article, land subsidence is reported only in the areas where unscientific construction has taken place. Heavy buildings that do not follow proper design standards have subsided up to 1.5 feet. This is due to the instability associated with the soil in the island on which heavy structures are constructed. Other than land subsidence, Munray Island is also facing low agricultural productivity. A slump in agricultural productivity has been reported due to the increase in salinity of the soil. So these are all some of the problems associated with the island currently. Now let's see the ways in which these problems can be solved. The article proposes reverse landscaping to solve the problems arising due to man-made structures. It proposes a plan to integrate all aspects and social sciences to retrieve the landscape's original state. New structures to be built should be granted permission only after analyzing the effects of it on the island. Secondly, as the island is closer to the Astamudi island, it is undergoing huge stress due to tourists. Sustainable tourism practices to an extent can help solve this issue. Thirdly, as I said already there is a slow land degradation of soil in the island. The reason for this has been reported as the unrelated sand mining. See sand mining near the island has resulted in the increase in salinity of the soil which has in turn lowered the agricultural productivity. Now look at this slump. To curb this problem, Kerala government need to bring in necessary regulations regarding illegal sand mining. So this is about the news article given here. You can use the island as an example in your mains answer to the questions related to land subsidence and land degradation. As the Joshimath land subsidence is in use recently, you need to know the places where there are similar land subsidence events taking place. This island is one such example. So with this we come to the end of this discussion. Through this discussion we came to know about the environmental problems associated with the Munray island in Kerala. So with these points in mind, now let's move on to the next news article. Now look at this news article. It says that three grievance applied committees that is GACs will be set up by the government and it will commence operation from March 1. This committee will be set up to look into users' compliance against large social media companies like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. So this is the crux of the news article given here. In this context, let us understand briefly about GAC and its significance. First of all, what is this grievance appellate committee's GACs? See this GAC finds its origin in the recent amendment of the information technology, immediately guidelines and digital media ethics code rules 2021. According to the amendment, if a person is aggravated by the decision of the grievance officer of any social media intermediary like Twitter, Facebook, etc., then he or she can appeal to the GAC established by the centre. The establishment of such a committee is needed because there are a large number of grievances being left unaddressed or unsatisfactorily addressed by Internet intermediaries. Now if you want to know more about GAC and its composition, watch our 29th October 2022 analysis and remember the establishment of GAC is not the only amendment made to the IT Rules 2021. So if you want to know all the amendments to the IT Rules 2021, its needs and significance, then watch our 1st November 2022 analysis. Now coming back, talking about the significance of GAC, see firstly, grievance appellate committee or GAC serves as a crucial piece of overall policy and legal framework to ensure that Internet in India is open, safe and trusted and accountable. Secondly, GAC will help in bringing confidence in the grievance reticence process. This is because it will address the large number of grievances being left unaddressed or unsatisfactorily addressed by Internet intermediaries. Thirdly, GAC will create a culture of responsiveness amongst all Internet platforms and intermediaries towards their consumers. This is because if these platforms do not address the compliance properly, then the compliance will come into the hands of GAC. Then the GAC will take action against the Internet platform or the intermediaries. Now fourthly, the GAC serves as a virtual digital platform that will operate only online and digital. See the entire appeal process from the filling of appeal to the decision, everything will be conducted digitally. Now finally, GAC aids in the achievement of effective and timely grievance reticence. According to the amendment, GAC will resolve the appeal made by the users within 30 days. So these are all some of the important points that you have to note about grievance appellate committees. Now remember, it will commence operation from March 1. So with these learned points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now look at this article here. It says that Rajinikanth's advocate has issued a public notice against those who infringe the personality rights. We all know about Rajinikanth right. He is one of the most celebrated, acclaimed and successful actor in Indian cinema, particularly in South Indian cinema. Now this public notice has been issued because it was found that various manufacturers were misappropriating the actor's name, voice, image, photograph, caricature and computer-generated images to entice people to buy their products. Since such incidents happen without prior permission of the actor, this public notice has been issued. So this is the crux of the news article given here. In this context, let us understand what are personality rights and how personality rights are protected in India. So what are personality rights? See personality rights refer to the right of a person to protect his or her personality under the right to