 A very good evening aspirants. Today's date is 7th of March 2022. Before getting into the news article discussion, I have a very good announcement for you. See, just to integrate your preliminary and mains examination preparation, Shankarai's academy has launched a new app called Shankarai's Academy. See, this app is a very unique app. I'm telling you, this app is unique because the features of the app are like that. For example, if you want to watch the Hindu newspaper analysis, you can log into the app and you can watch the Hindu newspaper analysis from the app itself. So, after watching the Hindu newspaper analysis, if you want to evaluate yourself, you can once again revise your notes and you can take a test from the app itself. So, this is the reason why I said this app is very unique in its nature. And the important thing here is, you can easily download this app in the Google Play Store. You can download it from the Google Play Store and use it for your examination preparation. So, please don't forget to download the app, make use of it wisely. So, with this positive note, now let us move on to the news article discussion. Today, we have five different news articles. Firstly, we will be seeing about Quad. There was an virtual meet in the Quad and there was some discussion about the Russia-Ukraine conflict. We will be seeing about that in that first news article discussion. Secondly, we will be seeing about an important article regarding how the conflict between the Russia and Ukraine actually impacts the maritime sector. Then, we will be discussing about an important index and we will be seeing another two important articles regarding BSF. And finally, we will end our discussion by discussing about Operation Ganga. So, without wasting much time, now let us move on to the first news article discussion. Have a look at this editorial article. This editorial is written on the recent virtual Quad meeting that was held at a time when the Russia-Ukraine war is going on and predictably India and all the remaining nations of Quad have a different view and stand on the war. So, here the author discusses the basis of India's different stand. In this context, let us see the outcomes of the recent Quad meeting. Stands of the Quad nations on Russia-Ukraine war and the reason for India's different stand. And the syllabus relevant to this article, this I will write here for your reference. Just go through it. As you know, Quad stands for Quadrilateral Security Dialogue which is an informal dialogue mechanism among the four countries which includes India, USA, Japan and Australia. Now, the recent virtual meeting was called for and hosted by the USA. So, let us see the outcomes of the meeting. First, the countries reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. Actually, free and open Indo-Pacific is one of the important objective of Quad, right? Here, free and open Indo-Pacific means that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states in the Indo-Pacific is respected. Plus, countries are free from military, economic and political cohesion. Therefore, dedication to the Quad as a mechanism to promote regional stability and prosperity was also reformed in the meeting. Apart from this, next, they deliberated on the brewing issue of Russia-Ukraine war. As you know, since USA is part of Quad, it is obvious that there will be a discussion on the war also, right? Likewise, there was discussion regarding the war. Firstly, the Quad leaders discussed the ongoing conflict and the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and assessed its broader implications. Secondly, they also agreed for a new humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mechanism. This is expected to provide a channel for communication when Quad countries respond to the crisis in Ukraine. Additionally, the assistance and mechanism will enable the Quad to meet future humanitarian challenges in the Indo-Pacific also. See, not only this, while discussing the war, every country expressed their view and stand. Let us see them one by one. For example, PM of Japan noted that Russia is attempting to unilaterally change the status quo by force and is shaking the foundation of the international order. So, Japan condemned Russia and offered assistance for Ukraine. Japan is willing to provide 100 million dollars humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Remember, this is in addition to the loan of at least 100 million dollars. Additionally, Japan also expressed willingness to accept displaced persons from Ukraine. Note these points, very important. Then, in case of Australia, Australia already censured Russia. Australia announced to provide lethal military equipment to Ukraine to resist the Russian invasion. Along with this, it also sent non-lethal military equipment and three million US dollar contribution for supporting Ukraine. Plus, imposed sanctions on more than 350 Russian individuals including Russian President Putin. Similarly, USA is terming Russia's actions as challenging the international system, pressuring democracies into failure and dismantling their transatlantic alliance. USA is joining with its allies