 Welcome to the Hindu news analysis by Shankar Aayush Akademi. These are the news articles chosen for today's discussion. They are given along with the page number of different traditions. Link for the handwritten notes in PDF format and the time stamping for the discussed articles are given in the description box as well as the comment section for the benefit of the mobile viewers. Now, let us start with the first article. Now, let us take up this editorial. This editorial is regarding the ongoing crisis in Tunisia. Tunisia is also called as Tunisian Republic. See, recently Tunisia has entered into a political turmoil due to the recent action of its president. So in this background, this editorial has been written. In this context, first let us discuss about the Tunisia's polity and geography. Let us also discuss about the ongoing crisis. And finally, let us discuss about the viewpoints of the author. This is how we are going to approach this editorial. Let us discuss about it. The syllabus for reference is displayed on the screen. Interested aspirants can go through it. First, let us take geography. See, Tunisia is a North African country. It is found along the Mediterranean Sea. So it is not a landlocked country. This is the key point. It is bounded by Algeria in its west and Libya in its south and east. So these are the countries bordering Tunisia. See, the northern part of Tunisia is mountainous. This is because Atlas Mountains passes through this country. You all know that Atlas Mountains is an important mountain region, African continent. And this mountain passes through Tunisia country. This is why the northern terrain of this country is mountainous. What about its southern terrain? See, the southern region of Tunisia is semi-arid. This is because it is covered by desert. See, Sahara desert is the largest desert in the world. It is found in African continent. And because of this desert, the southern regions of Tunisia is semi-arid and it is covered by desert. Almost 40% of this country lies in desert zone. This country is also known for its salt lakes. It has a lot of salt lakes. These lakes are locally known as Chaats or Shats. The largest salt lake is Chaat El Jarret. So these are the important points regarding the geography of Tunisia. It is a landlocked country. It is bounded by Mediterranean Sea, Algeria, Libya, Atlas Mountains passes through it. Almost 40% of the country is occupied by Sahara desert. And it is also famous for its salt lakes. Now let us discuss about the history of Tunisia. See, this country has rich cultural and political history. This is because this country played a prominent role in ancient times. See, currently, Tunisia is predominantly a Muslim Arab nation. Though it is a Muslim Arab nation, its culture has been influenced by various forces. For example, Berbers, Arabs, Africans and Europeans. All these external forces have influenced Tunisia. Who are Berbers? Berbers are indigenous tribal community found in North Africa. So all these forces have influenced this beautiful country. See, this country has been under the influence of different rulers at different times. It was ruled by Phoenicians. It was ruled by Romans. It was ruled by Byzantines. It was under the control of various Arab and Berber kingdoms. It was even ruled by Ottomans from 16 to 19 centuries. So we can see this country had a lot of external influences. It has a rich cultural and political history. When you're talking about the modern period of Tunisia, in the 19th century, it was invaded by France. To be precise, France invaded Tunisia in 1881. So after the French invasion, this country became a French protectorate. See, protectorate is a state which is controlled and protected by another country. So this country became a French protectorate. It was under the control of France from 1881. After many decades of struggle, in 1956, it finally gained independence from France. Tunisia became an independent country in 1956. It became a republic with a strong presidential system. See, after its independence, Tunisia perceived a progressive social agenda. It even modernized its economy. But the problem is, the government was dominated by a single political party. So it was an authoritarian rule. It was similar to dictatorship. It had a single political party. Tunisia's first president, Habib Burguiba, he ruled the country like a dictator for 31 years. So we can see it was under the authoritarian rule. Democracy did not exist in this country. But in 1987, Burguiba was overthrown in a bloodless coup. What is a coup? Coup is a sudden, violent and illegal seizure of power from a government. See, the spelling is C-O-U-P, but the pronunciation is coup. So in 1987, this country experienced a bloodless coup. Burguiba was overthrown, and in his place, Zain el Abidein Ben Ali. He became the next Tunisian president. But even this guy was a dictator. So we can see this country was under the authoritarian rule for a long time. These two dictators enacted authoritarian laws to retain monopoly in the political arena. That is how dictators work. They change the laws according to themselves. Okay, this was the situation. But there was another issue also. See, in the early 1980s, Tunisia experienced a vast economic crisis. There was a huge rise in poverty and unemployment. And this economic crisis was becoming worse and worse. So we can see two reasons. This country was under the dictatorship for many years, and it was also facing a lot of economic issues. So the pressure is building among the people. People are frustrated. They want to change. And finally, a series of mass demonstrations and riots happened in this country. This is known as Tunisian Revolution. This revolution happened in 2011. It is also called