 Welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankarae's Academy. Displayed are the list of news articles taken for today's analysis and the page numbers in different editions of the newspaper. The link for the handwritten notes and the time stamping of the displayed articles are provided in the description box and for the benefit of smartphone users the time stamping is also provided in the comment section. Now let us move on to the analysis of first news article. This editorial article is with reference to neat examination and the controversy surrounding it. See the syllabus relevant for the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. We will see brief information with respect to this national eligibility come entrance test. See this test is conducted by national testing agency. It is for admission to bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery which is nothing but MBBS or bachelor of dental surgery courses shortly called as BDS courses. So this test is for MBBS or BDS courses in Indian Medical Colleges or Indian Dental Colleges that are run with approval of Medical Council of India or Dental Council of India. These colleges are under Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. But know that those institutions that are established through an act of parliament, they are not included in the list of colleges for need. These institutions are Ames and Jipmar Puducherry. So admissions to these two institutions are not made through neat examination. We know that many controversies have been there around this neat examination. For example one main controversy is that this exam is modeled on the syllabus that is followed by Central Board of Secondary Education which is CBC. Because of this many students in several states are at a disadvantage because they are studying at different syllabus. Well this is one major controversy. Today's editorial is regarding another controversy that is those who attend coaching classes for this exam only they are able to clear this examination and only they are able to secure a medical seat. Now this allegation has been proved by a recent data from Tamil Nadu which became available through the Madras High Court. This data, the data showed a clear link between coaching classes and securing a medical seat through this neat examination. So according to the data presented to the Madras High Court in 2019 only 48 students got admitted to medical seats in government colleges without attending coaching classes. Whereas a large number of students say around some 3033 students they secured admission to government colleges and these students have attended coaching classes. So we can say that only 1.6% of all students got a seat in medical colleges without undergoing any preparatory coaching program. So this is with respect to the admission to the government colleges but if you see self-financing or private colleges disappointment is also there because only 52 students or roughly around 3.15% of students got admission without attending coaching classes but around 1598 students secured admission only after attending coaching classes. So we are presenting these numbers only to understand the seriousness of the problem and to understand the link between coaching classes and the medical admission. Now we may think what is wrong in attending a coaching class that is if a person can score well after attending coaching classes in addition to school education what is wrong in it. Here the problem is not in attending the coaching classes but how much a student has to spend to take the coaching classes. The cost for this is in terms of lakhs of rupees. So clearly coaching classes are not affordable for everyone and not every family will have the financial capability to spend that much amount just for coaching classes and that too for an entrance exam. So that is why the author states that this problem clearly puts medical education out of the reach of poorer sections of our society. So this was even the argument of Tamil Nadu government when it opposed this neat examination. The Tamil Nadu government stated that the neat examination will keep a segment of students out of the competition as the exam is based on CBSE syllabus which is not followed by many schools in Tamil Nadu and also the same as the case even in many other states. They are following the state board syllabus which is far different from CBSE syllabus on which the neat examination is based. The state also argued that coaching classes will determine the entry into medical courses and therefore those who cannot afford coaching classes they will be put out of the competition for example students who are poor or students who are hailing from rural areas. So because of all these reasons the public and the state governments are calling for cancellation of this neat examination. But actually if you see for the author of this editorial article these are not the root cause of the problem. The root cause is the quality of education that is being imparted to the students in both urban areas and in rural areas. The author is trying to convey that the shortcoming in the education sector with respect to the quality of education brings expensive coaching classes into the picture. That is if proper education is given at the school itself then the students need not find a coaching class to teach them. The author is stating this based on observations made by some qualitative surveys. One of the surveys which the author talks about is the annual status of education report 2018 or ESR 2018. See this is a nationwide household survey. It provides a snapshot of children's schooling and children's learning for a representative sample of children across rural India. In this survey children in the age group of 3 to 16 are surveyed to find out their enrollment status in school or in preschool then children in the age