 Good evening aspirants, welcome to the Hindu News Analysis session by Shankar I.S. Academy. We will be discussing 5 news articles today, 2 articles will be from yesterday's newspaper and 3 articles will be from today's newspaper. So, without wasting much time, let's start today's discussion. Let us start today's discussion with this news article which appeared on Sunday's newspaper. The news article mentions that the women farmers in Himachal Pradesh have shifted to zero-budget natural farming. So, we will discuss about what is natural farming, what is zero-budget natural farming. The syllabus covered by this article is given here for your reference. So, now let us get into the article. First, to understand natural farming, let us know the basics about organic farming. The term organic farming means growing plants or rearing animals without the use of synthetic inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, etc. Rather, it depends on resources that are available either at farm or available locally. It uses organic waste and other biological materials along with beneficial bio fertilizers to release nutrients to crops. So, organic farming primarily aims at cultivation of the land and raising crops in such a way to keep the soil alive and in good health. This enables increased sustainable production in an eco-friendly pollution-free environment. So, organic farming has three primary advantages. That is, it is first safe, then it is ecologically sustainable, and more importantly, it is cost-effective. So, now having gained a basic understanding about organic farming, let us now take up natural farming. See, natural farming is also a type of organic farming. This natural farming is chemical-free farming that uses traditional methods of agriculture. Also, this natural farming is a diverse to farming system. It is a diverse to farming system because it integrates crops, trees, and livestock along with due concern to biological diversity. One of the methods under natural farming is zero-budget natural farming, which is what is discussed in this article. See, this zero-budget natural farming concept promotes organic farming without market-oriented inputs or non-farm inputs. That is, all the inputs that is required for farming is produced in the farm itself without nothing purchased from the market. The zero-budget natural farming also uses ecologically friendly techniques. So, simply zero-budget natural farming refers to farming practices that depend on the ecosystem rather than external inputs. This concept was promoted by Padmashti Subash Palekar. He is an expert on zero-budget natural farming. Therefore, zero-budget natural farming is sometimes also called as Subash Palekar natural farming. Now, we know what is zero-budget natural farming. So, moving on, we will focus on the main objectives of zero-budget natural farming. What this method of farming is really trying to accomplish. See, it has three main objectives. First is, it aims at making agriculture economically viable. Second objective is, it focuses on making agriculture as climate resilient as possible. Third main objective is, it focuses on the economy of farming activity. That is, it aims to make agrarian livelihoods profitable. We saw the three main objective of zero-budget natural farming. So overall, zero-budget natural farming is all about reducing cost of cultivation, enhancing farm yields, increasing farmer incomes, reducing risks and protect farming from adverse impact of climate change. Let me go over this one more time. The result that the zero-budget natural farming is aiming to achieve are reducing the cost of cultivation, enhancing the yield from the farms, increasing the farmer income, reducing the risk associated with the crops and protecting the farming activity from the adverse impacts of the climate change. So far, we have seen organic farming, natural farming, zero-budget natural farming, and the main objective that the zero-budget natural farming is aiming to achieve. So now, let us see four main pillars that the zero-budget natural farming is based on. The first pillar, it is called bija mitra or bija marudam. See, bija marudam is a treatment method that is used for seeds or any other planting material. See, what they do here is, they dip the seeds in a mixture or paste that is made up of neem leaves or neem pulp, tobacco and green chilies. Why this is done is that this process creates a microbial coating around the seeds and this microbial coating is effective in protecting young roots from fungus as well as soil and seed-borne diseases that commonly affect the plants. See, bija marudam, which is the first pillar, involves using locally available materials like that we already saw, that is neem leaves, neem pulp, tobacco and green chilies to protect the young seedlings. Okay, so moving on to the second pillar. The second pillar is bija mitra or bija marudam. Bija marudam actually means fermented microbial culture. This involves using cow dung, cow urine and jaggery along with pulse flour to improve the soil microbiome. See, why soil microbiome is focused here is, improving the soil microbiome will increase the fertility of the soil. Note here that only cow dung and cow urine from indigenous cows are used here. Okay, now moving on. See, this bija marudam provides nutrients and also acts as a catalytic agent that promotes activity of the microorganism in the soil. Catalytic here means it speeds up the microbial activity in the soil. It also increases ethworm activity. Further, this process helps to prevent fungal and bacterial plant diseases. Okay, this pillar mainly focuses on enriching the soil by ensuring high soil biological activity. So first pillar that is