the Jasmine Revolution. As a result of this revolution, President Ben Ali finally stepped down in 2011. So the second president of this country stepped down in 2011. He ruled this country with authoritarian fist for 23 years. So the first president ruled the country for 31 years. And the second president ruled the country for 23 years. Pure dictatorship and authoritarianism. See, Jasmine Revolution is an important revolution in our world's history. This is because Jasmine Revolution inspired similar action throughout the Arab world. Because of this revolution, many pro-democratic protests happened in Egypt, Algeria, Yemen, Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq, Mauritania, Pakistan, and Libya. Jasmine Revolution was the seed for all this protest. This series of revolution and uprising throughout the Arab world is known as Arab Spring. This is the most important keyword, Arab Spring. The genesis of Arab Spring was in Tunisia, Jasmine Revolution. So after the Jasmine Revolution, a stable democratic government was established in Tunisia. In 2014, even a constitution was adopted. It was approved. After this adoption of constitution, both legislative and presidential elections were held. See, as per the Tunisian Constitution, president acts as head of state. He exercises executive authority, along with the prime minister and cabinet. The president exercises executive authority, along with prime minister and cabinet. Prime minister is the head of the government. President is the head of the state. Prime minister is in charge of the day-to-day affairs of governance, whereas president oversees the military and foreign affairs. So these are the basic principles of Tunisian constitution. See, many people thought after the establishment of democracy, the crisis in the Tunisian country will subside. But that was not the case. Unemployment still remained high. The newly democratic elected governments were not able to stabilize the economy. They were not able to create jobs. So this again prompted a lot of demonstration and protest. This led to a lot of change in governments. So far, nine governments have been elected since 2011. So after the Jasmine Revolution, this country has faced nine governments. This clearly highlights the problem and instability in the government. The last legislative and presidential election happened in 2019. Kayas Sayed was elected as the president in 2019. But Ikka Michichi was appointed as prime minister in 2020 only. The president was appointed in 2019, immediately after the election, whereas the prime minister was appointed only after a year. There was also another problem. In 2020, the entire world faced COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic further increased the existing economic crisis of this country. Already, this country was suffering. Pandemic made the situation even worse. And the people were not happy with the handling of the pandemic. See, Tunisia experienced one of the highest per capita death rates in the world due to COVID-19. This shows the gross mishandling of Tunisian government. People are again frustrated. They were again pissed. So far, only 7% of the population are fully vaccinated. All these reasons enraged the people of Tunisia. It led to mass demonstration last week. People demanded the resignation of prime minister and his cabinet. So this protests were going on last weeks. So people were expecting the prime minister to resign. But there was an unexpected turn of events. None of them expected these results. The president of Tunisia, that is, Kayas Syed, with the help of military, he suspended the parliament. And he also fired the prime minister. So this is the ongoing crisis in Tunisia. So we can see the president is again taking the control of the country. He has fired the prime minister. Many critics see this event as a coup. This is because after the firing of prime minister, the president took control of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government. So he has become the ultimate power. He's trying to reverse the actions of last 10 years. Tunisian people fear that the country is again under the control of a dictator. So this is the ongoing crisis in Tunisia. With further developments, we'll cover this news in the upcoming weeks. Now let us see the viewpoints of the author of the editorial. See, the author of the editorial agrees with the critics. He sees this event as a coup. He believes that the Tunisian is again establishing an authoritarian government under the rule of a dictatorship. So what is the way forward? See, the author of the editorial suggests that the president should act within his constitutional limits. He should also recall the parliament. He should also allow the formation of a legitimate government. These are the suggestions given by the author of the editorial. See, Tunisia is a country which managed to successfully transition from dictatorship to parliamentary democracy. But the recent events are reversing this transition. Only by following the suggestions given by the author of the editorial, Tunisia will remain as a democracy. Otherwise, it will be again under the control of a dictator. So these are the important points given in the editorial. With this, we have come to the end of the discussion. In this discussion, we saw both Tunisia's polity and geography. We also discussed about the ongoing crisis in the country. And we also discussed about the viewpoints of the author. Now let us move on to the next article. Now look at this news article. See, recently we have discussed about Ramappa Temple in Telangana. This temple became India's 39th UNESCO World Heritage Site. So it was recently in the news. And we discussed about this temple in detail in our 26th July Daily News