 Welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankary'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 in the PDF format and the time stamping of the discussed articles are provided in the description box and they are also provided in the comment section for the benefit of mobile phone viewers. Now let us move on to the analysis of first news article. This news article states that four members of high level committee that is constituted by Union Home Ministry with respect to clause 6 of ASAM Accord has met the Union Home Minister. One important point here is the members from all ASAM Student Union who are members of this high level committee has skipped the meeting of Union Home Minister. In this context we will discuss about clause 6 of ASAM Accord, we will discuss about this high level committee that is constituted with respect to clause 6 of ASAM Accord by the Union Home Ministry. The syllabus relevant for the analysis of this news article is highlighted here for your reference. We know that ASAM has been witnessing immigration particularly from Bangladesh since partition of India. That is why way back in 1950 we had a legislation called as the immigrants expulsion from ASAM Act of 1950. However, there was large scale influx into the state of ASAM particularly from March 25 of 1971 because it is this day the Pakistan government has launched operation search light in the present day Bangladesh in the backdrop of the illegal immigration into the state of ASAM. A anti-foreigner movement erupted in 1979 propelled by the all ASAM Student Union. This anti-foreigner movement was also called as ASOM Andolan. So this anti-foreigner movement in the state of ASAM stretched from 1979 till the independence day of 1985. Meanwhile at times the actions against the foreigners became violent particularly to note the Nellie massacre in the year 1983 when more than 2000 Muslims who allegedly came from Bangladesh were killed, their settlements were burned, their children were made orphaned. So after this a consensus was arrived upon between the central government, the state government of ASAM and also the all ASAM Student Union which was an important organization that fought for the rights of ASAMese people or indigenous populations in the state of ASAM. So this anti-foreigner movement therefore concluded on 15th August 1985 the independence day with the signing of ASAM Accord. So this ASAM Accord was signed between the central government, state government of ASAM, all ASAM Student Union and one another organization called as all ASAM Ganasankaram Parishad. Generally when we talk about ASAM Accord one most important clause or most discussed clauses clause 5 of this Accord. See this is the clause that deals with the illegal migrants which the Accord calls as foreigners. 5.8 of clause 5 of ASAM Accord states that foreigners who came to ASAM on or after March 25 1971, they shall continue to be detected, deleted and expelled in accordance with law. Immediate and practical steps shall be taken to expel such foreigners. Now this provision you can relate with the recent NRC update exercise that was carried out in the state of ASAM wherein the cutoff date was mentioned as March 24 1971 which means that anyone who came after March 24 that is anyone who came to India on or after March 25 1971 will be detected as illegal migrant and they have to be deported to their home country. And in furtherance of taking practical and immediate steps with respect to clause 5 the central government has amended the citizenship act of 1955 and inserted section 6 capital A in the citizenship act which deals with the special provisions as to citizenship of persons who are covered by ASAM Accord. Now let's come to clause 6 of the ASAM Accord. This clause states that appropriate constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the culture of ASAMese people, the social life of ASAMese people, the linguistic identity of ASAMese people and the heritage of ASAMese people. In furtherance of ASAM Accord the state government of ASAM has also established a department in 1986 called us the implementation of ASAM Accord department. Now coming to central government even central government has taken various initiatives support mechanisms with respect to clause 6 that comes under safeguards and economic development subheading of the ASAM Accord. The government of India has supported to the tune of 90% of financial assistance towards the total construction cost of Shreemanta Shankara Deva Kalakshetra and then the government of India has also supported financially constructing around 219 Satras in the state of ASAM. Here when we say Satras we are referring to Vaishnavite monasteries that were established in ASAM to propagate Neo Vaishnavism. The very first Satra was opened by Shreemanta Shankara Deva in 1494 in Bardova in ASAM. In addition to this central government has extended financial assistance for the protection, preservation and development of many historical monuments in ASAM and archaeological survey of India has also taken up the task of protection, preservation and development of particularly five important monuments in ASAM. One is the ruins of Shingri temple, then Urvashi archaeological site, then Pohamaka in Hajo, Kedar temple in Hajo and Hyagriva Madhava temple in Hajo. Well, these are some of the efforts taken by the central government. It has been stated that the clause 6 of ASAM Accord has not been fully implemented even almost after 34 years of signing of ASAM Accord. It is expected that there will be more commitment, more proactive steps and measurable actions with respect to implementing clause 6 of ASAM Accord. However, those who criticize they say that the actions taken by the government is not as expected. It is in this context the recently constituted high level committee assumes significance. See this high level committee was constituted by Union Home Ministry in January 2019 with respect to clause 6 of ASAM Accord. So in this context, clause 6 assumes significance with respect to our preparation. And this high level committee was reconstituted again in July 2019. In the reconstituted high level committee, there are around 13 members. The chairman is Justice Bipalap Kumar Sharma who is a former judge of Gauhati High Court. Among other members, three members are from ASAM Student Union. One is the chief