privacy or property. Okay, especially these rights are important to celebrities. This is because their names, photographs or even voices can be easily misused in various advertisements by different companies to boost their sales. So basically personality rights or rights that control the commercial exploitation of a celebrity's image, persona, name and other features. Okay, now remember this personality rights consist of two parts. One is right to publicity. See this includes the right to keep one's image and other features from being commercially exploited without permission or contractual compensation. Okay, and the other one is right to privacy. This includes the right to not have one's personality represented publicly without permission. Here both might sound similar, but the first one only prevents the commercial exploitation of a celebrity's image, persona, name and other features. But the second one is not like that. It is a right which a celebrity possess to not have his or her personality represented publicly without permission. Okay, now coming back to Indian specific information, let us see how personality rights is protected in India. See in India right to privacy and the right to publicity are both protected by article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Article 21 is right to life, right? It says that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. Secondly, the statutory provisions that protect the personality rights include Trademarks Act 1999 and the Copy Rights Act 1957. Know that judiciary has also ruled about the personality rights in the internet. This is in the case of Arun Jaitley versus Network Solutions Private Limited and others. This case happened in 2011. In this case the Delhi High Court ruled that the popularity or fame of individual will be no different on the internet than in reality. This means both in reality and internet popularity or the fame is same only. Therefore, the use of name, image or other features in the internet will also be challenged. So these are all some of the important points that you have to remember about personality rights. You can quote this as an example somewhere in your ethics answer. So these learned points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now look at this front page news article. It says that an ancient terracotta temple in West Bengal's Sudharmans is facing a modern threat. What is this ancient temple and what is that modern threat? First of all, the temple is an 11th century Shiva temple named Chhatha Deol. It is located in Raidki, West Bengal. The threat is that the outer wall of this ancient temple is gradually eroding due to the impact of climate change, especially the increase in air salinity. So this is the crux of the news article given here. In this context, let us understand how this happened. So first of all, know that this ancient Shiva temple Chhatha Deol is situated only a few kilometers from the sea. We all know ocean has salt in it, right? And generally atmospheric air contains certain amounts of aerosols that is suspended particles in it. Examples of aerosols include dust, ash particles, pollutants and etc. Likewise salt from the sea that gets into the air forms another kind of aerosol. So the atmospheric air near the ocean region contains salt aerosols. In fact, sea salt is one of the largest sources of aerosols on earth. These sea salt aerosols are generally sodium chloride only, but it also contains other elements like magnesium, sulphate, calcium and potassium. Now coming to how this sea salt aerosols affect the monuments. See generally, while sea breeze touches the monuments or any buildings for that matter, the sea salt aerosols starts depositing on the buildings, right? I hope you know what is sea breeze. It is the wind that blows from the sea towards the land. And like I said, this resulted in deposition of salt aerosols in the buildings. This deposition of salt results in crystal deposits on building materials like brick, mortar, etc. These deposits if allowed to seep, it can cause efflorescence. Efflorescence causes discoloration and damage of the building materials. One more factor is that presence of salt increases the hygroscopic moisture content of the masonry. It is nothing but the ability to absorb moisture from the surroundings. This causes the building materials to become moist, dampen and loose. This again will decrease the durability and strength of the building. So this is how air salinity increases the erosion of buildings near the ocean region. Now Jethar Deol is facing this threat but ASI is planning to carry out restoration and conservation work at the temple by removing the damaged bricks and replacing them with new bricks of similar size. Okay? So that is all you have to know about from this news article discussion. With these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Have a look at this snippet article. It reports that in Afghanistan, at least 166 people died because of the cold waves. Since January 10, Afghanistan has been frozen by temperatures as low as minus 33 degrees Celsius. It is combined with widespread snowfall, icy storms and regular electricity outrangers. So this is about the article given here. In this context, let us understand what is a cold wave and we shall also understand why there is a severe cold wave in North India. So let us start with the term cold wave. A cold wave is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air. It is termed as a rapid fall in temperature within a short period of time. Here short period of time means 24 hard period. Okay? The India Meteorological Department marks a cold wave in terms of minimum temperatures. The IMD provides two conditions for the purpose of defining cold waves in the planes. The first condition is that when the minimum temperature in the planes is 4 degrees or less, then the second