Analysis. Now, in addition to this temple, Dholavira Arapan site has also been added to the World Heritage List. So Dholavira becomes India's 40th World Heritage Site. See, we all know Dholavira is an important Arapan city. It is located in Ranavkach, Gujarat. Now it has been inscribed in UNESCO's World Heritage List. In this context, let us discuss in detail about significance of Dholavira. The syllabus for reference is displayed on the screen. Interested aspirants can go through it. See, first, what is World Heritage Site? See, if a place or a property has a high cultural and natural significance, it is added to the World Heritage List. This list is given by UNESCO. Now currently, as on July 28th, India's 40 World Heritage Properties. We have 32 cultural properties. We have seven natural properties and one mixed property. This is the important point. India has only one mixed property. The mixed property is Kangzenzonga National Park. This national park is located in Sikkim. This national park has both cultural as well as natural significance. So it is added in the mixed category of World Heritage List. So these are the basic information regarding Heritage List in India. On the international arena, Italy, Spain, Germany, China and France have 40 or more World Heritage Sites. Currently, as on July 28th, Italy has the high number of World Heritage Sites in the world. It has the highest number of World Heritage Sites in the world. Currently, it has 57 properties. This is very important. In prelims, you can be given a statement like Spain has the highest number of World Heritage Sites in the world. Which of the above statements are correct? So these kind of information are very important. Italy has the highest number of World Heritage Sites in the world. The number is 57. China occupies the second place with 55 properties. India has 40 properties. So these are the basic information regarding World Heritage Sites. Now let us discuss about Dholavira. See, Dholavira is a very well preserved urban settlement. It was an important Arabian city of Indus Valley civilization. See, Dholavira was on the UNESCO's tentative list since 2014. And now finally in 2021, it was added to the list of World Heritage Sites. What is tentative list? See, the word tentative means possible. So this list is a list of possibilities. So if a country nominates a site as a World Heritage Sites to the UNESCO, it is first added to this tentative list. And UNESCO processed this list. And if the site is eligible, it is finally given the tag World Heritage Site. This is how the process work. So Dholavira was in this list since 2014. And finally in 2021, it is added to the list of World Heritage Site. It has become the 40th site in India. Now have a look at these images. These are the images taken from Dholavira site. See, we all know history of India begins with Indus Valley civilization. Indus Valley civilization is also known as Arapan civilization. We all know this. This civilization flourished around 2500 BC. This civilization was primarily found in western part of South Asia. What is the western part of South Asia? To be precise, they are Pakistan and western India. So Indus Valley civilization was prominently found in Pakistan and western India. See Arapan sites are important from prelims perspective. In past days, there have been a lot of questions asked from Arapan sites. Some important mature Arapan sites are given here for reference. You can look at this map. Have a basic understanding about these sites. Know the unique features of these sites. It will be highly beneficial in prelims. As you can see from the map, Dholavira is located in Gujarat. Another important site is Lothal. It is the fourth city of Indus Valley civilization. It is also located in Gujarat. Have a basic understanding of these Arapan sites. What are the unique features? Now let us see about Dholavira. See, so far we have discovered many Arapan sites. Of all these sites, Dholavira occupies a special position. Currently, it is the sixth largest of all Arapan sites. This city was occupied for over 1500 years. So we can say Dholavira has witnessed the entire trajectory of rise and fall of Indus Valley civilization. This city has served for a long time. This city also is an example of multifaceted achievements of Indus Valley civilization. What are these multifaceted achievements? You can use these points as value addition in your main sense. Dholavira was known for its urban planning. It was known for its construction techniques. It was also known for its water management, social governance. It was also known for its development and art. So these are the achievements of Dholavira. You can see that the city faced development in all spheres of life. From urban planning to construction to water management to art, the city saw all the important developments. So it occupies a prominent position in Indus Valley civilization. See, when we are talking about Dholavira property, it comprises of two parts. What are those two parts? It consists of a walled city and it consists of a symmetry. So these are the two prominent parts of Dholavira. See, inside the walled city, Dholavira had a fortified castle. It also had a fortified outer wall. In addition to all these, the walled city also contained fortified middle-town and a fortified lower-town. It also had a ceremonial ground. It also had a lot of reservoirs. So we can see the advanced construction techniques of Indus Valley civilization. See, this city is also an example of an outstanding example of a planned city. The entire city of Dholavira was planned and it was segregated into urban residential areas. The segregation may be based on different occupation or a stratified society. The segregation may be based on