 A very good morning aspirants welcome to the weekly the Indian Express Newspaper Analysis brought to you by Shankar IAS Academy. So in this video we have chosen some of the news articles very relevant for the UPSC exam from the Indian Express and we have presented to you in the UPSC perspective. So give your feedbacks in the comment, displayed here or the list of news articles that we are going to discuss today. So without much delay let us get into the news article discussion. Look at this article from the economic page. This article talks about open market operation OMO of RBI. See RBI has recently announced OMO in order to maintain liquidity in the system. Usually OMO will allow interest rates to rise in order to keep inflation under control. So here OMO does not worry to sacrifice economic growth, consumer spending and employment for the sake of keeping inflation under control. This is the reason why this sudden announcement of OMO has surprised the market. This is the crux of the news article given here. In this context let us understand about OMO and its impacts on the market. Before that we shall learn some of the basics about inflation. What is inflation? As you all know inflation is a general increase in the prices of goods and services in an economy. Which means that when the general price level rises each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently inflation corresponds to a reduction in the purchasing power of money. The two main indicators of inflation in India are the wholesale price index WPI and the consumer price index CPI. Now also remember this inflation is not always too bad for the economy. A more rate level of inflation is always necessary to maintain price stability by preventing deflation. It also helps in increasing wages for employees leading to improved standard of living for workers and it also supports consumer spending. More rate inflation also means that there is demand for goods and services in the economy so the businesses will rise their prices, earn higher profits and invest more than usual. For these reasons more rate inflation is necessary but too much inflation will have an impact on the common man. So government generally try to keep inflation within an optimal range that promotes growth without drastically reducing the purchasing power of the currency. There are many methods used to control inflation. I have displayed here you can pause the video and go through it. Now coming to OMO, OMO is a monetary policy measure taken by the RBI to control the liquidity in the system. To conduct an open market operation the RBI enters the financial markets and either buys or sells government securities like treasury bills, bonds or notes to commercial banks financial institutions or the public. Now let's briefly discuss about the process involved in the OMO operation. If the RBI's goal is to expand the money supply and boost demand the policy is expansionary. Here the RBI buys securities and injects money into the banking system. That is the RBI will buy the bonds that has been already listed by banks by buying it RBI indirectly provides money to the bank. This increases the reserve of the bank and puts downward pressure on interest rates. So lower interest rates can encourage borrowings and spendings stimulating economic activity. While this type of OMO lowers interest rates after some period of time if RBI's goal is to contract the money supply and decrease demand the policy becomes contractionary in nature. During this time RBI sells securities and removes money from the banking system. That is RBI now it will list its own bonds or government securities and it will make the bank to buy those bonds from the RBI. So this reduces the reserves of bank and to put downward pressure on interest rates. Higher interest rates can discourage borrowing and spending which can help control inflation or cool down an overheated economy. So these are the two ways how government controls liquidity using OMO. See historically the October to May period is observed to have high cash withdrawals due to festival and wedding seasons. This generally tends to reduce the durable liquidity in the banking system. So to keep liquidity under control this measure has been announced recently by the RBI. Hope you could get a clear picture now talking about the impacts of the OMO. The OMO directly impacts the money supply in the economy. Buying securities increase the money supply while selling securities reduces it. Secondly central banks like RBI use OMOs to influence short term interest rate in the inter-bank lending market. So by adjusting the supply of money in the banking system central banks can guide interest rates towards their target level. For example if a central bank wants to lower interest rates to stimulate borrowing and investment it will conduct expansionary OMOs. Thirdly OMOs provide central banks with flexibility and precision in implementing monetary policy. They can be used frequently and adjusted as needed to respond to changing economic conditions. Fourthly OMO are typically conducted openly under announced to the public contributing to the transparency of a central bank's actions and intentions. Finally central banks can choose the maturity and duration of the securities they buy or sell. This will allow them to target specific segments of the yield curve. For example short term securities for example treasury bills will impact short term interest rates while long term securities for example bonds influence long term rates. So these are all some of the important points that I have to remember about OMO. A very potential preliminary question topic. So have a clarity regarding this with this