 Welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankar Iyer's Academy for the day 22nd October 2020. The list of news articles along with the page numbers of five different editions is given here for your reference. The handwritten notes in PDF format and the timestamping of all the news articles taken up for today's analysis is given in the description section and also in the comment section in the best interest of the viewers. Let us now begin our analysis. This news article is regarding the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. The news article says that the Election Commission of India has criticized the lack of enforcement of COVID-19 norms such as social distancing during the election campaigning. So in this context, let us discuss in detail about the Election Commission of India. From example's perspective, the relevant syllabus is given here for your reference. First, know that Election Commission of India is a permanent and an independent body which was established in the year 1950 by the Constitution of India to ensure free and fair elections in India. It draws power from article 324 of Indian Constitution. As per this article, Election Commission is vested with the power of superintendence, direction and control of elections to parliament, state legislatures, then to the office of the President of India and also to the office of Vice President of India. Here one important point to note from example's perspective is that Election Commission of India is not concerned with the elections to the Panchayats and municipalities in the states. It is the duty of the respective state election commissions. So remember this fact. Next, let us see the composition of the Election Commission of India. As per article 324, the Election Commission of India shall consist of the Chief Election Commissioner and such number of other Election Commissioners as fixed from time to time by the President. And the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and the other Election Commissioners shall be made by the President. So when any other Election Commissioner is appointed, the Chief Election Commissioner acts as the chairman of the Election Commission of India. See at present, the Election Commissioner of India has one Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. The Chief Election Commissioner and the two other Election Commissioners have equal powers and they receive equal salary, allowances and other perquisites. But in case of difference of opinion amongst the chief election commissioner and two other election commissioners, then the matter is decided by the commission by majority. Next the conditions of service and the tenure of office of the election commissioners shall be determined by the president and it is as per article 324. At present if you see they hold office for a term of 6 years or until they attain the age of 65 years whichever is earlier. And they can resign at any time or can also be removed before the expiry of their term. Now let us see how the election commissioner of India ensures its independence and impartial functioning. First of all the chief election commissioner is given a security of tenure. He or she cannot be removed from the office except in same manner and on the same grounds as a judge of the supreme court. It means the chief election commissioner can be removed by the president on the basis of a resolution passed to that effect by both the houses of parliament with a special majority. The grounds for removal can be proved misbehavior or incapacity. So though the chief election commissioner is appointed by the president, he or she is not holding his or her office till the pleasure of the president. And not just that, the service conditions of the chief election commissioner cannot be varied to his or her disadvantage after his or her appointment. And also know that other election commissioners cannot be removed from office except on the recommendation of the chief election commissioner. Even though the election commissioner of India tries to ensure impartiality and independence, there are some inherent flaws in the system. Firstly, the constitution has not prescribed the qualifications of members of the election commission whether they need to have any sort of legal, educational, administrative or judicial qualifications. Hence, mostly if you see the serving bureaucrats or the retired bureaucrats are occupying the top positions. Secondly, the constitution has not specified the term of members of the election commission. So the ruling government may change the term of office of the election commissioners. Thirdly, the constitution has not debunked the retiring election commissioners from any further appointment by the government. And this could cause conflict of interest as the government of the day could reappoint the election commissioners favoring them. So these are some of the inherent flaws in election commission of India. So this is in brief about the discussion of this news article. In the context of this news article, we took an opportunity to know about the election commission of India from exam perspective. Now have a look at this practice question. Let us move on to the next news article. This editorial talks about digital payment sector in India including its growth and evolution. So let's see them now. The relevant syllabus has given you for your reference. The digital payments assume an important position in our day to day life to the extent that it is the preferred mode of financial transaction these days. Digital payment is nothing but the electronic funds transfer. According to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act of 2007, electronic funds transfer means any transfer of funds which is initiated by a person by way of instruction, authorization or order to a bank in order to debit or credit an account that is maintained with that bank through electronic means. So it includes point of sale transfers, ACM transactions, direct deposits or direct withdrawal of funds, then whatever transfers that are initiated by telephone, internet