different occupation or social classification. So we can see the city is planned and it was segregated into various residential areas. It is an outstanding example of a planned city. See, Dholavira was also known for its technological advancements in water-arnishing systems and water drainage systems. The design of these systems were very advanced for that period. They also used local materials for its construction. So this also shows the resource effectiveness of Arapan people. See, many of the Arapan cities were normally located near rivers because rivers were the primary source of survival for Indus Valley civilization. So many of these Arapan cities were located near the rivers. But Dholavira is an exception. It occupied a unique strategic position. See, the location of Dholavira is in the island of Kadir. This island is located in the present-day Gujarat. Because of this unique strategic position, Dholavira was able to harness different mineral and raw material sources. For example, Dholavira had access to copper, shell, lead, limestone. So this unique position gave Dholavira this advantage. It was located in the island of Kadir. Kadir is located in Gujarat. See, this location also facilitated internal as well as external trade. We all know that Indus Valley civilization had external trade. And Dholavira played a prominent role in this external trade. It was due to this unique strategic position. See, Dholavira is an exceptional example of proto-historic Bronze Age urban settlement. Let me repeat, proto-historic Bronze Age urban settlement. This is a keyword. What is proto-history? See, we have prehistory and we have recorded history. Prehistory is a period where we don't have recorded history and we have recorded history. So proto-history is a period between prehistory and recorded history. It's a transition period. And Dholavira is an exceptional example of proto-historic Bronze Age urban settlement. This city flourished for nearly 1,500 years. So it represents a long continuous habitation. So these are the important points regarding Dholavira. With this, we have come to the end of the discussion. In this discussion, we saw about UNESCO World Heritage List. We saw about Dholavira. Why Dholavira is significant. See, from Prilam's perspective, World Heritage List is very important. So we request our viewers to go through the list of 40 UNESCO World Heritage sites in India. Try to understand about them in brief. It will be highly beneficial in prilams. Now let us move on to the next topic. Now let us take up this news article for our discussion. What is this news article? See, recently IMF, International Monetary Fund, has cut the economic growth forecast for emerging Asian countries. Emerging Asian countries also include India. So IMF has cut the economic growth forecast of India also. Why was this decision taken? Why IMF decided to cut the economic growth forecast? This is because recently there was a huge spike in coronavirus cases in many Asian countries. We also had a lot of new variants of coronavirus. Many Asian countries are also facing vaccine shortages. So vaccination rate in these countries are very low. So because of these reasons, IMF believes that these countries will recover very slow. And this is the reason why IMF has decided to cut the economic growth forecast. This is the gist of this article. See, this news is not very important. But this news mentions about IMF, International Monetary Fund. IMF is very important from prilams' perspective. So in this context, we are going to have a comprehensive discussion on the important details related to IMF, International Monetary Fund. The syllabus covered by this economy article is highlighted below. Interested aspirants can go through it. First, let us discuss about the origin of IMF. See, International Monetary Fund added its origin in 1944. In 1944, there was a conference called Bretton Woods Conference. This is the keyword. This conference took place in United States. So from Bretton Woods Conference, IMF originated. It came into operation on 27th December, 1945. See, in the 1930s, United States of America was facing great depression. Because of this great depression, entire world was affected. So IMF was established in the aftermath of the Great Depression. During its founding, it had 44 member countries. At present, it has over 190 countries. It has become a huge organization. So these are the important points regarding the origin of International Monetary Fund. Now let us discuss about the primary mission of IMF. What is the primary mission of IMF? See, IMF ensures the stability of the International Monetary System. Now we have a question. What is the International Monetary System? See, International Monetary System refers to the system of exchange rates and international payments. This system enables country and their citizens to transact with each other. So International Monetary System plays a huge role in international trade. It is the foundation of international trade. And the primary mission of IMF is to ensure the stability of this international monetary system. See, apart from this, IMF also aims to accomplish a number of different goals. What are these different goals? Reducing global poverty. Encouraging international trade. Promote financial stability. Promote economic growth. So these are the other aims of IMF. Reducing global poverty. Encouraging international trade. Promote financial stability. And promote economic growth. See, these kind of aims and mission are important from Prelims perspective. UPSC will give the aims and missions in the statements. For example, UPSC will give a statement like, reducing global poverty is one of the aims of International Monetary Fund. Which of the above statements are