condition is when the minimum temperature in the planes is less than 10 degrees and the temperature reaches 4.5 to 6.4 degrees below the normal. Okay? So if the minimum temperature in the plane satisfies any one of these conditions, then it is termed as a cold wave. In India, the cold wave conditions are generally experienced during the period from November to March. It has a severe impact on human health due to lack of sunlight. The impacts include cough, cold, respiratory diseases, skin problems and even bone, joint and muscle pain. So with this basic understanding, now let us see why there is a severe cold wave in North India. See the large-scale fog covered is one of the major factors that contribute to severe cold waves over North India. During winter months, North India experiences light winds and high moisture near the land surface. These conditions have been contributing to the formation of a blanket of fog over large areas of the endogangetic planes in the morning. This fog formation prevents the sunlight from reaching the surface which in turn affects the radiation balance. So this further aggravates cold weather in North India. Apart from the fog cover, the northwestern winds have also been contributing to the cold waves in North India. The northwestern winds that are blowing at a speed of around 5 to 10 km per hour in the afternoon will further reduce the temperature in North India. That is why North India is experiencing a severe cold wave. That is also another factor which is contributing to the cold wave. It is none other than western disturbances. Know that western disturbances are storms that originate in the Mediterranean region. The western disturbances bring easterly winds to northwest India. That is, it brings non-monsoonal rainfall to North India. See if the western disturbances bring significant rainfall during the winter months in North India, it will reduce the cold temperature. According to the IMD, this year there is no significant impact of western disturbances over the northern region. So this is also one of the reasons that caused severe cold waves in India. So that is all regarding this news article discussion. In this news article discussion, we saw about cold waves. We saw about the conditions for cold waves and then we saw why cold wave occurred in North India. So with these learned points, now let us move on to the next part of the news article discussion which is the preliminary practice question discussion. Now look at this first question. This question is about personality rights. Statement 1, under the context of intellectual property law such as Copyrights Act 1957 and Trademarks Act 1999, personality rights are considered as properties of well-known public figures which cannot be misused or misappropriated by anyone. See this statement is actually correct. In our discussion also, we saw that personality rights referred to the right of a person to protect his or her personality and other right of privacy or property rights. So this statement is actually correct. Statement 2, in India, the popularity or fame of an individual in internet is considered different from the reality. See this statement is incorrect. We saw in the discussion itself right in 2011, Delhi High Court ruled that the popularity or fame of individual will be no different on the internet than in reality. So the correct answer for this question is option A, 1, 1, Lee. Now look at the second question which of the following places in West Bengal or in the World Heritage List of Inesco. First one is the Ajling Himalayan Railway. Second one is Sudharbans National Park. Third is Shantini Ketan Ashram. Fourth is Victoria Memorial and fifth one is Haurabh Rich. See the correct answer for the question is option B, 1, 2, 1, Lee. See as of now, only two places in West Bengal or there in the Unesco's World Heritage List. Under the culture category, mountain railways of India is there. Under this provision, three railways are included. One of them is Dajling Himalayan Railways in West Bengal. The other one is Nilgiri Mountain Railway in Tamil Nadu and the third one is Kalka Shimla Railways. Here Kalka is in Haryana and Shimla is in Himachal Pradesh. And under the natural category, Sundarbans National Park is there. So the correct answer for the question is option B, 1, 2, 1, Lee. Now look at this question. This question is about Grieven's Appalachite Committee in short called as GAC. First statement, the composition of GAC includes one chairperson and three whole time members for a period of three years. See this statement is actually incorrect. GAC will have a chairperson, two whole time members from various government entities and retired senior executives from the industry for a term of three years from the date of assumption of office. And in today's article we saw that three GACs are going to be set up right. So each GAC will contain one chairperson plus two whole time members. So the first statement is incorrect. Now the second statement says that GAC adopts an online dispute resolution mechanism. See this statement is actually correct. The GAC will be a virtual digital platform that will operate only online and digital, wherein the entire appeal process from filing of appeal to the decision will be conducted digitally. So the second statement is actually correct. The correct answer for this question is option B2 only. Now moving on to the quiz question. Now this question is the quiz question for you today. Just go through the question. If you have an idea about the question, comment the correct answer in the comment section. So with this we came to the end of the news article discussion. If you like the video, hit like, do comment and don't forget to subscribe to Shankar IAS Academy. A lot of people are watching our video without subscribing. So please subscribe to Shankar IAS Academy. Now thank you for listening.