 Greetings aspirants, I welcome you all to the Indian Express Weekly News Analysis brought to you by Shankaray's Academy. In this video I am going to cover important news articles from the November 3rd week Indian Express Newspapers. And a kind request to you all aspirants, those who have not, subscribe to our YouTube channel, do subscribe and hit the bell icon button so that you will get regular updates about our controversy videos. Displayed here is a list of topics that we will be discussing today. Now let us get into our first news article discussion. Look at this news article. This article is taken from 11th November in the Indian Express Newspaper. This article is talking about digital advertisement policy. Recently, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting approved the digital advertisement policy 2023. This new policy will allow the advertising wing of the central government such as the Central Bureau of Communication to undertake advertisement campaigns on social media, OTT platforms and other digital media. See this article discusses key features of the digital advertisement policy. So in this discussion we will learn some important points about digital advertisement policy 2023. Now first let us understand what is digital advertisement. Digital advertising which is otherwise called online advertising is basically a marketing strategy. Using this strategy, the companies launch advertisements through online channels like websites, social media, OTT platforms and so on. By doing this, they promote their brand and products and services. See digital advertising is one of the most effective ways for businesses to expand their reach. It also helps the businesses to find new customers and to diversify their revenue streams. Okay, this is all about digital advertisement. Now with this information, let us understand the need for digital advertisement policy in India. As we all know due to the launch of digital India mission in 2015, India has witnessed a huge growth in the number of people using the internet and social media platforms. For instance, according to the telecom regulatory authority of India, as of March 2023, the internet penetration in India is over 80-80 million. Despite this huge penetration, there is not enough awareness among the Indian people about government schemes and policies. So the government wasn't able to fulfill its dream completely. Therefore, the central government felt that digital advertising will help to reach millions of people in a short period of time. That is why the government has enacted digital advertisement policy 2023. Through this policy, the government aims to disseminate information and to create awareness regarding various schemes, programs and policies of the Indian government. This empowers citizens and it also brings in transparency and accountability in implementing schemes and policies. Okay, now moving on to say about the key features of the digital advertisement policy 2023. As I said at the beginning, the digital advertisement policy allows the advertising wing of the central government such as the central Bureau of Communication to undertake advertisement campaigns on social media, OTT platforms and other digital media. So as per the policy, the central Bureau of Communication can select a list of digital media agencies to place advertisements or to spread information about public service campaigns. This helps the government to reach out to YouTube or OTT viewers and other social media users. This in turn will help the government to advertise messaging through whatever media the Indian people use. Okay, so this is the first important feature. Secondly, for the first time, the policy allows the central Bureau of Communication to spread government messages through mobile applications. See earlier, only websites or newspapers are preferred to place government advertisements. But the new digital advertisement policy allows the central Bureau of Communication to place advertisements through mobile apps in addition to websites and newspapers. Okay, so this is the second important feature. Thirdly, as per the policy, the central Bureau of Communication is important to penetrate new and innovative digital communication platforms. This means that the central Bureau of Communication can be able to place advertisements in any kind of future and present digital communication platforms. But this can be done only with the approval of a review committee. This provision provides the central Bureau of Communication a flexibility to adapt to the dynamic digital landscape. Okay, so this is the third important feature. And finally, as per the policy, OTT platforms can now also be chosen for the production of in-flim advertisement or promotion or branding activities. Earlier, OTT platforms are mostly used to place advertisements along with the regular content that the OTT platform runs. But as per the new policy, the central Bureau of Communication can choose OTT platforms to engage in promotion or branding activities. Okay, so these are the key features of the digital advertisement policy 2023. Now moving on to say about the eligibility and the advertising rates. See the digital platforms that are to be chosen to place advertisements should meet a criterion. The digital advertisement policy mandates that the websites, mobile apps, OTT platforms or digital audio platforms who are at least a year old are only eligible to apply for placing advertisements. So any digital platforms that are at least one year old can apply to the central Bureau of Communication to place government advertisements. Okay, now talking about the advertising rates, see to place advertisements, the digital platforms have to be paid some amount by the government right. The government said that the advertising rates will be linked to the subscriber base or viewership numbers of the platforms. The government also pointed out that it will use competitive bidding methods to ensure transparency and efficiency. The government further noted that the rates discovered through the bidding process will remain valid for three years. Okay, this is all about the advertising rates and this is all about the digital advertisement policy 2023. To sum it up, the government has enacted the digital advertisement policy 2023 to spread information and to create