 A very good evening aspirants, welcome to the Hindu newspaper analysis brought to you by Shankar Iyer's academy. Today's date is 20th of September 2023, 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. Take a look at this news article. This article here talks about the artwork in the new parliament building. It says that the new parliament is high on the symbolism of gender justice. For example the bill that is to be tabled in the parliament is the women's reservation bill. Then there is Jan Janani Janmabhoomi is a 80 by 9 feet mural on the entrance hall of the parliament. See this piece of art is assembled by 75 women artisans from across the country. In addition to this certain themes in the Shilpa Dirga which is crafts gallery also celebrate womanhood and their everyday contributions to society. This is about the news article given here. In this context let us see the measures taken by government and the judiciary to ensure gender justice. Firstly let us take the steps taken by the judiciary to ensure gender justice. See the first one here is the handbook on combating gender stereotypes. See the CJI recently launched this handbook. The goal of the handbook is to encourage use of language that reflect a more respectful understanding of gender. It also promotes equal rights for all individuals regardless of their gender. Ultimately it aims to promote a gender sensitive language and tries to eliminate gender stereotype. The second one is preventing sexual harassment. The Supreme Court issued guidelines in the Vishaka case to prevent and address sexual harassment of women in the workplace. These guidelines laid the foundation for the sexual harassment of women at workplace prevention prohibition and retrosal act 2013. Then in the Sahira Bono case the Supreme Court declared the practice of triple talak which is instant divorce among Muslim communities as unconstitutional. This decision aimed to protect the rights and dignity of Muslim women. Then in the Shah Bono case the court ruled in favor of Shah Bono. It held that she was entitled to maintenance under section 125 of the CRPC irrespective of her religion. The judgment emphasized the need to ensure that Muslim women like women of other religion have access to financial support after divorce. In Joseph Schein versus Union of India the Supreme Court struck down the offense of adultery under section 497 of the Indian Penal Court. The court said that the law on adultery helps in propagating the patriarchal mindset. So the court decriminalized it. In the state of Jack and Vices, Sailendra Kumar Rai case, the Supreme Court placed a ban on the two-finger test. The court said that the test was did not help in the determination of rape and that it violated the dignity of rape survivors. Finally in the state of Punjab Vices, Gurumith Singh case, the court observed that the testimony of a survivor or victim of sexual violence is credible and should be taken seriously. The court said that the allegations should be dismissed simply because of the assumptions that women often falsely accuse men. These are some of the steps taken by Supreme Court to ensure gender justice. Now let's quickly go through the steps taken by the government to ensure gender justice. Firstly let us look at the constitutional safeguards. The Indian constitution has various provisions to ensure gender equality. These include the right to equality article 14, the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sex article 15 and special provision for women and children article 15 clause 3 and article 42. Then the government also for its part has enacted various legislations to ensure gender justice. Some of the legislations include prevention of women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, the sexual harassment of women at workplace prevention prohibition and redressal act 2013 and Audi prohibition act 1961. Then to ensure women participation in grass root democracy, the government has implemented reservation for women in local government bodies that is panchayats and municipalities through the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments. Government is also planning to introduce the women reservation bill to increase women representation in parliament and state legislature. Then to increase literacy among women, government has launched schemes like server Sikh Shah Abiyan and Betty Bachao, Betty Padau, save the girl child, educate the girl child campaign. To increase women participation in the workforce, the government has taken steps to ensure safe working conditions to make sure women do not drop out of the workforce post-pregnancy. The government enacted the maternity benefits amendment act 2017. Also through initiatives like Stand Up India, the government provides women with access to financial services, credit and bank accounts. This will help inculcate entrepreneurship spirit in women. These are also some of the steps taken by the government to ensure gender justice and gender equality. So these are all some of the points that you have to remember when a question is asked about gender justice and the steps taken by the government of judiciary. So with these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this front page article. This news article talks about the historic decision by the government to introduce the women's reservation bill in parliament. See this particular bill aims to reserve one third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. This bill also aims to ensure gender equality as a representation of women at the policy making has been lacking since independence. So in this context, let us quickly go through the provisions of the bill in detail. Before that, the syllabus relevant to this news article is highlighted here for your reference. You can go through it. Firstly, let us begin with a brief about the women reservation bill. See the 128th constitutional amendment bill 2023 aims to reserve one third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies. Here a question arises, whether this will be implemented in the general elections happening in 2024 or not? The answer to this is no, it won't be