advisor of ASAM Student Union, then president and Jensak of ASAM Student Union. It is these three members who have skipped the meeting with Union Home Minister, as mentioned in the news article. Now let's see the terms of reference for this committee. One is that the committee will examine the effectiveness of various actions taken to implement clause 6 of ASAM Accord since 1985. And it will hold discussions with various stakeholders from various fields. It will include social organizations, legal experts, constitutional experts, eminent persons from art, culture, literature, conservationists, economists, linguists and sociologists. This point is with respect to social life, protecting social life, cultural life, economic life, and linguistic identity of the people of ASAM. Then the committee will also assess the appropriate level of reservation of seats for the ASAMese people in ASAM Legislative Assembly and local bodies and also in employment under the state government of ASAM. Then the committee will also suggest measures to protect ASAMese and other indigenous languages of ASAM. And the committee may suggest any other measures that it considers necessary to protect, preserve and promote cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the ASAMese people. So if you see the ASAM Accord, it does not define the term ASAMese people or indigenous people of ASAM. So we are expecting that this committee, which is expected to present its report within two weeks' time, will have a proper definition for this term ASAMese. Because if you go with the recent turnaround of events with respect to Citizenship Amendment Act, according to which any person who came to the state of ASAM until 31st December of 2014 shall not be considered as illegal migrant if they are from six protected religions from three countries, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. We have to wait and watch how this committee is to define the term ASAMese because it may either adopt ASAMese includes any person whose names are in NRC 1951. It may say it also includes any person who came to ASAM up to 24th March of 1971. Or it may say any other definition for the term ASAMese. Now let's see why the all ASAM student union leaders skipped the high level committee meeting with the union home minister. As we all know, one main bone of contention is with the recent amendment made to the Citizenship Act of 1955 wherein the act clearly mentioned that persons belonging to Buddhism, Sikhism, Parsi, Jain, Christianity and Hindu religion from three countries, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. If they have come to India on or before 31st December 2014, they shall not be treated as illegal migrants. The demand of all ASAM student union and other organizations in the state of ASAM there should not be discrimination among illegal migrants. So their statement is that anyone who came to India on or after 25th March of 1971 has to be identified, has to be deported from our country. So there is a clear difference that emerges with respect to recent amendment to Citizenship Act and the demands of all ASAM student union. Because of this bone of contention, to show a mark of protest and to show opposition, the all ASAM student union leaders who are members of this high level committee has skipped the meeting with union home minister. So they are saying that the Citizenship Amendment Act is against the main object as we discussed sub clause 5.8 of clause five of ASAM Accord. So these are some of the information with reference to the analysis of this news article. We saw about ASAM Accord, particularly clause five and clause six and we saw about the constitution of high level committee with respect to clause six of ASAM Accord. And we saw few other important information with respect to the analysis of this news article. Now let's move on to next news article. This news article states that out of 926 deaths inside sewers in the country, families of around 172 victims were yet to receive compensation and these 926 persons who died in sewers, the numbers are from the year 1993 till December 31, 2019. And still families of around 172 victims who died were yet to receive the compensation. In the analysis of this news article, we'll see few important statutory committees that are constituted under the prohibition of employment as manual scavengers and their rehabilitation act of 2013. And we'll see few important functions under the legislation of 2013 for the National Commission for Safi Karamcharis. The syllabus relevant for the analysis of this news article is highly prepared for your reference. The news article mentions that the Central Monitoring Committee which met on January 8, 2020 has found several states were found lagging behind in the rehabilitation of manual scavengers. Now what is the Central Monitoring Committee? Before seeing about the Central Monitoring Committee, we'll see two other statutory committees which were constituted based on the provisions of the prohibition of employment as manual scavengers and their rehabilitation act of 2013. First such committee is called as the Vigilance Committee. This Vigilance Committee is constituted in every state government by the particular state government for each district and for each sub-division. The chairperson of the Vigilance Committee constituted for a district is the district magistrate and in other words, the district collector. And it will have all the members of the state legislature belonging to the schedule cast who are elected from the particular district as the members of the Vigilance Committee for the particular district. It has several other members. Now coming to the Vigilance Committee constituted for a sub-division. Now here the chairperson is the sub-divisional magistrate. Both the Vigilance Committee at the district level and the Vigilance Committee at the sub-divisional level has to meet necessarily at least once in every three months. So what are the functions of the statutory committee called as the Vigilance Committee? One is to advise the district magistrate. This will be for the Vigilance Committee at the district level and to advise the sub-divisional magistrate which will be for the Vigilance Committee at the sub-divisional level. They will advise on the actions that are needed to be taken to ensure the implementation of this