 A very good evening aspirants. Welcome to the Hindu news analysis brought to you by Shankar IIS Academy today's 11th of February 2022. These are the list of articles we are going to discuss today. See in this first article it is editorial here we are going to discuss about the local job reservation in the private sector. Here we will learn about the local job reservations its merits and demerits. We will also learn some of the constitutional provisions regarding the local job reservation. Then we will discuss about the RFID technology which is very important in prelims perspective. Then we will learn about the privilege motion and how it is passed in the parliament. And regarding the fourth article here we will learn about Sri Ramanujacharya and about the statue of equality. And after that we will discuss about the monetary policy committee. Then we will end up the session by solving some of the preliminary practice questions. So without wasting much time we will start our discussion. Look at this editorial. This editorial talks about the local job law enacted by Haryana. The law aims to reserve 75% of jobs in the private sector in the state for local residents. Earlier Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand have also passed similar bills. Now the problem is that these state laws raise constitutional questions. So in this context let us discuss about the local reservation and the merits and demerits associated with it. We will also discuss how this local reservation comes in conflict with the constitutional provisions. Now let's start our discussion. Before that the syllabus relevant to this article is highlighted here for your reference. You can go through it. See first of all what is local reservation? It is nothing but reserving certain jobs for the resident of the state. The idea of local reservation is driven by issues of scarcity of employment and the need for governments to satisfy their domestic electorate. See now why is the government bringing such a loss? See we know that public sector jobs constitutes only a little proportion of all jobs. So legislators have talked about extending the legal protection to the private sector to achieve the constitutional mandate of equality for all citizens. Now the government defends this private job reservation by saying that private industries use public infrastructure in many ways. That is they assess land through subsidized allotment, they receive credit from public sector banks, they get tax exemptions and in many cases they also get subsidies for fuels. So the state has a legitimate right to require them to comply with the reservation policy. Note that a similar argument was made in requiring private schools to comply with the Right to Education Act which the Supreme Court also upheld. And not only in India many countries like USA and Canada also take such affirmative action in employment. So far we have seen the justification for reservation in private jobs. Now we will see why it is a bad idea. Firstly this local reservation policy could impact unity and diversity of India. Because this could lead to a local versus non-local issue threatening the country's integration. Secondly in this policy there is a compulsion on companies to hire locals might compromise quality of work. And the government must be more aware of its signal to the investors. Because these policies discourages people from investing the capital in the state. And it further reduces the state's appeal as an investment destination and in the long run it damages the economic interest of the state. Thirdly the policy affects business freedom. See for business to flourish it must function with a set of clear policy and well defined parameters. Now the companies will not be able to hire the best resources available to them. And the entrepreneurs worry that the reservation declared in backward states could limit the scope of recruitment and hurt the productivity and the competition based on merit. So the government policy should be towards easing restrictive labour laws and not creating hurdles for the business. And fourthly the local reservation affects ease of doing business. It impacts the freedom of the companies to take business decisions. So it could impact its productivity and competitiveness. The local reservation policy can also contribute to economic loss. See Indian economy has a comparative advantage over the other countries in labour. Because India is a labour intensive country. Labour from rural areas migrate to urban areas for work and they work at lower wages. According to the research done by Nithi Tantra which is a Delhi based policy think tank providing jobs only to locals might lead to economic loss due to high wages. The policy is also against the spirit of competition. Because the local person with fewer skills may get the job over the non-local who is fully skilled. Finally it also violates some of the constitutional provisions. Firstly it violates article 19 1 G of the Indian constitution. Because this article guarantees freedom to carry out any occupation trade or business. So by requiring the private business to reserve 75% of lower end jobs for locals the state violates their right to carry out any occupation. Secondly it violates article 16 of Indian constitution. See article 16 of the constitution provides for equality of opportunities for all citizens in public employment. It prohibits discrimination on several grounds including place of birth and residence. However it permits parliament to make law that requires residence within a state as a condition for appointment to a public office. Here you have to note two points. This provision is for public employment and not for private sector jobs. And the law need to be made by the parliament and not by the state legislature. Now the third question is whether 75% of reservation