implemented in 2024 elections because it would be implemented only after the delimitation exercise, which is scheduled to happen in 2026 is completed. However, the data used should be from the latest census taken after the passage of the bill. So the reservation in the Lok Sabha would be implemented only in the 2029 Lok Sabha election. So with this basic understanding, now let us proceed to see the provisions of the bill. Firstly, as we saw earlier by amending the article 330th of the constitution, this bill aims to reserve one third of the seats for women in the house of people that is Lok Sabha. Secondly, one third of the total number of seats reserved for scheduled cast or scheduled to tribe should be given to women. This article provides reservation of seats for the women belonging to scheduled cast or scheduled tribe community within the total pie of seats reserved for the respective communities. Thirdly, the bill also reserves one third of the seats in the legislative assembly of the National Capital Territory and City of Delhi. It was inserted by amending the article 239 AA of the constitution. Fourthly, by amending article 332 of the constitution, the bill aims to reserve one third of the seats to women in the state legislative assemblies. It also ensures the reservation of one third of the seats to the members of the scheduled cast or scheduled to tribes communities within the seats reserved for them. It was the same as we saw for the Lok Sabha. Fifthly, the law will be enforced for 15 years for any further extension in the reservation the authority lies with the parliament. Finally, to enable equity, the reserved seats will be rotated after every delimitation so that the benefits will be enjoyed by people living in all constituencies. So, these are all some of the provisions of the bill. Now, let us quickly see about the need for such a bill. Why a separate bill is needed to ensure participation of women in policymaking? See, the answer lies in the shocking fact that India ranks 148 out of 193 countries in the criteria of women's representation in parliament according to the report of Inter-Parliamentary Union IPO. This is despite the fact that the countries present number of women MP at an all-time high of over 14 percentage, but it is below the international average of 22 percentage. This is even more shocking when we see the data from various state assemblies. Several state assemblies have less than 10% women representation including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Thilangana and etc. This shows the lack of women participation in India even though they are almost 50% in the population. It can be due to many factors like patriarchy in the society. Here patriarchy means male dominated thoughts not allowing women to enter public life. See, we can see this patriarchy in the notorious Sarpanj Pathy system in local bodies where the women leaders is only a nominal leader where the real power relies with her husband. Secondly, social norms like men should go for hard works outside and women should be in the traditional roles like maintaining the family. This also hinders their participation. As politics is a 24 by 7 job, the lack of work-life balance is also ensuring their low participation. Thirdly, lack of inter-party democracy and underrepresentation in political parties. See, it is evident that men occupy the top positions like secretary, general secretary, treasurer in most of the parties in India. People in those positions ultimately get tickets to MP, MLA elections leaving women as party workers throughout their life. Fourthly, politics in India is often accused of money and muscle power which was evident in the physical violence during many elections. A recent trend of abusing the women leaders online is also a major cause of their less participation of women. Last but not least, an important factor is the lack of access to education. This is evident in local bodies as with the low literacy women cannot understand the increasing demand of e-governance which is also limiting their participation. Having seen this, now let us see some of the benefits of increasing participation of women in the policymaking. See, increasing women participation in policymaking will bridge the gap between the women voters who are nearly 50% to women legislators which is 14%. So, it ensures democratic principles with social justice. Secondly, it will also ensure women-centric policies and approaches to legislation. For example, in future if a comprehensive law against online abuse of women is coming, women legislatures can effectively contribute to it, covering all aspects of abuses. Thirdly, it will break the gender stereotypes in the society and many women role model legislators will be created for the society to emulate. So, in conclusion, I could remember the words of Victor Hugo that no power in the world cannot stop an idea whose time has come. So, these are all some of the important points that you have to remember about women reservation bill. We will see some of the very important provisions once it transforms into an act. So, these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this editorial article. The article highlights the need for the Cauvery Water Management Authority CWMA to develop a distressed sharing formula for water resources in the Cauvery River basin. The article also discusses the historical context of the issue which dates back to 1991. The recent submission by Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as well as the CWMA's testimony before the Supreme Court emphasizes the need to settle this conflict as soon as possible. The article says that this issue must be resolved in a fair and equitable manner in order to reduce distress during water shortage. This is the crux of the news article given here. In this context, we shall look into some of the important points mentioned in the news article. Before that, the syllabus relevant to the article is highlighted here for your reference. You can go through it. Firstly, let us start with the background of this issue. See, Cauvery River basin is divided among four states, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. The sharing of water from this basin has been a dispute for decades. The Cauvery Water dispute has its roots in the 19th century when agreements were made between the princely state of Mysore and the British Madras Presidency. These agreements were updated over the years. Now, let's see the formation of Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal. See section 6A of the Interstate River Water Dispute Act 1956 gives the centre the power to establish any authority for the implementation of the decision or directions of the tribunal. On this line, the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal was formed in 1990 to settle disagreements between four states regarding the sharing of Cauvery River water. The dispute revolves around the allocation of water for education, drinking water and other uses between the two states. And the tribunal deals with the issue of water sharing in different circumstances like normal and deficit water years in the Cauvery River basin. Now, let us quickly see the evolution of this issue. See, after 17 years of its creation, that is in 2007, the Cauvery Water dispute tribunal issued its final award. It is specified the amount of water that each state should receive during different periods of the year, but Karnataka didn't follow this decision of the tribunal. So, Tamil Nadu government had approached the Supreme Court with a special leave petition under article 136. This article 136 makes the Supreme Court the highest appellate court. The Supreme Court delivered its judgment in 2018. As per the judgment, the central government constituted Cauvery Water Management Authority, CWMA and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee, CWRC. These two bodies hold meetings regularly and make decisions for water allocation. First, let us see about Cauvery Water Management Authority, CWMA. See, the authority will comprise a chairman, a secretary and eight members. Out of the eight members, two will be full-time, while two will be part-time members from center's side. Rest four will be part-time members from states. Now, what are the functions of this authority? See, the main function of CWMA is to implement the Supreme Court's order in relation to shortage, apportionment, regulation and control of Cauvery Waters. CWMA will also advise the states to take suitable measures to improve water use efficiency. It will do so by promoting use of micro-education, change in cropping patterns, improved form practices and development of command areas. The CMA will also prepare an annual report covering its activities during the preceding year. The second one is Cauvery Water Regulation Committee, CWRC. See, it was established to implement and monitor the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunals award. It monitors the release of water from Karnataka's reservoir and ensures that the allocated amount of water are delivered to Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pudusheri as per the established formula. So, what is the ongoing dispute with sharing of Cauvery Water? See, last month, Cauvery Water Management Authority, CWMA held a meeting. During the meeting, the CWMA asked Karnataka to release 10,000 cubic feet per second two-sex of water for Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu was unhappy because Karnataka didn't agree to release the same quantity of water that was decided in the CWMA meeting. Karnataka argued that low rainfall in the Cauvery catchment area resulted in poor inflowing into its reservoirs. So, what is the impact of this dispute? See, the first impact is agricultural distress. Farmers in the Cauvery basin heavily depend on the Cauvery water for eradicating their crops, particularly during the critical sowing and growing stages. They will face economic losses and crop failure. Secondly, water scarcity. See, water scarcity is a significant outcome of the dispute because it impacts various aspects of daily life and the environment. It leads to drinking water challenges in herbal centers. Water scarcity can even lead to inadequate sanitation and hygiene practices, increasing the risk of water bond diseases. Thirdly, there will be political tensions. The Cauvery water dispute has significant political implications and has often been a source of tension between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The dispute has led to protests, rallies and even violent incidents which disrupt normal life and can lead to law and order problems. Lastly, we must not ignore the ecological impact. Insufficient water flow in the river affects aquatic ecosystem, biodiversity and the overall health of the river. So, what can be the solution for this issue? See, to manage the dispute and ensure water availability during periods of disagreement, the Supreme Court has issued interim orders. These orders have played a crucial role in preventing immediate water crisis and maintaining some level of stability in water sharing. The interim order have aimed to ensure a fair and equitable distribution of water between the states until a final resolution could be reached. Both states must follow their interim orders given by the Supreme Court. So, we have to wait and see what will be the decision of the Karnataka government in releasing Cauvery water. These are all some of the important points mentioned in the news article. So, with these learned points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this news article. The news is that Indian government is going to introduce a set of awards to recognize achievements in the field of science. The awards was named as Rajshriya Vigyan Purushkar. So, in this news article discussion, we shall see some of the basic information about these awards in detail. See, Rajshriya Vigyan Purushkar award was created by the central government for honoring the scientific achievements all over the country. This is created on the lines of civilian awards that is the Bhatma awards. Know that Rajshriya Vigyan Purushkar awards will be presented in four categories. First is Vigyan Ratna. It is awarded as Lifetime Achievement in Science. Second is Vigyan Sri. It is presented for distinguished contributions to a scientific field. Third is Vigyan Yuvashanti Swaroop Bharatnagar. It is given to encourage exponential young scientists. Fourth is Vigyan team. This is presented to acknowledge scientific teams of three or more members. See, these awards will be presented in 13 domains covering various scientific disciplines. These awards will be issued from next year that is 2024 onwards. In addition to this, the government aims to ensure adequate representation of women among the awardees. Nomination for the awards will be accepted annually between January 14 and February 28. The winners will be announced on May 11 that is on National Technology Day. The awards ceremony will be held on August 23 which is National Space Day. Know that National Space Day is to commemorate India's Chandrayaan 3 mission. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research CSIR will manage the awards for the first two years after which the National Research Foundation will take over. These Rashiya Vigyan Purushkar award aimed to rationalize and add value to scientific recognition in India. This announcement comes days after the government released the finalized list of Shanti Swaroop Bharatnagar awardees which was held back for a year. Note that the highest honor for young scientists is still the Shanti Swaroop Bharatnagar award. This award was created in 1958 and it is given by CSIR annually. It is named after Dr. Shanti Swaroop Bharatnagar who is the founder of CSIR and also the first director of CSIR. The creation of the award Rashiya Vigyan Purushkar is a significant step in acknowledging and encouraging scientific excellence in India. That's all regarding Rashiya Vigyan Purushkar. Just know these basic information so there might be a preliminary question in this regard. So these learnt points. Now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now take a look at this image. The image is about India's Aditya L1 mission which was launched on September 22, 2023. See the mission is heading towards its destination point that is Lagrangi Point L1. So in this context let us understand few facts about Aditya L1 mission and the Lagrangi point from the problem's perspective. So let's begin with the details about Aditya L1 mission. See Aditya L1 mission is the first Indian space based mission of ISRO to study the sun. It was launched using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV XL. Here the spacecraft is to be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrangi Point 1 L1 in the space. Actually L1 orbit is about 1.5 million kilometers away from the earth. Here let us ask a question. What is the advantage of placing in this orbit? See the answer is that the satellite placed in the L1 point has the major advantage of continuously observing the sun without any eclipses. It is therefore giving a great advantage of observing the solar activities in a real-time basis. Apart from this Aditya L1 carries seven payloads to observe the sun's atmosphere using electromagnetic and particle magnetic field detectors that is multi-wave length observation capacity. Here in this context we should be aware of the sun's atmosphere in brief which will be asked in the examination. Firstly, photosphere is the lower most layer or the inner most layer of the sun's atmosphere. It can observed directly and from here only most of the sun's energy is emitted. Secondly, the chromosphere is above the photosphere. See the chromosphere plays a major role in conducting heat from the interior of the sun to its outermost layer the corona. Thirdly, coming to the outermost layer of corona, here the temperature can get as high as 3.5 million degrees Fahrenheit. The corona which is the outer layer from the core is hotter than the photosphere. It reminds a biggest mystery till now. And moreover when the gases become cool they become the solar wind which is emitted into the space. Now talking about the objectives of Aditya Alvan's mission. See firstly, its aim is to study the upper atmosphere of sun and their dynamics. Secondly, to study the chromosphere and coronal heating of sun. Thirdly, to study the initiation of the coronal mass ejection CME. See CME is nothing but a large scale eruptions of charged particles from the solar atmosphere into the space. So studying about is very important as it can potentially damage satellites and disrupt communications. Fourthly, the factors which influences the space weather that is the origin and composition of solar winds. So these are all some of the important points that you have to remember about Aditya Alvan mission. So with these learned points now let us move on to the next part of the news article discussion which is the preliminary practice question discussion. Now take a look at this question. Who among the following bodies will select the recipients of Rashe Vigyan Pureshkar? See the correct answer for the question is option D. Principal Scientific Advisor Committee. So the correct answer here is option D. Now moving on look at this question about Aditya Alvan mission. Three statements are given. Statement one it is the world's first satellite to be launched at the Lagrangian point L1. See this statement is actually incorrect as L1 point already has solar and hypersonic observatory satellite SOHO which is an international collaboration project of NASA and ESA. So Aditya Alvan is not the first satellite to be launched at Lagrangian point L1. Look at the second statement. It has a multi-wave length observatory spectrum to study the atmosphere of the Sun. See this statement is actually correct. Now look at this third statement. It has onboard intelligence to detect the coronal mass ejection which can damage satellites. This statement is also correct. So the correct answer for the question is option V only two pairs. Only two pairs are correct here. So the questions displayed here are the main practice questions for you today. Just go through the question, try to write an answer and post it in the comment session. 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 Shankari AS Academy YouTube channel. Now thank you so much for listening.