legislation. Then the other function is to oversee the economic and social rehabilitation of manual scavengers. Then to coordinate the functions of all concerned agencies and stakeholders to channelize adequate credit for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers. Then finally they will also monitor the registration of offenses under this legislation and the investigation and prosecution. So this Vigilance Committee will monitor the registration of offenses, investigation and prosecution. So their role is not just in investigation but also in prosecution in the court of law. So this is about the Vigilance Committee. Next let's discuss about the State Monitoring Committee. See this is also another statutory committee that is constituted under this prohibition of employment as manual scavengers and the Rehabilitation Act of 2013. Here the chairperson is the chief minister or a minister nominated by the chief minister. It consists of several members and this committee shall meet at least once in every six months. Now coming to the function of this State Monitoring Committee. Now its role is to monitor and advise the state government and local authorities for the effective implementation of the legislation and also to coordinate functions of all concerned agencies and they will also look into any other matter that is connected with the implementation of this act. So these are some of the information about the two important statutory committees constituted one at district level and also at sub-division level other at the level of state. Now the news article talks about Central Monitoring Committee. Now this committee is another statutory committee constituted under section 29 of this legislation and here the chairperson is the union minister of social justice and empowerment. It has several other members for example chairperson of National Commission for Scheduled Caste, the chairperson of National Commission for Safai Karamcharis and several other members and this committee shall meet at least once in every six months. And there are three important functions for this committee. One is to monitor and advise the central government and state government for effective implementation of this legislation and other related laws and programs. Then to coordinate the functions of all concerned agencies and they will also look into any other matter related to the implementation of this legislation. Now in furtherance of their statutory commitment to meet at least once in every six months they have met recently that is the central monitoring committee has met recently and have observed that several states are lacking behind in the rehabilitation of manual scavengers. Now this legislation also specifies certain functions for National Commission for Safai Karamcharis before seeing their statutory functions we'll also see some basic information about this National Commission for Safai Karamcharis. See this National Commission was constituted on 12th August 1994. At that time it was constituted by an act of parliament called us the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis act of 1993. So at that time this commission was called us a statutory body. However this commission is not a permanent body because it was constituted at that time only for a period of three years that is from 12th August 1994 till 31st March of 1997. However the validity of the act was extended up to February 2004 by various amendment acts. However from 29th February 2004 the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis act of 1993 lapsed. So as a result from 29th February 2004 till now this commission that is the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis has been functioning as a non-statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. So now let us come to the functions of this National Commission for Safai Karamcharis that are explicitly spelled out in this legislation that is the prohibition of employment as manual scavengers and the Rehabilitation Act of 2013. Now it monitors the implementation of this act then it can inquire into complaints with respect to contravention or violation of the provisions of this legislation. Then it will convey its findings to concerned authorities. It could be state governments, it could be local authorities. It will also recommend various actions to be taken. So note that it is a recommendatory body and its recommendations are therefore not binding and it will advise the central and state governments for effective implementation of the provisions of this act and one important power with respect to the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis is that it can take Suomoto notice of matters relating to non-implementation of this legislation. Suomoto notice refers to it can take a complaint on its own rather than requiring a person to come forward and complaint with respect to non-implementation of this legislation. So these are some of the information with reference to the analysis of this news article. We saw about the statutory committees. We saw some functions of this National Commission for Safai Karamcharis as spelt out by this legislation of 2013. Now let's move on to the analysis of next news article. This news article talks about the fifth edition of Rehizina Dialogue. It will be held from 14th to 16th January 2020. In this context, we'll be discussing in brief about the Rehizina Dialogue that India hosts along with Observer Research Foundation. The syllabus relevant for the analysis of this news article is highlighted here for your reference. See this Rehizina Dialogue is India's flagship annual geopolitical and geo-strategic conference. Simply, we can also say that it is India's flagship international dialogue. This dialogue is organized by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, in partnership with the Observer Research Foundation. As a multilateral conference, this dialogue is committed to address most challenging issues faced by the global community. Every year, global leaders in policy, global leaders in business, media and civil society, they'll come to New Delhi to attend this dialogue to discuss cooperation on various important international policy matters. This dialogue is structured as multi-stakeholder cross-sectoral discussion because it involves heads of state, cabinet ministers, foreign ministers, local