 Good evening aspirants, welcome to the hindu news analysis by Shankar A's academy for the date 3rd of February 2023, displayed here are the list of news articles we will be going through today. Now let's get into the discussion. Take a look at this editorial. It talks about the trade relation between the countries of South Asia, East Asia and South East Asia. The article touches upon multiple issues like free trade agreements, regional comprehensive economic partnership. This is the context based on which the article is written. So in this discussion we will try to learn about India's act and look east policies and we will also see some of the points discussed in the editorial. Before that I have highlighted the syllabus regarding this discussion, you can go through it. Before starting our discussion you need to know the countries which are part of South Asia, South East Asia and East Asia. I have provided the maps here for your reference, pause the video and go through it. You can note that out of all these three regions, South Asia is the least developed economically while East Asia is well developed. With this information in mind, let us start with the look east policy of India. See the government of India through this strategic policy tried to cultivate extensive economic and strategic relations with the nations of South East Asia. The look east policy came into effect in the year 1991 when India was facing a balance of payment crisis. After the LPG reforms, India tried to make a more integrated trade relations with the other countries. The set policy, that is the look east policy, tried to increase India's standing as a regional power. Also, through the look east policy, India aimed to counter Chinese influence in this region. This is a brief about the look east policy of India. Now coming to the successor of look east policy, which is nothing but the act east policy. See the act east policy was launched in the year 2014 and it is considered to be a upgrade of the look east policy. This policy focused on four C's which are culture, commerce, connectivity and capacity building. Act east policy extended its area of action beyond the South East Asian region to the whole of Asia Pacific. The policy covered even East Asian countries like South Korea and Japan. The act east policy had an elaborate strategic goal than the look east policy. Through this policy, as it previously said, India had formed relations not just with South East Asia but also with the East Asian countries like Korea and Japan. Here note that Japan and South Korea had huge investments in the infrastructural projects of some of the South East Asian countries. Through this policy, new relations and strategic partnerships were forged by India with the countries of Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. This is to check the dominance of China in this region. Act east policy helped India to check the dominance of China in both South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. This is about the act east policy. Now let us see about the points discussed in the article. The article calls for a more integrated Asia in the economic domain. It wants the countries present in Asia to bring down their import duties. When import duties are reduced, there will be more trade between the countries. The increased trade will make the countries economically interdependent. The article provides some steps that can be taken to increase the trade relations between the Asian countries. Let us see them one by one. Firstly, the author wants the countries in Asia to reduce their trade barriers. He wants the custom duties and other duties to be cut down. Under the global financial crisis of 2008, there has been a constant increase in custom duties of Asian countries. The reversal of this increasing trend is the first step suggested by the author to promote trade integration across Asia. Secondly, he wants the South Asian countries to improve the performance of their special economic zones. He says special economic zones that is ACZs can help improve the exports of these countries. He also says that political and macroeconomic stability in a region can act as a catalyst to increase the performance of ACZ. And once the performance of ACZ is increased, the exports from these countries can be increased. This is the second point suggested by the author to ensure economic integration of South and Southeast Asia. Thirdly, free trade agreement can help in the economic integration of Asia. When a good number of bilateral free trade agreements are signed within the region, then the countries can move towards a much broader regional trade agreements like that of regional comprehensive economic partnership, that is RCEP. Already, Japan-India free trade agreement, Sri Lanka-Singapore free trade agreement and Pakistan-Indonesia free trade agreement are signed. With addition to this list in the future, a regional trade agreement can follow. Fourthly, BIMSTEC needs to fill the void created by SARC. He had noted that South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, that is SARC, has been inoperative due to the difference of opinion between India and China. The author wants the grouping of Bay of Bengal initiative for multi-sectoral technical and economic cooperation, that is BIMSTEC to act as a medium where the countries from South Asia and Southeast Asia can come together to foster cooperation in the region. Finally, the author wants the South and Southeast Asian countries to deepen their economic ties. This according to the author will eventually pave the way