correct? So there are chances of these kind of questions. So IMF aims and missions are very important from Prelims perspective. So far we saw both missions and aims of IMF. Now let us discuss about the functions of IMF. See, functions of IMF are in three main areas. Let us see them one by one. What is the first main area? See, the first function of IMF is to oversee the economies of member countries. To put it in simple words, it monitors the economies of member countries. See, as we saw earlier, the primary aim of IMF or the primary mission of IMF is to promote stability in the global monetary system. So in order to promote stability in the global monetary system, IMF has to monitor the economies of its 190 member countries. Only by monitoring the economies of its member country, IMF can ensure the stability in the global monetary system. So this is the first important function of IMF. This activity is also known as economic surveillance. It happens at both national as well as global level. See, when you're writing your main sensor, use attractive words like economic surveillance. It will differentiate your answer. Instead of writing monitoring economy, you can write economic surveillance. You can use underlying such keywords. It will differentiate your answer. It will boost your score. Now let us move on to the second function. What is the second function of IMF? See, IMF lends to countries with balance of payment issue. What is balance of payment? See, balance of payment of a country is the difference between all money flowing into the country in a particular period of time and the outflow of money to the rest of the world. To put it in simple words, it is a difference between the incoming money flow and the outgoing money flow of a country. So some country will have balance of payment issues. Its outlawing flow of money will be very greater than the incoming flow of money. So these kind of countries will face balance of payment issue. In such situation, IMF tries to lend money to such countries. It tries to solve the balance of payment issues. It replenishes international reserves, IMF stabilizes currencies, and it also strengthens the conditions for economic growth. So IMF, by solving this balance of payment issue, replenishes international reserves, stabilizes currencies, and strengthens conditions for economic growth. This is the second important function of IMF, lending to countries with balance of payments issue. Now let us move on to the third function. What is the third function? IMF helps the member countries to modernize their economies. See, IMF provides assistance. It provides policy advice. It also provides training through its various programs. In addition to this, it also provides technical assistance in the areas of fiscal policy, monetary and exchange rate policies, banking and financial system supervision, regulation and statistics. So IMF provides these kind of facilities to the member countries, and through these facilities, it helps the member countries to modernize their economies. So this is the third important function of IMF. It helps the member countries to modernize their economies. See, so far we saw about the primary mission of IMF, the aims of IMF, and the important functions of IMF. Now let us discuss about India and IMF. See, India is one among the 44 founding members of IMF. This is very important point. India is a founding member of IMF. See, when we are talking about IMF, it has a body called Board of Governors. This is the highest decision-making body of IMF. All the important powers of IMF are vested in this Board of Governors. They meet once a year. See, this Board of Governors consists of one governor and one alternate governor for each member country. For example, let us take India. India will have one governor and one alternate governor in the Board of Governors. The governor is appointed by the member country and it is usually the Ministry of Finance or the governor of the Central Bank. When we take India, in the case of India, our Union Finance Minister is the ex-officer governor on the IMF Board of Governors. This is very important. Then who is the alternate governor? The alternate governor for India is the governor of the RV. Let me repeat, in Board of Governors of IMF, each member country will have one governor and one alternate governor. In case of India, the governor is the Union Finance Minister. He is the ex-officer governor on IMF Board of Governors. And in case of India, the alternate governor is governor of the RV. So these are the important points regarding the Board of Governors. Another important point is India is the founding member of IMF. See, if you go through the past question papers, that is past problems question papers, reports have been consistently asked. So with this knowledge in mind, let us see the reports published by IMF. See, IMF publishes many international and regional reports. Of all the reports, the most important ones are World Economic Outlook, WEO. This is the first important report published by IMF. The next important report is Global Financial Stability Report, GFSA. This is the second important report published by IMF. And the third most important report is Fiscal Monitor, FM. This is the third important report published by IMF. World Economic Outlook, Global Financial Stability Report and Fiscal Monitor. These are the three important reports published by IMF. I hope this information helps you in the upcoming problems. So with this, we have come to the end of this news article. In this discussion, we saw about the origin, function, composition and reports of IMF. We also discussed about India and IMF at brief. With these ideas in mind, let us move on to the next part of our discussion. Now look at this