government officials, and even some major private sector executives, members from media, members from academics, members also from civil society. So it is a multi-stakeholder cross-sectoral discussion. And the venue of this Rehizina Dialogue is important because since the first Rehizina Dialogue, even this present fifth edition has been scheduled and has been conducted only in New Delhi. So every year, this Rehizina Dialogue is conducted in New Delhi. And this dialogue has been portrayed as India's contribution to global efforts to discuss solutions, to identify opportunities, and also to provide stability to this 21st century. And therefore, if you see the theme of fifth edition of Rehizina Dialogue, it is 21st century at 2020, navigating the alpha century. So in this fifth edition, the Prime Minister of India will attend the inaugural session and at least 12 foreign ministers, seven former head of states and head of governments is expected to attend this Rehizina Dialogue. From Afghanistan, we'll be having its national security advisor. And from United States, deputy national security advisor will be participating. Several former prime ministers from New Zealand, Canada, Sweden, South Korea, they will also be present to discuss the global issues. And around 40% of the speakers are expected to be women that emphasizes India's commitment to gender equality. Heads of more than 30 think tanks or research institutions around the world will also present their viewpoints in various sessions that are to be conducted in this Rehizina Dialogue. So this fifth edition of Rehizina Dialogue will have discussions centered around five thematic pillars. One is the nationalist impulses challenging global institutions and collective action. Then the debate on global trading architecture. Then the role of technologies in determining political, economic and military power. Then the global development agenda. Then finally, the state-inducible relationship in the age of digital communities and cyberspace. It was earlier scheduled that the Australian prime minister, Mr. Scott Morrison, will be giving the inaugural keynote address. But because of the fire crisis in Australia, the prime minister will not be able to participate. So there will be new arrangements that is to be made for keynote address. Now in the sidelines of this Rehizina Dialogue, another important dialogue is scheduled to take place that is the Quadrilateral Dialogue or in other words, the Quad Dialogue. So they are going to hold a session on the Indo-specific. So what do we mean by this Quad Dialogue? See, the word Quad in Latin means four. So therefore, this Quad Dialogue is an informal security dialogue mechanism or an informal dialogue mechanism simply among four countries. These four countries are India, United States, Japan and Australia. The first ever Quadrilateral meeting happened between these four countries in the year 2007. After that, there has been a huge gap and the second meeting was conducted only in the year 2017. So it was commonly said that the Quad grouping is revived in the year 2017. See, it is called an informal grouping. There are several reasons why it is called as informal grouping because the four countries do not issue joint statement after the dialogue and also note that the dialogue between four countries has been held only at the level of senior officers, not at the level of ministers or heads of state. So this mechanism is yet to evolve into its fullest potential by the involvement of heads of government, by the involvement of engagement at the level of ministers. And one of the main important role of this Quad grouping is to keep the sea routes in the Indo-Pacific region free from undue influence, particularly from China. And this year's Quad session to be held in the sidelines of regional dialogue is expected to be conducted with the involvement of military or naval commanders from the Quad grouping and also a French defense official is also expected to participate. So these are some of the information with reference to the Quad grouping that is to meet on the sidelines of fifth edition of Raisina Dialogue. We saw about the Raisina Dialogue in brief and also specifically about the fifth Raisina Dialogue to be conducted in New Delhi and we saw few information regarding the Quad grouping. Now let's move on to the analysis of next news article. This news article states that the Apache attack helicopters and the Chinook heavy lift helicopters, both these helicopters will take part in Republic Day fly past on Jan 26. Similar to March past, which refers to a formal march carried out by troops, a fly past refers to ceremonial flight of an aircraft or a group of aircrafts. The syllabus relevant for the analysis of this news article is highlighted here for your reference. In 2015, government of India and Boeing United States of America have entered into an agreement. This agreement or contract is for the purchase of Apache attack helicopters and Chinook heavy lift helicopters. 22 Apache helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy lift helicopters were planned to be bought by government of India from Boeing United States. So far, 17 Apache helicopters and 10 Chinook helicopters have been delivered by the company and last year, both Chinook and Apache has been inducted by the Indian Air Force. The Chinook helicopters were deployed in the northern and eastern regions of India, whereas the Apache helicopters are deployed in the western regions of India. Both these helicopters can operate in day and also in night and they are all weather-capable helicopters and both have high agility and survivability against battle damage as well. It is said that both these helicopters are easily maintainable, even in field conditions and they can carry out prolonged operations in tropical and desert regions. With these significant features in hand in both these helicopters, the addition of Apache and Chinook was considered as a significant step towards modernizing Indian Air Force helicopter fleet. Therefore, the procurement of Apache and Chinook was considered as an enhancement of capability of Indian Air Force in providing integrated combat aviation cover to army striking cops. In this context, we'll discuss in brief about both these helicopters. First, let's see the Chinook helicopters. The name goes as CH-47 Chinook. It