learnt points. Now let us move on to the next news article. Now we take a look at this article from Monday's newspaper. The article conveys the story of Vasili Archipau and how it is relevant in today's world. We all know that October 2nd is the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. The day is also observed as the United Nations International Day of Non-violence. So instead of simply remembering Mahatma Gandhi's birthday as a tradition in order to celebrate courage especially in a world that often glorifies aggression it's more valuable to remember a single act of bravery that saved the world for the time being. In that sense Vasili Archipau who was a Soviet naval officer is a great example. You can quote this example in your ethics and essay papers. So let me start with the story of Vasili Archipau. See Archipau was commander of a Soviet Flotilla and executive officer of the diesel powered submarine B-59 which was submerged near Cuba in October 1962. Here Flotilla is nothing but a small fleet of ships. 1962 was the time of the Cuban missile crisis where both the US and Soviet Union were at the peak of their Cold War. The Cuban missile crisis was a 13-day confrontation between the US and Soviet Union concerning American ballistic deployment in Italy and Turkey with consequent Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. So the confrontation between both the countries started in October 16, 1962 and it just lasted for 13 days till October 28, 1962. Initially US has deployed ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey. So in retaliation Soviet deployed ballistic missile in Cuba. Now the situation would have developed into a full-fledged nuclear war between the US and Soviet Union leading to Third World War. But courageously it was prevented by one man's decision. The man is none other than Mr. Vasili Archipau. See what happened was on October 27, US Navy destroyers detected the presence of Soviet submarines and began dropping depth charges to force the Soviet submarines to surface. Their depth charges is nothing but an anti-submarine weapon which is dropped from a ship or aircraft near a target. This weapon descends to a predetermined depth where it explodes. This explosion causes powerful and destructive hydraulic shocks that can damage the submarines. So US Navy, they wanted the Soviet submarines to surface above the sea. So for that reason US dropped depth charges on Soviet submarines. But by then the Soviet submarines had gone for many days without radio contact with Moscow. So some of the Soviet naval officers they interpreted the dropping of depth charges as a signal that war has broke out between US and USSR. So the captain of B-59 insisted that it was time for them to launch a nuclear torpedo. I hope you all know what is a nuclear torpedo. Fortunately Soviet naval protocol required that three officers on board that ship had to authorize a nuclear launch. So two of the designated officers were in favor of firing the nuclear weapon. And it was Archipau as chief of staff of the brigade who refused to go along. He did not vote to fire the nuclear weapon. Mr. Archipau who had a reputation for being courageous finally persuaded the captain of the submarine to surface and await orders from Moscow on October 28, 1969. That is the day after the incident happened both Washington and Moscow backed down and the missile crisis ended. So B-59 peacefully sailed back to Soviet Union. Just imagine what would have happened if Archipau voted in favor of firing the nuclear weapon. The world that we live in today would have undergone multiple changes. In 2002 the then director of the US National Security Archive called Archipau the man who saved the world. Now this story highlights two vital truth. Firstly, violence and non-violence are not binary opposites but it is a spectrum within which most people are in constant motion. That is Mr. Archipau even though he is more courageous and he is a person who would vote for the firing of the nuclear torpedo he itself resisted to choose violence. This is the meaning of the first truth. Secondly, courage and clearsightedness of a single individual can sometimes make a hugely significant difference particularly when that individual is empowered within the state structure. So here again the decision of Archipau has actually saved the world. Here Archipau had the choice to choose and he chose non-violence. So the story of Archipau is relevant even today because in many societies a large number of people display an enthusiasm for answering violence with stronger violence. A lot of war happening around us is a very big example for this. All of them know that violence is not the solution and violence will leave the original problem unsolved but still people choose violence because people fear that an outright rejection of violence will make them weak and vulnerable. Non-violence in today's world is seen as a self-defeating doctrine but actually non-violence has the power to transform opponents through love and compassion. So in that line Archipau's story shows us the importance of self resistance even when we have the means for violent action and how it's not a weakness but a strength. Remember there might be a risk in choosing resistance but it is always better than the potential harm caused by aggressive actions. So we should honour those who like Archipau chose self resistance over aggression in their Archipau moments. They contribute to our progress as a species towards a more peaceful and compassionate world. This is a very strong message that you have to recall in the United Nations International Day of Non-violence. So make note of this example and use it