awareness regarding various schemes, programs and policies of the Indian government through digital media platforms. The central Bureau of Communication, which is the advertising wing of the central government is the nodal agency in implementing digital advertisement policy 2023. Okay, and that's all regarding this discussion. This discussion is about what is digital advertisement. Then you saw about the need for digital advertisement policy in India. Then you saw about the key features of digital advertisement policy 2023. See, this topic is very much important for your both prelims and main exam. So, revise all the facts that we discussed. Now, with these points in mind, let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this news article, this article is taken from 12th November Indian Express newspaper. This article is speaking about smart cities ranking. Recently, the union ministry of housing and urban affairs released smart cities ranking. This ranking is employed to assess the progress of cities that are covered under the smart cities mission. Now, before getting to see the rankings, let us understand the basics of smart cities mission. The smart cities mission was launched on 25th June 2015. The mission was launched to improve the quality of life of the people living in cities. This is being done by enabling local development and harnessing technology. The mission is operated as a centralised sponsored scheme. This means that the funds for the mission will be shared between the centre and the states. The union ministry of housing and urban affairs is the nodal agency for implementing smart cities mission. Note that the smart cities mission does not cover all cities in India, whereas it covers only 100 selected cities across India. The cities for the smart cities mission had been selected through a competition method. Now talking about the scheme duration, initially the mission was set up for a duration of 5 years. That is from financial year 2015-16 to financial year 2019-20. But from time to time, the deadline for the mission has been extended due to various issues like COVID-19, elections and so on. Currently, June 2024 is set as the deadline to achieve smart cities mission. Okay, now with these basics, let us understand the objectives of the smart cities mission. The main objective of the smart cities mission is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment to the people. The mission also aims to provide a decent quality of life to the citizens through the application of smart solutions. Some of the smart solutions include e-governance and citizen-centric services, smart parking, then employing smart meters in water and energy management, waste to energy solutions, smart mobility, telemedicine and so on. By carrying out these types of activities, the smart cities mission aims to improve the quality of life of people in cities. Apart from this, the mission also aims to drive economic growth by carrying out comprehensive work on social, economical, physical and institutional pillars of the city. The main focus is on sustainable and inclusive development by creation of replicable models. These replicable models will act as lighthouses to other aspiring cities. Okay, this is all about the objectives of the smart cities mission. Now, let us see the funding pattern. As I said earlier, the smart cities mission is a centrally sponsored scheme where the funds are shared between the center and the states. So under the mission, the center government is providing financial support to the extent of rupees 48,000 crores. An equal amount is provided by the state government or urban local bodies. The state governments are also obtaining additional resources through grants under finance commission, municipal bonds, other government programs and borrowings. Okay, see the smart cities mission also encourages the participation of private sector through public private partnerships. Nearly 8,000 projects have been carried out in 100 cities across India under the smart cities mission. Okay, this is all about the smart cities mission. Now, moving on to see about the recently released smart cities ranking. See the smart cities mission is approaching the June 2024 deadline. According to the data from the union ministry of housing and urban affairs, as of November 1st week, about 22% of total projects are still ongoing. That is around 1,724 projects out of 7,959 projects are still ongoing. The ministry said that the ongoing projects are likely to meet the June 2024 deadline. Okay, now coming to the rankings, see the cities in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Mathya Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan account for the top 10 in terms of completion of projects and financial progress under the smart cities mission. On the other hand, the union territories and cities in northeastern states are in the lowest 10 out of the 100 cities. Surat which is a city in Gujarat has stopped in terms of completion of projects, fund usage and other criteria under the smart cities mission. Surat is followed by Agra, Ahmadabad, Varanasi, Bhopal, Tumakuru, Udaipur, Madurai, Kota and Shumoga. So these are the top cities in achieving the smart cities mission. The bottom 10 cities include Kavarathi, Puducherry, Port Blair, Impal, Shillang, Dayu, Gauhathi, Aizwal, Gangtok and Pasigat. Okay, some of the sources said that this low ranking was due to lack of capacities and capabilities in smaller cities. Despite low rankings, government officials are saying that the ongoing projects in such cities are likely to meet the June 2024 deadline. Okay, so this is all about the recently released smart cities ranking. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion we saw about the basics of smart cities mission. Then we saw about the recently released smart cities ranking. See this topic is very much important for your both problems and means. So revise all the points that we discussed. Now with these points in mind, let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this news article, this article is taken from 14th November in the Express newspaper. This article is speaking about the concerns surrounding draft broadcasting services regulation bill 2023. Recently, the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry has invited comments on this new draft bill. So based on this news only, this article here is written. So in this discussion, let us understand the important provisions of draft broadcasting services regulation bill 2023. And then about the issues surrounding the bill. Now first, let us see the basis of the bill. The central government has enacted the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill 2023 to consolidate the legal framework in regulating the broadcasting sector. Now what is this broadcasting? See, broadcasting refers to the distribution of content or information to a larger audience through any medium of electronic mass communications like television or audio. TV news channel is one of the examples of broadcasting, okay? See, broadcasting helps the people to get crucial information like details about government schemes, weather forecasting and so on. Apart from this, the broadcasting also engaged in entertaining people by distributing songs, movies, cartoons, et cetera. See, there should be some mechanism to regulate the content flow in broadcasting. This is because if the content is not regulated, it sometimes ends up in chaos. So the government from time to time created various legislations in the past to regulate the broadcasting sector. The presence of various legislations affects the coordinated effort in regulating the broadcasting sector. Apart from this, the age-old legislation does not address the issues with present-day broadcasters like OTTs and other digital media. So to address all these issues, the central government has enacted the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill 2023. Through this bill, the government aims to consolidate the legal framework for the broadcasting sector. Apart from this, the bill also aims to replace the three-decade-old cable television networks Regulation Act of 1995 that was enacted to regulate the operation of cable television networks in the country, okay? So to put it simply, the central government enacted the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill 2023 to deal with regulation of broadcasting sector. Now with this basic information, let us see the key provisions of the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill 2023. Firstly, as I said earlier, the bill aims to consolidate and update the regulatory provisions for various broadcasting services under a single legislative framework. This helps the government to streamline the regulatory process by making it more efficient. Apart from this, the bill also extend its regulatory purview by including OTT content and digital news and current affairs. So this helps the government to regulate digital contents as well. This is the first important provision. The second important provision is the introduction of comprehensive definitions and future-ready provisions. As we all know, technologies and services tend to evolve continuously. So to keep up with the pace of evolution, the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill introduces comprehensive definitions for broadcasting terms. The bill also incorporates provisions for emerging broadcasting technologies. Okay, so this is the second important provision. The third important provision of the bill is strengthening of the self-regulation regime. See, each broadcaster is required to maintain self-regulation mechanisms to uphold the quality of content. The new bill enhances this self-regulation mechanism by introducing the content evaluation committees. This internal committee will cover the quality and authenticity of the content. Apart from this, the bill also proposes to upgrade the existing inter-departmental committee by introducing a more participative and broader body called Broadcast Advisory Council. This advisory council would have a chairperson and 10 members. The chairperson should be an eminent, independent person with at least 25 years of experience in the fields of media, entertainment, broadcasting or other relevant fields. If we take members among 10 members, five are nominated by the union government. They represent the five union ministries such as information and broadcasting, human and child development, home affairs, external affairs and social justice and empowerment. These five members will function as ex-officio members of the Broadcast Advisory Council. The remaining five members should be eminent, independent members from the fields of media, entertainment, broadcasting, child rights, disability rights, human rights, et cetera. This is all about the composition. See the Broadcast Advisory Council will hear complaints regarding the violation of program code and advertisement code by the broadcasters. After examining complaints, the council will make recommendations to the government for further action. Okay, so this is the third important portion. Then the fourth important portion of the bill is accessibility for persons with disabilities. See the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill 2023 addresses the specific needs of persons with disabilities by providing comprehensive accessibility guidelines. Some of the guidelines proposed by the bill include recommending subtitles, inclusion of audio descriptions in video content and translation of content into sign language. See these guidelines will help the disabled persons to assess information from the media effectively. Okay, this is the fourth important portion. The fifth important provision is the introduction of statutory penalties and fines. The draft bill introduces statutory penalties such as warning, censure, or monetary penalties for operators and broadcasters who violate the government rules. The bill also introduces provision for imprisonment. But imprisonment can be granted only for very serious offenses. This ensures a balanced approach to the regulation. Also note that the bill provides for equitable penalties. The bill states that monetary penalties and fines are linked to the financial capacity of the broadcasting entity by taking into account their investment and turnover. So this provision ensures fairness and equity in providing punishments. Okay, this is the fifth important provision. And the final important provision is the introduction of program and advertisement codes across various services. The bill aims to create differentiated codes to deal with programs and advertisements