is an advanced heavy-lift helicopter and also a multi-mission helicopter that is manufactured by Boeing. When we say multi-mission, we refer to the fact that this helicopter could be used for fighting, could be used for rescue operations, could be used for humanitarian assistance, disaster and humanitarian assistance, et cetera. As it is a heavy-lift helicopter, it is mainly used for transporting troops, artillery, equipment and fuel. One special feature is that it has common aviation architecture cockpit. This common aviation architecture cockpit consists of fully integrated digital flight and cockpit management system. This cockpit provides exceptional mission effectiveness for this helicopter. And this helicopter also has advanced cargo handling capabilities, that is load handling capabilities that complements the mission performance and handling characteristics of this helicopter. So these are some of the important information or features with respect to Chinook. Now let's come to Apache helicopter. It's named as AH-64. It is considered as world's most advanced multi-role combat helicopter manufactured by Boeing. This helicopter can deliver variety of weapons. It can deliver air-to-ground missiles. It can deliver rockets. And it can also deliver air-to-air missiles as well. And one important feature is that it carries fire control radar. That is using this radar, it can direct weapons where to hit and the radar here has 360 degree coverage. And the helicopter is also equipped with high technological sensor suit that helps in target acquisition and it also has best night vision systems. So these are some of the information with reference to Apache helicopter. So the government of India has decided to display these helicopters in the fly past on coming January 26th. So these are some of the information with reference to the analysis of this news article. Now this question is with reference to Rezina dialogue. They have given two statements and are asking which of the above statements are correct. The first statement, it is an India-led multilateral conference committed to address the most challenging issues facing the global community. Now this statement is correct. Therefore you can eliminate option B and option D. See this Rezina dialogue is India's flagship annual geopolitical and geo-strategic conference. It is being organized by Ministry of External Affairs in partnership with Observer Research Foundation. So coming to the second statement, the dialogue is usually conducted in New Delhi. Now this statement is also correct since the first edition of Rezina dialogue in 2016. Every year the dialogue is conducted in New Delhi only. So as of now, this statement is also correct. Even this year the fifth edition is to be conducted in New Delhi. With the theme 21st century at 2020, that is 21 at 2020, navigating the alpha century. So here both the statements are correct. Therefore the correct answer is option C both one and two. Now this question, they have given two statements asking which of the above statements are correct. First statement, Assam Accord was signed on the Independence Day of 1985. The statement is correct. So you can eliminate option B and option D. Second statement, clause five of Assam Accord provides for the constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards as may be appropriate to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people. Now this statement is incorrect because it is clause six that deals with this provision of constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of Assamese people. Clause five deals with foreigners issue where it prescribes that any foreigner who came to Assam on or after 25th March of 1971 has to be detected, deleted and to be deported from the country. So it is not clause five that deals with this provision. It is clause six and we have a high level committee with respect to clause six that was constituted by the Union Home Ministry which is the nodal ministry to implement Assam Accord as per clause 15 of the Assam Accord. So here only the first statement is correct, therefore the correct answer is option A1 only. Now this question is with reference to the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis. Two statements are given. They are asking which of those statements are correct. First statement, the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis was a statutory body. Now the statement is correct. This is because as of now National Commission for Safai Karamcharis is a non-statutory body. When it was established or constituted on 12th August 1994, it was a statutory body because it was created by an act of parliament called us National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act of 1993. At that time it was constituted as a temporary body for a period of three years up to 31st March of 1997. However, based on various amendment acts the tenure of this commission has been extended up to February 2004. And since the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act 1993 lapsed with effect from 29th February 2004. From that date till now this commission is acting as a non-statutory body under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment of Government of India. So the first statement is correct. The second statement functions has been assigned to this commission under the prohibition of employment as manual scavengers and the Rehabilitation Act of 2013. Now this statement is also correct. Based on section 31 of this legislation the commission has to perform functions such as monitoring the implement of this legislation then enquiring into complaints with respect to violation or contravention to the provisions of this act and it will also convey its findings and recommendation to concerned authorities and it will also advise central and state governments for effective implementation of this legislation. More importantly it can take complaints on its own that is so motor notice of matters relating to non-implementation of this act. So therefore both the statements are correct. Therefore the correct answer is option C both one and two. With this we come to the end of today's The Hindi News Analysis. If you like the video click the like button, comment, share and subscribe to Shankari's Academy YouTube channel for more updates and content on civil services exam preparation.