in your main sensor. So with this points now let us move to the next news article discussion. Now look at this article from Monday's newspaper. This news article talks about the Ken Betua River linkage project. Suddenly it is in news because of the upcoming state assembly election of Madhya Pradesh. Due to elections the state government is fastening the implementation of the project. So in this news article discussion let us understand the basics of this Ken Betua Link project. See the Ken Betua Link project KBLP is the river interlinking project that aims to transfer surplus water from the Ken River in Madhya Pradesh to Betua in Uttar Pradesh to irrigate the drought prawn Bundelkhand region. Bundelkhand region spread across the districts of two states mainly Jhansi, Banda, Lalitpur and Mahoba districts of UP and Tigamgarh, Panna and Chhatrapur districts of MP. The project involves building a 77 meter tall and a 2 kilometer wide Daudan Dam and a 230 kilometer canal. Remember Ken Betua is one of the 30 river interlinking projects conceived across the country. Talking about the significance of the project, see the project will not only accelerate the water conservation by construction of a multi-purpose dam but will also produce 103 mega watts of hydropower and it will supply drinking water to 62 lakh people. Now these advantages are also associated with concerns. Let us see them one by one. Firstly, the project passes through critical tiger habitat of Panna Tiger Reserve. Because of this reason the project is stuck in for the approval from national green tribunal, NGT and other higher authorities. Secondly, there is a huge economic cost attached with the project implementation and maintenance and it is further rising due to delays in project implementation. Thirdly, reconstruction and rehabilitation cost due to displacement resulting from the implementation of the project will improve social cost as well. There are also concerns that the project will endanger the water security of Panna. Apart from this there are significant legal problems with the approval granted to KBLP. For example, approval by the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife to the Ken Betwa Link project has not been proved to be necessary for the improvement and better management of the wildlife therein as provided in section 35 clause 6 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. So these are all some of the important points that you have to remember about Ken Betwa River Linkage Project. See if UPSC is going to ask question in this particular area UPSC might ask about the origin and the draining states of Ken and Betwa rivers. In mains UPSC might ask about the impacts or the positives and negatives of interlinking of rivers. So with these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this article 10th October is observed as the World Mental Health Day to rise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health. See mental health is actually everything it encompasses a individual's emotion and cognitive state as well as their ability to manage stress relate to others make decisions and handle life's challenges. Also remember good mental health doesn't mean the absence of mental health issues rather it implies the ability to cope with lives ups and downs efficiently. Some of the characteristics of positive mental health includes emotional well-being that is the ability to experience a range of emotions managing them and expressing them appropriately. Secondly resilience that is the capacity to bounce back from adversity and stress adopt to change and maintain a sense of balance and well-being. Thirdly the ability to build and maintain healthy fulfilled relationships with others. Fourthly the skill to manage life's challenges and stressors in a constructive manner that is having an effective coping strategy. Then having a positive self-esteem and self-confidence and a self-assurance in one's ability and self-worth. These are some of the characteristics of positive mental health. Apart from this a positive mental health have the character and ability to understand and empathize with others and show kindness and concern. A positive mental health will also help in balancing the demand of work personal life and leisure time to prevent excessive stress. So this is the reason why I said mental health is everything. So on the occasion of the World Mental Health Day many articles related to mental health appeared in the newspaper. So in this news article discussion let us understand the determinants of mental health and the steps taken by the government to prevent mental health. See learning these concepts will enhance your understanding of ethical concepts and emotional intelligence. So now let's start with the determinants of mental health. Remember multiple individual, social and structural determinants combine to protect or undermine our mental health. For example, individual psychological and biological factors like emotional skill, subject use and genetics can make people more vulnerable to mental health problems. Secondly, exposure to unfavorable social, economical, geopolitical and environmental circumstances. This includes poverty, violence, inequality and environmental deprivation. All these increases people's risk of experiencing mental health conditions. Thirdly, risk can manifest themselves at all stages of life, but those that occur during developmentally sensitive periods, especially early childhood or particularly detrimental. For example, harsh parenting and physical punishments is known to undermine child health and bullying is a leading risk factor for mental health conditions. Finally, an individual's social