in the broadcasting sector. See any person who broadcasts news and current affairs program through an online paper, news portal, website, social media intermediary, or any other similar mediums, they need to adhere to program code and advertising code. So this provision allows the government to regulate content more easily. So these are all some of the important provisions of the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill 2023. Now moving on to see about the issues surrounding the bill. Firstly, the bill will affect the independence of the media. See, over-regulation may result in the increased government control over the digital infrastructure. This in turn threatens the freedom of broadcasters or operators. Secondly, there's an issue with the Broadcast Advisory Council. As we saw earlier, the council also consists of representatives from the ministries who are nominated by the central government. So the government is having an indirect influence on the council. This threatens the autonomy of the Broadcast Advisory Council. Okay, this is the second issue. And finally, there is a problem with program code and advertising code. See by using the program and advertising code, the central government may impose content restrictions. This affects the autonomy of digital media. Okay, so these are all some of the issues surrounding the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill 2023. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw about the key provisions of the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill 2023. And we saw about the issues surrounding the bill. See, this topic is very much important for your main exam. So revise all the facts that we discussed. Now with these points in mind, let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this news article. This article is taken from 15th November in the Express newspaper. This article provides us with nine measures to tackle air pollution. This article was written in the backdrop of high air pollution in Delhi. The author points out that air pollution is the fifth largest cause of deaths in India. He said that in 2019, air pollution led to 1.6 million premature deaths in India. The author also highlighted that poor air is causing about rupees 7 lakh crore of economic loss annually, which is more than one-third of India's GST collection. By highlighting these points, the author discusses the problems associated with combating air pollution in India. And he also discusses some nine steps to tackle air pollution. So in this discussion, we'll understand these points in detail. Now first, let us see the problems associated with combating air pollution. See, air pollution is a complex problem that persists across state and regional boundaries and it spans across rural and urban areas. The air pollution is caused from multiple sources of emissions and it is linked to interconnected economic factors and interests. So we can say that the problem of air pollution is widespread across the country. Despite this fact, the responses in tackling air pollution are often fragmented. This means that there is no integrated and coordinated approach in addressing air pollution. Okay, so this is the first problem associated with combating air pollution. Secondly, most of the measures taken by the government are only addressing the symptoms of air pollution. But there is no significant measure to address the root cause of air pollution. For example, the government has taken some measures like creation of a few smoke towers, then dust suppression by spraying roads with water, construction bans, odd even restrictions on traffic, and shutting down schools. See, these activities only provide temporary relief from air pollution. And it does not focus on addressing root causes of air pollution, okay? So these are the two problems associated with combating air pollution in India. Now moving on to say about nine steps given by the author to tackle air pollution. Firstly, the author advocates an integrated approach to limit emissions. As we saw earlier, the air pollution is occurring from multiple sources of emissions. They include emissions from coal-fired power plants, polluting industries, brick clings, and burning of wood and cow dung for cooking purposes in rural areas. The author says that the government should follow an integrated approach to limit the emissions coming from these multiple sources. On one hand, it will help to address air pollution. And on the other hand, it will reduce the costs in limiting air pollution. Simultaneously, the author also advocates to limit crop residue burning by effectively implementing very well-known solutions. The solutions include shifting to less water intensive crops, altering irrigation arrangements, then altering timing and harvesting practices, and building a wider year-round market for straws. See, these activities will help to limit crop residue burning, which in turn reduces air pollution, okay? This is the first step. Secondly, the author says to increase the availability of affordable green urban public transport. See, green public transport means running the public transport using energy obtained from the green sources. So this helps to reduce pollution in the urban areas. So this is the second step. Thirdly, the author advocates for widespread electrification of buildings, vehicles, and production process. The author also advocates switching to renewables. See, both these activities can curb air pollution, and it also helps to meet climate goals, okay? This is the third step. Fourthly, the author asks to adopt a regional approach to address pollution sources and impacts. He said that the focus should be given to the entire region rather than individual cities and towns. The author points out that India faces big challenges in tackling air pollution due to fragmented governance. So following a regional approach will help to address air pollution effectively. Okay, this is the fourth step. Fifthly, the author asks to scale up end-to-end construction and waste management activities. He says that recycling concrete, brick, and stone from existing buildings will reduce the pollution from demolition activities. It will also limit the mining of rivers for sand, and it will limit the expansion of illegal queries across the country. Okay, this is