for channeling weaponry to Ukraine's armed forces. You can see that USA, Japan and Australia are on the same lines right? They all viewed the war as aggression by Russia and wanted to take actions on Russia. But on the other hand, India is the only coordination that has not publicly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Rather, India emphasized on the need to return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy in the Russia-Ukraine crisis. And already in the past week, India chose to abstain from every vote at the UN that criticized Russian attack on Ukraine. But this stand of India is not taken well by the Quad countries, especially USA. So, they called India's abstentions as being in Russia's camp. That is, India abstaining from voting would mean that it is indirectly supporting Russia. Therefore, USA already urged India to take a clear position on Russian actions. That is, either India should openly criticize Russia or support it. We neither did the vote. So, why India is not explicitly criticizing Russia? There are many reasons for this. We'll see them one by one. First thing is, because India has a long-standing friendship with Russia. Second, Russia is the main supplier of arms to the Indian military. So, if India joins USA in condemning Russia covertly, this might backfire on India's military alliance with Russia. So, that is this concern. Third reason is, India is observing neutrality by not supporting Russia and joining USA. See, this is in line with the 21st century variant of non-alignment movement or NAMM. As you know, non-alignment movement was formed by the developing countries when the cold war started between USA and Russia. USA and Russia started to organize their allies into rival military alliances. But the developing countries did not join the two world power alliances and stayed neutral. Similarly, if you remember, India was one of the finding members of this alliance. So, experts say that now when again Russia and USA are on opposite sides, India is choosing neutrality. But still, India is in a critical position between Russia and USA as both are our strategic partners. So, should India pick a side and keep aside its NAMM principles? Should India do that? See, according to the author, picking a side will not be viable for India and for any other NAMM country for that matter. Why? Because today in the technological era, we are at an interdependent global arena. So, everyone needs support from one another and from superpowers also. And picking a side will not actually help. This is what the author tries to convey here. Hence, authors suggest that India and USA should continue to work together for the greater good of the rule-based international order. At the same time, using its diplomatic channels, India should convene Russia to stop the war. But things may also change if Russia starts committing war crimes and human rights violation. Because India upholds human rights principles and democracy, so outrightly violating it may lead to change in India's reaction to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. We have to make note of this also. So, let's cross the finger and wait and see how matters turn out. So, these are all the points that you have to make note of from this article. Very, very important news article. Make note of all these points. With these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this news article. This news article talks about the Russia-Ukraine crisis. It specifically focuses on the effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on maritime trade. So, in this segment, we'll discuss the impact of the conflict on maritime trade in Ukraine, impact of the conflict on global maritime trade and the role played by Turkey in this conflict. Before getting into the discussion, I have highlighted the syllabus relevant to this article. Just go through it. As you know, Russia launched the ongoing military operation against Ukraine on 24th February 2022. In response to this, the western economies, they imposed sanctions against Russia. This was done to cripple Russia economically. One of the industries that was affected due to these sanctions was the shipping industry. See, the western sanctions against Russia have affected the global supply chain. This has resulted in delays in shipping and increase in shipping cost. Now, what are the impacts on the maritime trade in Ukraine so far? Now, look at this map. The blue anchorage sign represents all the sea ports of Ukraine. Once the war started, all the sea ports of Ukraine were shut down. The loading and discharging of cargo stopped. Before the war started, around 140 merchant ships were stationed in the Ukraine ports. These ships continued to stay in the port for the past 11 days. None of the ports or the ships birthed in these ports has been attacked so far. Here, birth means a specific location at a port where a shipping vessel may be stationed, usually for the purpose of loading and unloading. Only two ships were attacked while in anchorage. Here, anchorage means a place in the ocean where ships can lower their anchors and stay a while. You can look at these two images to know the