and emotional skills and attributes as well as positive social interactions, quality education, decent work, safe neighborhood and community cohesion, all these can enhance mental health of an individual. So these are all some of the determinants of the mental health. Now let's move on to the initiatives of the Indian government to ensure the mental health of the people is taken care. Firstly, the National Mental Health Program has been launched by the Indian government to address the huge burden of mental disorder and shortage of qualified professionals in the field of mental health. The program was re-strategized in 2003 to include two schemes, that is modernization of state mental hospitals and upgradation of psychiatric wings of medical colleges or general hospitals. Secondly, District Mental Health Program DMHP of 1996 was also launched to provide community mental health services at the primary health care level. Thirdly, the Mental Health Care Act 2017 guarantees every affected person access to mental health care and treatment from services run or funded by the government. It has also significantly reduced the scope for the use of Section 309 IPC and made the attempt to commit suicide punishable only as an exception. Apart from this, in 2020, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched a 24 by 7 toll free helpline, Kiran, to provide support to people facing anxiety, stress, depression, suicidal thoughts and other mental health concerns. There is also an initiative called Mano Darpan Initiative. It is an initiative of the Ministry of Education aimed to provide psychological support to students, family members and teachers for their mental health and well-being during the times of COVID-19 pandemic. That is also a mobile app called MANAS, M-A-N-A-S. In 2021, the government of India launched the MANAS. The expansion of the mobile app is Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System. This app promotes mental well-being across age groups. MANAS was endorsed as a national program by the Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council as well. So these are all some of the important points that I have to remember about mental health. This year in UPSSGS paper one, there was a question related to suicidal deaths among Indian youth. So in future also, there might be questions related to mental health. So that is why we chose this article to be discussed today. Okay. So these learnt points and all that is moved on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this article. Recently IMF has raised India's GDP forecast for the current financial year by 20 basis points to 6.3 percentage. See IMF has done this mainly due to the strong conception pattern during April to June quarters. This is the crux of the article given here. In this context, let us quickly go through some of the important facts about IMF. See the International Monetary Fund or IMF works to achieve sustainable growth and prosperity for all of its 190 member countries. It does so by supporting economic policies that promote financial stability and monetary cooperation. It was established in 1944 and now the IMF is governed by and accountable to those 190 countries that make up its near global membership. Then when we take the institutional setup of IMF, see it has a board of governors. It consists of one governor and one alternative governor for each member countries. Each member country appoints its two governors and the board of governors is advised by two ministerial committee, the International Monetary and Financial Committee, IMFC and the Development Committee. So what does the IMF actually do? See IMF has three critical missions. First one is furthering international monetary cooperation. Second is encouraging the expansion of trade and economic growth and third is discouraging policies that would harm prosperity. So to fulfill these missions, IMF member countries work collaboratively with each other and with other international bodies. So how does IMF work? See firstly the IMF gives policy advice. Here the IMF monitors economic and financial developments and advises countries. Secondly the IMF provide financial assistance that is loan and other financial assistance to member countries especially for countries experiencing actual or potential balance of payments problems. Thirdly the IMF provides for capacity development that is by providing technical assistance and training to help governments to implement sound economic policies. Apart from this as part of its World Economic and Financial Surveys, the IMF publishes flagship reports on multilateral surveillance twice a year. They include World Economic Outload, WEO, Global Financial Stability Report, GFSR and Financial Monitor FM. Now let's quickly see about specific information regarding IMF and India. See India is a founding member of the IMF. IMF has provided several loans to India at many critical situations and after the creation of the special drawing rights which was created in the year 1969, the assistance that India can obtain from IMF has been increased. Here special drawing rights or SDR is nothing but an international reserve asset created to supplement its member countries official reserves. Okay the value of SDR is based on a basket of five currencies. The five currencies include US dollar, the euro, the Chinese renminbi, the Japanese yen and the British pound sterling. Remember India has occupied a special place in the board of directors of the fund. So India had played a credible role in determining the policies of the fund. This has also increased the prestige of India in the international circles. So these are all some of the important facts