for trade integration between South Asia and East Asia. Finally, the author wants the larger economies to facilitate gains made from trade to the smaller economies. For example, when India is trading with a smaller country like Myanmar, India must take up the moral high ground and must be ready for some economic compromise. This will reduce the fears of the smaller countries. Only if all the countries in the regions are without fear that larger economies won't economically exploit them, regional integration would be possible. See these are the points suggested by the author to promote trade integration between the countries of Asia. With this we have come to the end of the discussion. Through this discussion we came to know about India's look and actist policies. Other than that, we saw the points suggested by the author in the editorial to promote trade integration among the countries of Asia. So that's all regarding this discussion. Now let us conclude this and take up the next news article. Take a look at this article. It talks about the difference in the reporting of trade of red sanders by India and the countries involved in the trade with India. See this is a serious issue because the difference in the reporting of trade of red sanders can be because of illegal trading. This particular difference has been found out and reported by the sites. This is about the article given here. In this context let us learn about sites and also about the most smuggled tree in India which is nothing but the red sanders or red sandalwood. Firstly let us see about sites. See sites is a convention on international trade related to trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora. It is expanded as convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Now coming to the formation of sites. In 1963 a resolution was adopted at a meeting of IECN. As a result of this resolution the sites agreement was drafted. And finally after several deliberations over the text of the convention the text was finally agreed and the sites agreement came into force in 1st July 1975. Any country or regional economic integration organization can be a party to this agreement. The European Union became the party to this agreement under the criteria of regional economic integration organization in 2015. India has been a party to this agreement since the year 1976. See there are three different appendices of sites. That list wild animals and plants according to varying degree of protection. Appendix 1 includes pieces threatened with extension. Trade in specimen of these species is permitted only in exceptional circumstances. Appendix 2 includes pieces that are not necessarily threatened with extension but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid any future challenges. Here note that red sandals is placed in this particular category. Now coming to the 3rd appendix. Appendix 3 contains species that are protected in at least one country which has asked the sites parties to assist in controlling the trade. This is all about the three different appendices present in sites. Now let us see how plants or animal species can be changed from one appendix to another. See change to appendix 3 follows a distinct procedure from changes to appendix 1 and appendix 2. Changes in appendix 1 and appendix 2 needs ratification from the parties to the sites. Will changes can be made unilaterally by a single country with respect to appendix 3. Now coming to the question whether one can export specimens which are protected by sites. See anyone planning to export specimens which are protected by sites should first contact the National Sites Management Authority of the respective country. The National Sites Management Authority can provide the necessary certificate for export of the protected species. This is how a protected species can be exported even when it comes under sites. So this is all you need to know about sites. Moving on let us see about the red sandals. See red sandals is a endemic tree species found in the forest of south eastern gods. It is predominant in the Sesha Chalam hills in Andhra Pradesh. Apart from this some contiguous patches in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka see some wild growth of this tree. And as I mentioned earlier red sandals are listed in appendix 2 of sites. Here also note that the IUCN red list has classified red sandals as endangered. Red sandals yield a hard fragment timber. In recent years their population has been declining at a very fast rate. The main reasons are illegal felling and restriction to a tiny geographical area. Red sandals are known for their rich therapeutic properties. It is in high demand across Asia particularly in China and Japan. It is also used in cosmetics, medicinal products, musical instruments and for making furniture. Its popularity can be gauged from the fact that one ton of red sandals can cost anywhere between 50 lakhs to 1 crore in the international market. The trade in red sandals has been restricted under the foreign trade policy of India. This ban coupled with the high demand made illegal trade of red sandals rampant in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. So the export policy of red sandals was revised in the year 2019 by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. Now export of red sandals is permitted if it is obtained from a cultivated land and not from the natural forest. This is all about red sandals. Now we have come to the end of the discussion. In this discussion we saw in detail about sides and red sandals. Now