and card payment. So all these include the electronic means. Simply put, electronic funds transfer is a faster system of simultaneous debits and credits where the money value is transferred electronically from one account to another across banks. So let's see how the digital payments have evolved. The first major advancement in digital payments happened in the year 2004 when the real-time gross settlement system was launched. It gave push to large value payments. See this RTGS is a system where there is a continuous and a real-time settlement of fund transfers happen individually on a transaction by transaction basis without netting. Netting is nothing but combining or aggregating the multiple financial obligations. The word real-time means the processing of instructions at the time they are received and the word gross settlement means that the settlement of fund transfer instructions occurs individually. So this RTGS is primarily meant for large value transactions. At present if you see the minimum amount to be remitted through RTGS is 2 lakh rupees but there is no maximum limit. After this if you see the Reserve Bank of India introduced the national electronic funds transfer that is NEFT in order to support retail payments. The objective of NEFT is to establish an electronic fund transfer system in order to facilitate an efficient, secure, economical and a reliable system of fund transfer and clearing in the banking sector throughout India. NEFT also aims to relieve the stress on the paper-based funds transfer and clearing system. So all these advancements in the electronic funds transfer trigger major changes in the corporate and capital market transactions. Then if you see the payment system in India was further strengthened by the National Payments Corporation of India. It is basically an umbrella organization for operating the retail payments and settlement systems in India. See this National Payments Corporation of India is an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India and the Indian Banks Association under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act of 2007. The aim is basically to create robust payment and settlement infrastructure in India and if you see NPCA has been incorporated as a not-for-profit company. So what this NPCA did was it enabled a superhighway for digital payments in India. When we tell superhighway it means an extensive electronic network that is used for the rapid transfer of information. Further if you see NPCA has attained a successful position among the well-established international players. Why we are telling this because in the year 2019, the Bank for International Settlements endorsed the NPCA model. But now the question is in order to retain this successful position and withstand the competition we need finance. So now what some people are suggesting is that they want to convert this NPCA from a not-for-profit company to for-profit company. But if you see the author of this editorial suggests an alternative for financial support. It is the RBA providing free use of RTGS and other products. So this in turn will enable NPCA to provide retail payment services at reduced price at least in certain areas. And this move will also help to support the expansion of the payment system network and infrastructure in the rural areas as well as in the semi-urban areas throughout India. So this in turn will make NPCA a competitive model. With this above aim that is reducing the price and to popularize digital payments across India. If you see the government of India has already prescribed zero merchant discount rate in the union budget 2019-2020 for low-cost digital payments such as Beam, UPI, then UPI QR code, then Adarpay, certain debit cards, Neft, RTGS, et cetera. Here if you see the government left out other providers of digital payment products from this zero MDR. So taking advantage of this scenario, banks switch to left out digital payment products. So ultimately if you see the cost cut due to zero merchant discount rate did not reach the consumer. And this has basically resulted in exploitation of consumer. So what the author stresses finally in this editorial is that, RBA has to do a study and arrive at rational structure for pricing of merchant discount rate. Such that it will be beneficial for the FinTech companies as well as the consumers. And it will also give an opportunity for the digital payment systems to evolve. This is in brief about the discussion of this editorial. In this editorial we discussed about the digital payment sector in India, about its growth and then about the evolution and the suggestions given by the author to further evolve in the future. Now have a look at this practice question. Let us move on to the next news article. This news article talks about a demand from the major opposition parties at the center for the repeal of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. It comes at the backdrop of charges that were slapped against activists in the Bhima Corregan case. So in this context, let us discuss in detail about some of the important features of this Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. The relevant syllabus is given you for your reference. See Unlawful Activities Prevention Act was passed in the year 1967. It is an act to provide for more effective prevention of certain unlawful activities of individuals and associations. And for dealing with the terrorist activities. So what is this unlawful activity? This act defines this term. It refers to any action taken by an individual or association which is intended to disrupt the territorial integrity and sovereignty of India. If the central government is of the opinion that any association is or has become an unlawful association, then it may declare such association to be unlawful by notification in the official gazette. So in this regard, we can say that the act assigns absolute power to the central government. And if you see the central government may constitute a tribunal known as the Unlawful Activities Prevention Tribunal as and when necessary. And it is