that you have to remember about IMF. So these learned points and now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this article. This article talks about Claudia Gordon. She is a Harvard University professor who has won the Nobel economic prize for her research that helps explain why women have disadvantageous outcomes in terms of occupation and wages even when they are just as qualified as men. Her research expose that the labour market are not gender neutral and not working efficiently to choose the best person for the job. Remember Professor Claudia Gordon is only the third woman to have won the prize for economics and the first to do it solo. So in this news article discussion let us understand some of the findings of her research. See initially Gordon tracked US data for over more than three decades. Her focus was on the big picture questions of how women's labour force participation LFP and gender wage gaps have evolved historically. While tracking it she found a U shaped relationship between economic development and women's LFP instead of an upward trend. In other words she exhibited that the economic growth in various periods did not result in a reduction in gender inequalities in the labour market. She found that countries at low levels of economic development have relatively higher levels of female LFP as women are engaged in agriculture that do us unpaid workers on family forms. As income increases due to industrialization and introduction of new technologies women withdraw from paid work and went back into the home. This was mainly because industrialization had made it harder for married women to work from home since they would not be able to balance the demands of their family. Even though Gordon's research held that unmarried women were employed in manufacturing during the industrial era the overall female force in the labour market declined. Remember this does not mean that their working hours varied. Even though they left their jobs women had to work for longer hours so only their labour force participation declined but not their working hours. So as countries developed and women's education rises further women moved back into paid work. Again social stigma, legislation and other institutional barriers limited their influence. Now another pivotal factor was the introduction of birth control pills. This created conditions for women to plan their careers better. Now even if the pills influenced educational and career choices this did not translate to the disappearance of the earnings gap between men and women. So what is the factor that led to this menace? See the only factor playing here is occupational segregation where women work in stereotypically female jobs that are lower paying. Let me explain this. According to Gordon gender wage gaps at entry level are not significant. But going up the occupational ladder she highlights the phenomenon of greedy jobs which have massive wage premiums but in turn require long working hours, networking late night meetings and travel. So in a family of two working parents with kids only one parent would be able to afford to work this way. The other would be on the mummy track that is continuing in less demanding jobs which would allow them to take care of kids school, homework, sports, music lessons and doctor visits. Here the issue is the mummy track parent does not literally have to be the mother but most often the mother is in the mummy track. So this creates a large pay gap between men and women because the men is in the greedy job and the woman is on mummy track. So according to Gordon several factors have historically influenced and still influencing the supply and demand for female labour. These includes opportunities for combining paid work and a family, decisions and expectations related to pursuing education and raising children, then technical innovation, laws and norms and the structural transformation in an economy. She also highlights the issue in this unequal paradigm here both men and women they lose. While men are able to have a family and step up because women step back in terms of their jobs but both are deprived. While men forgo time with their family and women often forgo their career. So through this research, Gordon made it clear that the labour market work very differently for men and women and the solution here lies in the future where women have a career as well as a spouse who wants what they want. For example, men sometimes can be the mummy track parent and support the female counterpart to achieve her dream. This could turn the U trend upward. Now let's quickly see how the findings of Claudia Gordon are applicable to India. See India's female labour force participation has fallen over the past two decades as the jobs moved from form to construction, manufacturing and services. The state of working India report by Asim Premji University shows a U shaped pattern for urban married working women in India too. Women's chance of going out to work falls as their husbands pay rises but increases again as the figure crosses 40,000 rupees per month. The gender pay gap is also very huge with women earning just 76% of what men does. So in this context, India should focus on higher education investments. And since family life is shaping the wage gaps, raising the age of marriage could also be a solution. So these are all some of the very important points that you have to remember about the findings of Claudia Gordon. You can use it as a case study or an example in your main sensor or you can use it in your essay as well. Okay, so with this we shall wind up and we'll be meeting on another session. 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