let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Now look at this article here. It says that the Supreme Court refused to set aside a provision in the election law that allows candidates to contest polls from two constituencies simultaneously. Yes, there is a provision like this in the election law. The most famous example happened in the 2019 election. In the 2019 election Mr. Rahul Gandhi contested from two constituencies. One is from Bayanadi Kerala and the other one is Amiti. So this provision is only contested in the Supreme Court. The petitioner wanted Supreme Court to declare this provision as invalid. But the court said that this is a matter of legislative policy and it is the parliament's will to see if the country can be granted such a choice or not. This is about the news article given here. So in this discussion today we will see what is the legal basis for such provision, issues associated with this provision and the advantages of this provision. Before that I have highlighted the syllabus regarding today's discussion. You can go through it. Let us begin with the legal basis. Can you think of any act about election? Yes, we have the representation of People's Act 1950 and 1951. The provision that enables a candidate to contest from two constituencies is in representation of People's Act 1951. To be specific it is the section 33 class 7 that enables the candidate to contest from two constituencies. This is the text exactly from the representation of People's Act 1951. Now observe carefully. The plain text of the representation of People's Act 1951 says that a person shall not be nominated as a candidate for general election to House of People from more than two parliamentary constituencies. What does this mean? This means that a person can contest from two constituencies. But he cannot contest from more than two constituencies. And using this provision only candidates are contesting from two constituencies. This is applicable to not just House of People that is in Lokshava. It is applicable in several other cases as well. Just follow the highlighted text here. A candidate can contest from two constituencies in the case of general election to the House of People, general election to the legislative assembly of a state, biennial election to the council of states that is the Rajeshava, biennial election to the House of People from two or more parliamentary constituencies which are held simultaneously, biennial election to the legislative assembly of a state from two or more assembly constituencies which are held simultaneously, and biennial election to the council of states for filling two or more seats allocated to states which are held simultaneously. And finally, by election to the legislative council of a state having such council from two or more council constituencies which are held simultaneously. Now, you know about general election. Next is the biennial election. The literal meaning of it is to conduct election every two years. And we know that one third of the members of the upper house of the parliament retire every two years. Likewise, one third of the members of the legislative council of the state also retire every two years. And in this case also, as we saw earlier, members can contest from two constituencies. Next is the bi-election. Now, what will happen in bi-election? Or when will bi-election happen? It happens when a seat becomes vacant in a legislative body. So, if two seats become vacant and the election to these two seats are happening simultaneously, then a single candidate can contest from both these seats. And this is what is given in the provisions of Representation of Peoples Act 1951. Now, let us see some famous example. In 1977, Indira Gandhi contested from Medhakan-Rai-Birelli constituencies. In 1999, Suniya Gandhi contested from Amiti and Baleri constituency. In 2009, Akiresh Yadav contested from Kanujan-Ferozabad. In 2014, our Prime Minister Mr. Modi contested from Varanasi and Vadodara. And finally, in 2019, as we saw earlier, Mr. Raul Gandhi contested from Vayanad and Amiti. Now, let us see the advantages of this provision. The first advantage is the choice that is there for the candidates. Candidates have the option of contesting from any two constituencies, Devis. Like we saw already, Raul Gandhi contested from Amiti and Vayanad. So, if they fear that they won't win in one constituency, they can choose another constituency also. This is the first advantage and this first advantage leads us to the second one. The second advantage is that it increases the probability of winning. Let us say the candidate A is contesting from two constituencies that is X and Y. After the results, candidate A found that he lost in constituency X, but he won in constituency Y. No, think about it. If he had contested only in constituency X, he would have lost the membership in the legislature. Just because he contested in Y constituency alone, he has now become the member of the legislature. So, this provision acts as a safety measure for the candidates. This is the second advantage. The third advantage is that it helps the public to express their true opinion. See, Indian political field is a personalized one. People get attached to the persons only and not mainly to the political parties. Let us assume a scenario here. Let's say that people in a constituency A like person X. Person X belongs to a political party P1. But this person X is not contesting in constituency B. What will people do? They will vote for the next desirable person. But if person X contest in both constituencies that is A and B, it gives the public