the duty of the government to refer any of its notification which declares any association as unlawful to the tribunal within 30 days from the rate of publication of the notification. This is for the purpose of adjudicating whether or not there is sufficient cause for declaring the association unlawful. And if the declaration made that in is confirmed by the tribunal, then the declaration will remain in force for a period of five years from the date on which the notification becomes effective. Here one more thing to note is that under this act, both the Indian nationals and the foreign nationals can be charged. And it will be applicable to the offenders in the same manner, even if the crime is committed on a foreign land outside India. Now let us see some of the important sections under the act. Under section 13 of this act, any act causing this affection against India is seen as an unlawful act. This includes taking part in or committing or advocating or abetting or advising or inciting the commission of any unlawful activity by any person. It simply means the person should not involve in any sort of unlawful activity. But if a person commits an unlawful activity, then that person shall be punishable with an imprisonment for a term which may extend up to seven years and the person shall also be liable to fine. And whoever in any way assists any unlawful activity of any association, that is declared unlawful by the government, shall also be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend up to five years or with fine or with both. So this section 13 deals with the punishment for unlawful activities. Now coming to section 14, it says that an offence punishable under this act is cognizable offence. Here the term cognizable offence means the police can arrest the convict without an arrest warrant and they can start an investigation without the permission of the court. Now coming to section 15, it talks about terrorist activities. See this act was amended in the year 2004, terrorist act to the list of offenses. It is in order to ban organizations for terrorist activities. And in August 2019, this act was amended again to designate individuals as terrorists on certain grounds provided in the act. So remember, till then, only organizations were declared as terrorists. But now with the 2019 amendment, the government can even categorize individuals as terrorists if it believes that the individual is involved in terrorism. So once the person is categorized as a terrorist, then this or her name will be added to the schedule four of this act. So it is based on this amendment only. There have been recent arrests related to this Bhima Corregan case. And some activists who are individuals were arrested under this underful activities prevention act. So remember this section, it is important. So according to this section 15, whoever does any act with an intent to threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity, security, economic security or sovereignty of India or with an intent to strike terror or likely to strike terror in the people in India or in any of the foreign country will be seen as committing terrorist act. And according to section 16, if such an act has resulted in the death of any person, then such acts are punishable with death or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine. And in all of the cases, it is punishable with imprisonment for a term of at least five years which may extend to imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine. So we can say that the act as death penalty and life imprisonment as highest punishments. So section 15 deals with terrorist act and section 16 deals with the punishment for terrorist act. Now coming to section 17, this section deals with the punishment for raising funds for terrorist act. It criminalizes persons who raises funds or who provides funds or who collects funds or who make an attempt to raise, provide or collect funds with the knowledge that such funds are likely to be used by persons or organizations to commit a terrorist act. So the section 17 is regarding the punishment for raising funds for terrorist act. And we come to the final section which is section 18. This section deals with the punishment for conspiring to commit a terrorist act or any act that is preparatory to the commission of a terrorist act. So these are some of the important sections from this Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Here note that under this act, the investigating agency can file a charge sheet in maximum 180 days after the arrests. And the duration can be extended further after intimating the court. And accordingly, the act empowers the director general of the National Investigation Agency to grant approval of seashore or attachment of property when the case is investigated by the said agency. The act also empowers the officers of the National Investigating Agency, who's of the rank of inspector or above to investigate cases of terrorism. In addition to those investigations conducted by the deputy superintendent of police or the assistant commissioner of police or the officer who is ranked above in that particular state. So these are some of the important information regarding Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. To summarize, we have seen some of the important provisions and features of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act of 1967. In the backdrop of charges that were slapped against activities, in the Bhima Koregon case under this act. Now, have a look at this practice question. Let us move on to the next news article. This news article talks about the anti-government and rival royalist protests going on in Thailand. It says that Thailand's Prime Minister, Prayuchan Ocha, might lift the emergency imposed in order to control the situation. So in this context, let us discuss in detail about Thailand and then the ongoing issues. We know that Thailand is located in the center of mainland Southeast Asia. As you can see in this map, from this map it is clear that Thailand consists of two broad geographic