difference between birthing and anchorage. The first one shows ships in anchorage and the second one shows ships in birth. Two ships were attacked while in anchorage, leading traders to avoid Black Sea routes for their ships. See, so far, the Russian forces focused on the army on the air force. The use of navy by the Russian forces has been negligible. Recently, we have heard through various news articles that Russia is targeting various strategic locations like ports and nuclear facilities, right? But actually such attacks are exceptions. On the ground level, the strategic assets have not seen much fighting or attacks. See, there was a stray attack on the Ukrainian port city of Moripol by the Russian forces. Here also, Russia did not use the navy but instead the land forces. The Ukrainian resistance in the city of Moripol has also been very effective. So in essence, the ports and the ships in the ports are currently safe. Even then, the ongoing war will have an effect on the insurance premiums. Insurance premiums will go up for ships serving Black Sea ports. This will result in increased shipping cost. So far, we saw about the impact on maritime trade in Ukraine. Now, let us see the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict globally. See, we know that Russia is a major supply of oil and gas through pipelines as well as ships, right? The Western sanctions have created fears of the possibility of supply disruption from Russia. So, just last week, the crude oil price went up by 20 percentage. See, the major portion of the operation cost of ships is its fuel cost. As the crude oil prices go up, the price of the shipping fuel, which is called the bunker fuel or fuel oil, will also increase. This increase in the price of bunker fuel will have a cascading effect. This will directly result in a rise of freight cost and shipping cost. See, the news article says the increase in shipping cost will only be a temporary phenomenon. The short-term price rise is largely due to the oligopolistic control some firms have over container shipping. See, oligopoly is a condition where the market is dominated by a small number of large sellers. In case of container shipping, 10 largest liner shipping companies account for 82 percentage of the global trade. So, although there will be an immediate rise in shipping cost due to rising fuel prices, eventually the price will level out. Next, we'll see the impact of the conflict on bulk shipping. Now, what is bulk shipping and how is it different from container shipping? See, the simple difference between both is that container ships carry goods in containers, while bulk ships don't. Bulk ships carriers carry a lot of bulk quantity goods like oil, granaries, paddy, wheat etc. While on the other hand, container ships carry goods like cars, electronic products, huge machinery etc. You can look at these images to get a better understanding about the difference. Here, the first one is a container ship and the next one is a bulk carrier. See, Russia and Ukraine are major traders in grain, minerals and oil. So, the bulk shipping industry will be affected due to the ongoing conflict. Already, the conflict has increased insurance premiums, with supply side shock due to disruption in supply of grains, minerals and oil, the bulk shipping industry will be negatively impacted due to the conflict. In case the Russia-Ukraine conflict further escalates, Baltics, the North Sea and the Mediterranean shipping traffic will also be affected due to rising insurance premiums. So, these are impacts of the conflict globally. So far, we saw about the impacts on the maritime trade in Ukraine and then we saw about the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict globally. Now, we shall see the role of Turkey. Now, look at these maps. See, for ships from the Mediterranean to enter into Black Sea, it must go through the Aegean Sea, Dardanelles Strait, Sea of Marmara and then through Bosphorus Strait. Here, Dardanelles Strait connects Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara. The Bosphorus Strait connects the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea. You can see that in the map here, right? See, Turkey has total control over the Bosphorus Strait. So, it effectively controls the entry and exit of ships from the Black Sea. Also remember, Turkey is not a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea, that is UN clause. UN clause sees the oceans as commons. As you know, the signatories of UN clause have to allow even bar ships innocent passage through territorial waters of a nation. For more information regarding UN clause, you can refer to our 14th December 2021 discussion. See, since Turkey is not a signatory of UN clause, it can block the movement of Russian Navy vessels. Even though Turkey is not a signatory to UN clause, but it is a signatory to the Montrex Convention. See, the Montrex Convention was signed in 1936. The Convention is basically an agreement concerning the Dardanal Strait, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus Strait. The Convention allows Turkey to close the Strait to all warships in times of war and to permit only merchant