an opportunity to express their opinion by choosing person X. So, these are the three main advantages of this provision that allows candidates to contest in two elections. And all these advantages mainly align to the candidates and not to the public. Along with these advantages, the provision also has some issues. Let us see the issues associated with allowing candidates to contest from two constituencies simultaneously. The first concern is that this provision affects the winning probability of other candidates. Again, we are going to take the example of Mr. Rahul Gandhi only. In 2019, he contested in Amiti and Vayanad. Let us assume he contested only in Amiti and he did not contest in Vayanad. Then, another person or another candidate would have won in Vayanad. If Rahul Gandhi contested only in Vayanad and he had won that seat, there would not be any problem. But he contested in both Amiti and Vayanad. So, this hinders the opportunity for others to win the seat to the legislature. Secondly, according to the Election Commission, there is this practice results in wastefulness of resources. Yes, think about it. Let us say a person is contesting from two constituencies and he has won from both the seats. Then what is the norm? He or she has to vacate one seat, right? Then this will lead to a by-election. And again, election should be conducted from the vacated seat. And this results in wastefulness of resources. This is what the Election Commission is saying here. Thirdly, this provision leads to unaccountability. Sounds confusing, right? Let me explain. Now, candidates have the choice of contesting from two constituencies. Now, what will they do? If they feel that the public opinion about them is not good in one constituency, then they will choose another constituency where the public opinion is good about them. This will lead to unaccountability. If there is no provision to contest from two constituencies, then a particular candidate will be accountable to the public. Otherwise, the people in that constituency won't vote for him, right? And because of this fear itself, the candidate will do good things for the constituency. So, in a democracy, a candidate should be allowed to present his or her perspective to only one constituency from which he or she wishes to contest. Only then, the candidate will be trusted by everyone and he will live up to the faith of the voters. Okay? These are the three main concerns associated with allowing candidates to contest from two constituencies simultaneously. Now, what can be done? The Supreme Court has said that it is up to the parliament to change this provision. For this, the parliament said that two constituency limit is reasonable and if this has to be changed, it can be changed only with the legislative amendment only. Know that, till 1996, candidates were allowed to contest from more than two constituencies and after 1996 only, the representation of people's act was amended and the limit was set to two, okay? This is the opinion of the government, but the election commission is proposing to have one candidate, one constituency norm. But since the Supreme Court has left the decision to the parliament, it is up to the parliament to make the change. All we can do is wait and watch for the parliament to react to it. So, that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw the provision that allows candidates to contest from more than one constituency simultaneously. We saw the advantage of this provision and we also saw the concerns associated with this provision. With this, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Have a look at this article from the editorial page. This article gives us an oversight about the budget allocation to the country's research and development departments. The article also provides us some of the points regarding the challenges to research and development in India. This article is very important for your main examination. If UPSC asks questions regarding R&D, you can use the points that I am going to discuss. It will definitely enrich your answer. So, in this discussion, we will understand the points provided in the editorial. Now, let's start with the budget allocation to research and development. Ministry of Science and Technology has received an allocation of 16,361 crore. This is a healthy and impressive 15% increase from the previous year. In the Ministry of Science and Technology, the bulk of the increase has gone to the Department of Science and Technology, which got 7,931 crores, which is an increase of 32% age from the last year. A nominal hike has also been seen in other departments like Department of Biotechnology and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Apart from this, the Deep Ocean Mission and the National Research Foundation have got significantly higher hikes than in previous years. Now, what is this Deep Ocean Mission and the National Research Foundation? We will see them one by one. First, let us take the Deep Ocean Mission. The Deep Ocean Mission is a mission mode project to support the blue economy initiatives of the Government of India. Here, the term blue economy is defined as the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth. Now, coming to the aim of the Deep Ocean Mission. The main aim of this mission is to develop technologies to harness the living and non-living resources from the Deep Oceans. The Ministry of Earth Sciences is the nodal ministry for implementing this mission. Now, moving on to the National Research Foundation. The Government of India has set up a National Research Foundation