 A very good evening aspirants, I welcome you all to the Hindu daily news analysis brought to you by Shankar Ayes academy aspirants those who have not subscribe to our YouTube channel do subscribe and hit the bell icon button so that you will get regular notifications about our current videos. Now before getting into discussion, I have an important announcement to you. The announcement is regarding prilum stress series, batch 4 of Shankar Ayes academies prilum stress series is about to begin. The orientation for the first test is already concluded, but the first test is going to happen on tomorrow that is on 16th December, a total of 40 tests including mark and c-set will be provided in the test series. So go and register to the test series immediately and boost your prilum score. Now with this announcement, let us get into the daily news analysis. Today, I am going to cover important news articles from the Hindu newspaper dated 15th of December 2023 displayed here is a list of topics that we will be discussing today at the end of the video we will also have prilum's practice question discussions. So try to watch the entire video. Now let us get into our fourth news article discussion. Look at this news article yesterday. The world health organization issued a warning regarding e-cigarettes. It said that the tobacco use amongst the population is not being effectively reduced by the use of e-cigarettes instead the e-cigarettes with nicotine content are highly addictive and harming the health of the population. So this is what the warning issued by the world health organization says. And this is the crux of the news article given here. Now in this context, let us understand about e-cigarettes. See the electronic cigarette which is in short called as e-cigarette is a gadget that mimics smoking tobacco. The components of e-cigarette include a mouthpiece, a cat ridge, a heating element or atomizer, a microprocessor, a battery and some of them have an LED light on the end. Now let us briefly look at the functions of these components in the e-cigarette. See once the e-cigarette is on the power source from the battery is converted into heat energy. This heat energy is fed into the heating component or the atomizer. The atomizer evaporates the liquid solution present inside the cat ridge into a fine mist of vapor and air. And this creates smoke which is inhaled using the mouthpiece. In between there is an airflow sensor that detects when you suck in air from the mouthpiece. Once the air is sucked into the device, the sensor alerts the microprocessor to start the heating element that turns the liquid solution into vapor. Okay, this is how the e-cigarettes work. See there are many different types of e-cigarettes in use. The most common types include electronic nicotine delivery systems and electronic non-nicotine delivery systems. Now coming to the difference, see if the solution in the cat ridge of the e-cigarette is filled with nicotine it is known as electronic nicotine delivery systems. And if the solution is filled with nicotine flavored additives then it is known as electronic non-nicotine delivery systems. Okay, now let us see some points about nicotine and its harmful effects. See nicotine is an alkaloid that is found in certain plants like the nicotiana tabacum that is used to produce tobacco products. Within the tobacco plant nicotine is synthesized in the roots and accumulates in the leaves. Okay, one of the issues with the nicotine is that it reaches the brain within the seconds of taking a puff. In the brain nicotine increases the release of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. The neurotransmitters are responsible for regulating mood and behavior of the human. The nicotine increases the release of one of the neurotransmitters called dopamine. The dopamine is released in the reward center of the brain and causes feelings of pleasure and improved mood. So the more you smoke the more nicotine reaches your brain and makes you feel good. As e-cigarettes contain the nicotine it quickly becomes part of our daily routine and interwind with your habits and feelings. Apart from this nicotine can also increase the blood pressure, heart rate and flow of blood to the heart. It also leads to narrowing of the arteries and hardening of the arterial walls. This in turn may lead to heart attack. So the e-cigarette with nicotine is highly addictive and can cause serious health problems in humans. Okay, because of this huge harm only the World Health Organization recently released the warning against e-cigarettes. Okay, and that's all regarding this discussion in this discussion we saw about the working of e-cigarettes then we saw about the harmful effects of nicotine present in the e-cigarette. Now with these points in mind let us move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this news article recently the European Union has decided to open Assessions negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. This means that the negotiations are going to happen in order to induct Ukraine and Moldova to the European Union. This decision was announced at a summit of the leaders of the 27 European Union countries. In responding to this development the Ukrainian president Zelensky called it as a victory for Ukraine, a victory for all of Europe. Okay, this is all about the news article given here. Now in this discussion let us see about European Union from Pulum's perspective. First let us see the basics about the European Union and the history of its formation. The European Union is basically a political economic union. It consists of 27 member states which are located primarily in the European continent. The European Union was established by the Maastricht Treaty. The main goal of the European Union is to promote cooperation and integration among its member states. This in turn helps to enhance the economic and political stability of Europe. Okay, now let us see the history of formation of the European Union. After the World War II and its losses the European leaders understood the importance of intergovernmental cooperation to maintain peace and stability in the European region. So they decided to create a common forum or union among the European nations. As a result in 1952 the European coal and steel community was founded under the Treaty of Paris 1951. It was founded by 6 European countries which are famously called 6. Through this European coal and steel community the 6 countries aimed to place their coal and steel production in a common market. Later in 1957 the countries created the European Economic Community under the Treaty of Rome 1957. This community was aimed to bring economic integration including a common market and customs union. Subsequently the countries are created open borders among the members without passport controls through the Schengen Agreement 1985. At last in 1992 the Maastricht Treaty or the Treaty on European Union was signed between some of the European countries. This treaty was aimed at improving the European integration and it led to the creation of the European Union. This Maastricht Treaty created European Union citizenship, a common foreign and security policy and single European currency called Euro. So this is how the European Union came into existence. Now let us see the members of the European Union. Currently the European Union consists of 27 member countries. Here note that Croatia was the last country to join the European Union in 2013. Then the United Kingdom was the last country to leave the European Union. In 2016 the people of the United Kingdom voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. As a result the United Kingdom lifted the European Union at the end of 31st January 2020. This is all about the members. Now let us see some points about how a country is admitted into the European Union. See if a country wants to join the European Union then it should submit its membership application to the European Council. Then the European Council asks the European Commission to assess the ability of the applicant. Based on the European Commission's opinion the European Council then decides on the negotiation mandate. After fruitful negotiations an applicant country could be admitted into the European Union. This is how a country is admitted into the European Union. Here I have listed the 27 member countries of the European Union. You can have a look at it. Now finally let us see the organizational structure of the European Union. See there are four principle organs present in the European Union's administration. They are European Council, European Commission, European Parliament and Council of the European Union. Now let us see in brief about them one by one. Now first let us take European Council. The European Council consists of heads of state or governments of member states. Its main function is to give political direction to the European Union. The second organ is the European Commission. The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union. Now thoroughly let us see about the European Parliament. The European Parliament is a legislative body of the European Union. Here note that the members of the European Parliament are elected based on proportional representation. Now finally let us see about the Council of European Union. The Council of European Union is the main decision making body of the European Union. It is responsible for adopting various registrations and coordinating the policies of the European Union. This is all about the organizational structure of the European Union. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion we saw about the history of formation of the European Union. We saw about the membership of the European Union. And finally we saw some points regarding the organizational structure of the European Union. See this topic is very much important for your problems exam. So revise all the facts that we discussed. Now with these points in mind let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this editorial article. This article speaks about the first global stock take that was recently adapted at the COP 28 held in Dubai. The global stock take examines how much progress did the world countries make in curbing global warming. The global stock take was happened for the first time since the adoption of Paris agreement in 2015. The author of this article also highlights the concerns surrounding the COP 28 final draft. And this is the crux of the editorial given here. Now in this discussion we will look at the highlights of the recently adapted forced global stock take. We will understand these points using our main's answer writing approach. Now first let us see the question. The question is recently the world countries have adopted the forced global stock take at the COP 28 of the UN of Troublesy. In this slide discuss the highlights of global stock take report. 250 words 15 marks. See this question can be asked in general studies paper 2 under the syllabus topic of important international institutions agencies and fora their structure mandate. It can also be asked in general studies paper 3 under the syllabus topic of conservation environmental pollution and degradation environmental impact assessment. Okay this is the syllabus. Now coming back to the question see this is a very straightforward question. In the intro we can write about what is global stock take and why it is important. And in the body part you have to write the highlights of global stock take. Now let us straight away get into the introduction. Since the question is about global stock take we can give a brief definition about the global stock take. Now let us see what is global stock take. The global stock take is a periodic review mechanism established under the Paris Agreement 2015. The stock take takes place every five years. The first ever global stock take was adapted at the recently held 2023 Winter Nations climate change conference that is at the COP28. Now coming to the definition the global stock take is nothing but an assessment of climate change action carried out by the world countries. Basically the global stock take evaluates the progress made on climate action at the global level. By doing this the global stock take helps the world countries to identify overall gaps in achieving the Paris Agreement goal. Apart from this it will also provide opportunities to bridge the gaps in achieving the goal. So this way you can write the introduction for the question. Now moving on to the main body of the answer here we have to list out the highlights of the global stock take. Now we will see the highlights of global stock take report. Firstly the global stock take says that the world is not on track to achieve Paris Agreement targets. The global stock take validates this concerns by highlighting the United Nations emission gap report that was released recently. See the 2022 United Nations emission gap report states that 23 billion tons of carbon dioxide are required to be cut in order to keep the global emissions in line with Paris agreements. And the global stock take noted that even if we fully implement the current pledges made by countries it would only cut 223 billion tons only. So this will leave an emission gap of around 20 billion tons. So by citing the data from United Nations emission gap report the global stock take says that the world is not on track to achieve the Paris Agreement target of limiting the global temperature by 2 degrees Celsius by the end of this century. Secondly the global stock take mentions that the rapid change from fossil fuel to cleaner energy could be disruptive. This is because the rapid change will affect the MSMEs that rely mostly on fossil fuel based commitments. So the global stock take advocates the countries to ensure that the energy transition should be equitable and inclusive. This is the second findings. So Lee the global stock take highlight the need for scaling up renewable energy. It says that renewable energy has to be scaled up to meet the Paris Agreement goal in a time bound manner. Apart from this the global stock take also says that all harmful fossil fuels have to be rapidly eliminated. Okay fourth Lee the global stock take noted that most of the climate action efforts were fragmented and unequally distributed across regions. So it advocates that countries should adopt transparent reporting on climate action efforts. This could enhance understanding between the countries and also facilitates international cooperation. Fifth Lee the global stock take says that severe heat waves, droughts, forest fires, floods and extreme rain are already being witnessed more frequently across the world. And there is also irreversible melting of polar and glacial ice and sea level rise. Okay this is another finding and finally the global stock take said that the access to climate finance in developing countries needed to be enhanced. This will help the developing countries to meet a goal of low greenhouse gas emissions and facilitates climate resilient development. Okay so these are all some of the important highlights of the recently adopted global stock take. Now having completed the body part let us move on to the conclusion. In the conclusion part we can give a way forward. The conclusion can be like the responsibility to limit the greenhouse gas emissions lies with each and every countries. It is crucial to make progress on all fronts particularly in terms of climate adaptation. Therefore to effectively address climate change and limit global warming target it is crucial to align policies with the best available scientific evidence. Okay so this way you can conclude a question by giving a way forward. And that's all regarding this discussion in this discussion through the mains answerating approach. We saw the highlights of the recently adopted global stock take report. Okay now with these points in mind let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this news article according to the news article the farming community who were engaged in Telangana election process as returned back to the cultivation of Rabi crops. The people of Telangana are also making preparations to harvest paddy and a few other crops that were raised in the Karif season. Okay this is the crux of the news article given here. Now in this context let us quickly go through cropping seasons in India. See India has three cropping seasons namely Rabi, Karif and Zaid. Now we shall see them in one way one. First let us take Rabi cropping season. See the Rabi crops are sown in winter that is from October to December and they are harvested in summer that is from April to June. Some of the important Rabi crops include wheat, barley, peas, gram and mustard. Okay here you might have a doubt how Rabi crops are grown in winter during the absence of rain. See actually during winter months the western disturbances coming from the Mediterranean sea brings precipitation to some parts of the north and north western parts of India. This is why the states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh cultivate more number of Rabi crops. Okay apart from this the success of the green revolution Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan are also an important factor in the growth of the Rabi crops in north parts of India. Okay this is all about Rabi cropping season. Now secondly let us see about Karif cropping season. See the Karif crops are sown with the onset of monsoon in different parts of the country and the crops are harvested in September to October. Some of the most important crops grown during the Karif season include paddy, maize, jovar, bajra, tur moong urad, cotton jute, groundnut and soya bean. Among the Karif crops rice is grown extensively across the country. Some of the most important rice growing seasons are Assam, West Bengal, coastal regions of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Konkan coast of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. This is all about Karif cropping season. Now finally let us see about the Zaid cropping season. See in between the Rabi and the Karif seasons, there is a short season during the summer months which is known as the Zaid season. Some of the crops produced during Zaid season include watermelon, musk melon, cucumber etc. This is all about Zaid cropping season. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion we saw three cropping seasons of India that is Rabi, Karif and Zaid. Kindly remember all the crops grown during different cropping seasons. This might be asked in a prelims question. Now with these points in mind let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this news article recently the Indira Gandhi price for peace, disarmament and development for the year 2023 has been announced. It is going to be awarded to two persons including classical pianist Daniel Baron Boehm and a peace activist Ali Abu Awad. They are recognized for their work in uniting young people and communities from Israel and the Arab world. They focus on finding peaceful ways to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict. So this is why they are going to be awarded with Indira Gandhi price for peace, disarmament and development. This is the crux of the news article given here. Now in this discussion let us learn some points about the price. The Indira Gandhi price for peace, disarmament and development was created in the memory of the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. It is instituted by a trust called Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust. The price consists of a monetary award of Rs 25 lakh along with a citation. The price is given annually on November 19 which is the birth anniversary of Indira Gandhi. Now what is the purpose of this price? Indira Gandhi price is awarded to individuals or organizations to honor their efforts in promoting international peace and development and a new international economic order. It is also given to scientific discoveries in order to improve the scope of freedom and to create a better humanity. Now what is the eligibility for the price? The Indira Gandhi price is open to individuals or organizations from any country who have made significant contributions to the following areas. The first area include promoting international peace and cooperation, resolving international conflicts through peaceful means and preventing the use of force. This is the first area. The second area include promoting nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation reducing conventional arms and preventing the use of weapons of mass destruction. Then the third area include promoting sustainable economic and social development poverty reduction and environmental protection. And the final area include advocating for a just and equitable economic order for international organizations. So if the individuals or organizations from any country who have made significant contributions to these four areas then they may be awarded with Indira Gandhi price. Now moving on to say about the selection process. See the nominations for the Indira Gandhi price are acquired from a wide range of sources including governments, international organizations non-governmental organizations and individuals. The committee of eminent personalities including the previous recipients of the price and selects the award recipient. Note that last year Indira Gandhi price was jointly awarded to the Indian Medical Association and the Trained Nurses Association of India. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion you saw about the various aspects of Indira Gandhi price for peace, disarmament and development. Let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this news article yesterday a team of officials from the Bureau of Indian Standards that is the BIS seized packaged drinking water in Madhavaram, Chennai. During the raid the officials found that the packaged drinking water was with forged ISA mark. That is why they seized the packaged drinking water. This is the crux of the news article given here. Now in this context let us understand some important points about the Bureau of Indian Standards. The Bureau of Indian Standards which is shortly called as BIS is the National Standard Body of India. It was established on April 1, 1986 under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act 1986. As it was established under the Parliamentary Act it is a statutory body. Here note that this BIS Act 1986 was replaced with the BIS Act 2016. So currently the Bureau of Indian Standards is governed by the BIS Act 2016. Now talking about the roles of BIS the BIS is primary responsible for the standardization activities in India. It plays a crucial role in formulating standards for products to ensure quality and safety. See before the creation of BIS in 1986 the Bureau of Indian Standards did all these functions. However in 1986 all the functions of the Bureau of Indian Standards institution that is the ISI were transferred to the BIS. The BIS is functioning under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. The BIS has its headquarters at New Delhi. It also has 5 regional officers at Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Delhi. Now let us see the important functions performed by the BIS. Firstly, the BIS is involved in the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods. It provides standardization and certification of goods, articles, processes, systems and services. Secondly, the BIS is involved in the formulation of Indian Standards. These standards help the industries in upgrading the quality of their goods and services. The standards also helps in promoting the standardization of goods and services present inside our economy. Okay, so these are all some of the important functions performed by the BIS. Some of the other functions of the BIS are displayed here. You can go through it. Now finally let us see the benefits offered by the BIS. Firstly, the BIS helps to ensure that the products are provided with safe, reliable and quality goods. By doing this, the BIS minimizes health hazards to the consumers. Secondly, the BIS helps in promoting the export of quality goods and it is also involved in promoting substitutes to the imports. Finally, the BIS keeps a control over proliferation of varieties through standardization, certification and testing. Okay, so these are all the benefits offered by the BIS. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw about the formation of the BIS. