 Good evening aspirants, welcome to the Hindu News Analysis Discussion session by Shankar I.S. Academy for the date 23rd February 2022. These are the list of articles that we will be discussing today. Without wasting time, now let us start the discussion. Look at this editorial article here. It is about the controversy because of the amendment to the Loko Iktha Act of Kerala. As per the article, it is said that the Kerala government made an amendment to its Loko Iktha Act, claiming it to be unconstitutional. Before the amendment, a particular section of the Act gave power to the Loko Paul to give direction to the governor to remove a chief minister or a minister on being found guilty of corruption. This has sparked the debate between government and the opposition. According to the article, the Loko Iktha has indirectly expressed its resentment over the attempt to take away some of its powers. This is the crux of the article given here. In this context, let us learn about Loko Paul and Loko Iktha. Before we start our discussion, I have highlighted here the syllabus regarding this discussion. You can go through it. Now let us start the discussion. First of all, let us see the need for such an institution. See in the recent times, corruption has emerged as the biggest problem faced by the country. A large section of population in India is poor and uneducated and most of the rules and the regulations are complicated and unclear. There is a top to down rather than decentralized approach to the decision-making process. So the interpretations of the complex rules and regulations is at the discretion of the top level bureaucrats. These conditions have been responsible for widespread corruption in India. Corruption is spread over in the society in several forms such as bribe, misappropriation, nepotism, etc. In India, corruption exists at high, middle and lower level also. A corruption of system and institution formulating and implementing public policy, mall practices during defense purchases, public investment in infrastructure, procurement of food grains for public distribution system can be cited as examples of corruption at highest level. Mall practices at the execution or implementation levels for the public projects or during delivery of service are examples of middle level corruption. The petty level corruption frequently occurs in everyday life. Though the amounts involved in petty level corruption are small, it is exploitative in nature. See because of this, corruption needs immediate attention as it has retarded the development of the country. It has created the black and red money which is not available for the productive investment. In spite of liberalization of the economy, corruption comes in the way of foreign direct investment inflows. In short, it has become a threat to the national security of India also. The serious consequence of corruption have created the need to fight it from all angles at the earliest. Adding to this, note that India has ratified the United Nations Convention against corruption. As a result, it is expedient to enact a law for more effective implementation of the convention and to provide for prompt and fair investigation and prosecution in case of corruption. Now, having seen the need, let us see how Lokpal and Lokoiktha came into being in India. In India, the former law minister Ashok Kumar Sen became the first Indian to propose the concept of a constitutional ombudsman in parliament in the early 1960s. Further, Dr. Ellum Singhvi coined the term Lokpal and Lokoiktha. Later in the year 1966, the first administrative reforms commission passed recommendations regarding setting up of two independent authorities at the central and the state level. According to the commission's recommendation, the two independent authorities were appointed to look into complaints against public functionaries including members of parliament as well. After the recommendations from the commission, the Lokpal bill was passed in Lokshaba in 1968. But the bill got lapsed due to dissolution of the Lokshaba. Since then, the Lokpal bill was introduced many time in the Lokshaba but the bill lapsed. Till 2011, as many as eight attempts were made to pass the bill. But each time, the bill failed. Okay, later in 2005, the second administrative reform commission chaired by Virappa Mowli came with the recommendation that the office of Lokpal needs to be established without any delay. Though all the recommendations were never given due preference, the government in 2011 formed a group of ministers chaired by our former president Pranab Mukherjee. The group of ministers worked to examine the proposal of a Lokpal bill and to suggest measures to tackle corruption. See, not only the administration and the government, but even the people of India felt the need for such a system to be introduced into the Indian government system. India rose into a nation-wide protest for Lokpal. The India Against Corruption movement led by Anna Hasare to exert pressure on the UPI government at the center. And the protest and the movement resulted in the passing of Lokpal and Loko Iktha Bill 2013 in both the houses of the parliament. And this is how the Lokpal and the Loko Iktha Act came into being. Now, let us see about the Lokpal and Loko Iktha Act 2013. See, the Lokpal is established under the Lokpal and Loko Iktha Act 2013. The main function of Lokpal is to inquire and investigate into allegations of corruption against public functionaries who are falling within the ambit of this act. Now, let us see the membership of Lokpal. The Lokpal consists of a chairperson and members who shall not be more than 18 members. Note that the person to be appointed as the chairperson of the Lokpal must be either the former Chief Justice of India or a former Judge of the Supreme Court or an eminent person with integrity and outstanding ability who must possess special knowledge and minimum experience of 25 years in matters relating to anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, finance including insurance and banking, law and management. See, out of the total members, 50% of the members needs to be from the judiciary. The remaining 50% are non-judicial members and the judicial members of the Lokshaba must be either a former Judge of the Supreme Court or a former Chief Justice of High Court. And at least half of the Lokpal members must be from the scheduled cast, scheduled traips, other backward castes, minorities and women. Note that the chairperson and the judicial members are appointed by the president on the recommendation of a selection committee. The selection committee consists of Prime Minister as a chairperson and the Speaker of Lokshaba, Leader of Apportion in Lokshaba, Chief Justice of India or a Judge of Supreme Court nominated by him and one eminent jurist as member. Having seen that, now let us see about the powers of Lokpal. See, the Lokpal has jurisdiction to inquire into allegations of corruption against public functionaries who are or who have been in office including the Prime Minister, Ministers in the Union Government, MPs and officials of the Union Government under Group A, B, C and D, also functionaries of any board, corporation, society, trust or autonomous bodies either established by an Act of the Parliament or wholly or partly funded by the Union or State Government are also covered under the Ambit of Lokpal. It also covers any society or trust or body that receives foreign contribution up to 10 lakhs. Now, know that loko ikthas are responsible to the states. See, its structure is not the same in all states. Some states have created only loko iktha and some states have created both loko ikthas and upal loko ikthas whereas some have designated officials as Lokpal. Now coming to the members of the loko iktha. The members of the loko iktha are appointed by the Governor of the State in consultation with the Chief Minister of the State, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the Leader of Apportion in the Legislative Assembly, the Chief Justice of High Court or any judge of the High Court nominated by the Chief Justice of High Court and one eminent jurist. See, in case of jurisdiction also there is no uniformity among the states. Now that we have understood about the loko iktha let us see the limitations that are associated with this. First of all, the Lokpal selection process is questionable. Why? Because there is no guidelines for deciding who is an eminent jurist or a person of integrity. Secondly, there is no proper procedure for appealing Lokpal's action and also the Lokpal bill will not inquire or investigate into any complaint if the complaint is made after the expiry of 7 years from the date on which the offence mentioned in such a complaint is alleged to have been committed. See, this is a major issue. The next issue is that the act is observed to be silent on various aspects that are seen to be crucial to the process of repression of corruption. For instance, it is observed that the act provides no protective armor to the whistleblowers who expose the various mall practice at several government level. This is a major shortcoming of the act. See, if protection is not given to the whistleblowers it will create fear among the common public and in turn, it will not encourage the public to point out the mistakes made by the government officials. The next limitation is that the appointment committee of the Lokpal is made up of political party representatives who may try to manipulate Lokpal's choices. The next limitation is, see, the Lokpal and the Lokkaiyuktha Act of 2013 appears to focus heavily on the Lokpal to elaborate the act only mandates setting up of Lokkaiyuktha at the respective states within the time frame of one year and it does not adequately look into the functions of the Lokkaiyuktha. In other words, clear demarcation of powers were not mentioned in the act. And finally, Lokpal's omission of judiciary from its preview is one of the most serious problems with the Lokpal and Lokkaiyuktha Act of 2013. See, the institution of Lokpal has been a landmark move in the history of India, but at the same time, there are certain loopholes that needs to be corrected. It is observed that the Lokpal and the Lokkaiyukthas so established are heavily dependent upon bodies such as Central Bureau of Investigation and Central Vigilance Commission to carry out even preliminary investigation. The institutions of Lokpal and Lokkaiyuktha must be strengthened in respect of functional autonomy and workforce availability to effectively fight corruption in India. There should be transparency in the nomination of Lokpal and Lokkaiyuktha because it will bring the possibility of appointment of the right candidate. And also note that the appointment of Lokpal in itself is not enough. The government should address the issue based on which people are