group of 5 to 16 they are assessed on one-on-one basis to understand their basic reading and arithmetic abilities. It is being said that ESR our annual survey of education continues to be the only national source of information about children's foundational skills across the country. Now let's see some of the important findings from this survey. This report states that there is hardly any increase or there is very less increase or there is very low or marginal increase in the learning levels of students in the upper primary classes that is from class 6 to class 8. The survey has found three clear national trends. One is that the basic math levels remain low. In class 8 more than half of all children are still struggling with basic division in mathematics. Secondly the additional value added in terms of math skills for each year of schooling is low. When we say value added we mean that first getting foundational then the student in each year of schooling there has to be value addition to enhance the capabilities and knowledge in mathematics and math skills so that they will have higher level capabilities and knowledge and when they leave school they will be able to cope up on their own to the dynamic and changing requirements in the world. This value addition in each year of schooling is low. Thirdly the experiences of each subsequent group of students in each class is unchanged over a period of time. That is say for example a group of students are studying classics they are leaving next batch of students are coming to classics. With every year there is no much improvement in the education levels of next batch of students in each year. So here we have to note that without strong foundation skills it is difficult for children to cope up with what is expected from them in upper primary grades and in the other higher grades. In addition to this the survey has also found that 25 percent of children who are living standard eight are without basic reading skills. So if you see this graph you can see with regard to these skills there is a decline over a period of time and we have also given you this map wherein you can find the statewide condition of class 8 students who can read class 2 level books or class 2 level texts. So from this data we can see that one of the very important nation building function that is school education is not given proper attention and based on the education of students we can say that they are not receiving quality education as they should have. Therefore the author is stating that if education is provided by well-trained teachers of highest quality then the students need not go for any out of school classes such as coaching classes. So that is why the author has given the title back to the blackboard which means having a plan from the beginning in this context. By this the author is suggesting that quality education should start at the initial years of schooling then only the students will have strong foundation skills. The author also suggests that the states should come up with a series of steps to make learning meaningful and fun in school to make the students to grasp the subjects easily. While doing this on one hand in the meantime the state government should provide free need coaching classes to help the disadvantaged students so that they can also have the quality of education that is needed or required to attend need exam without a need to go for a coaching institute. That is a private coaching institute. So as conclusion the author notes that it would be disastrous to throw the baby also out along with the process of emptying out dirty bath water. That is dirty water has to be removed periodically but in the process one should not also throw the baby out. This idiom literally means to remove something good. Here the author tries to convey that when you are getting rid of something bad you should not remove something good in the process. Here the author calls the practices such as coaching classes as dirty bath water and the baby is the need examination. So when we are trying to curb the ways to need to go for a coaching class the governments and the people should not go for the cancellation of the need examination. So these are the opinions of the author. According to the author cancellation of need examination is not advisable because this examination is equivalent of a quality control test. This is because need hopes to choose the best students in a given pool of students for a career in medicine. So the need examination is necessary according to this author. So these are some of the information with reference to the analysis of this news article. Now let us move on to the analysis of next article. This news article is about the impact of acute respiratory infections which we will be discussing based on the findings in the national health profile 2019. The syllabus relevant for the analysis of this news article has been highlighted here for your reference. On 1st of November we discussed about the national health profile 2019 and we also discussed various information related to sex ratio, birth rate, death rate, natural growth rate, total fertility rate and literacy rate and one or two important findings of this profile. Today this news article is a totally different dimension based on this health profile about acute respiratory infections. See this national health profile which was released recently is the 14th edition of NHP released by the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It provides vital information on major health sector related indicators in a comprehensive manner and it is also an important source of information on various communicable and non-communicable diseases. One important fact mentioned in NHP 2019 is that in India it is being observed that the non-communicable diseases are dominating over the communicable diseases in terms of total disease