 A very good evening aspirants, I welcome you all to the Hindu Daily News Analysis brought to you by Shankar Ayes academy. Today I am going to cover important news articles from the Hindu newspaper dated 16th of February 2023 and displayed here as a list of news articles that we will be discussing today. You can go through it and a kind request to you all those who haven't yet subscribed our YouTube channel, do subscribe and hit the bell icon button to get regular notifications regarding our current episode videos. Now let us get into our first news article discussion. Now have a look at this front page article, the news is that yesterday the union cabinet approved the creation of seven new battalions of the Indo-Tibetan border police. This is being done with a view to bolstering the social and security framework along the China border. Apart from this, the central government also allocated Rs.4800 crore under the vibrant villages program to stop migration and to boost tourism in villages along the China border. This is the crux of the news article given here. Now in this context, let us learn about the Vibrant Villages program from exam perspective. See the Vibrant Villages program has been announced in the Union budget 2022-23. This program aims to strengthen infrastructure in border villages which are located along India's border with China, that is in the border villages in states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh. So the Vibrant Villages program basically aims to transform India's border villages. This is a basic about Vibrant Villages program. Now talking about the activities that are being carried out as a part of this program, see the primary activities under the project will focus on enhancing the village infrastructure then establishing proper housing and developing tourist centres. In addition to all these, the Vibrant Villages program aims at boosting road connectivity. Apart from this, this program aims to generate skills for livelihood opportunities in such border villages. It is being done by providing direct home access to Durdarshan and other educational television channels. Apart from this, Vibrant Villages program also includes provision to ensure decentralized renewable energy in these areas. And finally one of the main features of Vibrant Villages program is to merge the existing border development schemes with its own. And there are also provisions for additional funding for the development schemes. See these activities are critical in order to protect the country's sovereignty and to avoid any potential conflict with its neighbours. Now before concluding our discussion, we will see some benefits of the Vibrant Villages program. Firstly, the Vibrant Villages program helps in promoting the tourism sector. As we all know, the border areas are filled with beautiful sceneries especially in the border areas of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh. Therefore, opening up the villages along the Chinese border will boost the tourism sector in the country. Secondly, this Vibrant Villages program will promote inclusive growth. As I said earlier, this program aims at boosting road connectivity. This in turn improves accessibility to the border villages. So the border villages will be able to enjoy the same benefits as enjoyed by other villages in the same state. So this is an inclusive growth. And that's all regarding this discussion. This discussion we saw about Vibrant Villages program. Then we saw about the activities that are being carried out as a part of this program. And finally, we saw some benefits of this program. Now with these key points in mind, let's move on to the next news article discussion. Now have a look at this editorial given here. It talks about the issue of antimicrobial resistance. As you all know, excessive use of antimicrobials has now led to microbes developing resistance against them. This editorial discusses in detail about the dangers of growing antimicrobial resistance. Then the editorial also discusses about Indian governments various initiatives to control this silent pandemic. This is the overall essence of the article given here. Now in this context, let us learn about what is mean by antimicrobial resistance. Then about the recent international efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance. And we will also see about India-specific information regarding antimicrobial resistance. Now before getting into discussion, the syllabus relevant to this topic is given here. You can go through it. Now first, let's start with antimicrobial resistance. As you all know, microorganisms like virus, bacteria and fungi cause a wide variety of diseases when they enter our human body. These infections are usually treated by using a variety of antimicrobials like antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics. All these types of medicines are only called as antimicrobials since they are used to prevent and treat infections in humans, animals and plants. Here note that microorganisms over a period of time evolve themselves to evade the resistance created by the antimicrobials used against them. When this happens, we term the resistance developed by microbes against the antimicrobials as antimicrobial resistance. So this is what called antimicrobial resistance. Now why suddenly antimicrobial resistance is gaining prominence? See antimicrobial resistance is an age-old phenomenon, but nowadays we are hearing it often due to understricted usage of antimicrobials in many parts of the world. Because of this wide-scale improper usage, many antimicrobials are losing their prominence to effectively treat microbial infections. Also, their ability to act as a resistance against the microbes are falling steeply. Now the author says that diseases like pneumonia, tuberculosis and blood poisoning