to strengthen the research ecosystem in the country. The National Research Foundation is being envisaged as an umbrella structure that will improve linkages between research and development, academia and industry. One of the main objectives of the National Research Foundation is to facilitate research at academic institutions. The main focus is on universities and colleges where research capacity is currently in a nascent stage. This is all about Deep Ocean Mission and National Research Foundation. As I said earlier, these two initiatives have got substantially higher hikes than in previous years. Now, coming back to the editorial. The budget is aiming to scale up investments in dedicated centers for excellence in artificial intelligence research. The budget also gives renewed attention to lab-grown diamonds and center for research in sickle cell anemia. Now, we will see in brief about the lab-grown diamonds and sickle cell anemia. First, let us take lab-grown diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds are diamonds that are produced using specific technology. The production process mimics the geographical process or geological process that grows natural diamonds. Differentiating between lab-grown diamonds and earth-mined diamonds is very hard. So, advanced equipment is required for this process. There are multiple ways in which lab-grown diamonds can be produced. The most common and the cheapest way is the high-pressure high-temperature method. As the name suggests, this method requires extremely high pressure and high temperature. Usually, graphite is used as the diamond seed to produce lab-grown diamonds. So, when graphite is subjected to the above said extreme conditions, the relatively inexpensive form of carbon that is graphite is turned into one of the most expensive form of carbon, which is diamond. The other process used to produce lab-grown diamonds include chemical vapor deposition and explosive formation. This is about lab-grown diamonds. Now, moving on to sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia is one of a group of inherited disorders known as sickle cell disease. It affects the shape of the red blood cells. As we all know, red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of the body and they are usually round and flexible. Since they are round and flexible, they can easily move through blood cells. In case of sickle cell anemia, some red blood cells are shaped like sickles or crescent moons. So, these sickle cells also become rigid and sticky. This can slow or block blood flow. There is no cure for most people with sickle cell anemia, but treatments are available to relieve pain and help prevent complications associated with this disease. This is all about sickle cell anemia. Now, finally, before concluding, let us see the challenges associated with research and development in India which is highlighted in the editorial article. First is budget allocation. From the budget allocation, we can witness that the efforts to boost research and development in India is spread out across multiple arms of the government. But the author is pointing out that none other budgetary allocation suggests a significant funding to basic research. The author said that the government has not succeeded in increasing the percentage of funding to research and development beyond 1% of GDP. Meanwhile, developed and technologically advanced countries spend 2% of their GDP on R&D. In case of India, it is less than 1% and according to 2022 estimate by Global Innovation Index, India spent only 0.7% of its GDP on research and development. Basically, there is lack of proper funding for basic research. The second issue is disparity. See, the funds are not the only challenges to research and development in India. In government funding, only some departments are favored more than the rest. This creates a disparity across departments. The other challenge is due to bureaucratic rigidity. Because of this, the research scholars are not getting the promised funds on time and this affects the quality of the research that is being done in India. Apart from this, the last and the significant challenge to R&D in India is lack of private investment. In India, bulk of research is continued to be funded by the government and the participation of the private sector has been very dismal. These are the challenges associated with R&D in India as highlighted by the author in this editorial. So with this, we have come to the end of the discussion. In this discussion, we saw the budget allocation to science and technology. Then we saw some of the areas in which government has allocated significant funds in this budget regarding research and technology. And before concluding, we saw the challenges associated with research and development in our country. With this, let us conclude this and take up the next news article. Look at this editorial article. Recently, there have been agitations in Ladakh for the inclusion of the Union Territory of Ladakh in the 6th Schedule of the Constitution. This editorial is regarding this only. Before getting into the contents of the editorial, first we'll let us see some points about the 6th Schedule. The 6th Schedule provides for the administration of certain tribal areas as autonomous entities. According to the 6th Schedule, the administration in these tribal areas is carried out through autonomous district councils. These autonomous district councils have some legislative, judicial and administrative powers to ensure the protection and preservation of tribal culture. As we all know, the 6th