burden in the country. We can see a drop in the disease burden due to communicable diseases, maternal, neonatal and nutritional diseases from around 61% in 1990 to 33% in 2016. Now it is dominated by non-communicable diseases. See the news article mentions that among the morbidity reported due to various communicable diseases in 2018 the acute respiratory infections accounts for almost 70% to be accurate 69.47% and when it comes to mortality due to communicable diseases it accounted for around 27%. When we say mortality it refers to death because of a disease. Here morbidity refers to having a disease or having a symptom of a disease or the state of being infected. About 69.47% of morbidity reported in communicable diseases in the year 2018 is acute respiratory infection and of the total deaths because of communicable diseases in 2018 acute respiratory infection contributes to the tune of 27.21%. The news article mentions that as per NHP 2019 states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Bespengal have reported large number of patients and fatalities due to this acute respiratory infection. Now the problem with acute respiratory infection is that it is a serious infection which will prevent normal breathing function. It usually begins as a viral infection in the nose, trachea which is also called as windpipe or also as a viral infection in the lungs. See if the infection is not treated it can spread to entire respiratory system. Now here the problem is that it prevents the body from getting required oxygen and that can lead to death. The early symptoms of this ARI usually appear in the nose and upper lungs. It includes runny nose, cough, sore throat, body pain. When the infection advances there may be high fever and chills and difficulty in breathing, low blood oxygen level and even sometimes dizziness and loss of consciousness. Now one important thing with respect to exam perspective you have to note that these infections are infectious. These infections are communicable that is the meaning when we say infectious that means they can spread from one person to another and who are vulnerable see particularly children, older adults and people who have immune system disorders. Persons from these populations are vulnerable to being infected by this acute respiratory infection and within children WHO is saying that every year globally around 26 lakh children because of acute respiratory infection. Now let us see what causes this acute respiratory infection in an individual. See when a person breathes polluted air the polluted particles and pollutants in the air enters the respiratory system. After entering it then inflames the linings of bronchial tubes and lungs. This leads to respiratory illness such as you know chronic bronchitis, emphysema, heart diseases, asthma, wheezing, coughing and also difficulty in breathing and children are the most vulnerable to air pollution according to the news article and the news article mentions that children are the most vulnerable to air pollution and resulting respiratory diseases. See because children are constantly growing they breathe more rapidly than adults and therefore they absorb more pollutants than adults and during the early years of children the central nervous system immune system and the digestive systems are developing. If at these early stages of development if the children are exposed to environmental toxicants at the early stages of development this can lead to irreversible damage. While adults can be aware of the risks about pollutants in air pollution children do not have such awareness in most of the cases and unlike adults they are also having certain difficulties in protecting their health by themselves. One another reason is that children breathe through their mouths unless they are carefully guided as a result there will not be filtering effects of the nasal passages and this allows pollutants to travel deeper into the lungs. So this means parents or guardian they should take additional care to ensure that their kids should be well protected from the exposure to pollutants to prevent respiratory illnesses and respiratory issues. The news article also talks about the high risks to pregnant women and the baby because of the rising level of air pollution. See the fetus in the mother's womb receives oxygen from the mother so when the mother is breathing polluted air it can increase the health risk of fetus also. The news article mentions that pregnant women in the first trimester has to be very very careful because in this trimester risk increases and pollution can cause a medical condition called as intrauterine inflammation. Generally pregnancy generally the duration of pregnancy is divided into three trimesters each trimester is of three months duration. Now this intrauterine inflammation is serious because it can lead to damage of brain of the unborn child and when we say intrauterine inflammation it refers to inflammation that is usually caused by bacterial information of corian, amnion and placenta. Here the placenta provides oxygen and nutrients to the fetus and it takes away the waste such as carbon dioxide. This is done through the umbilical cord. Air pollution and respiratory illnesses are serious because prenatal exposure to pollutants increases the risk of preterm delivery or premature delivery and also low birth weight and these are factors that can lead to developmental disabilities of children particularly in their later stages of life. So these are some of the information with reference to the analysis of this news article. Now let us move on to next article. This news article states that economic slowdown may lighten India's carbon burden. Simply it can be translated as with respect to certain parameters of carbon dioxide emissions India has to perform better comparing to previous time because of the economic slowdown in