demanding a Lokpal. A mere adding to the strength of investigative agency will increase the size of the government, but not necessarily improve the governance. The slogan adopted by the government of less government and more governance should be followed in letter and spirit. And there is also this need for a multiplicity of decentralized institutions with appropriate accountability mechanisms to avoid concentration of too much power in one institution or authority. With this, we have come to the end. See, in this discussion, we saw about the need for corruption curbing mechanisms in India. And after that, we saw about how Lokpal and Lokkaiyuktha came into being in India. After that, we moved on to see about the provisions, membership and jurisdiction given in the Lokpal Lokkaiyuktha Act 2013. And after that, we saw some of the shortcomings related to the act. Finally, we ended our discussion by seeing some of the suggestions for betterment of the Lokpal and Lokkaiyuktha institution. With these points, let us move on to the next news article. Have a look at this news article. This open article talks about a verdict given by the Karnataka High Court. See, very recently, that is on February 14th, 2022, the Karnataka High Court declared certain provisions of the Karnataka Police Amendment Act 2021 as unconstitutional. This law was introduced by the Karnataka government to ban online gambling and skill-based gaming platforms. With the exception of horse racing, the law prohibited all types of gambling or betting in connection with any game of chance. See, this ruling follows the verdict of Madras and the Kerala High Courts. All three high courts have upheld the Supreme Court doctrine that games of skill and the games of chance are two distinct legal concepts of constitutional significance. And that the games of skills are legitimate business activities protected under our fundamental rights. So, this is the corrects of the offered article given here. In this context, let us quickly go through the some of the important points mentioned in the article. Before that, the syllabus relevant to this article is given here for your reference. Please go through it. Now, let us start our discussion. Firstly, what is this game of skill and game of chance? See, there are several kinds of game available worldwide. Their outcome is more skill dependent but luck is another factor that comes to play. There are two types of games, one that requires skill and the other that requires luck. Games of skill and the games which require luck are called as games of chance. In this, games based on skill are allowed in most parts of the country. While games of chance are categorized under gambling and are prohibited in most part of the country. As betting and gambling are in the state subject, different states have their own legislation regarding betting and gambling. However, the issue here is that the line between them is very thin. The line can be thin and it can be very difficult to classify between game of chance and game of luck. See, skill based games require expertise of the players. Here, success is determined by how aware you are of the rules and how effectively you can play. These games help players evaluate their capabilities and continuous practice makes him an expert over time. Players learn to implement new strategies. It is not true that game of skill does not require a chance component. They actually do. However, individual skills determine success in game of skills. Numerous skill gaming websites have emerged in recent years, offering users the chance to play for real cash. You can easily play against other player in multiplayer games and check your proficiency. Chess and checkers are some examples of skill based games. Also remember most skill based games are hybrid as they depend on skill but possess an element of chance. Card games such as poker, rummy and other puzzle games are also skill based. Now let us talk about games of chance. See, a randomized factor of any kind governs the games of chance. These games could include a component of skill but entail a higher level of chance. Because they are random, there is no way of knowing what will happen. Because of their ease of developing and playing these games have an older history when compared to skill based games. For example, Animal Bones is a game in which bones of the animals are displayed and the player has to identify the animal to which the bone belongs to. See this game has been employed in game of chance since 3600 BC. In simple words, games of chance and probability are interlinked. Players can win a reward but have no control over the outcome of the game. Because the games are chance based. See sports betting casino games such as roulette are examples of chance based games. So far we saw what is games of skill and the games of chance. From the discussion itself you can come to a conclusion that drawing a line between them can be very difficult and it would be very difficult to classify them but still we can differentiate between games of skill and games of chance using a simple technique. See firstly the primary difference lies in who the said player is playing against. If the supposed player is playing against the house that is against the casino the player is involved in a game of chance. On the other hand if the player is competing against another player it is regarded as game of skill. The secondary difference lies in