 A very good evening aspirants, welcome to the Hindu newspaper analysis brought to you by Shankar A.S. Academy. Today's date is 18th of September 2022. So displayed here are the list of news articles that we are going to discuss today. So without much delay let us get into the first news article discussion. Now have a look at this news article. This news article talks about how climate change is altering Indian monsoon. Now before getting into this news article discussion I want to share with you something. I hope you all have gone through the 2022 GS1 question paper while going through the question paper I kept wondering wait am I going through a GS paper or geography optional paper? This is because there were 7 questions from geography that is questions 4, 5, 6, 7, 15, 16 and 17 were from geography and to be very specific all the 7 questions focused on basic core geography which aspirants tend to ignore while preparing their GS paper. So this is just UPSC signalling the aspirants to go back to the basics. You don't believe me. Let us take 2 questions. One from 2021 paper and one from 2022 paper and we will compare the both. Look at this question from 2021 GS paper 1 which says despite India being one of the countries of Gondwana land its mining industry contributes much less to its gross domestic product GDP in percentage. Discuss. Now look at a similar question from the 2022 paper. Discuss the natural resource potential of Decon Trap. See the question from 2022 is more direct and just focus on core geography. So what we have understood from this development is we must not compromise on the basics. That is why I have chosen this article for discussion today. As I already said this news article is about India's summer monsoon. It specifically talks about the impacts of climate change on Indian monsoon. See another reason why I chose this article for discussion is because this article is relevant for your GS paper 1 and GS paper 3. I have highlighted here the syllabus regarding this discussion you can go through it. So now let's start our discussion. Firstly let us understand why we are giving so much importance to the Indian monsoon. See there are two reasons for it. First reason is that India is still an agricultural country. Although the contribution from agriculture to India's GDP has reduced significantly agriculture still provides employment to around 58 percentage of the population. Now second reason is that the majority of the agricultural land in India is un-nirrigated meaning the majority of agricultural land in India is rain fed. So if there is a failure in monsoon the total rural economy will be affected. This will result in food shortage in our country. So these are the two main reasons why monsoon has been given so much importance and now the monsoon has affected by climate change. If you remember this year's onset of monsoon was pretty weak. Rainfall in Kerala and Karnataka in June was below average. But in July and August rainfall picked up mainly in central India which historically received less rainfall. Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and some parts of Maharashtra received excessive rainfall. But West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand which normally received good monsoon rainfall received less rains. So this is a worrying fact. See we know that the Indian monsoon is famous for its unpredictability and every year the monsoon is unique. But due to climate change there is huge variability in rainfall within India. That is areas that traditionally receive good rains are receiving less rainfall now and areas that did not receive even normal rainfall traditionally are receiving excessive rainfall. In addition to this due to climate change there is an increase in the fluctuation in the monsoon. This is resulting in both long dry periods and short spells of heavy rains. So now having seen the impacts of climate change now let us see the reasons for fluctuation in monsoon this year. See here the first reason is intense Laanina condition. Here Laanina is the usual cooling of tropical eastern Pacific mainly along the coast of Peru. During Laanina years there is drought like condition in Peru. But India, Indonesia and Northern Australia they receive good rains. The second reason is negative Indian Ocean Dipole. Here Indian Ocean Dipole is defined by the difference in sea surface temperature between western and eastern Indian Ocean. And the negative Indian Ocean Dipole is said to have occurred when the eastern Indian Ocean is warmer than the western Indian Ocean. Okay? See during negative Indian Ocean Dipole since the eastern Indian Ocean is warmer the number of cycles that form in the Bay of Bengal is higher. This is the reason why there was back to back low pressure system forming in Bay of Bengal in the months of July and August. Okay? Now the last reason is the pre monsoon heating over the Himalayas. See due to climate change the glacier cover in the Himalayas has reduced. This reduces the Albedo effect. Due to this there was intense heat of the Himalayas during the summers. This resulted in the formation of intense low pressure over it. This intense low pressure pulled the moisture land and to wind towards India effectively. So these are the three main reasons why there were unpredictable fluctuations in the monsoon this year. Finally before