the fifth step. Sixthly, the author advocates for the enforcement of regulations throughout the year, not just around Diwali. See, around Diwali, the government imposes strict restrictions on firing crackers in order to reduce pollution. So the author says that this stricter regulation should be followed throughout the year. Seventhly, the author says that the government should create a wide-scale awareness and education regarding air pollution and its effects. This in turn can influence the lifestyle choices of the people over decades. Eighthly, the author advises increasing the funding to tackle air pollution. The author points out that the amount of funds needed to implement the air pollution reduction activities is not sufficient. So he says that the government should increase the funding mechanism. The author also says that the upcoming 16th Finance Commission should extend its recommendation to finance climate change and air pollution reduction interventions. Okay. And ninthly, the author asks the government to deploy the best science and technology to establish real-time monitoring systems. These systems can provide advanced weekly forecasts on air pollution. This in turn can help the government to make rational decisions, interventions, and investments to tackle air pollution. Okay. So these are the nine steps provided by the author to tackle air pollution in India. So you can use these points in your main sensor when a main question about air pollution comes in the exam. Okay. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion we saw about the problems associated with combating air pollution in India. Then we saw about the nine steps that can be taken to reduce air pollution in India. Now, these points in mind, let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this news article, this article is taken from 16th November Indian Express newspaper. This article is speaking about Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, that is APEC. Recently, the leaders of the APEC group met in San Francisco in the United States. On the sidelines of the APEC summit, US President Joe Biden and China's President Xi Jinping had their in-person meeting on 15th November. Both the leaders have discussed the relationship between two countries. See, India is not a member of the APEC. However, India's union minister for commerce and industry had attended the meeting. Okay. This is the crux of the news article given here. In this context, let us understand some important points about Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, which is in short called as APEC, is a regional economic forum that was established in 1989. It is headquartered in Singapore. This forum aims to promote trade investment and economic development in the Asia Pacific region. Note that the APEC accounts for about 62% of global GDP and almost half of global trade. The APEC forum operates based on non-binding commitments. This means that the decisions in the APEC forum are reached by consensus. Also, the commitments are undertaken voluntarily and it is not binding on the members of the APEC forum. Okay. Now, coming to the objectives of APEC forum, the main objective of APEC forum is to strengthen the growing economic interdependence of the Asia Pacific region. The APEC forum also aims to create greater prosperity for people of the Asia Pacific region through regional economic integration. Basically, the APEC aims to achieve economic integration of the member countries. Okay. Now, talking about the member countries, the APEC consists of 21 nations that are located geographically around the Pacific Ocean. Some of the main members include the USA, China, Russia and Canada. See the 21 member states of APEC are displayed here, pause the video and just give a glance. Note that the 21 members of APEC are termed economies rather than countries or member states. This is because trade and economic issues are the main focus of the APEC grouping. Okay. Now, coming to India-specific information, see India is not a member of the APEC forum. India has expressed its interest in joining APEC and it made a formal request in 1991. A majority of the members of APEC grouping were in favor of India's inclusion, but some members opposed it. The opposing members are concerned about India's protectionist economic policy. Since 2015, India and the US jointly issued US-India Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean region. That particular statement states that the United States welcomes India's interest in joining the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum. The US stated that the Indian economy is a dynamic part of the Asian economy, so that the US welcomed India's interest in joining the APEC forum. So we can say that the US is also supporting India's interest in joining APEC, but due to various reasons, like freeze on membership and opposition by members, India wasn't able to join the APEC forum. So as of now, India remains as an observer of the APEC forum. This is all about the members of APEC forum. Now finally, let us see the important roles played by the APEC. The APEC grouping has been championed for free trade, the lowering of trade tariffs and economic liberalization. In this line in 1991, the Seoul Declaration was jointly issued by the APEC members. Through this declaration, the APEC member countries proclaimed the creation of a liberalized free trade area around the Pacific Rim. So this initiative is now driving the APEC's goal of free trade and economic liberalization. So this is the first important role played by the APEC. Secondly, some of the initiatives taken by the APEC have contributed significantly to the development of middle-class people in the Asia-Pacific region, okay? So these are all some of the roles played by the APEC. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw about the basics of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum. Then we saw about the objectives of the APEC forum. Then we saw about the member countries of the APEC forum. And finally, we saw some points regarding the roles played by the APEC. And with this, we have come to the end of the video. If you found our video to be useful, do like, comment, and share it with your friends. And don't forget to subscribe, Shankarai's Academy YouTube channel. Thank you for listening.