bija marudam focuses on increasing the resilience of the young seedling. And the second pillar that is bija marudam focuses on improving the soil fertility. Now moving on to the third pillar that is achadanna. Achadanna here means mulching. See, mulching is a process of covering the top soil with crop cover and crop residues such as decaying leaves, barks or compost. This is done to produce humus. Mulching has various advantages tied to it. See here, mulching process also conserves top soil. It helps increase water and retention capacity of the soil. It also helps in the growth of useful soil fauna. Again, it supplies the soil with essential nutrients and also helps in controlling the weeds. Okay, so first pillar focuses on increasing the resilience of the seeds. Second pillar mainly focuses on increasing the soil fertility. Third pillar mainly aims to conserve the top soil and aims to improve the water retention capacity of the soil. Okay, now moving on to the fourth pillar. The fourth pillar is vapasa. It mainly focuses on improving the soil aeration and soil moisture retention. So, chivamritham achadanna and vapasa when done right reduces the reliance on irrigation. Okay, when you look closely at the four pillars, you can see that all the resources are sourced from the farm itself. This is why this method is called zero-budget natural farming. Okay, also note here that in addition to these four pillars, zero-budget natural farming also prescribes a number of natural fungicides and pesticides made from locally available ingredients like neem leaves and chilies. Now, having discussed about the four pillars of zero-budget natural farming, let us now look at some of the benefits of zero-budget natural farming. The main benefit of zero-budget natural farming is it contributes to reduction in the cost of cultivation, which in turn improves the net income of the farmers. This also reduces dependency of the farmers on moneylenders for purchasing expensive items like high yield variety seeds, fertilizers and insecticides. Okay, this is the main advantage that the zero-budget natural farming is aiming for. The next benefit is it provides ecological services like enhancing soil fertility, improving the resilience of the crops to weather variability, and protecting the crop from pests. It also increases the crop output. Okay, finally, the zero-budget natural farming improves the health of the farming community as they won't be working with harmful synthetic fertilizers and insecticides anymore. Okay, these are the main benefits of the zero-budget natural farming. Overall, it tries to ensure environmental sustainability. Okay, so due to all these benefits, the women farmers in Himachal Pradesh are focusing on zero-budget natural farming. This shift was mainly caused by Himachal's state scheme called Prakriti Kethi Kushal Kishan Yojana. See, this scheme rigorously promoted zero-budget natural farming in Himachal Pradesh. See, under this scheme, women farmers are trained in zero-budget natural farming. Along with this, the farm produce is also delivered to the market under the scheme so that the farmers can get fair price on their crops. Also, as a part of the scheme, women farmers in the states also received training and they gradually shifted from traditional farming to non-chemical, low-cost zero-budget natural farming. The aim that the scheme is after is that the trained women farmers under the scheme, after getting comfortable with the technique and after gaining profits from the scheme, would in turn they will go on to implement this type of farming throughout the entire state. This in a way has empowered women because through training, they are gaining confidence and they are able to supplement their family income by practicing zero-budget natural farming. So, this news article is an example of the success of zero-budget natural farming which can be used as a case study in various aspects. It can be used in women empowerment aspect. It can also be used as a benefit of traditional farming method aspect. It is all up to you and how innovative you are. So, try to use this in your main senses. So, in this discussion, we started with organic farming, then we moved on to natural farming, then we saw about zero-budget natural farming, objectives of zero-budget natural farming, the four pillars of zero-budget natural farming and the benefit of zero-budget natural farming. And we also saw how zero-budget natural farming is helping women in the state of Himachal Pradesh. So, with this, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next article for our discussion. Now, let us take up this news article for our next discussion. See, this news article is about e-waste disposal. According to the article, Delhi is facing issues in e-waste disposal. This issue arises mainly due to the fact that e-waste collection, transportation, processing and recycling is dominated mainly by the informal sector in India. The sector is well networked but it is unregulated and unorganized. And as per the 2018 AsoCham report that is associated chamber of commerce and industries of India report, around 90 to 95% of e-waste is processed in the unorganized sector. This is a big issue. This is because the sector involves informal players like rag pickers. They collect the e-waste and most of the time they sell it to informal shops where the e-waste is refurbished and sold as second hand or informally it is recycled. This has two concerns associated with it. First is the concern over leakage of toxins into the environment. And the second concern is the concern regarding workers' safety and health. Though, as stated above, 90 to 95% of the e-waste management in India is done by the