 A very good evening aspirants. Welcome to the Hindi newspaper analysis brought to you by Shankar A.S. Academy. Today's date is 10th of January 2024. 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. This editorial article talks about a landmark judgment given by Supreme Court in the Balkispano case. Know that the remission order for the 11 convicts are cancelled by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has also asked them to go back to the prison within two weeks of time. This is the crux of the news article given here. So in this news article discussion let us understand the ethical issues involved in remission. We can also see how governments can solve this dichotomy using our usual mains answer writing approach. Let me read out the question for you. What are the ethical issues in the granting of remission of prisoners and how should governments balance the principle of justice, mercy and public safety in making these decisions. See this question can be asked under GS paper 3 under the syllabus ethical concerns and dilemma. Now in the question in the first part it asks us to explain the ethical issues in the granting of remission for prisoners and in the second part it asks us the steps ought to be taken by government to overcome the dilemma. So this is how we are going to divide the body of the answer into two parts and answer the question. Now let's start with the introduction part. Since the question is about remission we can briefly explain about remission. You can write that remission is the complete ending of a sentence at a reduced point of time. Let me put it simply. Let us take a person X if he is given life imprisonment by the court and X has spent 14 years in jail. After that he can ask for a remission. It means he will be set free. Note that in remission the nature of the sentence remains unchanged but the duration is shortened. The ethical basis of remission should be the ethics of forgiveness in the society. Moreover it was also articulated by Gandhi as hate the sin not the sinner. So this way you can write the introduction part. Moving on to the main body of the answer. Here in the first part as I said earlier we are going to discuss about the ethical issues in granting remission for prisoners. Firstly you can write about the dilemma of individual justice versus injustice to victim. See individual justice mandates a fair chance to be given or a man to rejoin the society if he feels pity and remorse for his crime. But it should not be antagonistic to the justice of victim. See an act of compassion towards a convict should not be insensitive to the victim of the crime. For example in the Bulkyspono case the remission of convicts did not take into account the sufferings of her in the beginning. Hope you can understand. Secondly the dilemma of compassion versus political game. See remission is an act of compassion by the courts or society. It is not a fundamental right of convict. Note that this is clarified by the Supreme Court in Mahendra Singh Viz's state of Haryana case 2007. This will upload the collective concerns of the society. This is more predominant in cases where the convict is facing serious illness or it is an emotional crime. But this compassion is often misused by the political parties for their short term gains. This is a major issue with respect to remission. Thirdly there is an issue of discrimination based on social status. See the remission is often used by the convicts from privileged backgrounds to get out of jail. On the other hand there are an increasing number of under trials from marginalized communities. This should be balanced so that justice should not be an allied phenomenon. Fourthly there are other unlawful activities which are also unethical. There are lack of transparency in granting remission, lack of accountability with the process. This is also posing a threat to it. So mentioning all this point you can finish the first part of the body. Now let's move on to the second part of the body of the answer. Here we have to give the steps that can be taken by the government to overcome the ethical dilemma. See here you can write that government should be following guidelines given under Lakshman Naskar versus Union of India 2000 case. Now let us shortly see about the guidelines. Firstly we should ensure that the offense is an individual act of crime that does not affect the society. Secondly we should ensure that whether there is a chance of the crime being repeated in future. Thirdly ensure whether the convict has lost the potentiality to commit crime. Fourthly we should also look into the socio-economic condition of the convict's family before taking decisions. So these guidelines can be followed while deciding upon giving remission. Secondly the government should follow a transparent process in giving remission. The process should be balancing the dichotomy of justice to victim and convicts. Thirdly the government can take steps to make a prison a reformative arena. The steps like increasing the skill development, giving psychiatric supports to prisoners and etc. This will make them a reformed human. Fourthly the new form of prisons like open prison should be promoted to give a new wave of life to the prisoners. This is important because many research shows that prison is a total institute where a man entering a sub-pity criminal will get wide contacts and will do bigger crimes after released from jail. This trend and chain of crime should be broken. So we can write these points in the second part of the answer. So let's straight away move to the conclusion part. Here you can write that remission is an important relief of the criminal justice system. Not only it allows for the reduction of a sentence for a prisoner but also it gives a second chance or a person to live his life. But the ethical dilemma of it should be addressed to make it not only legal but also a moral remission. For this we should