areas. One, a larger main section in the north and second, a smaller peninsular extension in the south. The main body of the country surrounded by Myanmar to the west, Lavo to the north and east, then Cambodia to the southeast and then Gulf of Thailand to the south. And the peninsular Thailand stretches southward from the southwestern corner of the country along the eastern edge of the Malai Peninsular. Note that Myanmar extends along the western portion of the peninsular until the Isthmus of Krab and it has Andaman Sea to its west. And from this map, it is also clear that Thailand shares border with Malaysia. This is in brief about the geography of Thailand. Now let us see the brief history of Thailand. See, unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid 14th century which was known as CM until the year 1939. Here, you have to note that Thailand is the only southeast Asian country that has never been colonized by a European power. In the year 1932, a bloodless revolution led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy, similar to United Kingdom. Then in the year 1941, Japan invaded Thailand. Then the government split into two factions, one pro-Japan faction and the another a pro-Ali faction which was backed by the king of Thailand. In the year 1954, Thailand became a US ally. And since the year 2005, you see Thailand has been experiencing several rounds of political turmoil where there was even a military coup in the year 2006. And then if you see in the year 2014, there was another coup led by the then Royal Thai Army General, Pryut Chan Hocha who later became the Prime Minister of Thailand. If you see in effect, Thailand is now indirectly ruled by a military affiliated body under Pryut Chan Hocha. This body created several interim institutions in order to promote reforms and draft a new constitution for Thailand. So, it's basically a military junta and it is said that this military junta has subverted the democratic institutions and even banned campaigning and political activity. Meanwhile, if you see in the year 2016, the long-serving king of Thailand, Bhoomi Bol Adul Yadej died and then his son, Mahavajira Longkon became the king of Thailand. And the new king signed the new constitution in April 2017. The present issue is that there are huge anti-government protests that are targeting both the Prime Minister as well as the king of Thailand. Their important demands are to reform monarchy and reinstate democratic values. This protest can be related to the protests that took place in Hong Kong and Iran during 2019-2020. Why? Because they represent the resentment that is opposition against the ruling system which is oppressive and which has failed to meet the aspirations of people. So, you can see that Thailand is seeing huge anti-government protests at present. This is in brief about the discussion of this news article. To summarize, in the context of this news article, we have seen about the geography of Thailand and the political system of Thailand in brief and then about the ongoing issues. Now, have a look at this practice question. Let us move on to the next news article. This news article talks about the findings of State of Global Air 2020 report. Know that it is a special report on global exposure to air pollution and its health impacts. So, let us see who releases this report and some of the important points from this report with respect to India and certain other countries. Know that this report is produced annually by a collaboration of two US-based institutes which are Health FX Institute and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluations Global burden of disease project. This report presents a comprehensive analysis of three types of air pollution known to impact health. First is the ambient that is the outdoor fine particle air pollution which refers to PM 2.5 that is particulate matter 2.5. These are emitted from vehicles, coal burning power plants, industrial activities, waste burning etc. This table provides population weighted annual average PM 2.5 concentration that is the concentration to which most of a country's population is exposed. So, the finding is that in the year 2019 10 countries with the highest exposures are in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. As you can see India is at the top meaning Indian population has the highest exposure to particulate matter 2.5. And additionally if you see countries such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are among the countries that continue to see increases in terms of highest particulate matter 2.5 exposures in the world. And this has contributed to South Asia being the region that consistently sees highest PM 2.5 exposures over the past decade. The scenario is same for the second pollution which is the ambient tropospheric ozone pollution. See tropospheric ozone is a highly reactive pollutant that has adverse effects on human health as well as food crops. It is not directly released into air but it is formed in chemical interaction between the nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight. Know that nitrous oxides and volatile organic compounds are produced by human activities like burning of fossil fuels. Now according to the report findings, South Asia saw the steepest increase in ambient tropospheric ozone exposures. India and its neighboring countries are all in the top 10 list. And if you look at India, it experienced the highest exposure increase of 17 percentage in the last decade. The third pollution is the household air pollution which results from the burning of various fuels such as coal, wood, etc. for heating or for cooking. India's fat comparatively well as India's reduced its household air pollution from 73 percentage to 61 percentage over the decade. This is due to the aggressive campaigns encouraging the switch to cleaner fuels. Now coming to disease burden, in the year 2019 air pollution moved up from fifth to fourth as the leading risk factor for death globally. Now with respect to India, India saw an increase of 61 percentage in PM 2.5 attributable deaths and 84 