Schedule applies only to the north-eastern states of Assam, Mahalaya, Mizoram and Tirupura. With this basic introduction, now let us come back to the editorial. Recently, in Ladakh, Mr. Sonam Wangchak went on a fast. So, the agitations in Ladakh regarding the inclusion of Ladakh in the 6th Schedule has been renewed. This is the background of the issue so far. So, in our discussion today, let us understand the demands of the Ladakh people and why the government is denying the demands of the Ladakh people for the inclusion in the 6th Schedule. But first, let us see why there is such a demand in the first place. Ladakh became a union territory in August 2019. Since this transformation, the local population of Ladakh found the local bureaucracy to be hostile and unresponsive. This unresponsiveness resulted in a tussle between the local bureaucracy and the local people and the gap between the two started widening. So, this tussle prompted the local people to make demands for the inclusion of the union territory of Ladakh as a part of the 6th Schedule. Apart from the inclusion in the 6th Schedule, the people of Ladakh have put forward other demands before the central government. The demands are, firstly, the provision of full-fledged statehood to Ladakh. Secondly, the provision of separate Lokshaba seats to lay and cargill districts. And finally, job reservation for the locals. The people of Ladakh believe that these demands are key to protecting Ladakh's culture, identity and its unique environment. So, here comes the question. Can Ladakh be included in the 6th Schedule and why is the government not yielding to the demands of the Ladakh? And why is the government not yielding to the demands of the agitations in Ladakh? The first reason is the constitution is clear about the contents of the 6th Schedule. In September 2019, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes recommended the inclusion of Ladakh under the 6th Schedule. The commission said that more than 97% of the people living there are predominantly tribal people. And since people from other parts of the countries were not allowed to buy or acquire land in Ladakh for such a long time, the area developed a distinct cultural identity that needed to be preserved. But here you have to note one thing. No region outside the northeast have been included in the 6th Schedule. And right now, as we saw earlier, the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tirupura and Mizoram are included in the 6th Schedule. In fact, even Assam has autonomous councils for places having predominant tribal population. But it is not included in the 6th Schedule. Only Assam, Meghalaya, Tirupura and Mizoram are included in the 6th Schedule. Even Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, which have significant tribal population, are not included in the 6th Schedule. In this line, Ladakh's inclusion in the 6th Schedule would also be difficult. This is the reason why the central government is dragging its feet for the inclusion of Ladakh in the 6th Schedule. Now, there comes another question. What about the states where there are areas with tribal majority? For such places, the 5th Schedule comes in. The 5th Schedule protects the interest of the tribal population in states other than those mentioned in the 6th Schedule. This is the first reason why the government is not ready to include Ladakh in the 6th Schedule. Now, let us take up the second reason. The second reason is that according to the Ministry of Home Affairs, there is no need for the inclusion of Ladakh in the 6th Schedule. Inclusion of a state in the 6th Schedule is to ensure socio-economic development. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, sufficient funds are being provided to Ladakh to meet its overall developmental requirements. In addition to this, reservations for the scheduled trips have also been increased from 10% to 45%. Both these moves of the government will ensure socio-economic development in this region according to the Ministry of Home Affairs. So, the demands of the agitators are quite baseless. So, these are the two reasons why the union government is not yielding to the demands of the agitators in Ladakh. So, that is all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, first we saw why there is agitation in Ladakh. Then we saw the demands of the agitators in Ladakh. And finally, we saw two reasons why the union government is not yielding to the demands of the agitators. So, that is all regarding this discussion. With this, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Have a look at this news article. According to this news article, the Tamil Nadu State Agricultural Marketing Board has applied for GI tax. The GI tax have been applied for three products. Namely, Covindambadi Natu Sakari which is a type of country brown sugar, Ramanad, Chitrek Karat rice and Selam Kannadi Katri which is a type of local brinjal. This is about the news article given here. So, in our discussion today, let us revise about GI tax. First of all, what is a GI tax? The geographical indication or GI is an indication used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or reputation that are due to that origin. For example, take dindical logs. The logs from dindical have some unique quality associated with it. The GI tax will preserve the qualities and reputation of a product from that defined geographical locality. In India, the geographical indication of goods, registration and protection act 1999 provides for the registration and protection of geographical indication. The tax in India are