are becoming harder to treat because of antimicrobial resistance. During COVID also in many parts of the world, patients were treated with huge doses of antimicrobials. This has again fueled the microbes' capacity to evolve faster to evade the resistance created by antimicrobials. So the author termed antimicrobial resistance as a silent pandemic. Okay, now let's look at the data provided by the author regarding antimicrobial resistance. See according to the author, in the year 2019, antimicrobial resistance was associated with an estimated 4.95 million human deaths across the globe. See this is a huge number because of the fact that it will keep on increasing in the coming days. So to keep a check on the increasing trend of antimicrobial resistance, global high-level ministerial conference on antimicrobial resistance was held in Muscat in last November. Over 30 countries participated in the conference with India also being a participant. These countries adopted the Muscat ministerial manifesto on antimicrobial resistance. Now let us see briefly about this muscat manifesto. See the muscat manifesto recognizes the need to accelerate political commitments toward the implementation of one health action plan for controlling the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Here note that one health action plan has six major focus areas and one among them is antimicrobial resistance. Then the manifesto also recognized the need to address the impact of antimicrobial resistance not only on humans but also on animals and in areas of environmental health, food security and economic growth and development. Apart from this, the muscat conference also adopted three new health targets relating to antimicrobial resistance. The first target is to reduce the total amount of antimicrobials used in the agri-food system at least by 30 to 50 percentage by 2030. Here note that antimicrobials are increasingly used in a disproportionate manner in the treatment of animals and plants to make them resistance against the diseases caused by microbes. Secondly, the muscat manifesto tries to completely eliminate the usage of certain important type of antimicrobials in animals and food production which are medically important for human health. And thirdly, it tries to ensure that by the year 2030, at least 60% of overall antibiotic consumption in humans is from the WHO assess group of antibiotics. Here note that WHO has classified antibiotics into three groups. The groups are assess, watch and reserve groups. This classification is done taking into account the impact of different antibiotics on antimicrobial resistance. And to emphasize the importance of their appropriate use. Among the three classifications, usage of antibiotics in the assess group is going to be pushed forward by WHO according to the muscat manifesto. See, these are all some of the important targets relating to antimicrobial resistance mentioned in the muscat manifesto. Now, let's move on to see about India's efforts to curb antimicrobial resistance. See, India has a specific national action plan on antimicrobial resistance. This plan stresses the importance of preventive measures against the microbial induced disease. Various initiatives like Swachbara Dabiyaan, Kaya Kalp and Swach Swasth Sarvatra are being implemented as a part of national plan on antimicrobial resistance. Now, coming to the next important step taken by the Indian government to combat antimicrobial resistance. See, National Health Policy 2017 also offered specific guidelines regarding the usage of antibiotics. It aimed to limit the usage of antibiotics as a first stop over medication. It also tried restricting the usage of antibiotics for growth promotion in livestock. See, these are the two important steps taken by the government of India in dealing with antimicrobial resistance. Apart from all this, the author wants the G20 presidency of India to focus on the issue of antimicrobial resistance. Various meetings which are planned to be organized all across India as a part of G20 can be used to discuss the steps which need to be taken to control antimicrobial resistance. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw about what is antimicrobial resistance. Then about the various problems associated with antimicrobial resistance. Then we saw about the initiatives taken by the global health community. And finally, we saw some points about the steps taken by India. Now, with these key points in mind, let's move on to the next news article discussion. Now, have a look at this snippet here. It says that Indian government is planning to display the old antiquities relating to Kajaraho temples in the upcoming G20 meetings. These antiquities were retrieved from the foreign countries. Especially, the sandstone sculpture of a woman holding a parrot is also going to be displayed in the G20 meetings. This sculpture was brought back to India from Canada in the year 2017. This is what is given in this article. Now, in this discussion, let's learn about Kajaraho group of temples in Pulum's perspective. First of all, know that there are mainly three different types of temple architecture which got developed in India. They are Nagara, Vesara and Dravida. See, the Kajaraho group of temples comes under the Nagara style of architecture. If we take the Nagara style, there are again minor variations. With variations, the Nagara style is subdivided into Kajaraho style, the Odisha style and the Solonki style of temple architecture. So, we can say that Kajaraho group of temples comes under Kajaraho style of Nagara architecture. Now, with this basic information, we are moving on to see Kajaraho style of architecture in detail. Now, firstly, let us see the geographical location of Kajaraho group of temples. See, the Kajaraho group of monuments is a group of Hindu and Jain temples