news article. See, we all know that US-led NATO troops are withdrawing from Afghanistan. We have been reading about these news for the past several months. We have analyzed about these news in great detail. So we are not going to discuss about the current news. Instead, we are going to discuss about NATO. See, NATO is an important topic from a prelims perspective. For the past few months, the word NATO has been constantly mentioned in news. So it has a high chance of being asked. So in this context, let us discuss in brief about North Atlantic Treaty Organization, that is NATO. See, NATO was created in 1949. It was created by United States, Canada and several Western European nations. It was created to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. So the main reason for NATO creation is Soviet Union. See, India is not a member of NATO. This is very important. NATO is a military alliance. Now let us discuss about the origin of NATO. Why was NATO formed? What were the series of events which led to the formation of NATO? This is a very interesting story. To understand the formation of NATO, we should go back to Second World War. See, after Second World War, many European nations struggled to rebuild their economies. These countries also struggled to provide security to its nation. These struggling European countries required massive aids and grant to re-establish industries and to produce food. See, after Second World War, US and Soviet Union became the prominent powers in the world. USA was following capitalism, Soviet Union was following communism. And after Second World War, Soviet Union started to incur into many countries. It wanted to spread its ideology of communism. So the struggling European countries feared the Soviet Union. They feared that any time Soviet Union may conquer their country, they were living in constant fear. See, many of the Western European countries followed capitalism. They didn't want communism to take hold of their country. So this was the situation prevailing in Europe after Second World War. See, as I already said, after Second World War, USA and Soviet Union became the two prominent global forces. So United States wanted to stop the spread of Soviet Union. It wanted to stop the spread of communism. It was thinking of various ways to curb the spread of communism and influence of Soviet Union. It found one such answer. See, United States believed that an economically strong, re-armed and integrated Europe will be vital to prevent the spread of communism. See, as I already said, after Second World War, many European countries were struggling. Their economies were weak, their security was also weak. So by making these countries economically strong and by providing security to these countries, United States believed that it can stop the spread of communism. So as a result, George Marshall proposed a plan. See, George Marshall was the Secretary of State of United States. He came up with a program. The name of this program is European Recovery Program, or it was also called as Marshall Plan. What was this plan? Providing large-scale economic aid to Europe. So this was the plan of George Marshall. So United States started giving large-scale economic aids to struggling European countries. This program facilitated European economic integration. Many struggling European countries recovered. Their economy became stronger. There was also increased cooperation between United States and Western European countries. See, it is important to note that Soviet Union refused to participate in Marshall Plan. It also did not allow Eastern European countries to accept assistance from United States of America. See, many of the Eastern European countries were more inclined to Soviet Union. They had communist ideology, but they were also struggling after Second World War. But Soviet Union refused or stopped these countries from accepting aids from Marshall Plan. So these were the situations prevailing after Second World War. We can see the tensions are rising. United States of America is coming closer and closer to Western European countries. And Soviet Union is also increasing its stronghold on Eastern European countries. So during this situation, an important event took place. What was that important event? It was a coup in Czechoslovakia. See, Czechoslovakia is a country in Europe. It experienced a coup in 1947. See, the spelling is C-O-U-P, but the pronunciation is coup, okay? What is a coup? Coup is a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government. So Czechoslovakia experienced a coup in 1947. But the problem is this was a Soviet-sponsored coup. As a result of this coup, a communist government came in power in Czechoslovakia. This event created a lot of concern among the Western European countries. They feared their physical and political security. After this event, United States of America has also had concern regarding Soviet Union incursions. It feared the spread of communism. So in order to counter this possible turn of events, Truman administration considered the possibility of forming a European American alliance. Truman was the president of United States of America during this period. So he was considered forming a European American alliance. The Western European countries were also willing to consider a collective security solution because of the Soviet Union aggressiveness. So in 1948, Great Britain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg signed the Brussels Treaty. What is Brussels Treaty? See, Brussels Treaty provided collective defense. Now we have a question. What is collective defense? See, collective defense means if any one of the member nations are attacked, then other nations are bound to help to defend it. For example, after