issued by the Office of Controller General of Patterns, Designs and Trademarks. It comes under the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade which is under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Now you may have a question. If a GI tax is issued for a product, will it be valid forever? Actually, no. The registration for a GI tax is valid for a period of 10 years. It can be renewed from time to time for a further period of 10 years each. These are some basics about the GI tax or geographical indication tax. Now let us see about the significance of the GI tax. Firstly, the GI tax is kind of like a stamp that ensures quality and distinctiveness which are essentially related to the place of the product's origin. Secondly, once the GI protection is guaranteed, no other producer can misuse the name to market similar products. It also provides comfort for customers about the authenticity of the product. The GI tag enables those who have the right to use the geographical indication to prevent the use by a third party whose product do not conform to the applicable standards. For example, in the jurisdiction in which Darjeeling geographical indication is protected, producers of Darjeeling tea can exclude the use of the term Darjeeling by the third party because the tea that is not grown in the tea gardens are not produced according to the standards set out by the Code of Practices for the geographical indication. These are the two main significance of the GI tag. Before concluding, let us see the status of GI tag in the international arena. At the international level, the geographical indications are covered as a component of intellectual property rights under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. GI is also governed by the World Trade Organizations that is WTO's agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights that is TRIPS. And as we saw during the beginning of the discussion in India, the geographical indication registration is administered by the Geographical Indication of Goods Registration and Protection Act 1999. And one additional point before concluding, the first product in India to be accorded with the GI tag was the Darjeeling tea in the year 2004. So that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw some of the basics of the GI tag and also the significance of the issuance of the GI tag. With this, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Take a look at this news article. This news article talks about Irula TRIPS. Now, suddenly, the community is in news because of the recognition of Vadivel Gopal and Masi Sadeyan of the Irula TRIPS. They are among this year's Padmashi recipients. So in this context, let us go through some of the important points about the Irula TRIPS. First, let us take up the location. The Irula people reside in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu and in some parts of Kerala. They are semi-nomadic tribes and they have their origin from the ethnic groups of Southeast Asia and Australia. They speak Irula language which is closely related to Dravidian languages and they are among the particularly vulnerable tribal group. Here, particularly vulnerable tribal groups or PVTGs are the marginalized section among the scheduled tribes of India and these PVTGs are relatively isolated. They are both educationally and socio-economically backward and they live far away from the urban amenities. Apart from this, the Irula TRIPS were also part of the denodified TRIPS that is D&T and they were condemned as habitual offenders by the British. Now moving on to their occupation. Traditionally, the main occupation of Irula have been snake catching, rat catching and honey collection. They also work as laborers in the fields of landlords during sowing and harvesting season and they also work as laborers in the rice mills. Fishing and cattle farm is also their major occupation. On the other hand, the women are very knowledgeable with regards to the plant species, mainly the medicinal variety. This knowledge has been passed on from many generations and some of the women are called Vaidyas meaning traditional doctors. Now moving on to the food habits. An interesting thing to know about Irula is that their main staple crop is millets because more than rice, millets and millet-based food are ideal for the climate of South India and it also suits well for their rigorous lifestyle. Finally, let us take up their lifestyle. A typical Irula house is made up of entirely mud or stone. Among the Irula TRIPS, men and women are allowed to marry according to their wish and marrying more than one man or woman is not considered as a crime. The marriage is fixed for girls within the age limit from 12 to 18 whereas for boys the age limit is 14 to 24. People normally do not marry within their same clan. These are some of the points that you have to know about the Irula TRIP. With this, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Look at this news article. The news article talks about the All India survey on higher education. According to the report, compared to the year 2019, in 2022 Tamil Nadu's cross-enrollment ratio has dropped by 2.1 percentage point. As of 2022-21, Tamil Nadu's gross enrollment ratio is 46.9 percentage. This was the first time the state of Tamil Nadu recorded a decline in gross enrollment ratio in the past five years. Despite the decline, Tamil Nadu continued to have the highest gross enrollment ratio among major states. The data mentioned in this article is published by the AISHG, which is nothing but the All India Survey on