percentage increase in ozone attributable mortality. On the positive side, India has drastically reduced the deaths that are attributable to household air pollution. So these are some of the important points from this report which you need to know with respect to India. You can use any of these statistics in your mains answers which is related to pollution. It will be helpful for giving intro and try to know who releases this state of global air 2020 report which will be useful for your problems. Now have a look at this practice question. Let us move on to the practice questions discussion session. Look at this question about election commission of India. It is a two statement question and you need to choose those statement or statements that are correct. Look at the first statement. It tells that as per article 324, only a retired judge of the Supreme Court or a retired Chief Justice of High Court can be appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner. See this statement is incorrect because during our discussion we saw that the Constitution has not prescribed any qualifications for a person to become a member of the Election Commission. Now look at the second statement. It tells that the Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only in the same manner and on same grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court. Yes this statement is correct. Hence the correct answer here is option B2 only. Let us look at this next question on unlawful activities prevention act of 1967. It is a three statement question and you need to choose those statement or statements that are correct. Look at the first statement. It tells that the act empowers the parliament to declare any association to be unlawful. This statement is incorrect. As we saw during our discussion, the act empowers the central government. If it is of the opinion that any association is or has become an unlawful association, then such association can be declared unlawful through a notification in the official gazette by the central government. So the first statement goes incorrect. If the first statement is incorrect, you can eliminate options A and B. So the remaining options left are options C and D. From both these options you can tell that statement 2 is correct. Now all you need to confirm is whether the third statement is correct or not. The third statement is the act is applicable only to the offenses committed in the Indian territory. The statement is incorrect. As we saw during our discussion, the act is applicable to offenders. Even if the crime is committed on a foreign land that is outside India. Hence the correct answer to this question is option C2 only. Statement 2 tells that under the act both Indian and foreign nationals can be charged for committing unlawful activities in India. It is a correct statement. Next let us look at this question about the merchant discount rate. During our discussion, we mentioned the term merchant discount rate but we did not discuss it over there. So let us take this opportunity to know about merchant discount rate. The question is which one of the following best describes a term merchant discount rate sometimes seen in news. Here the correct answer is option C, the merchant discount rate or MDR is basically the rate charged to a merchant for the payment processing of debit and credit card transactions. The service is set up by the merchant and they must agree or commit to the rate before accepting and or authorizing debit or credit cards for payment processing. See in 2019-20 union budget, the finance minister proposed that the business establishments the business establishments with an annual turnover of more than 50 crore shall offer such low-cost digital modes of payment to their customers and no charges or merchant discount rate shall be imposed on customers as well as merchants. The low-cost digital modes of payment include beam UPI, then UPIQR code, then ADARPAY, certain debit cards, NEFT, RTGS, etc. Hence the correct answer over here is option C, the charge to a merchant by a bank for accepting payments from his or her customers through the bank's debit cards. Next let us look at a map-based question. The question is considered the following countries Myanmar, Laos, China, Cambodia, Singapore. Which of the above shares land border with Thailand? From this map you can tell that the countries of Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia share border with Thailand. Hence the correct answer over here is option A, 1, 2 and 4, 1D. China shares border with Myanmar, India, Vietnam and Laos as you can see in this map. This question is with reference to state of global air 2020 report. It is a three statement question and you need to choose those statement or statements that are incorrect. Look at the first statement it tells that it is a special report on global exposure to air pollution and its health impacts. This statement is correct. If this statement is correct you can eliminate options A and D from the remaining options B and C. You can tell for sure that the second statement is incorrect. As we saw during our discussion this report is released annually but it is not released by the United Nations Environment Program as given in this statement. It is released by a collaboration of US based institutes health effects institute and then the institute for health metrics and evaluations global burden of disease project. Now look at the third statement it tells that according to the report India has both highest exposure to particulate matter 2.5 that is PM 2.5 and highest increase in PM 2.5 attributable deaths in the last decade. Yes this statement is correct as we saw during our discussion. So the correct answer is option C, 2 only. With this we come to the end of the analysis of all the news articles taken up for today's discussion and also the practice questions discussion session. If you like the video press the like button comment and share and do subscribe to Shankar IAS Academy YouTube channel for latest videos and updates. Stay focused and motivated friends. Thank you.