the duration of the game. See skill based games are the ones that can be beaten over time that is it takes time to complete the game. On the other hand games of chance can be won in a short time and they are not sustainable in a long term. Using these differences game of skills and game of chance can be differentiated. Now let us see what are the states that have lost that struck down the online gaming. As I already said apart from Karnataka a similar law was introduced by the Tamil Nadu government and this law was struck down by the Metras High Court in August 2021. In September 2021 the Kerala High Court had also quashed a notification issued by the state government specifically banning the games of online Rummy when played for money. Now why are states trying to ban online games? See firstly many social activists and government officials and those in law enforcement believe that online gaming like Rummy and Poker are addictive and when played with money this can lead to depression, mounting deaths and suicide. Secondly there have been a few instances where youngsters faced with mounting depth due to loss in online gaming have committed other crimes like theft and murder. Thirdly online games are susceptible to manipulation by the websites operating such games and there is a possibility that users are not actually playing against other players but against automating machines or bots wherein there is no fair opportunity for an ordinary user to win the game. So these are the reasons why the states are trying to ban online gaming. Now let us see what are the negative consequences of entirely banning online gaming. See an absolute prohibition may not prevent people from playing such games online with or without stakes. When there is complete prohibition illegal apps and websites might come into play which might make the government regulation difficult. Now secondly shifting of users to gray or illegal offshore online apps not only results in loss of tax revenue for the state government and the loss of job opportunity for the locals but it also results in user being unable to avail remedies for any unfair behavior or refusal to pay out winnings that is there won't be any grievance redressal mechanism which might results in websites exploiting the online game players. So considering these issues all that is required here is a reform oriented policy structure. See gaming is an emerging sector that has enormous investment and revenue generation potential it also has huge job creation potential also. The sector currently employs 40,000 people. Now along with the judicial validation the central government has also announced in this union budget that an animation visual effects gaming and comics promotion task force will be established. If that is the case then it is critical that state governments work towards introducing a reform oriented policy structure. Gaming also has multiple benefits to several sectors that have been identified as focus areas by the government of India. These sectors include semiconductors, telecom, fintech and animation. Another positive economic dimension is that the sector has received massive foreign investment in recent years. See in the last 5 years alone the online gaming sector has received around 1.7 billion dollars in venture capital and private equity. Apart from this India has a favorable macro economic and demographic indicator along with it India has an explicit legislation distinguishing skill based gaming from gambling. Because of these favorable indicators global investors feel confident about the sector. In such a scenario an attempt by some state government to sidestep or ignore the judicial decision may not only be impractical but may also send a poor message to the international investor community about governments in India not respecting the scarcity of the judiciary. So to conclude the sector and the government can collaborate to develop a policy structure based on the principles of light touch regulation rather than blanket prohibition. That is all regarding this discussion. See in this discussion we saw what is skill based gaming and chance based gaming. We saw the difference between skill based gaming and chance based gaming. Then we saw why some governments are banning online gaming. Then we saw about the negative consequences of complete ban of online gaming. Finally we saw the potential of the online gaming industry to bringing investment and develop job opportunity. That is all regarding this discussion. With this let us conclude and take up the next news article. Look at these two articles. These articles talk about the Russian Ukraine crisis. Russian President is against the NATO expansion and it is clear that he wants to stop the heavy presence of western troops and weapons in the region. Now it is time for the United States and its European allies to decide whether they would react with sanctions, military action and return to the diplomatic table. See, India in the United Nations Security Council said that the de-escalation of Russia-Ukrain tension is the top priority. For India, this is creating tension as the delivery of Russian S-400 missile system is underway. Here note that the US administration is still to decide whether or not to impose cats or sanctions against India. This is the reason for India appealing for diplomacy and de-escalation of Russian troops. See, the conflict has now entered a new phase. Most of the