follow the principles of justice, mercy and public safety. So this way you can end the answer for this question. So in this news article discussion we saw in detail about the ethical dilemma in granting remission and how government can overcome this ethical dilemma. So with these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this text and context article. This article talks about project tiger since it has completed 50 years of implementation. See this project has successfully increased the population of tiger in the country but at the same time the conflicting provisions in the Wildlife Protection Act and the Forest Rights Act have increased conflicts between the forest bureaucracy and forest dwellers. Now this confusion is ultimately endangering India's tigers and the people who co-exist with them. So in this context let us revise about project tiger in prelims perspective. See project tiger was launched on 1st April 1973 to promote conservation of tiger. It was launched by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand. Know that it is the largest species conservation initiative to combat the decreasing population of tiger. Remember it is a centrally sponsored scheme under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change MOEF-CC. Also note that the National Tiger Conservation Authority NTCA is implementing the scheme. So the objectives of the project includes firstly to ensure the maintenance of a viable population of tiger in India which possesses many benefits and values. The values can be scientific, economic, aesthetic, cultural and ecological values. Secondly to prevent areas of biological importance as a national heritage for the benefit education and enjoyment of the people. So these are the objectives of project tiger. Now let us see the functions of the project tiger. Know that the reserves are created and functioned on a core or buffer strategy. The core area have the legal status of a national park or sanctuary in India whereas the buffer areas are the region of periphery. The buffer region has a combination of both forest and non-forest land. Here the people centric approach is followed to balance both conservation and development. Secondly the function of the project is to conduct the tiger census in the country. This helps in combating poaching of tiger. Now let us see the achievements of project tiger one by one. Firstly with respect to increased population see the number of tigers in India has increased from 1827 in 1970s to around 2067. This means a 30 percentage rise in the population in the last eight years. Secondly with respect to increased coverage the project started with nine tiger reserves covering 18278 square kilometers in nine states but it has grown exponentially. As of now there are 54 tiger reserves spread over more than 75,000 square kilometers in 18 tiger range states. Thirdly India has achieved t into two goal in 2018. This target aims to double the wild tiger population by 2022. Know that India has achieved this milestone four years ahead of its target. So these are all certain important facts that you have to remember about project tiger. With these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this news article according to the news article the Telangana government has initiated an inquiry into reported irregularities in the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project. The vigilance and enforcement department has also conducted rights at multiple irrigation department officers. So in this context let us understand about Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project. See the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project is a multi-purpose irrigation project on the Godavari river. It is located in Kaleshwaram Bupalpalli district in Telangana. The project starts at the confluence point of Pranahita river and Godavari river. So what is the purpose of this project? See the three main purposes of this project are irrigation transport and power. See Telangana is located at an elevation of 300 meters to 650 meters above mean sea level. But the Godavari river flows at an elevation of 100 meters below mean sea level. So gigantic pumps have to be used for pumping water. Now talking about the significance of the project. See this project will have the longest underground irrigation tunnel in the world. It aims to provide water for irrigation and drinking across 45 lakh acres in 20 out of 31 districts in Telangana including Hyderabad and Sekundarabad. So this is the significance of the project. So what are the benefits of the project? Firstly the project aims to provide drinking water and irrigation to underdeveloped areas in Telangana. Secondly it intends to restore the ground water level to its natural state by switching from using underground water to surface water for irrigation. Additionally the project will aid mission Kakathya and mission Bahirada which are working towards supplying drinking water to villages. So these are also some of the benefits of the project. However the project has also faced scrutiny and controversies regarding its execution, alleged irregularities and environmental concerns. So efforts have been made to investigate and address these issues to ensure the successful implementation of the project while mitigating any adverse effects. These are all certain important facts that you have to remember about Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project. So these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this news article. According to the news article an RTI reply revealed that orders to block websites and online content have increased significantly from 2013 to October 2023. There were also concerns raised over the practicality of compiling IP addresses as directed by Department of Telecommunication, D.O.T. So in this news article discussion let us understand some of the important points given in the news article. So how