the present time. The syllabus relevant has been highlighted for your reference. The article mentions the terms such as carbon brief, green peace, international energy agency with reference to this article we will discuss these aspects and also the crux of the news article. See carbon brief is a united kingdom based website and it covers latest developments in climate science, climate policy and also energy policy. It specializes in data-driven articles and graphics to improve the understanding of climate change both in terms of science and also in terms of policy response and this news article is also based on an analysis by carbon brief website. Now let's talk about green peace or green peace international. See it is an independent non-governmental organization that is involved in global campaigning that acts to change attitude and behavior of people and also the attitude and behavior of policymakers. So as to protect and conserve the environment and also to promote peace in the world. It was founded in 1971 since then it has been campaigning against environmental degradation. Its headquarters is in Amsterdam in Netherlands. In addition to climate change, deforestation, ocean pollution it also focuses on food supply. The article also mentions about international energy agency. See it was founded in 1974. It has its headquarters in Paris and it was established by organization for economic cooperation and development. It was initially designed to help countries and to coordinate a collective response to major disruptions in the supply of oil. See in 1973 there was an oil crisis. At that time some of the oil exporting countries prohibited sale or supply of oil to those countries which supported Israel at that time either directly or indirectly. So this acted as a major disruption at that point of time in terms of supply oil to some countries. So as a response to this crisis in order to prevent such disruptions in the future this international energy agency was established by OECD. At present it examines the full spectrum of energy issues say let it be supply or demand or any other aspects such as energy trends and other issues with respect to energy. And one major thing that we have to keep in mind with respect to our prelims preparation is that it releases one important publication which is called as World Energy Outlook. There is one another outlook we generally study which is World Economic Outlook released by International Monetary Fund. Now let's see four main areas of international energy agency. See they are focusing on energy security, economic development, environmental awareness and engaging with countries worldwide. The news article mentions that carbon dioxide emissions are expected to grow at a slowest rate since 2001 and this is because of a lower demand for coal in power and manufacturing sectors. This is mentioned by the carbon brief analysis. Here we are referring slowdown because of lower demand for coal in power and manufacturing sectors. The carbon brief analysis is based on the data from various Indian ministries that are responsible for electricity, coal, oil, gas and foreign trade. It shows that emissions increased only by 2% in the first eight months of 2019 and this 2% increase is a lower rate than any annual increase since 2001. It may further go down because of lower demand of coal or because of slowdown. The analysis also mentions that slower growth in coal based power generation will also benefit the air quality efforts of our country and whenever we talk about carbon emissions and India we should know that India's per capita emissions just to 40% of the global average per capita emission and India contributes only around some 7% to the global carbon dioxide burden whereas if you take United States it has population much lesser than that of India but it is the largest emitter in the world and it contributes about 14% of the world's emissions. So these data are based on the report by International Energy Agency. We know that the lower rate in carbon emissions will help in air quality efforts because it will help in India realizing the promise to reduce the emission intensity to the tune of about 33 to 35% compared to 2005 levels by the year 2030 and it will also help India to achieve having 40% of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2030. These two targets have been decided by India under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change particularly under the Paris Climate Agreement and these two are among the intended nationally determined contributions. So we saw about carbon brief Greenpeace International International Energy Agency and we also saw the analysis of the carbon brief about India's carbon emission trends in the present time. With this we have come to the end of the analysis of this news article. Now let's move on to next article. This news article is about alarming trend of air pollution levels in several areas in Chennai city in Tamil Nadu. The syllabus relevant for the analysis have been highlighted here for your reference. Several areas in Chennai city has witnessed very high levels of particulate matter 2.5 concentration. It is said that PM 2.5 per cubic meter in the city has reached range of around 245 to 292 microgram per cubic meter and according to this range the city falls under severe category in the national air quality index framework for the particulate matter 2.5 level. Here you can see the safe limit for PM 10, PM 2.5 at 24 hour basis according to national air quality index framework. We know that national air quality index is being released by Central Pollution Control Board of Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forest. Now there are several claims and counterclaims why Chennai is suffering from severe air pollution particularly very recently. One claim is that the plume of dust and smoke over Delhi region