ships free passage. The Convention also lays down clearly what is a warship and what is not. So, using this Convention, Turkey can block the entry of the Russian Navy into the Black Sea. But in case Turkey decides to overextend its advantage and block Russian merchant ships by a wider interpretation of the Montrex Convention 1936, the current situation might further deteriorate. This move will affect Russian sentiment and inflame the issue further. So, in this case, Turkey has a crucial role to play in the present conflict. So, now we came to the end of this segment. In this segment, we discussed the impact of Russia-Ukraine conflict on maritime trade in Ukraine, impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on global maritime trade, and the role played by Turkey in this conflict. With these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this news article. This news article is taken from the Text and Context page. See, this is with reference to Democracy Report 2022, which was released by Sweden-based varieties of democracy. Which is shortly known as Wiedem Institute. See, the report was titled Democracy Report 2022, Autocratization, Changing Nature. And the report states that, the level of democracy enjoyed by the average global citizen in 2021 is down to 1989 levels. It also states that, last 30 years of democratic advances are now eradicated. And the important point to note here is that, the report classifies India as an electoral autocracy rather than a democracy. It ranks India at 93rd position on the Liberal Democracy Index out of 179 countries. So, this is why this news article is very significant, and we have to make note of certain important points from the news article given here. So, this is the crux of the news article given here. In this context, we will discuss about the methodology, parameters and the findings of the report to have a brief understanding about what is happening. Before that, the syllabus relevant to this article is highlighted here for your reference. Just go through it. Firstly, we will discuss about the methodology of the report. See, Wiedem uses the combination of several separate expert judgments to produce estimates of crucial concepts. It actually gathers data from a pool of over 3,700 country experts who provide judgment on different concepts and cases. So, using this diverse opinions, the Wiedem's model algorithm starts the estimation. I hope you can understand the methodology here. Here, only the judgments from the experts or collector and fed into a model algorithm. So, this algorithm estimates both the degree to which an expert is reliable relative to other experts and the degree to which their perception differs from other experts. So, this is how the algorithm helps Wiedem to come up with the most accurate values for each parameter. Having seen the methodology, now we will see the parameter that are used to assess the status of a democracy. See, Wiedem's conceptual scheme takes into account not only the electoral dimension, but also the liberal principles. Here, by referring to electoral dimension, they are saying about the free and fair elections. And here, liberal principle means that a democracy must protect individual and minority rights against both the tyranny of the state and tyranny of the majority. Here, tyranny means the cruel or unfair use of power by a person or a country or a state. So here, the parameter includes electoral dimension and also the liberal principle. And remember that the Wiedem report classifies countries into four regime types based on their score in the Liberal Democratic Index or LDI. They include liberal democracy, electoral democracy, electoral autocracy and closed autocracy. See, this liberal democratic index, it actually captures both the liberal and electoral aspects of a democracy based on 71 indicators that make up the liberal component index and electoral democracy index. See, the liberal component index, that is LCI, actually measures aspects such as protection of individual liberties and legislative constraints on the executive like that. While the electoral democracy index, they consider indicators that guarantee free and fair elections, such as freedom of expression and freedom of association. So far, we saw about the methodology of the report and we also saw the parameters of the report which are used to assess the status of a democracy. Now, we'll discuss about the main findings of the report. Note that the Sweden top to the LDI index, other Scandinavian countries such as Denmark and Norway, along with Costa Rica and New Zealand make up the top five in liberal democracy rankings. The report underlines that autocratization is spreading rapidly with a record of 33 countries autocratizing. As you know, autocracy is a system of government by one person with absolute power. So, this is the first point to be noted. Then the report says that 2021 saw a record six coupes signaling a sharp break from an average of 1.2 coupes per year. So, usually there might be an average of 1.2 coupes per year but in 2021, we saw a record of six coupes and this resulted in four new autocracies. These include Chad, Gunia, Mali and Myanmar. Next thing to note is that while the number of liberal democracies stood at 42 in 2012, their number has shrunk to just 34 countries. This is the lowest level in over 25 years. Apart from this, the report finds that autocracies or dictatorships rise from 25 to 30 between 2020 and 2021. The world today has 89 democracies and 90 autocracies. It means that electoral autocracy reminds the most common regime type, accounting for 60 countries and 44 percentage of the world population or 3.4 billion people. So, as per the report, 3.4 billion people are subjected to electoral autocracy. And the electoral democracies were the second most common regime accounting for 55 countries and 16 percentage of the world population. Just imagine the difference between the two. It's a bit shocking, right? But this is the reality. So far, we saw about a global picture or what is said in the index globally or the global account of the index. Now, what does the report say about India? We'll see about that also. The points which I'm going to mention here, you can use them as value addition in your main censor writing. You can use it in ethics as well as essay paper. See, the report notes that India is part of a global trend of an anti-plural political party driving a country's autocratization. India was ranked 93rd in the LTI, making it figure in the bottom 50 percentage of countries. We saw that in the intro itself, right? So, India has slipped further down in the electoral democracy index 200 as well. Note that in South Asia, India is ranked below Sri Lanka, which is at 88th rank. Nepal, which is at 71st rank. And Bhutan, which is at 65th rank. And above Pakistan, 117th rank in the LTI. So, finally, the report finds that one of the biggest driver of autocratization is toxic polarization. Now, what is this toxic polarization? See, toxic polarization is defined as a phenomenon that erodes respect of counter-arguments and associated aspects of the deliberate component of democracy. So, this toxic polarization actually erodes respect for opposing viewpoints, which we also call it as dissent right. So, there will be no respect for dissent and associated aspects of deliberative component of democracy. So, as per the report, this toxic polarization is the biggest driver of autocratization. The report also points out that the toxic polarization contribute to electoral victories of anti-pluralist leaders and the improvement of their autocracy. Noting that, polarization and autocratization are mutually reinforcing. The report also identified misinformation as a key tool deployed by autocratizing governments to sharpen polarization and shape domestic and international opinion. We know that repression of civil society and censorization of media were other favored tools of autocratizing regime right. Along with this, the report finds that the freedom of expression declined in a record 35 countries in 2021 with only 10 showing improvement. Other indicators like repression of civil society organizations worsened in 44 countries over the past 10 years, which is at the very top of the indicators affected by autocratization. Also in 37 countries, direct government control over civil society organizations, existence moved in an authoritarian direction. This is the evidence of weakening of civil society around the world. So these are all some of the important points that you have to make note of from the news article given here. In this news article discussion, we saw about the methodology of VEDEM Institute, Democracy Report 2022. We then saw about the parameters that are used to access the status of democracy. Then we saw some of the main findings of the report. Then we saw about India specific findings in the report. So with these insights, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this news article. This article is with reference to border security force, which is shortly called as BSF. This article states that five border security force personnel were killed on Sunday when one of the Jawans allegedly opened fire at the forces camp in Amritsar. In this context, let us revise about border security force in problem's perspective. See border security force is one of the seven central armed police forces of the Union of India. It is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Note that the other central armed police forces include ASAM rifles, which is shortly known as AR, Indo-Tibetan border police, ITBP, Central Industrial Security Force, CISF, Central Reserve Police Force, CRPF, National Security Guards, NSG, and Shastra Seema Ball, SSB. See till 1965, India's border with Pakistan were manned by the state armed police battalion. On 9th April 1965, Pakistan attacked Sardar Post, Charbet and Beria Bet in Kutch. This exposed the inadequacy of the state armed police to cope with armed aggression. So, the government of India felt that there is a need for a specialized centrally controlled border security force, which would be armed and trying to man the international border with Pakistan. As a result of the recommendation of the committee of secretaries, the border security force came into existence on 1st December 1965. Border