much blockings has increased so far? See the government has issued 62 blocking orders in 2013 which surged to 6954 by October 2023. The orders were issued under section 69A of the Information Technology Act 2000. So what does this section 69A tells? According to section 69A of the IT Act the government is permitted to block online content concerning India's sovereignty, defence, security, foreign relations, public order or to prevent certain offenses. So here comes the question why there is an increase in blocking of websites? See the rise in blocking order aligns with increased internet use notably after a sustainable drop in mobile data prices in 2016. So in 2016 the mobile data prices reduced and the internet usage began to rise. Now this is sinking with the increase in blocking orders. These orders are directed at specific pages, profiles or videos on social media and certain platforms. However the IT ministry declined to provide a detailed breakdown of these statistics citing confidentiality rules. Now let us see the process of blocking. See to streamline the blocking process the department of telecommunication, devotee, direct internet service providers, ISPs to compile IP addresses of service in India. Technological advancement in encryption have made website blocking more challenging for internet service providers. This is because a single IP address can be linked to numerous websites. But collaboration with content delivery networks like Amazon web services and Google Cloud might offer a more efficient approach for website blocking. Recently department of telecommunication have issued an order to trace web server's location for blocking purposes but since there is some complexities in tracking IP addresses many industries have questioned the practicality of implementing these rules. So to sum up this article says that since 2016 the price to access internet has reduced so that the internet usage has gone up. Since the internet usage has gone up government is using section 69a to block certain online content concerning India's sovereignty defence, security, foreign relation, public order or to prevent certain offenses. Now the usage of section 69a has also gone up. Apart from this the department of telecommunication have also ordered to trace web server's location for blocking purposes but many industry experts are saying that it is very difficult to implement these rules because there are various complexities in tracking IP addresses. So these are all certain important points I have to remember about this news article discussion. These learnt points and let us move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this news article. This news article talks about a study conducted by Respire Living Science and Climate Trends. The studies have found that many Indian cities are still struggling to make significant improvement in air quality. Out of 49 cities with available data on particulate matter for 5 years only 27 showed a decrease in the most harmful pollutant which is PM 2.5. Merely 4 cities managed to meet or surpass the expected decrease in PM 2.5 levels. So in this context let us discuss some of the basic information about air quality index and national ambient air quality standards NIAQS. First let us see about air quality index AQI. See AQI is an 8 parameter based air quality monitoring system. It was launched by the Central Pollution Control Bureau in the year 2014. There are 6 AQI categories. They are good, satisfactory, merely polluted, poor, very poor and severe. AQI and its respective colour code and health impacts are given here. You can pass the video and go through it. Note that AQI transforms complex air quality data of various pollutants into a single number and it tries to give a colour for that number which will be easy for the public to understand about the air standards in their locality. The 8 pollutants which are considered for the calculation of AQI are PM 10, PM 2.5, Nitrogen Dioxide NO2, Sulfur Dioxide S42, Carbon Monoxide CO, Oxygen O3, Ammonia NH3 and Lead PB. So this is about air quality index. Now we shall look at national ambient air quality standard NAAQS. See the NAAQS are basically a set of standards that were set by the Central Pollution Control Board. Through NAAQS, the CPCB prescribes the maximum permissible limits for letting out pollutants. These standards are applicable all over the country and it should be followed by the industries. NAAQS covers over 12 pollutants. They include 8 pollutants from the AQI and other 4 pollutants from benzene, benzopyrene, arsenic and nickel. So these are all some of the important facts that you have to remember about AQI and NAAQS. Remember it can be asked in mains as well. So make a note of it and reverse it frequently. So these learnt 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 first question which governmental body in India is responsible for issuing directives to internet service providers, ISPs regarding website blocking and compiling internet protocol that is IP addresses. See the correct answer here is option C, Department of Telecommunication, D.O.T. Moving on in which river basin does the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project K.L.I.P primarily operate? The correct answer here is option B, Godavari River Basin. Now look at this third question among the following tiger reserves which one has the largest area under critical tiger habitat. So the correct answer here is option C, Naharjina Sahar, Sree Shailam it has nearly 2595.72 square kilometers. It is present in Andhra Pradesh. Corbett is in Uttarkhand, Rantampur is in Rajasthan and Sundarbans is in West Bengal. So here the correct answer is option C, Naharjina Sahar, Sree Shailam. So with this we came to the end of the news article discussion. If you like the video, hit like, do comment and don't forget to subscribe to Shankar Aayes Academy YouTube channel. Now thank you so much for listening.