located in the district of Chattarpur in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Most Kajaraho temples were built during the 11th century AD. They were built by the rulers of Sandela dynasty. Historical records of this period say that the Kajaraho temple site had 85 temples by the 12th century. But presently, the sites only have 25 temples. Of the surviving temples, the Kandariya Mahadeva temple is the most famous one. It is known for its intricate details, symbolism and expressiveness. See, Kandariya Mahadeva temple is famous for its curvilinear architecture. Now, see this image here, this temple is having the tower structure which is slightly curved inwards as we go towards the top. So, curvilinear architecture is one of the features of Kajaraho style. Another important feature of Kajaraho temple is, it is famous for its erotic carvings made on the walls. See, sculptures of women with broad hips and open eyes are commonly found in the Kandariya Mahadeva and Vishwanath temple in the Kajaraho group of monuments. These sculptures are believed to reflect the idea of female beauty and fatality. Majorly, the scenes depicted on the walls of the temple signifies how sexual procreation and karma are an essential aspect of human life. This is all about the temple architecture of Kajaraho group of monuments. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw about Kajaraho group of temples. Then we saw some architecture features of the temples. Now, with these key points in mind, let's move on to the next news article discussion. Now, for our next discussion, we are going to take this text and context article. This article is about the mental health care institutions in the country. As per the National Human Rights Commission report, the condition of 46 government and mental health care institutions across the country are inhuman. The report notes that the facilities are illegally keeping patients long after their recovery. And this is an infringement of the human rights of mentally ill patients. This is the crux of the news article given here. Now, in this context, let us understand about the mental health care act 2017 and the challenges in it. Now, before getting into discussion, the syllabus relevant to this discussion is given here. You can go through it. Now, let's start with mental health care act 2017. Now, firstly, we are going to see about the section 19 of mental health care act. This section focuses on individuals and acknowledges their right to live as a part of the community. Apart from this, section 19 also focuses on rehabilitation. It says that a person with mental illness has the right to live as a part of the community and they should not be segregated from society. And accordingly, it is the responsibility of the government to create opportunities to assess community living. Here, community living means halfway homes, sheltered accommodations, rehab homes, and supported accommodation. These are less restrictive community for mentally ill people. When the mentally ill persons no longer require treatment in more restrictive mental health establishments, they should be able to live here. Secondly, the mental health care act 2017 discourages using physical restraints, such as chaining and unmodified electroconvulsive therapy. Thirdly, the mental health care act pushes for the right to hygiene, sanitation, food, recreation, privacy, and infrastructure. Fourthly, the act recognizes the fact that people have a capacity of their own unless proven otherwise. This will address the stigma and stereotype prevailing among common people about the mentally ill persons. Additionally, under section 5 of the act, people are empowered to make advanced directives. This means that they can nominate a representative for themselves in case they are not able to make health decisions in the future. At the time, the representative only will take the decisions on behalf of the person. This helps in eliminating the absolute forms of guardianship. Instead, it is in favor of supported decision making. Here, supported decision making means a tool that allows people with disabilities to retain their decision making capacity by choosing supporters to help them make choices. According to experts, this was the first time a psychological approach to mental health was adopted. Finally, the act acknowledges external factors such as income, social status, and education which imparts mental well-being. Therefore, recovery needs a psychiatric as well as a social input. See, these are all some of the important provisions of Mental Health Care Act 2017. Now, let us see the challenges in the Mental Health Care Act 2017. Firstly, as per the 2018 report by Hans Foundation, almost 36.25% of residential service users were found to be living at state psychiatric facilities for one year or more. This is against the provision of community living. Secondly, state mental health authority and mental health review boards are yet to be established. And if it is established, they are not functioning properly. See, these mental health review boards are required to be established under the Mental Health Care Act 2017. These bodies will further draft standards for mental health care institutions, then oversee their functioning and ensure they comply with the act. But the challenge is that they are not established or in some cases they are not functioning properly. Thirdly, many states have not identified minimum standards which are meant to ensure the quality of mental health institutions. Fourthly, poor budgetary allocation and utilization of funds leads to under-equipment of shelter homes, under-staffing and establishments, and lack of training for professionals and service providers to deliver proper healthcare. Finally, as we saw earlier, section 19 recognizes the right of people to live as a part of society and they would not be segregated from society. But according to experts, there have been no concrete efforts towards implementation of this section. So, while concluding, the author is saying that Mental Health Care Act safeguards the rights of people in mental health care establishments, but there are some enforcement challenges which still remains. So, the challenges should be addressed to ensure proper and effective implementation of the provisions of Mental Health Care Act. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw about important provisions of the Mental Health Care Act 2017. Then we saw some challenges associated with Mental Health Care Act 2017. Now, with these key points in mind, let's move on to the next news article discussion. Now, have I looked at this news article? The news is that yesterday, the chief of the Naval staff said that INS Vikrant, which is the country's first indigenous aircraft carrier, will be fully operational by air end. See, INS Vikrant is currently undergoing aviation trials. Earlier this month, the indigenous light combat aircraft that is LCA naval version and the MiG-29K fighter jet undertook maiden lands on the aircraft carrier. And this is the crux of the news article given here. Now, in this context, let us learn about INS Vikrant from an exam perspective. See, INS Vikrant is an indigenous aircraft carrier of India, which means that it is constructed or made in India. Know that INS Vikrant is also referred to by the term IAC-1. INS Vikrant was designed by the Indian Navy's direct rate of naval design and it was built at Cochin Shipyard Ltd. Know that Cochin Shipyard Ltd is a public sector shipyard under the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways. INS Vikrant was planned in 2007 and construction started in 2009. Finally, it was commissioned in September 2022. This is a basic about INS Vikrant. Now, let us see the specifications of INS Vikrant. See, INS Vikrant is 262 meters long and 62 meters at the widest part. It has a superstructure and 14 decks. Here superstructure means the structure built on top of the ship. Then INS Vikrant is powered by four gas turbines and its speed is up to 28 knots. See, INS Vikrant is so huge that it can carry around 1,700 people. Along with this, it can also house 30 aircrafts including fighter jets and helicopters. See, MiG-29K fighter jets and Kamo helicopters are going to be operated from the INS Vikrant. In future, it may also carry Rafale fighter aircraft. Apart from this, INS Vikrant also has specialized cabins to accommodate women officers. The aircraft carrier is a mammoth steel structure of 21,500 tons. The steel used in the construction of INS Vikrant is a special grade steel developed indigenously and used in Indian naval ships for the first time. Additionally, INS Vikrant contains a very high degree of automation for machinery operation, ship navigation and survivability. Therefore, Vikrant is the largest warship built in the country. It will boost the indigenation of ship building materials and processes. INS Vikrant is also a best example of Atman-Eber Bharat and it provides thrust to governments making India initiative. Apart from this, INS Vikrant showcases India's naval capability and India's patience in enhancing its maritime security, thus bolstering India's position in the Indian Ocean region. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw about INS Vikrant, then we saw about the specifications of INS Vikrant and finally we saw some points regarding the significance of INS Vikrant. Now with these key points in mind, let's move on to the next news article discussion. Now have a look at this text and context article. It talks about windfall taxes. On February 3, the union government hiked the windfall profit tax levied on domestically produced crude oil as well as on the export of diesel and aviation turbine fuel. Now in this context, we'll learn about windfall tax in detail and then we'll understand what this article says. Now first, we'll start by understanding what is windfall tax. See the windfall taxes are designed to tax the profits of a company derives from an external unprecedented event. For example, the energy price in the market has risen as a result of Russia-Ukraine conflict. So the oil companies might make profit out of this right. Now this profit cannot be attributed to something the firm actually did like an investment strategy or an expansion of business and so this profit will be taxed and this is what called as windfall tax. Okay now what is the need for such a taxation? It simply seems to be a burden on the company right but there are so many reasons behind this. Firstly, through windfall tax we can achieve redistribution of wealth. See the unexpertor gains due to high prices benefit producers but at what cost? It is at the expenses of consumers who space the bills right so by taxing such profit the government would fund social welfare schemes thereby redistributing the wealth to poor people. Clear? But there are some downsides as well. See firstly, the windfall taxes discourages the business activities because the investors are not sure when the conditions would become uncertain. Businesses usually prefer countries with a certainty in their tax regime. Also companies see such unexpected profits as a reward to their risk taking approach and so in the sense this windfall tax seems harmful to the businesses. Some also argue that profit should be reinvested by companies to promote innovation that will in turn benefit society as a whole. So windfall taxes curtail the initiatives of the industries. Secondly, the windfall taxes will tend to reduce future investments as well. Thirdly, windfall taxes are considered as populist measures taken by the governments to seek political opportunities. And another major issue with this