security force was raised to fight against militancy in Punjab, Chamon Kashmir, North East region, etc. and to God, international border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. Very very important point. They might ask a question in internal security regarding these security forces. So, in addition to this, border security force also performs anti-infiltration role in Kashmir Valley, counter insurgency in North East region, anti-naxal operation in Odisha and Chhattishgarh states and security of integrated check posts along Pakistan and Bangladesh international borders. See, India has a land border of about 15,200 kilometers with Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma and Bangladesh and a coastline of 7,500 kilometers, right? We know that. This also comprises large stretches of riverine and semi-riverine area. The border security force guards 6,957 kilometers of land borders and 844 kilometers of which is riverine in nature. Note that BSF is the only central armed police force to have its own air wing, marine wing and artillery regiments which support the general duty battalions in their operations. The force also maintains a tear smoke unit which is shortly known as TSU which is unique in India. The TSU is responsible for producing tear gas munitions required for the anti-roid forces. See, the BSF is headed by the Director General who is usually an officer from the Indian Police Service. Know this also. Now talking about the important functions of BSF, the important function of BSF is to promote a sense of security among the people living in the border area. It prevents trans-border crimes unauthorized entry into or exit from the territory of India. It also prevents smuggling and any other illegal activities. The BSF has also deployed women personnel at the border. They carry out regular frisking of women as well as other duties performed by their male counterparts including guarding the border. Over 100 women have been employed on the highly volatile India-Pakistan border while around 60 will be deployed on the Indo-Bangla border. In total, 595 women constables will be deployed on the border in different face. So that's all about the news article. In this news article discussion, we saw about border security force. We saw that it is one of the seven central armed police force of the union of India. We saw the other six central armed police forces. Then we saw in brief about border security force, how it came into existence and we saw some of the functions of the border security force. So with these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Have a look at this news article. This news article talks about Operation Ganga. See our Prime Minister was in Pune recently for the integration of the Golden Jubilee celebration of the Symbiosis University. While talking there, our Prime Minister mentioned that India was successful in evacuating its citizens from war-torn Ukraine due to the growing influence of India in the globe. This is the crux of the article given here. In this context, let us see about Operation Ganga in prelims perspective and let us also see some of other evacuation operations conducted by India in prelims perspective. See Operation Ganga has been in news a lot of times. So there might be a question in preliminary examination. So just pay attention to the discussion. As I already said, Operation Ganga is an evacuation mission. The mission aims to bring back Indian citizens who are stuck in Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict. The Indian evacuation flights are operating from neighboring countries like Romania and Hungary. Next is Operation Devi Shatti 2021. See the mission aimed to evacuate Indian citizens and foreign nationals from Afghanistan after the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul city to the Taliban forces. See during the COVID-19 pandemic there were two operations. One is Operation Vande Bharat and the other is Operation Samutra Sedhu. Vande Bharat is the biggest ever civilian evacuation exercise to bring back Indian citizens. This mission was carried out by erstwhile national air carrier Air India. Operation Sumutra Sedhu was a naval operation to bring back Indian citizens home during the pandemic. Indian naval ships Jalaswa and Ayurawat Shardul and Mahar participated in this operation. See around 4,000 Indian citizens standard in neighboring countries were successfully brought back to India. There was another mission called Operation Sumutra Sedhu 2 by the Navy. In this operation, naval ships were deployed for shipment of liquid medical oxygen filled cryogenic containers and associated medical equipments from various countries to India. So note the difference here. So far we saw about 5 missions. Operation Ganga is an evacuation mission to bring back Indian citizens who were stuck in Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict. Next is Operation Devi Sakthi 2021. It is a mission named to evacuate Indian citizens and foreign nationals from Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul city to the Taliban forces. Then during COVID-19 pandemic there were two operations Operation Vande Bharat