countries are looking for a diplomatic solution to the escalating of Russia-Ukraine crisis. Note that the situation in Ukraine is a result of a complex chain of events over the past 30 years. Now look at this news article. Our external office minister attended the ministerial forum for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific on Tuesday. The forum was held in Paris. During the meeting which was dominated by the Ukraine crisis, the external office minister said France was a resident power in the Indo-Pacific. This clearly shows that India was worried about commenting against the Russian moves in Ukraine. Our external office minister only focused on the Indo-Pacific. He said that Indo-Pacific has been connected to European security. Though the Quad cooperation consisted of Australia, India, Japan and the United States, France and the United Kingdom also have a stake in the Indo-Pacific because they own overseas territories in the Indian Ocean. Also, France have asserted its plan to be part of the Indo-Pacific in the future. See, in this forum India has also welcomed France's involvement in the Indo-Pacific. India has very close relationship with France which is improving over time. Even the external office minister said that France has been a valuable partner in sensitive areas like defence, nuclear technology space, etc. This is the essence of these three news articles. Now, in this context, let us discuss about the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Also, we will see the latest development in this conflict. Finally, let us discuss about India's concern over this issue. I have highlighted here the syllabus regarding this discussion. You can go through it. Now, let us start our discussion. See, first let us know where Ukraine is. Okay, look at these maps. You can clearly see that Ukraine shares border with both the European Union and Russia. Note that as a former Soviet Republic, Ukraine has deep social and cultural ties with Russia. Now, let us have a brief background about this Russia-Ukraine conflict. See, Russia has long resisted Ukraine's move towards European institution. When Ukrainians disposed of their pro-Russian president in 2014, Russia ceased and then annexed Southern Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. In addition to this, Ukraine's two eastern region collectively known as Donbas was captured by separatists backed by Russia. See, Russia's aggression in Ukraine has triggered the greatest security crisis in Europe since the Cold War. Though the United States and its allies have taken significant punitive actions against Russia during the 7-year-old conflict, they have made little headway in helping to restore Ukraine's territorial integrity. Even at present, continuous buildup of Russian military forces along the border with Ukraine has created fear that Moscow is preparing for a large-scale invasion of its neighbor. Although, Russia has denied this. See, at a press conference, Russia's president has clearly stated that the troop deployment is in response to NATO's refusal to cap its eastward expansion. Though the United States and NATO has agreed for talks with Moscow, they have denied to take Moscow's proposal seriously. Also note that the US President Joe Biden has assured his Ukrainian counterpart Zelensky that in case of an invasion by Russia, the United States will respond decisively. This is the brief background of this issue. Now we will see what are the demands of Russia regarding this Ukraine issue. Russia's president Putin said that non-invasion by Russia would depend on compliance with Russia's security demands. See, Russia released these demands in a form of draft security policy in a press conference in 2021 December. The foremost demand among them is that NATO should withdraw troops and weapons from all countries in Europe that joined the NATO alliance after May 1997. Now, what does Russia actually mean by this demand? By this demand, Russia means that NATO cannot operate in any of the Baltic nations that border Russia like Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and also central European states like Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. And finally, NATO should not operate in Balkan states like Croatia and Slovenia. This is the first demand made by Russia. The next important demand of Russia is demanding NATO to stop its expansion towards the east. What Russia mean by this is that NATO should not accept Ukraine and Georgia as NATO members. Ok? There is one more demand of Russia from NATO. The demand is that NATO must not hold drills without prior approval from Russia in Eastern Europe, Ukraine and Georgia. So far, we saw the location of Ukraine, a brief background of the Russia-Ukrain issue and we also saw all the demands made by Russia. Let's see the implication of this issue for India. See, any military action between Russia and Ukraine which is likely to also involve the United States will have adverse impacts for India. This is because India has strategic relations with both Moscow and Washington. A US-Russian deal or a Russian invasion in either scenario, it has major implications for India. Now let's take the first case here. A US-Russia deal would lead to Russia slowing the pace of its relationship with China. This could give India the opportunity to build on its recent efforts to reset its Russian ties. If it is accompanied by a similar and a friendlier United States Iran relationship, it could pave the way for India, Russia and Iran to work on the International North South Transportation project. See, this project has been delayed due to sanctions imposed by the United States on Russia and Iran. On the other hand, a Russian invasion and a rupture with the United States and its allies would lead to pressure on India to choose between Western allies and Russia. Immediately, this scenario could result in cats or sanctions on India on the account of S-400 purchased by India from Russia. There could be a demand for India to cut Russian ties with Russia also. This will not be easy for India to contemplate since its armed forces are largely dependent on Russian spares and equipments for the foreseeable future. Apart from this, it would also hinder India's interest in preventing a further deepening of Russia's tie with China. If potential Russian military action is taken against Ukraine and the resultant Western backlash means Russia will need diplomatic support even more. See, it poses a strategic challenge for India if a close Sino-Russian partnership is formed. But beyond this, a Moscow that is more close to Beijing would be particularly problematic at this moment when India is dependent on Russian military supply and the Sino-Indian border tension could come up again. Further, Russian military action against Ukraine could complicate India's efforts to maintain a delicate balance between its partnership with the United States, Europe and Russia. There are other problematic aspects of Russia-Ukraine crisis for Delhi also. See, for instance, India has economic and defense trade ties with Ukraine. In addition to this, around 7500 Indian citizens are residing in Ukraine. India should take measures to ensure the safety of Indian citizens and also to maintain India-Ukraine economic and defense ties. Finally, Russian military action against Ukraine could also act against the Indian interest in the Indo-Pacific. See, a deteriorating situation in Europe could draw US attention away from the Indo-Pacific theater. This is what happened when the US handled the Afghanistan and the Middle East crisis. The current crisis has already absorbed considerable American attention from the Indo-Pacific when India wants US to be focused on the China challenge in the Indo-Pacific region. See, these are all the possible complications for India that could arise from the current crisis. Now, let us see what India is doing at present in regards to the current crisis. Right now, India is calling for a peaceful resolution of the situation through diplomatic efforts for long term peace and stability in the region. We know that this was the standard position of India given during the Crimean crisis as well. India had always maintained neutrality. It hasn't openly criticized or openly supported Russia's action. India's position is largely rooted in neutrality. New Delhi has adapted itself to the post-2014 status quo in the present Ukraine crisis also. In the present scenario, India needs to be mindful. It needs to be mindful of the fact that it cannot support the coercive and military occupation of a country's territory by another country. India should support territorial integrity of the world nations. See, India is under continuous pressure from China which is making illegal demands on its territory not only in Ladakh but even in the eastern sector where China claims most of the Arunachal Pradesh as its home. On the western front, India faces similar pressure on its territory from Pakistan also. So, territorial integrity and sovereignty are vital for India. It is for this reason that despite India's excellent relationship with Russia, it has not recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia as a result of military conflict between Russia and Georgia in August 2008. So, in the present Ukraine-Russia conflict also, it won't be a surprise if India stands by Ukraine and support its territorial integrity. Only time will tell how India will respond if the present crisis escalates to a full blown war. Let us wait and watch. Okay? Having seen India's action in regards to the recent crisis, now let us see the latest development in the conflict. See, earlier in 2014, Russian backed a separatist in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansky region that is the region commonly known as Donbas broke away from the Ukrainian government control. This region proclaimed themselves as the independent People's Republic. The issue here is that until Monday, India has refused to recognize the two republics. Now it has gone back on its word. This is because Russian President in his statement said that the independence and the sovereignty of the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansky People's Republic should be recognized immediately. This is the latest development. See, India's response to Russia-Ukrain conflict would be very interesting to watch. Since both Russia and the United States are highly valued partners for India, it would not be judicious for India to take sides under the current circumstance. India should continue to adopt a balanced and neutral approach as it has done so far. This is all regarding this discussion. See, in this discussion, we saw about the background of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the demands placed by Russia, the possible implications for India from the current crisis, the steps that India