Brussels Treaty, if France is attacked, then Great Britain, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg should help France. It was bounded by this treaty. This is called as collective defense. It is important to know that United States of America was not part of Brussels Treaty. Great Britain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg, only these countries were part of Brussels Treaty. See, later, this Brussels Treaty led to the formation of NATO. This Brussels Treaty was the genesis of North Atlantic Treaty. Finally, North Atlantic Treaty was signed in 1949. See, North Atlantic Treaty also has the same concept called collective defense. If any one of the member nations was attacked, then other countries were bound to help it. This concept of collective defense is the base of NATO. And it was signed in 1949. It was initially signed by United States of America, Canada, and several Western European countries. At present, it has 30 members. The members are displayed in the figure. Interested aspirants can go through it. See, NATO was formed because of Soviet Union. It was formed as a response to the Cold War. But the Cold War ended in 1991. It ended with the dissolution of Soviet Union. But even after the dissolution of Soviet Union, NATO has lasted. It has become an important military alliance in today's world. So these are the important points regarding NATO, North Atlantic Treaty. What are the key takeaways from this article discussion? India is not the member of NATO. NATO was formed because of Soviet Union. Also, Brussels Treaty led to the formation of North Atlantic Treaty. NATO is developed on the concept of collective defense. So these are the key takeaways from this article discussion. Now let us move on to the next discussion. Now look at this news article. According to this news article, Flipkart has approached the Supreme Court of India for challenging addition of Karnataka Court. See, to completely understand this issue, we should go back to 2019. In 2019, a group of MSMEs submitted a plea with the Competition Commission of India, CCCA. This plea was against Flipkart and Amazon. So a group of small companies, they went to Competition Commission of India and they submitted a plea against Flipkart and Amazon. To put it in simple words, they gave a complaint against Flipkart and Amazon. What was this complaint? See, according to the small companies, Flipkart and Amazon are giving preferential treatment and deep discounts to select group of vendors. So this was the complaint raised by the small group of MSMEs. So this was the complaint raised by the group of small industries. CCCA accepted that complaint and it decided to launch a probe into the mentioned allegation. CCCA started the investigation. So in order to stop this investigation, Flipkart and Amazon approached the Karnataka Court. But Karnataka Court dismissed these petitions. So now Flipkart and Amazon are unhappy with this decision. They are going to the Supreme Court of India. I hope the issue is clear. But this issue is not important. In this article, CCA is mentioned. That is, Competition Commission of India is mentioned. So let us learn about Competition Commission of India. See, Competition Commission of India is a statute reporting. It was established by the Competition Act 2002. And in order to achieve the objectives of this act, Competition Commission of India was created. See, Competition Act 2002 follows the philosophy of modern competition loss. This act prohibits anti-competitive agreements. It also prohibits abuse of dominant position by enterprises. This act also mandates regulating of mergers and acquisition of companies. This is because many mergers and acquisition of companies can cause adverse effect on competition within India. So this act regulates mergers and acquisition of companies. So in order to achieve these objectives, Competition Commission of India was created. See, Competition Commission of India's goal is to create and sustain fair competition in the economy. It wants to provide a level playing field to the producers. It wants the market to work for the welfare of the consumers. Fair competition in the economy, level playing field for the producers, welfare of the consumers. So these are the main goals of Competition Commission of India. So in order to achieve this, Competition Commission of India has set of objectives listed under section 18 of Competition Act. So the section 18 of Competition Act has listed the objective of this body. What are those objectives? Let us see them. First objective, aim to prevent practices having adverse effect on competition. Second objective, promoting and sustaining competition in markets. Third objective, protecting interest of consumers. Fourth objective, ensuring freedom of trade carried on by other participants in markets in India. So these are the four important objectives of CCI. As I already said, it is mentioned under section 18 of Competition Act. So far we saw about the objectives. Now let us see about the functions. See, the function of CCI is to prohibit anti-competitive agreements. It also prohibits abuse of dominance. What is the anti-competitive agreement? See, anti-competitive agreement is an agreement having appreciable adverse effect on competition. For example, if the agreement limits production and supply, it is a anti-competitive agreement. If it is an agreement to allocate market, if it is an agreement to fix price, if it is an agreement for conditional purchase or sale agreement, or if it is an agreement to exclusively supply or distribution arrangement. So these kinds of agreements are anti-competitive agreements. CCI tries to prohibit such anti-competitive agreements. Let me repeat, anti-competitive agreements are