informal sector. Unfortunately, the e-waste management rules 2016, which is the existing Indian legislation regarding e-waste management does not recognize the role of informal sector. This is leading to serious issues. This has led to the demand of integrating the formal and informal sectors in e-waste management. So, in this context, let us briefly understand e-waste and some important provisions of e-waste management rules 2016. The syllabus covered by this article is highlighted below for your reference. First, what is e-waste? See, according to the e-waste management rules 2016, e-waste means electrical and electronic equipment as a whole or as in part that has been discarded as waste by the consumer. It also includes the electrical and electronic equipment rejected during manufacturing or during refurbishment or during repair processes. So, e-waste includes all form of waste products containing circuitry, electrical or electronic items as a manufacturing component that runs on either battery or power supply. So, it is a broad term that includes all items that contains electrical and electronic components with them. For example, general consumer electronics such as TV appliances, computers, laptops, tablets, mobile phones and also industrial grade electronics such as telecommunication systems, electronic machinery, etc. They all come under the purview of e-waste under e-waste management rules 2016. More importantly, e-waste is hazardous in nature. This is due to the presence of toxic substances in the product. The substances include heavy metals like lead, cadmium, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyl and chromium. If we take the Indian scenario, according to the Global e-waste monitor 2020, India generated around 3,230 kilotons that is 30 to crore tons of e-waste in 2019 alone. It also states that India and Sri Lanka are the only two countries in southern Asia having an e-waste regulation. Just note that Global e-waste monitor is a collaborative effort of sustainable cycles program, which is co-hosted by many UN bodies. Also, some important facts that could be obtained from the 2021 report published by the Confederation of Indian Industries called e-waste management in India Circular Economy, that is the report name. See as per the report, India is now officially the world's third biggest e-waste generator. Particularly, India's e-waste generation has risen nearly 43% between 2018 and 2020. This is a very huge jump and with the rising middle class, this figure is only bound to increase in the future. Till now, we discussed about what constitutes e-waste according to the e-waste management rules 2016. We also saw about the role of informal sector in e-waste management and various data regarding e-waste management in India. Keeping these facts in mind, let us discuss about the important features of e-waste management rules 2016. See the primary objective of the e-waste management rules 2016 is to ensure environmentally sound management of e-waste. It also aims to ensure protection against adverse effect of inappropriate handling and mismanagement of e-waste. That is, it tries to protect both the environment and the people handling the e-waste. So for this purpose, important stakeholders in the industries such as manufacturers, producers, consumers, bulk consumers, collection centers, dealers, e-retailers, refurbishers, dismantlers, recyclers and producer responsibility organization all were brought together under the ambit of e-waste management rules 2016. Note that the rules applied to the electrical and electronic equipment and their components, consumables, spares and parts that are listed in the schedule one of the rules. Okay, so all these that is components, consumables, spares and parts that are listed in the schedule one of e-waste management rules is brought under the regulation. Okay, now let us go through some of the important provisions of the e-waste management rules. Firstly, it imposes extended producer responsibility, that is EPR. This extended producer responsibility entails a producer's responsibility for environmentally sound management of e-waste. This extended producer responsibility focuses on the responsibility of collection and channelization of e-waste on producers of electrical and electronic equipments. That is, people or organization involved in the production of electrical and electronic equipments must take care of its safe disposal and recycling. Extended producer responsibility also encompasses the responsibility of the producers at the post-consumer stage of a products recycle, which includes collection, transportation, storage, dismantling, recycling and disposal. So, as per extended producer responsibility, the producers of electrical and electronic equipment products should set up collection centers and inform the consumers on how the used electronic products can be returned to the collection centers. Under the extended producer responsibility, the rules list some take-back targets for the producers. That is, the producers are required to collect a certain percentage of their products sold in the previous financial year. The take-back targets raised from the modest 10% in 2017-18 to 70% from 2023 onwards. You can look at the give-waste take-back targets for the producers here. That is, in this table. Further, the rules also make it mandatory for individual producers to obtain EPR authorization. That is, extended producer responsibility authorization from the Central Pollution Control Board. Next, the rules prescribes deposit refund scheme to enhance the collection and channelization of E-waste. Under the scheme, that is, deposit refund scheme, the producer charges an additional amount as a