tax is that it is not defined. See there is no answer for these questions like what exactly constitutes true windfall profits and how it can be determined or what level of profit is normal excessive. See only if these terms are known the profits could be taxed otherwise it would lead to chaos. This is a brief about windfall taxes. Now we will try to see what the article says. Now see this table here it shows the revisions made in the special additional excess duty on domestic crude oil production. Here this excess duty is nothing but the tax on the rainfall profit of the companies. The special additional excess duty on domestic crude oil initially was Rs 23,250 per ton and after revisions it was brought down to Rs 10,200 per ton by 2020 to end. And now it is around Rs 5,050 per ton. So as we earlier discussed Russia's actions in Ukraine is central to the volatility observed in the oil market. So it is because of this volatility the global oil prices have increased. Now I will quote a data given by the author here the author says that ONGC's profit after tax until September end in the ongoing financial year stood at Rs 28,032 crore when compared to Rs 40,306 crore in the complete fiscal year ending March 31, 2022. Now what does this mean in the last financial year 2021-22 ONGC's profit stood at something around 40,000 crores. The next financial year that is 2022-2023 if you see the data from April to September the profit was around 28,000 crores. This is an enormous rise in profit rate so this profit is not because of any new innovation by the ONGC but because due to rise in oil prices. Now how did the oil prices rose because of Russia-Okraine war? See the western countries imposed sanctions on Russian oil however Russia made use of the Asian markets to sell its oil. By this many developing countries including India made gains in terms of lower oil prices. In fact during this crisis Russia emerged as one of the largest oil supplier of India but now you might wonder will the sanctions not affect the global market by pushing up the demand which will affect the global economy for this purpose the G7 placed a cap on the Russian oil prices and this would ensure proper supply of oil and at the same time this will ensure that the Russia does not make more profit in the Asian markets. So these kinds of actions have ensured that demand does not shoot up and led to hike in oil prices. Despite these efforts oil companies have been making huge profit. Now another problem is that the oil companies are prioritizing investments in conventional sources to provide for energy security than transitioning towards cleaner energy to meet energy requirements. So this would affect the transition to a greener economy. Now what would be the solution to all these problems? The international energy agency says that world oil supply looks set to exceed demand through the first half of 2023. However global oil demand is set to rise by 2 million barrel per day in 2022 101.9 million barrel per day. This is because of economic activities spurring back in the Asia-Pacific region after series of lockdowns and that's all regarding this discussion in this discussion we saw about what is windfall tax then we saw about the merits and demerits of windfall tax and we saw some points about the ongoing discussions about the windfall taxes. Now with these key points in mind let's move on to the next part of the news article discussion that is to discuss preliminary practice questions. Now look at this first question this question is regarding vibrant villages program now look at this first statement it aims to strengthen infrastructure in border villages along India's border with Bangladesh. See this statement is incorrect because it aims to strengthen infrastructure in border villages along India's border with China and not Bangladesh. So statement one is incorrect. Now coming to the second statement it aims to generate skills by providing dare-to-homes for Durdhoshan and educational TV channels. See this statement is actually correct this we saw in the discussion itself. The scheme aims to generate skills by providing access to educational TV channels. So statement two is correct now the question is asking for correct statement here second statement alone is correct so the correct answer for the question is option B2 only. Now coming to the second question this question is regarding windfall tax now look at this first statement taxes on lottery can be construed as a windfall tax yes this statement is correct because windfall taxes can be levied on individuals also so the taxes on lottery can be collected from individuals only so statement one is correct now coming to the second statement windfall taxes are levied when the profits of the industries fall to an all-time low. See this statement is incorrect because as we saw in the discussion the windfall taxes are levied when companies earn excessive profit okay so statement two is incorrect now coming to the third statement windfall taxes can be levied on individuals also this we saw in beginning itself windfall taxes can be levied on individuals also so statement three is also correct here the question is asking for incorrect statements so statement two is alone incorrect so the correct answer for the question is option C2 only. This is the question for you today I will pose this question in a community section try to answer it and don't worry the answer for the question is posted in the comment section of the question itself you can verify and display it here are the main questions for your practice go through the questions write your answers and post it in the comment section with this we came to the end of the video if you liked our analysis please like comment and share and don't forget to subscribe to Shankar ISE Academy YouTube channel thank you for listening