and Operation Sumutra Sedhu. Operation Vande Bharat is a civilian evacuation exercise which is carried out by Air India and Operation Sumutra Sedhu was a naval operation. Around 4,000 Indian citizens were brought back to India during pandemic. There is another operation called Operation Sumutra Sedhu 2 which was also carried out by Navy. In this operation, naval ships were deployed for shipment of liquid medical oxygen filled cryogenic containers and associated medical equipments from various countries to India. So having seen that next is Operation Nistar 2018. See in 2018 there was a cyclone that engulfed Sokotra Island Indian naval ship INS Sunaina evacuated the Indians struck in Sokotra Island under Operation Nistar. Next is Operation Sankat Mohchen 2016. This was carried out by the Indian armed forces to evacuate Indian citizens and other foreign nationals from South Sudan during the South Sudanese Civil War. Next is Operation Rahat 2015. It was launched during the Yemeni crisis between the Yemeni government and the Haudi rebels. Next is Operation May 3, 2015. It was launched in the backdrop of the Nepal earthquake to bring back Indian citizens and foreign nationals. It is the joint relief and rescue operation by the Indian government and the Indian armed forces. Next is Operation Safe Homecoming 2011. It was launched to bring back Indian citizens struck in conflict on Libya. Indians were brought back through the joint operation of Indian Air Force and the Navy. Next is Operation Sukun 2006. It is famously known as the Beirut Sea Lift. Indians standard during the Israel-Lebanon military conflict were evacuated during this operation. Finally the famous 1990 Kuwait Air Lift. See during the Iranian invasion of Kuwait around 170,000 Indians were safely brought back to India from Kuwait. So these are some of the important evacuation missions carried out by India to bring back Indian nationals to our country. With this we came to the end of the news article discussion. In this news article discussion we saw about Operation Ganga. Along with it we also saw some of other important evacuation operation conducted by India. So with these learnt points now let us move on to the next part of the news article discussion which is nothing but the preliminary practice questions. Now look at this first question. This question is about Border Security Force. Consider the following statements about the Border Security Force. Statement 1 It comes under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence. Second statement it is the only central armed police force to have its own fully operational air wing. Which of the statements given above is or or correct? Option A 1 only Option B 2 only Option C both 1 and 2 and option D neither 1 nor 2. See the correct answer for the question is Option B 2 only. See we have seen that BSF is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs. So the first statement is incorrect here because it is given here that it comes under the Ministry of Defence. So here the first statement is incorrect. Now look at the second statement. Second statement is actually correct because BSF is the only central armed police force to have its own fully operational air wing. So the correct option here is Option B 2 only. Now moving on to the second question which of the following are operations conducted by Indian Army? First statement operation all out. Second one is Operation Vijay. Third one is Operation Trident. Fourth one is Operation Black Tornado. And fifth one is Operation Talwar. So which of the above statements is or or correct? See here if you know just about Operation Vijay which was operation by the Indian Army that led to the incorporation of Portuguese India that is Goa, Dio and Domin into India. You can arrive at the correct answer. Here only option with Operation Vijay is Option A. So the correct answer for the question is Option A 1 to 1 4. Now let us briefly see about other operations also. See operation all out was conducted by the Army in 2015 for flushing out militants from specially Kashmir region of Jamun Kashmir state of India. And Operation Black Tornado was conducted by the Army in 2008 against the Mumbai terror attacks. And talking about Operation Trident and Talwar they are naval operation by Indian Navy. Operation Trident is the offensive operation of Indian Navy over Pakistan when the Indian Navy attacked over the Karachi port of Pakistan in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war. Here Operation Talwar was planned during Kargil war in 1999. Indian Navy they prepared a blockade for the Pakistani boats near the Karachi port to stop the supply of oil and fuel. Indian Navy also threatened to cut the trade routes of the Pakistan and started patrolling in the Arabian Sea. So that's all you have to know about this question. Here the correct answer for the question is 1 to 1 4. The main questions are displayed here. Just go through it, write an answer and post it in the comment section. With us we came to the end of the news article discussion. If you like the video, like, comment and share and do subscribe to Shankarai's Academy YouTube channel. Thank you. you