deposit at the time of sale of electrical or electronic equipment. Then the producer returns this charge to the consumer along with interest when the end of the life electrical and electronic equipment is returned. This deposit refund scheme is introduced to incentivize recycling. Then the rules also specify procedure for storage of E-waste. As per that, every stakeholder may store the E-waste for a period of up to 180 days. Finally, the rules mandate the reduction in the use of hazardous substance while manufacturing electrical and electronic equipment and their components that are listed in the schedule one of the E-waste management rules 2016. And as per that, the product should not contain lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers beyond a prescribed concentration value. Okay, so all these pollutants like lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers should be kept under the prescribed concentration level. Okay, so these are some of the salient features of the E-waste management rules 2016. In this discussion, we saw about the role of the informal sector in E-waste management. And we also saw some important features of the E-waste management rules 2016, like extended producer responsibility, deposit refund scheme and E-waste take back targets. So with this, let us conclude this discussion and move on to the next news article discussion. Now for our next discussion, let us take up this open article. If you could remember, our external affairs minister visited the Central Asian region earlier this month. And this article is written in that background. As the title hints, this article talks about the bilateral relationship between India and the Central Asian region and the various initiatives taken in that regard. So this is the ultimate essence of the article. With this idea in mind, come let's approach this discussion. The syllabus covered by this open article is highlighted below for your reference. First, before going into the article, let us have a brief understanding on the Central Asian region and the caucus region, which is mentioned in the open article from a geographical perspective. See, Central Asia refers to the Central region of Asia, which extends from the Caspian Sea in the West to the borders of Western China in the East. So this Central Asia is bound by Russia to its north and to its south it is bounded by Iran, Afghanistan and China. Make a note of this point. The Central Asian region consists of former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. So when you take the Central Asia and the caucus region, it consists of five countries in the Central Asia, along with three other countries in the South Caucasus. And the three countries are Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. And I request here to take your atlas and browse through this area. Look at what the country's borders and the areas such as rivers, mountains, etc to help you in the Mac making aspect. Okay, so moving on by now, I hope you have an understanding on the region and the countries about which we are going to discuss today. So now let's move into the analysis part. See, as we know the disintegration of the Soviet Union led to the formation of the independent republics in Central Asia, following that India aligned its ties with the region by providing financial aid and by establishing diplomatic relationships. For example, we signed the strategic partnership agreements with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan for stimulating defense cooperation and trade relations. Likewise, we had a policy named Connect Central Asia Policy and it aimed that is the Connect Central Asia policy aimed at enhancing India's political, economic, historical and cultural connections with the region. And when things were going well, India's efforts were hurdled by Pakistan's lack of willingness to allow India to pass through its territory. Okay, I hope you guys can remember the stalled gas pipeline projects like IPI and TAPI. India again trade its hand by trying to develop Chabahar port in Iran to bypass Pakistan and have a direct contact with Central Asia through Iran. But this project is also dragging for a long time due to US pressure. And this provided to be a good time for China, which took advantage of this situation and unveiled its controversial Belt and Road Initiative in Kazakhstan. These are the issues in the connectivity part in the region that is between India and the Central Asian regions. Okay, no moving forward. As I said earlier, our external office minister visited the region earlier this month. And this is his third visit within a span of four months. Now let's very briefly see the various initiatives that were taken by our minister on behalf of India during his visit to promote bilateral ties with the Central Asian region. See, during his visit in Kazakhstan, representing India, our external affairs minister extended a credit line of $200 million. This was done for the purpose of supporting development projects. Along with that, he also signed a memorandum of understanding for high impact community development projects in the country, that is, Kyrgyzstan. Following Kyrgyzstan, our minister visited Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan. And then he attended the sixth foreign minister's conference on interaction and confidence building measure in Asia. Note here that during this particular conference, our minister spoke about the China's Belt and Road Initiative and the various methods adopted by China to promote the Belt and Road Initiative. And he clearly highlighted the point that even though the greater connectivity was essential for the promotion of the regional stability, still, it