is permitted. See in the Indra Saini case in 1992 the Supreme Court capped reservation in public services at 50%. However it said that there may be an extraordinary situation which may need a relaxation in this rule. For example in rural areas where the population may be treated in a different way. So the owners is now on the state to make a special case of exceptional circumstances for the 50% upper limit on reservation to be relaxed. See the constitution conceptualizes India as one nation with all citizens having equal right to live, travel and work anywhere in the country. But these state laws goes against this vision. Now you may have a question because some of the provisions we have discussed either relate to public employment or to admission to educational institution. But the Haryana Act is about private sector employment. So here the author argues that any reservation requirement imposed on the private sector should not be higher than the limits on the public sector. That's it. So that's all regarding this news article. In this article we have discussed about the local reservation in private jobs. We have also discussed the merits and demerits of local reservation. And some of the demerits includes the impacts unity in diversity. It affects business freedom and ease of doing business. And it is against spirit of competition and violates some constitutional principles. So with these key learned points, we will move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this news brief. It says that the army has started RFID tagging of its inventory. What is RFID? RFID means Radio Frequency Identification. Now why is the army tagging its inventory? Because it will lead to increased efficiency in technical activities carried out in ammunition depots. In addition to this, it will also reduce inventory carrying costs. In this context, let's briefly discuss about RFID technology. See, RFID is basically a wireless system. It has two main components. They are the RFID tags and RFID readers. Look at this image here. In this image, RFID reader and antenna are given as separate components. But nowadays, in most cases, both these components are integrated. What happens in this system is a simple two-way radio communication. Here, the information is transmitted by the RFID tag and received by the RFID reader at a set radio frequency. Here, the RFID tag has a chip inside it. This chip will be triggered by the radio waves emitted by the RFID reader. Once triggered, the tag then transmits the stored information back to the RFID reader. The computer connected to the RFID reader stores this information. See, this type of RFID tag is called passive tag. It is called passive because it has no power source of its own. And the chip is excited or triggered by the radio waves emitted by the RFID reader. The main advantage of passive RFID is it is cheap and easy to operate. But there is a limitation. Since the chip has no independent power source, the operation range is very short. Now, the next kind of RFID tag is the active tag. Here, the tag has an independent power source. So, it does not need the RFID reader to trigger it. This means they have a very long operating range. But they are more costly than passive tags. Now, I hope you have a basic understanding about the working of RFID technology and the different types of RFID tags. Now, you may have a question. RFID has the similar function as the barcode reader. So, what makes this RFID technology great? See, there is a significant advantages of RFID technology over barcode. In case of barcode, there must be a direct line of sight. But it is not necessary in case of RFID technology. Here, direct line of sight means the two stations can only transmit and receive data signals when they are in direct view of each other with no obstacles in between. So, due to this advantage, the RFID tag can be embedded or hidden inside the object. The next advantage is that several tags can be identified at the same time by a single reader. So, this helps in saving a lot of time. Now, let us see some of the applications of RFID. It is used as a self-check-ins at libraries. Even our metro card uses RFID technology. Then, we all know that it is used in fast tag. It is also used in livestock management. It is used in airports for baggage tracking. It is used in asset tracking, inventory monitoring and personal tracking in industries. See, these are some applications of RFID. And with the expected boom in the Internet of Things, the application that can be derived from this technology is limitless. With all these advantages and applications, the RFID technology comes with some concerns too. One of the main concerns is the issue of privacy. And the next big concern is the issue of virus attack and security breaches. See, these are some important points about RFID. To recap in this discussion, we talked about the working of RFID technology, a difference between passive and active tag. That is, passive tag has no power source of its own and active tag has its own power source. Then, we have discussed about the advantages of RFID over barcode and applications of RFID and some concerns regarding RFID. And that's all regarding this news article. Now, let's move on to the next news article. Look at this news article. The article says that four MPs in the Rajasabha submitted a privilege motion against our Prime Minister. So, in this context, let's revise the privilege motion. Now, what is privilege motion? See, it is concerned with the breach of parliamentary privilege by a minister. Here, what are parliamentary privileges? See, parliamentary privileges are certain rights and immunities enjoyed by members of parliament individually and collectively, so that they can effectively discharge their functions. Article 105 of the Constitution talks about the powers and