has taken so far and the recent development in the issue. With this, let us conclude this discussion. Now let us take up the next news article. See this article here. It is about the statement of Union Minister, Smithy Irani. She said that child-centric schemes of the government has seen a 390% increase in budgetary allocation since 2014. This statement was a replay to Mr. Rahul Gandhi's tweet who said that budgetary allocation for child welfare has reduced by 50%. So, that is all about the article given here. We are not going to extensively see the facts given by the Union Minister as a replay to Mr. Rahul Gandhi. Instead, we are going to learn about the schemes mentioned in the article. First of all, let us see about Poshan 2.0. Mission Poshan 2.0 is an integrated nutrition support program. It seeks to address the challenges of malnutrition in children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers. And it is done through a strategic shift in nutrition content and delivery and by creation of convergent ecosystem to develop and promote practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity. Poshan 2.0 will seek to optimize the quality and delivery of food under the supplementary nutrition program also. Mission Poshan 2.0 will contribute to human capital development of the country. It will also address malnutrition challenges, promote nutrition awareness and good eating habits for sustainable health and well being and address nutrition related deficiencies through key strategies. Under the program, nutritional norms, standards, quality and testing will be improved and greater stakeholder and beneficiary participation will be promoted besides traditional community food habits. Poshan 2.0 will bring three important programs or schemes under its habit. They are Anganwadi Services, Scheme for Adolescent Girls and Poshan Abiyan. See, the digital infrastructure under Poshan Tracker is rolled out by the Ministry of Human and Child Development on 1st March 2021 through National E-Governance Division as a governance tool. It will strengthen and bring about transparency in nutrition delivery support systems. Technology under Poshan Tracker is being leveraged for dynamic identification of stunting, wasting, underweight prevalence among children and last mile tracking of nutrition service delivery. That is all regarding Poshan 2.0. Now let us move on to see about Mission Shakti. See, Mission Shakti envisages a unified citizen-centric life cycle support for women through integrated care, safety, protection, rehabilitation and empowerment to liberate women as they progress through various stages of their life. Mission Shakti has two sub-schemes. They are Sambal and Samarthya. While the Sambal sub-scheme is for safety and security of women, the Samarthya sub-scheme is for empowerment of women. The Sambal sub-scheme consists of existing schemes of One Stop Center, Women Helplines and Beeti Bachho, Beeti Padau. Besides, a new component of Nari Adalats have been added as women's collective to promote and facilitate alternative dispute resolution and gender justice in society within families. Okay, the Samarthya sub-scheme is for empowerment of women. It consists of existing schemes of Ujjwala, Swadhargrad and working women hostel. In addition to this, the National Crutch Scheme for Children of Working Mothers and Pradhan Mandiri Matru Vandana Yodhana, which have been under Umbar La ICDS Scheme till now, are also subsumed in Samarthya sub-scheme. Okay, having done with the Mission Shakti, now let us see about Mission Vatsalya. See, children have been recognized by policy makers as one of the supreme national assets. India is home to 472 million children up to the age of 18 years and comprise 39% of the country's population. The objective of Mission Vatsalya is to secure a healthy and happy childhood for every child in India. And it tries to foster a sensitive, supportive and synchronized ecosystem for development of children. And it also assists state and union territories in delivering the mandate of the juvenile justice act 2015. It also tries to achieve the sustainable development goals. Okay, see the components under Mission Vatsalya will include statutory bodies, service delivery structures, institutional care non-institutional community based care, emergency outreach service, training and capacity building. And note that all three missions that is Mission Portion 2.0, Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya that we discussed today will be implemented during the 15th finance commission period between 2021-22 to 2025-26. So that's all about this article discussion. With these points, let us move on to the next news article. Have a look at this news article. This is the last news article that we will be discussing today. See this news article talks about the Armed Forces Special Powers Act or AFSPA. In December 2021, the Union Home Ministry formed a committee to study the withdrawal of AFSPA from Nagaland. The panel was formed in response to raising public outrage over disastrous attack by an elite army unit in December 4 which resulted in the deaths of 13 people. And the news article states that the committee which was supposed to present a report within 45 days as promised by the chief minister has failed to complete its investigation. This is the crux of the news section here. So in this context, let us quickly go through some of the important provisions