cannot be pursued for parochial interest. Parochial, meaning narrow minded or selfish attitude. Okay, along with his views on Belt and Road Initiative, our minister also confronted Pakistan for supporting cross border terrorism in the conference, that is, conference on interaction and confidence building measure in Asia. Okay, known from there, that is from Kazakhstan, he moved to Armenia. And note that our present external affairs minister, Mr. Jay Shankar, has become the first Indian external affairs minister to visit Armenia. And during his visit in Armenia, there were talks on enhancing trade and cultural exchanges to boost bilateral relations. And he also supported a peaceful solution to the conflict that is happening between Azerbaijan and Armenia. See, we are aware of the present situation in Afghanistan. I mean, after United States under the Joe Biden administration withdrew from Afghanistan, the region has once again fallen into the hands of the Taliban. And these developments have not only created new geostrategic and geoeconomic concerns for the Central Asian region, but it also created challenges for India's regional and bilateral ties with Central Asia and the Caucasus region. This is because as we saw earlier, Afghanistan is positioned at the south of the Central Asian region. So only by crossing Afghanistan, we can connect with the Central Asian region. Also, the present supremacy of the Taliban has also brought to light the weakness of various region coalitions, say like the tough Shanghai Cooperation Organization. This is because if you could remember the SEO that is Shanghai Cooperation Organization was created in response to the threats of terrorism that sprang from Afghanistan. But when you closely analyze, not much was done in that regard. Instead, as pointed out by the author, most member countries used it for their own regional, geostrategic and security interest, not for common good. Due to these factors, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization failed to collectively respond to the Afghan crisis. And its failure was evident when the Central Asian leaders met again in Turkmenistan to voice their concern over the Afghan situation wherein they discussed about the presence of Central Asian terror groups within Afghanistan and along its borders. So to conclude, know that the Central Asian countries are always keen to have India as a partner, since they seek to diversify their strategic ties. This was evident when they admitted India into the Ask About Agreement. So what is Ask About Agreement? See, this agreement allowed India access to connectivity networks and natural resources with both Central Asia and Eurasia for trade and commercial interactions. Moving on, India is also aware of the raising anti-Chinese sentiments within the region and the security threats that is coming from Taliban. So this problem is bringing together New Delhi and Central Asia. So due to their common problems, they are planning to reimagine their engagement, that is India and the Central Asian countries. Though India is at advantageous position right now, India cannot afford to lose any time in its engagement with the region. So we must take more efforts to create a lasting tie with the region. These are all the aspects that are discussed in the OPAD article. Now with this, let's wind up our discussion and move on to the next news article. Now look at this news article. This article basically reports about the seaweed culture which is being promoted across the country. Note here that seaweed culture or seaweed cultivation and cage aquaculture are the new age techniques which are being promoted under the Pradhan Mandiri Matsya Sampath Yojana. So on this line, many steps are being taken to identify places for establishing such production units. And for your information, the Pradhan Mandiri Matsya Sampath Yojana, which is mentioned above is an umbrella scheme with two separate components, namely a central sector scheme and a centrally sponsored scheme. This scheme is designed to address the critical gaps in the fish production and productivity along with improving quality technology, modernization and strengthening the value chain of the fishery sector. This scheme also helps to ensure fishermen's welfare. The main targets of Pradhan Mandiri Matsya Sampath Yojana includes doubling the income of fishers and fish farmers. And the second main target is to reduce the post harvest losses in the fishery sector from the current level of 20 to 25% to about 10%. So this is the crux of the news article. So now based on this context, let us learn some important points related to seaweed. First of all, know that seaweed is a common name which is used for referring to the countless species of marine plants. Okay, note that seaweeds are found not only in the ocean, but also in the rivers, lakes and other water bodies also. And these seaweeds exist in variety of sizes. For example, some seaweeds like pyrtoplanktons are microscopic, whereas some are enormous like the jain kelps, which grow like huge underwater forests. However, most of the seaweeds are medium sized. And these seaweeds come in very many number of colors like red, green, brown, black, etc. If you take a walk along the beach, you can find these seaweeds randomly washed up along the shoreline. Okay, so coming to the types of seaweeds that are found in India, the seaweed species that are found in India include capypicus, alvarezi, gracilaria, edulis, gleedaila, acerosa, sargasm, SPP, and tubinaria, SPP. These species are used for the commercial cultivation of seaweeds in India. See the practice of cultivation and harvesting of seaweeds for commercial purpose is known as seaweed farming. So