concluding let us see the impacts of this climate change induced monsoon fluctuations. First major impact is see this fluctuation affects rice cultivation. See we already saw areas that traditionally received good rainfall received less rainfall this year right? In this areas that received significantly less rainfall include Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. See these areas are the major rice producing regions of our country accounting for one third production. Since they received less rainfall the quantity and the quality of rice production is affected. Due to less rain and high temperature the plant transpiration increases. This results in drying of leaves, reduction in leaf expansion rates and plant biomass. Here know that transpiration is the process by which plants release water vapour through their stomatal opening. The second major impact is the rise to pest attack and diseases. Finally we saw that during climate change we experienced short spells of heavy rainfall and long periods of no rainfall. This results in a long period of high humidity and high temperature. Due to this plant pest and diseases have increased this has also affected the quality of agricultural yield. In addition to this this has also increased the pesticide used by the farmers. So it is becoming a vicious cycle. So finally climate change has increased the resource constraints of the government. See since areas that do not traditionally receive rainfall, received heavy rain this year the government has to invest in infrastructure in these areas to keep them monsoon ready in the future. Here what the government is doing is diverting the fund allocated for developmental activities to combat climate change. This results in resource crunch for the government affecting the development of the city. So these are major impacts of this climate change induced monsoon fluctuations. So in this news article discussion we saw in detail about why monsoon is very important for India. Then we saw about the three main reasons for why there were unpredictable fluctuations in the monsoon this year. And finally we concluded by seeing the impacts of this climate change induced monsoon fluctuations. So these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now have a look at this news article. See this news article talks about induced pluripotent stem cells. Now suddenly this is in news because recent studies have revealed that the trials on induced pluripotent stem cells had given better results. So in this context we will learn about the stem cells, its types and specifically about induced pluripotent stem cells and its significance. Okay. So before that you have to know about what is a cell. See we all know that cells are the basic building blocks of all living things right and know that the human body is composed of trillions of cells. They provide structure for the body, take in nutrients from body and convert those nutrients into energy and they also carry out specialized functions. Now don't forget cells also contain the body's hereditary material and can make copies of them. So this is about cells. Now coming to stem cells. See stem cells are special human cells that are able to develop into many different cell types meaning they are capable of developing into cells that serve numerous functions in different parts of the body. Now if you cannot connect to what I am telling let me explain. See most cells in the body are differentiated cells that is each cell has a specified purpose and these cells can only serve that specific purpose in a particular organ. Take for example red blood cells. They are specifically designed to carry oxygen through the blood. But stem cells are undifferentiated and they act as the body's raw material. That is stem cells or the cells from which all other cells with specialized functions are generated. So here differentiated cells means a specific purpose is given to that cell and these cells can only serve that purpose in a particular organ. But undifferentiated cell that is a stem cell or the cells from which all other cells with specialized functions are generated. So this indirectly mean that stem cells have the ability to divide and make an indefinite number of copies of themselves. So remember when a stem cell divides it can either remain a stem cell or turn into a differentiated cell like a muscle cell or a red blood cell. Okay and also remember this under the right conditions in the body or a laboratory stem cells divide to form more cells called daughter cells. So you can see that in the image given here. Now talking about the types of stem cells. See there are two main types of stem cells. Let us see them one by one. Firstly the embryonic stem cells. See embryonic stem cells supply new cells for an embryo as it grows and develops into a baby. And these stem cells are said to be pluripotent, which means they can change into any cell in the body. Okay, so then comes the adult stem cells. See adult stem cells supply new cells as an organ grows and to replace cells that get damaged. Adult stem cells are said to be multipotent. Here multipotent means the cell have the capacity to self renew by dividing. And they have capacity to develop into multiple specialized cell type present in a specific tissue or organ. For example, blood stem cells can only replace the various types of cells