has travelled towards Chennai. The claimants are saying this based on a model called as System for Integrated Modeling of Atmospheric Composition. So based on this model they are saying that the dust and smoke over Delhi has travelled initially to East India. From then it has moved to Bay of Bengal and it is because of this the pollution levels in Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu have increased. However this claim is refuted or countered by the scientists from Indian Meteorological Department. They are opposing by saying that it is highly unlikely for the wind to transport pollutants from Delhi to Tamil Nadu with the current pattern of wind system. And the news article is mentioning that the present levels of 2.5 concentration are only temporary and because of local weather conditions that prevails in Chennai. They are saying that the wind pattern is still that is there is no wind movement so as to disperse the pollutants and one another reason is that there is break in northeast monsoon or retreating monsoon. So because of these factors air pollutants are not dispersed as a result they remain suspended in the air in several parts of Chennai adding to the pollution levels. So to address these concerns in the Chennai city the environment activists are demanding to include Chennai city in the national clean air program. Note that for the time being from Tamil Nadu only Tutukurin is included in national clean air program monitoring. Now let us see few information with reference to this program. See this program aims for a time-bound national level strategy for all India implementation to tackle the increasing air pollution problem. It focuses it aims to cut the concentration of coarse and fine particles of particulate matter in the atmosphere. When we say coarse particulate matter these refers to particulate matter 10 till particulate matter 2.6, particulate matter 2.5 and the lower levels or lower sizes of particulate matter are included in fine particles of particulate matter. This national clean energy program was launched by ministry of environment forest and climate change. They are saying the approach followed in NCAP is collaborative and participatory approach as it involves various central ministries state governments even local bodies and other stakeholders based on the requirements and it focuses on all sources of pollution. Now let's see the goals under this national clean air program. One is that to improve air quality standards all over the country as we saw in a time-bound manner. The tentative target is that we have to achieve 20 to 30 percent reduction of both PM 2.5 and PM 10 concentration by the year 2024. Here for the comparison of concentration the base year that will be taken is 2017. Now see the objectives of the program. One is to ensure strict implementation of mitigation measures to prevent control and abate air pollution. Then to augment and to evolve effective and proficient ambient air quality monitoring network across the country. Through this network there will be a comprehensive and reliable database and then to augment public awareness and to generate capacity building measures along with data dissemination and public outreach programs. And one other objective is to have inclusive public participation in these matters and also to ensure trained manpower and infrastructure on air pollution. And one important thing is that it is a medium term or mid-term five-year action plan. The first year is 2019 reference year is 2017 for the concentrations and this program after the tentative action plan of five years may be further extended to a longer time frame after some review because international experiences and national studies are saying that significant outcome in terms of air pollution initiatives are visible only in the long term. Note that this national clean air program covers for the time being around 102 non-attainment cities. When we say non-attainment cities these cities are relatively more polluted cities and have violated the prescribed national ambient air quality standards under the national ambient air quality monitoring program. So these cities have been identified based on the ambient air quality data obtained in the period of 2011 to 2015 and also based on the PM 2.5 concentrations that are made in the WHO database of its ambient air quality database. Now these hundred and cities are from more than 20 states and Union Territories of India and around 17 cities are just from one state that is Maharashtra and some of the states do not have even one city in this program and this in a way means these states are relatively better than other states in terms of pollution in cities and these states are Manipur, Sikkim, Arunachalpadesh, Mishoram, Tripura, Kerala, Goa and Haryana. However, having said that maybe in future when pollution levels go down there will be demand to include cities from these states also and the number of cities may be updated in the program also. So these are some of the information with reference to the analysis of this news article. We have come to the practice questions discussion. See this question is with reference to national health profile 2019. In the context of NHP 2019 consider the following statements. They have given three statements asking which of the given statements are correct. First statement non communicable diseases dominates over the communicable diseases in the total disease burden of India. Now this statement is correct because it is observed that between 1990 and 2016 the disease burden due to communicable diseases maternal, neonatal and nutritional diseases have dropped from 61% to 33%. And that means communicable disease burden has dropped whereas non communicable disease burden has increased. So in the total disease burden of the country the present trend is non communicable diseases dominating over