by now, we have a basic understanding on seaweeds. So now let's move on to see the significance of these seaweeds. At present, seaweeds are used in human foods, cosmetics, fertilizers, and even in the extraction of industrial gums and chemicals. See, since seaweed is fully packed with vitamins, minerals, and fibers, and it also tastes really good, it is used in various cuisines, mainly it is seen as a delicacy in Asian countries. Okay, you guys know about the Japanese traditional food sushi, right? This is nothing but vinegared rice along with fermented fish, which is wrapped in seaweed. See, even now nutritionists in India are promoting seaweed as a superfood as well, because of its dense vitamins, minerals, and fiber content. Okay, along with the above mentioned application, the seaweed is used in the manufacturing of organic fertilizers also. See, the seaweed also finds some application in medical fields because it contains anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial agents. And certain seaweeds in fact possess powerful cancer fighting agents that researchers hope will eventually provide effective in the treatment of malignant tumors and leukemia in people. So these are some of the important applications of seaweed. See, ecologically also seaweed helps to sequester millions of tons of CO2 every year. This helps us in the abatement of climate change. And finally, since India is pushing hard to produce biofuels to reduce dependence on imported petroleum, when the seaweeds are properly used, they can be used to produce bioethanol at about 6.6 billion liters annually. That is the huge potential of biofuels that India alone can produce 6.6 billion liters of bioethanol every year. This will help us reduce our dependence on imported petroleum. Seeing the importance of seaweed, the government has launched a new mission called seaweed mission. See, this seaweed mission is established using three pillars. First is establishing a model demonstration form along India's coastal areas. Okay, the second pillar is establishment of a seaweed nursery. The third and the final pillar is establishment of a seaweed cluster with proper value chain and a well-developed supply chain. These are some of the important features of the seaweed mission. See, in this article, we saw about seaweeds, their types, their colors, their sizes, and the places where they could be found. And we also saw some of their application. And finally, we also saw some important points regarding seaweed mission that is launched by the government. So with these points in mind, let us wind up this news discussion and take up the last and the final news article that we will be discussing today. This is the last article that we are going to discuss today. See, this news article talks about the impact of asteroid and comet collision on the earth atmosphere evolution. See, recent research has studied the frequency of asteroid and comet collision. As per the study, the collision rate was higher. The collision happened every 15 million years. This is 10 times higher than the current models. And it contradicts the earlier findings of lower collision rate. The research also found that the collision of large asteroids or comets of more than 9 kilometer wide even altered the chemistry of earth's earlier atmosphere. According to researchers, such impacts created an oxygen sink. These findings even aligned with the great oxidation event. So what is this great oxidation event? Let us find that out. See the great oxidation event marks the race or the increase of oxygen in the early earth's atmosphere. We know that oxygen in the form of molecular oxygen that is O2 is produced by plants. The oxygen in molecular form is vital for all animals. And today, that is in the present day atmosphere, oxygen is thankfully abundant both in earth's atmosphere and in the earth's oceans. But in the early period of earth's existence, oxygen was relatively scarce. And this great oxidation event led to the abundance of oxygen on earth's atmosphere. The event that is the great oxidation event is estimated to have happened between 2.5 to 2.3 billion years ago. This great oxidation event resultant in the appearance of free oxygen in the earth's atmosphere. See the trigger that led to the increase of free oxygen is still being researched. And like I said, this news article mentions that the asteroid collision led to the creation of an oxygen sink. See the oxygen sink is nothing but a physical phenomenon that could suck the oxygen out of atmosphere. So the asteroid strike in turn delayed the time when oxygen started accumulating in the atmosphere. Now coming back to the great oxidation event. One commonly agreed trigger that led to the great oxidation event was the evolution of cyanobacteria. See cyanobacteria or blue-green algae, as we all know, is one of the earth's oldest organism. They are still present in our oceans and even they are found in earth's hot springs. These cyanobacteria produced oxygen and this oxygen led to the evolution of other multicellular organisms. See according to evolutionary biologists, this multicellularity is linked to the race in oxygen and therefore it played a significant role for life on earth as it is today. So cyanobacteria are said to have played a key role in the emergence of organisms that breathe oxygen which includes humans as well. So this process of oxygenation that is race in level of free oxygen began in the ocean and later in the earth's atmosphere because of cyanobacteria that is blue-green algae. This accumulation of free oxygen is what is referred to as great oxidation event. Therefore the great oxidation event is one of the most significant claimant events in earth's