Higher Education. So, in this context, let us learn few facts about All India Survey on Higher Education in this discussion. AISHG is a web-based annual survey conducted by the Ministry of Education. This survey was initiated in 2011 during which data for the year 2010-11 was collected. It portrays the status of higher education in the country. During this survey, data is collected on several parameters. Indicators of educational development like institution density, gross enrollment ratio, pupil-teacher ratio, gender parity index, per student expenditure are also calculated from the data collected during the survey. These are useful in making informed policy decision and research for development of the education sector. So, in simple words, AISHG is the only comprehensive source of higher education statistics in which valuable data on various aspects is collected from the higher education institutions in the country. Now, coming back to the news article. The report released few days back was based on the enrollment in the academic year 2020-21 when COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak. India recorded a marginal increase in gross enrollment ratio in the period from 25.6% to 27.3%. During this discussion, I mentioned several time the word gross enrollment ratio. Now, what is this gross enrollment ratio? Gross enrollment ratio or GER is calculated as a percentage of the total enrollment in higher education courses against the total projected population in the 18-23 age group. According to the report, the gross enrollment ratio calculated until 2019-20 was based on population projections made in the 2001 census. It was released in accordance with the 2011 census in the 2020-21 survey. In the consequence of this revision, Tamil Nadu's highly acclaimed gross enrollment ratio of more than 50% in the year 2019-20 was released to 49%. And this has further dropped to 46.9% in the 2020-21 survey. Only a few states like Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammuun, Kashmir, Jharkhand and Punjab recorded a decline in gross enrollment ratio. The drop in gross enrollment ratio in Tamil Nadu happened because of the relatively sharper decline in estimated enrollments. Interestingly, the drop in the enrollments was more among the male students rather than the female students. The drop was observed in almost all types of courses such as undergraduate, postgraduate, MFIL, diploma and postgraduate diploma. So, that's all regarding this discussion. We saw some basic points about the AI-ISHG survey and gross enrollment ratio. With this, let us conclude the news article discussion session and take up the practice problems questions. We have four practice problems questions today. Let us see them one by one. Let us take up the first question. This question is in reference to All India survey on higher education. Three statements are given. We have to find the correct statement. First statement. It has been released by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. This statement is wrong. From our discussion, we know that this report is published by the Ministry of Education. So, statement one is wrong. Moving on to the second statement. As per the report, female enrollment in higher education has increased. Actually, this statement is correct. In the latest report, it is observed that female enrollment in higher education has increased but male enrollment has decreased. So, statement two is correct. Moving on to the third statement. According to the report, Maharashtra has the highest number of universities in India. This statement is wrong. According to the report, Rajasthan has the maximum number of universities in India. It is followed by Uttar Pradesh and Ucharanth. So, statement one is incorrect. Statement two is correct. And statement three again is incorrect. So, the correct answer here is option C, two only. Moving on to the second question. Let me read it out to the question. Recently, the Irula tribal community was in news regarding the destruction of ancient painting being preserved by them. Which of the following state does the community belong to? From our discussion, we know that the Irula tribal community belong to Tamil Nadu and Kerala. So, the correct answer here is option A, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Moving on to the third question. Two statements regarding tribal areas is given. We have to find the correct statement. Let us take up the first statement. Governor can repel or amend regulation with respect to states having scheduled area but only with the ascent of the President of India. This statement is correct. Moving on to the second statement. The President may by any time by any order increase the area of any scheduled areas in a state after consultation with the Governor of that state. This statement is also correct. Since both the statements are correct and both these statements are taken from the fifth schedule. So, the correct answer here is option C, both one and two. Moving on to the last question. This question is about red sandals and it can be easily answered if you have seen our red sandals discussion. So, this is a question for you. Interested aspirants can post the answer for this question in the comment section. The main questions based on today's discussion are displayed here. Interested aspirants can write the answers and post it in the comment section. If you like today's video, like, comment and share it with your friends. For more updates regarding UPSC preparation subscribe to Shankara IS Academy's YouTube channel. Thank you for listening.