privileges of the House of the Parliament, the members and the committees. See, when any of these rights and immunities are disregarded or violated, the offence is called breach of privilege and is punishable under law of the parliament. Now, coming back to the privilege motion, who can move a privilege motion? See, it is moved by a member of either House of the Parliament. That is, both Lok Sabha and Rajasabha members can move a privilege motion. The member moves the privilege motion when he or she feels that a minister has committed a breach of privilege of the House or one or more of its members. And the minister is said to have committed a breach of privilege when he withholds facts of a case or if he gives wrong or distorted facts. Now, we will see the purpose of privilege motion. See, the main purpose of the privilege motion is to censure the concerned minister. Note that Chapter 20 of Rule 22 for Lok Sabha and Chapter 16, Rule 187 for the Rajasabha, have mentioned about the privilege motion. See, the news article says that four MPs submitted a privilege motion against our prime minister. Does this mean our prime minister is censured? No. Actually, once the privilege motion is submitted, it is first scrutinized by a speaker in case of Lok Sabha and by the Charman in case of Rajasabha. If concerned is granted by the speaker or a Charman, the MP who has given the notice has to ask for the leave of the House to raise the question of privilege. Note that at least 25 members of the House have to support its introduction. And once the privilege motion is admitted, the House may either take up the matter or may refer it to the committee of privileges. And the committee of privileges in Lok Sabha is a panel consisting of 15 members drawn from various parties. In Rajasabha, the committee of privileges comprises 10 members. In Lok Sabha, it is 15 members and in Rajasabha, it is 10 members. And once referred to the committee on privileges, the House then waits for the committee to give its report in the matter before coming to a decision. And once the report is ready, it is then presented to the House for its consideration. The speaker may permit a half-an-hour debate while considering the report. The speaker may then pass final orders or direct that the report be tabled before the House. And the resolution may then be moved relating to the breach of privileges that has to be unanimously passed. See, most of the privilege notices submitted are rejected. Historically, in India, there are only three or four instances where privilege motion is actually passed. So, in this case also, there is a high chance that the chairman of the Rajasabha will reject the submitted privilege notice. See, in this article, we have seen about the privilege motion. It is moved by a member of either House of the Parliament. Its purpose is to censure the concerned minister. We have also seen that Chapter 20 of Rule 22 for Lok Sabha and Chapter 16, Rule 187 for the Rajasabha, have mentioned about the privilege motion. And that's all regarding this news article. Now, we will move on to the next news article. Look at this news article. This article is about Sri Ramanujacharya. See, recently, India celebrated the Festival of Equality to mark the 1000th anniversary of Sri Ramanujacharya. So, as part of this celebration, our Prime Minister inaugurated the Statue of Equality, which is a statue of Ramanuj and the outskirts of Hyderabad. So, in the prelims perspective, let us revise about Ramanujacharya and his contribution to equality. See, Ramanuj was a 11th century Vaishnava saint. He was one of the most influential thinkers of Vaishnavism. And he was deeply influenced by the Alvas. We know that Alvas are devotees of Vishnu. So, according to him, the best means of attaining salvation was through intense devotion to Vishnu. And he propounded the theory of Vishistha Advaita. See, this point is very important here, which is the theory of Vishistha Advaita. Literally, Advaita means non-dualism, Vishistha means qualified. So, Vishistha Advaita means qualified non-dualism. That means the soul retains its identity even after uniting with Brahma. This doctrine greatly inspired the new trends of Bhakti, which developed in North India. See, not only the sphere of spirituality, Ramanujacharya also worked towards equality. He gave impetus to the concept of Vasudeva Kudumbakam, which denotes the universe as one family. He made it mandatory to sing in the temple the songs written by the saints belonging to oppressed caste. Also, he had the gates of Tirunarayana Perumal temple open to all caste and communities. He also made Vedic literature accessible to common man. He was a great visionary and free thinker who revived society on the grounds of universal salvation through Bhakti, compassion, humility, equality and mutual respect. And he spread the divine message of God to the common man irrespective of caste, gender or creed. See, these are some important facts about Sri Ramanujacharya. Now, let us see some facts about the statue of equality. It is a 216 feet tall statue which is made of Panchaloha. See, Panchaloha is a combination of five metals which are gold, silver, copper, brass and zinc. It is among one of the tallest metallic statues in sitting position in the world. So, in this article, we have seen about Sri Ramanujacharya is doctrine of Vishistha Advaita and we also discussed some facts about statue of equality. So, that is all regarding this news article. We will move on to the next news article. This news article talks about the Monetary Policy Committee. The article states that the committee has left the policy interest rates unchanged. In this context, let us revise about the Monetary Policy Committee. See, the Monetary Policy Committee was constituted by the central government. This was constituted under the RBI