history because it led to the evolution of earth's atmosphere. Here we should know two important facts. The first is, according to scientists, oxygen probably accumulated in earth's ocean well before in the atmosphere. That is, it's ocean started accumulating oxygen before oxygen could enter into atmosphere. See, this is because research has found that even before great oxidation event, there was minor amount of oxygen present in small areas of earth's ancient shallow oceans. The second important fact is oxygen started accumulating in the atmosphere only after the great oxidation event that is around 2.4 billion years ago. See, this event changed the earth's atmosphere from weakly reducing to the present-day oxidizing atmosphere. So, due to the great oxidation event, earth transitioned from oxygen-poor to an oxygen-rich atmosphere. So, in this discussion, we saw what is great oxidation event, when it happened, the role of cyanobacteria in great oxidation event and we also saw how the asteroid impact created an oxygen sink, which delayed the oxygen accumulation process in the atmosphere. So, with this, let us conclude this discussion. And now, let us take up the practice problems questions for today. We have five problems practice questions today. Let's take them one by one. So, this is the first question. Consider the following pairs with reference to the zero-budget natural forming. The first pair is Vapasa and the purpose given is conservation of topsoil. The second pair is Bijumrhythm and the purpose is treatment of seeds. The third pair is Jivamrhythm and the purpose is enhancement of soil microbiome. So, they are asking for the correctly matched pair. See, the correct option here is option B that is 2 and 3 only. This is because Vapasa is done to enhance the soil aeration and water retention and not conservation of topsoil. Actually, conservation of topsoil is done through mulching, which is called achadana according to the zero-budget natural forming. So, the correct option is option B, 2 and 3 only. Moving on to the second practice problems question. So, this is a previous year question. The question is, in India, extended producer responsibility was introduced as an important feature in which of the following. Four options are given. The correct option is option C, the e-waste management and handling rules 2011. Actually, in the discussion we saw e-waste management rules 2016. This rules also had extended producer responsibility. But the first time the extended producer responsibility was introduced was in the e-waste management and handling rules 2011. So, take note of that. Now, moving on to the third question. The question is, the e-waste management rules 2016 prescribe reduction in the use of which of the following hazardous substance in the manufacturing of electrical and electronic equipments. The substance is given are mercury, cadmium, barium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated bifinates. See here, the correct option is option C, 1, 2, 4 and 5 only. See, this is because the question is regarding e-waste management rules 2016 and that too the hazardous substances which is mandated to be reduced according to the e-waste management rules 2016. The substance that is mandated to be reduced are lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers. This list doesn't include barium. So, here is an additional information for you. The lead and cadmium are used in circuit boards in electrical and electronic equipments. The lead oxide and cadmium is used in the monitors of cathode ray tubes. Mercury is used in switches and flat screen monitors. Cadmium is also used in computer batteries. Polycarbonated biphenyls are used in older capacitors and transformers which are used in the IC chips and brominated flame retardants are used on printed circuit boards. Okay. Barium is also used in computers. See, barium is used in computers in the front panel of cathode ray tube to protect users from radiation. But this barium is not mandated to be controlled by the e-waste management rules 2016. So, again the correct option is option C 1, 2, 4 and 5 only. Now moving on to the fourth question. The question is, in which among the following fields the seaweeds find applications? The applications given are cuisine, cosmetics, fertilizers, industrial gums and chemicals. From our discussion, we can clearly infer that all the statements are all the applications given here are correct because while discussing the applications of seaweed we saw about all these applications and since all the five applications given here are correct, the correct answer will be option D 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Now moving on to the last practice praline's question. The question is, with reference to great oxidation event, consider the following statements. It marks the raise of oxygen in Mars's atmosphere. The second statement is, cyanobacteria is linked to the occurrence of great oxidation event. They are asking us to find the incorrect statements. See the first statement is incorrect because the great oxidation event is about the raise of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere, not Mars's atmosphere. So the first statement is incorrect. The second statement is, in fact, correct. Cynobacteria is linked to the occurrence of great oxidation event. So since they are asking us to find the incorrect statement, the correct option will be option A 1 only. The main question is displayed here. Please write the answer and post it in the comment session so that I can evaluate. And if you like this discussion, please like, comment and share it with your friends and do subscribe to Shankarai's Academy YouTube channel. Thank you.