in the blood and skin stem cells provide the different types of cells that make up our skin and hair. So this is about the types of stem cells. Now we shall see about induced pluripotent stem cells, which is mentioned in the news article today. See the induced pluripotent stem cell, which is also shortly known as IPS cells or the type of stem cells that scientists make in the laboratory. Here induced itself mean that they are made in the lab by taking normal human cells like skin or blood cells and reprogramming them to become stem cells. And remember just like embryonic stem cells they are also pluripotent so they can develop into any cell. So now what are the significance of induced pluripotent stem cells? We'll see them one by one. See IPS cells can be created from the tissue of the same patient who is going to receive the tissue or organ transplantation. So this helps in avoiding immune system rejection. Then they help in possible lack of ethical implications because those cells are harvested only from a willing adult without harming them. Also these patient specific cells can be used to study disease outside a living organism. Then it is also used to test drugs on a human model without endangering anyone. And hopefully it will act as a tissue replacement for diseased and damaged cells in a body. So these are some of the significance of induced pluripotent stem cells. Hope we have covered all the dimensions of stem cells. In this news article discussion first we saw what is a cell. Cells are the basic building blocks of all living things. We saw that. Then we saw about stem cells. Then we saw about two different types of stem cells which are embryonic stem cell and the adult stem cells. And finally we saw about another type of stem cells called induced pluripotent stem cells. And we ended our discussion by seeing some of the significance of induced pluripotent stem cells. So these learnt points. Now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at these beautiful images. These are the images of the lost rivers of Bengaluru. These rivers are back to full glory after the recent Bengaluru rains. Here images of river Kanwa, Arkavadi and Vishapavadi are given. So in this discussion let us see few facts about these rivers in prelims perspective. First let us take up Arkavadi. See this river originates in the Nandi Hills of Chikkaballapur district. It is one of the left bank tributaries of Kaveri. Historically this river has been used as a source of drinking water in Bengaluru and the surrounding regions. Water from this river fills up Heseragatta, Tipagontanahalli and Manchana Belli Reservoir. So these reservoirs they in turn supply water to Bengaluru. After the 1980 rapid urbanization of Bengaluru, the river lost its glory due to pollution and encroachment. So now moving on to the next river which is Vrishabavadi. See this river originates from a spring at a temple Kadu Maleshwara in Maleshwaram. It is a tributary of Arkavadi river. This river flows through Bengaluru. This river is considered sacred resulting in many temples being located in her banks. The popular one include Gali Anjaneya temple, Gavi Gangadreswara temple and Kadu Maleshwara temple. This river is also currently reigned due to pollution. Now moving on to the last river which is Kanwa. See the river originates in Magadi which is in Ramanagara district. This river is a tributary of the Sim Shah river. And remember Sim Shah river is a left bank tributary of Kaveri. The Kanwa reservoir is built across the Kanwa river to meet the irrigation needs of the surrounding area. So due to the Bengaluru rains all these three rivers have been rejuvenated and that is why they are in news today. So these learnt points. Now let us move on to the next part of the news article discussion which is the preliminary practice questions. Now look at this first question. With reference to stem cells frequently in the news which of the following statements is or are correct. Statement 1 stem cells can be derived from mammals only. Statement 2 stem cells can be used for screening new drugs. Statement 3 stem cells can be used for medicinal therapies. Select the correct answer using the course given below. Option A 1 and 2 only. Option B 2 and 3 only. Option C 3 only. And option D 1 2 and 3. See the correct answer for the question is option B 2 and 3 only. First statement is actually wrong because the stem cells can be derived from any living organism. It is not restricted only to mammals. That is why this statement is incorrect. Now second statement and third statement are correct. Stem cells can be used for screening new drugs. And stem cells can be used for medical therapies as well. Okay, so the correct answer for the question is option B 2 and 3 only. And the question displayed here is the quiz question for you today. Just go through the question. If you could not find the answer just once again rewatch the video and try to answer the question in the comment section. I'll post the quiz question in the poll as well. Okay. So the question displayed here is the main question for you today. Just go through the question, write an answer and post it in the comment section. So with this we came to the end of the news article discussion. If you like the video, hit like, do comment and don't forget to subscribe to Shankarae's Academy YouTube channel. Thank you.