agreements with limits production and supply. It is an agreement to allocate markets. It is an agreement to fix price. It is an agreement regarding conditional purchase or a sale agreement. It is an agreement for exclusive supply or a distribution arrangement. So these kinds of agreements are anti-competitive agreements. See, CCI also regulates mergers and acquisitions through a process of inquiry and investigation. This body also gives opinion on competition issues. It also undertake competition advocacy. It also creates public awareness. It also imparts training on competition issues. So these are the some of the important functions of CCI. See, so far we saw about Competition Act 2002, objectives of CCI, functions of CCI. Now let us discuss about the composition of CCI. CCI consists of a chairperson. In addition to the chairperson, it also consists of a maximum of six members. So the composition is chairperson and maximum of six members. They are appointed by the central government. The chairperson and members hold office for five years. They are also eligible for reappointment. So these are the important points regarding CCI, Competition Commission of India. Now let us move on to the next topic. Practice prelims question. First question. See, this question was asked in prelims 2014. Recently, a series of uprisings of people referred to as Arab Spring originally started from. Option A, Egypt, option B, Lebanon, option C, Syria, option D, Tunisia. See, as we discussed in the article, the correct option is option D. Arab Spring began with the overthrow of the president of Tunisia, Ben Ali. So the correct answer is option D, Tunisia. Now let us move on to the second question. The popular uprising known as Jasmine Revolution happened in which country? Option A, Syria, option B, Yemen, option C, Tunisia, option D, Algeria. The correct answer is option C, Tunisia. Now let us move on to the third question. Which of the following statements is incorrect with reference to Competition Commission of India? They're asking the incorrect statement. Option A, it is a statutory body that prohibits anti-competitive agreements. Option B, its staff, person, and members are eligible for reappointment. Option C, it can initiate inquiry into the abuse of dominance only on receipt of a reference from the central government. Option D, both A and B. See, option A is the correct statement, so it is not the answer. Competition Commission of India is a statutory body that prohibits anti-competitive agreements. Since they're asking the incorrect statement, this is not the correct option. Now let us move on to the B option. Its staff, person, and members are eligible for reappointment. This statement is also correct, so this is not the correct answer. Option D, both A and B, we can eliminate that option also since they're asking the incorrect statements. Now let us see the option C. It can initiate inquiry into abuse of dominance only on receipt of a reference from the central government. Only. So this is an extreme statement. This statement is wrong. See, Competition Commission of India can initiate inquiry Suomoto. That is, it can initiate inquiry on its own, but the option gives only on the receipt of central government. So this statement is incorrect, hence option C is the correct answer. See, Competition Commission of India can start inquiry Suomoto. That is, it can initiate inquiry on its own on the basis of information and knowledge in its portion. It can also initiate inquiry on receipt of an information. It can also initiate inquiry on receipt of a reference from the central government or a state government or a statutory authority. So there are various ways to initiate inquiry, but option C says only the central government. So this statement is wrong. The correct answer is option C since they are asking the incorrect statement. Now let us move on to the next question. Consider the following Arapan civilization sites. One Surkha Janda, two Mohan Jandaro, three Dholavira, four Rakigari. Arrange the above sites in east to west. Option A, one, two, three, four. Option B, four, three, two, one. Option C, two, four, one, three. Option D, one, three, two, four. See, have a look at this map and go through the sites. From the observation of the map, it is clear that the correct answer is option B, four, three, two, one. First comes Rakigari, next comes Dholavira, next comes Mohan Jandaro and finally comes Surkha Jandaro. The correct answer is option B, four, three, two, one. Now let us move on to this next question. Which of the following statements are correct regarding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO? First statement, NATO was created after the First World War by the United States and Western European nations to provide collective security against the resurgent Germany. Second statement, the most recent member state to be added to NATO is Ukraine in March 2020. Select the correct answer using the code given below. Option A, one, only. Option B, two, only. Option C, both, one and two. Option D, neither one, not two. See, first statement is incorrect. See, NATO was formed in 1949 after Second World War. It was aimed to provide collective security against the Soviet Union, not Germany. So the first statement is incorrect. Now move on to the second statement. Second statement is also incorrect. Ukraine is not a member of NATO. It wants to join NATO, but so far, it has not been added as a member. The Republic of North Macedonia. It was the latest country to join the alliance of NATO. It joined NATO in 27th March 2020. So the correct answer is Option D, neither one, not two. With this, we have come to the end of the news analysis. If you like the video, click like, comment and subscribe. Thank you.