of AFSPA. First, know that there are two AFSPAs which are in operation. One is exclusively for the Jammuun Kashmir which is known as Armed Forces Jammuun Kashmir Special Powers Act 1990. The other act is applicable to some of the northeastern states of India which is the Armed Forces Special Powers Act of 1958. Today's news article talks about AFSPA of 1958 only. See the Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958 has been a controversial act over the years and has been criticized by different sections of the society since its enactment. This is because the act gives powers to the army to shoot and kill any person if they have any doubt that the person is a threat in any manner. Okay, remember AFSPA allows for armed forces to be conferred with special powers. In any region designated as disturbed area either by the center or the governor of the state or the administrator of the union territory. So to exercise this special power the region should be designated as disturbed area. So when can area be designated as disturbed area? See as per section 3 of the act this power has been invoked when a part of the state or even the whole of the state or union territory is in such a disturbed or dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of civil power is necessary. Okay, once an area has been designated as disturbed area the act provides the armed forces with special powers which I have mentioned here. You can go through the special powers here. Okay, the important point to note here is that the law enacted gives immunity for protection to the armed personnel against any type of prosecution because of these provisions AFSPA has been a topic of debate since its inception and many people believe that the act should be replaced because it is widely abused by the army personnel. See these are some of the important points about AFSPA. With this let us conclude the news article discussion session and take up the practice prelims questions. We have two practice prelims questions today. Let's see them one by one. Look at this first question. This question is in reference to Ujjavala scheme. Two statements are given. We have to find the correct statement. Let's take the first statement. Ministry of petroleum and natural gas is the implementing agency of the scheme. See this statement is wrong because Ministry of women and child development is the implementing agency of Ujjavala scheme. Ujjavala scheme is a comprehensive scheme for prevention of trafficking and rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration and repatriation of victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation. The scheme by the Ministry of petroleum and natural gas is Pradhan Mandiri Ujjavala Yodhra. Not Ujjavala Yodhra. See this scheme that is the Ujjavala scheme was launched by the prime minister on 1st May 2016 to distribute 50 million LPG corrections to women of the below poverty line families. So statement one is wrong. Moving on to the second statement. The objective of the scheme is to prevent trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation. This statement is correct. The objective of the scheme that is objective of the Ujjavala scheme are to prevent trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation to facilitate rescue of victims from the place of their exploitation and place them in safe custody to provide rehabilitation services both immediate and long term to the victims by providing basic amenities and needs such as shelter, food, clothing medical treatment including counseling legal aid, guidance and vocational training to facilitate reintegration of victims into the families and societies at large and the final objective is to facilitate repatriation of cross-border victims to their country of origin. So since statement one is wrong and the statement two is correct answer here is option B two only. Now moving on to the second practice problem question. This question is about armed forces special powers act 1958. Here also two statements are given we have to find the correct statement. Let's take up the first statement. The foundational legislation for AFSPA was promulgated by the colonial British government in an attempt to stifle the quit India movement in 1942. See this statement is correct. The armed forces special powers act 1958 had its roots in the lord linlithco ordinance 1942. This ordinance was passed to to curtail the quit India movement. Okay. Now moving on to the second statement. It gives powers to the people who are in the army to shoot a person if they believe or have any thought that the concerned person may cause a threat. See this statement is wrong because the act gives power to the people who are in the army to shoot a person if they believe or have any thought that the concerned person may cause a threat only in the disturbed area. Okay. Note to this to exercise this special power the area must be designated as disturbed area either by the center or the governor of the state or the administrator of the union territory. So here the first statement is correct. The second statement is incorrect. So the correct answer here is option A only. The main questions based on today's section is here. Write the answers and post it in the comment section. If you like today's video, like comment and share it with your friends and for more updates regarding UPSC preparation, subscribe to Shankar IAS Academy YouTube channel. Thank you.