communicable diseases. Once the first statement is correct you can eliminate option B and option D because it says option one is incorrect. You can eliminate option A as well because it says none of the statements are correct. So by this we can arrive at the correct answer all except two and three are correct. Now let us see the second statement. It states that the decadal sex ratio in India has continuously decreased since the census year 1901 till 1991. For this we have to know the trend of sex ratio in India at least since 1902. Sex ratio in India in 1901 is 972. Then it consistently decreased. There is an increase in the decade 1941-1951 in census year 1941 sex ratio was 945 whereas in 1951 it was 946 a marginal increase. Then from 1951 it was consistently decreasing. An increase was pronounced only in the census year 1981. Then there was a drop in 1991 to 927 from 934 and 1981. And since 2001 we have been seeing increase from 927 to 933 in 2001 from 933 to 943 in 2011. So the second statement given here is incorrect. Now the third statement acute respiratory infection is the second largest cause of morbidity and mortality in 2018 among communicable diseases. This statement is incorrect because according to NHP 2019 the leading cause of morbidity reported in communicable diseases in 2018 is acute respiratory infection to the tune of almost 70 percent to be accurate around 69.47 percent. The second leading cause is acute diarrheal diseases to the tune of around 21.8 percent. And with respect to mortality reported in communicable diseases the leading causes pneumonia to the tune of around 30.65 percentage which is followed by acute respiratory infection to the tune of 27.21 percentage. So with respect to mortality acute respiratory infection is the second leading cause among the communicable diseases in 2018. So in this question second and third statements are incorrect therefore the correct answer is option C all statements except 2 and 3 are correct. Now this question is with reference to national clean air program. They have given three statements and are asking which of the other statements are correct. First statement its objective is to reduce the concentration of coarse and fine particles of particulate matter in the atmosphere through a collaborative and participatory approach of relevant central ministry state governments and local bodies. Now this statement is correct and it is an objective under national clean air program. Now the second statement this program has at least two non-attainment cities from each state of India. Now this statement is wrong if you see national clean air program it covers 102 non-attainment cities when we say non-attainment cities these are cities violating the prescribed national ambient air quality standards under the national ambient air quality monitoring program and these 102 cities are from around more than 20 states and union territories in India. However some states are not part of these 102 cities for example Kerala, Tripura, Goa in the present times maybe in future some cities from these states may be included depending upon the pollution level. So this means second statement is incorrect and recently there is a demand in the state of Tamil Nadu to include Chennai city in this national clean air program in addition to the Tutukurin which have been already in this national clean air program. So the second statement is incorrect you can eliminate option A and option B. So you can also eliminate option C so the correct answer for this question is option D and know that this national clean air program is launched by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Now this question is with reference to Carbon Brief. Carbon Brief often seen in news refers to intergovernmental organization no it is not an intergovernmental organization it is an UK based website which covers latest developments in climate policy and energy policy. This website was in news as one of its analysis highlighted the current trend of carbon emission in India it said that increase in carbon emissions in India is in a decreasing trend and in the first eight months of 2019 the increase was just 2% which is a rate lower than any annual increase or any yearly increase since 2001. The reason for the lower rate is because of slowdown particularly with reference to lower demand of coal in electricity and manufacturing sectors. So the correct answer for this question is option B. Now this question is with reference to World Energy Outlook. They are asking who releases this outlook. So easy question there have been several questions in the past in our prelims examination almost every year with respect to the important publications and indices that are released by various organizations for example rule of law index, global financial stability report, global gender gap index, world hunger report etc. So the correct answer for this question is option B. International Energy Agency. See this international energy agency was established by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the wake of oil crisis in 1973. It was established in 1974 to prevent some of the major disruptions in supply of oil that may arise in the future similar to the oil crisis in 1973. See in 1973 oil exporting countries have prevented supply of oil to some countries that supported directly or indirectly Israel at that point of time and this acted as a major disruption in the supply of oil at that time. To prevent such disruptions international energy agency was established in 1974. So with this we come to the end of the discussion of practice questions. With this we come to the end of today's the Hindu News Analysis. If you like the video click the like button, comment, share and subscribe to Shankaray's Academy YouTube channel for more updates and content on civil service exam preparation. We will meet you tomorrow.