Act 1934. This is to determine the policy interest rate required to achieve the inflation target. Note that the committee is assisted by the Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Department. So, here, what does Monetary Policy means? See, it refers to the use of monetary instruments under the control of the central bank. This is to regulate magnitudes such as interest rates, money supply and availability of credit. All these are done to achieve the objective of regulation of economic activity. See, fiscal policy can also be used to regulate economic activity but it is determined by the government. So, monetary policy is managed by the central bank and fiscal policy is determined by the government. Now, let us see the composition of this Monetary Policy Committee. See, it consists of six members. It consists of three members from the RBI and three independent members. See, these three independent members will be selected by the government. Now, we will see who are they. Firstly, the governor of the RBI serves as an ex-officio chairman. Secondly, the deputy governor of RBI is in charge of monetary policy. He serves as an ex-officio member. Thirdly, there is one officer from RBI. He or she should be nominated by the central board. He also serves as an ex-officio member of MPC. Lastly, there are three members to be appointed by the central government. Finally, there are six members. See, this Monetary Policy Committee is required to meet at least four times in a year. The quorum for the meeting is four members and each member has one vote. And in the event of an equality of vote, the governor has a casting vote or a second vote. Here, the important point to be noted here is the decision of Monetary Policy Committee will be binding on the banks. So, that's all regarding this article. With this, we have come to the end of our news article discussion. With all these learned points, let's solve some preliminary practice questions. Now, look at the first question. Consider the following statements regarding FASTACs. FASTACs is an RFID active tag used for making toll payments directly from the customers linked, prepaid or savings or current account. Here, statement two, National Payment Corporation of India that is NPCI issues FASTAC. You have to find the correct answer. See here, statement one is wrong because FASTAC is an RFID passive tag. It is not an active tag. We have discussed this right. It is used for making toll payments directly from the customers linked, prepaid or savings or current account. See here, statement two is also wrong because NPCI does not issue FASTAC. See, NPCI has developed NETC system which facilitated to make the toll payment electronically. Here, NETC system means National Electronic Toll Collection System. It enables the customers to make the electronic payment at NETC-enabled toll plaza on the highway without stopping at the toll using RFID technology. See, you can buy FASTACs from NETC member banks or their distribution agents or their sales officers. Currently, there are 37 NETC member banks who issue FASTAC. So here, our correct answer will be option D, neither one nor two because both statements are wrong. Now, look at the second question. It is with regard to parliamentary privileges. What are the source of parliamentary privileges? Constitutional provisions, various laws made by the parliament, rules of both the houses, parliamentary conventions, judicial interpretation. Select the correct answer using the code given below. One, two, three and four, one, three, four and five, one, two, four and five and all the above. See here, the correct answer is option D, that is all the above. It should be noted here that the parliament till now has not made any special law to exhaustively codify all the privileges. So, they are based on five sources namely constitutional provisions, various laws made by the parliament, rules of both the houses, parliamentary conventions and judicial interpretations. So, our correct answer here is option D, all the above. Now, look at the third question. This is a factual question. If you know, you can attempt because there will be less space for guess works. Which of the following are works of Sri Ramanujacharya? Statement one, Sri Bhashya. Statement two, Vedartha Sangraha and option three, Sri Ranga Kadya. You have to select the correct answer. See here also, the correct answer is option D, all the above. Sri Bhashya is the most famous work of Sri Ramanujacharya. It is his commentary on Brahma Sutra. Brahma Sutra was written by Sri Badarayana. Now, regarding statement two, Vedartha Sangraha is a treatise presenting the tenets of Vishistha Advaita. And Sri Ranga Kadya, it contains manuals for self surrender to Lord Vishnu. So, here all the statements are correct. So, our answer will be D, all the above. Now, look at the fourth question. It is a very easy question. Now, consider the following statements regarding monetary policy committee. Statement one, it is constituted under the Banking Regulation Act. Statement two, it is a cabinet committee. You have to select the correct statement. Here, statement one is incorrect because it is constituted under the RBI Act of 1934 and not Banking Regulation Act. And statement two, it is also incorrect because it is not a cabinet committee. See, we discussed that it is constituted by the central government to determine the policy interest rate required to achieve inflation target. So, it is not a cabinet committee. So, our correct answer here will be option D, neither one nor two. See, the main question is displayed here. You can write the answer and post it in the comment section. If you like the video, hit the like button, post your comments and share the video with your friends. And don't forget to subscribe Shankar IIS Academy YouTube channel. And thank you for listening.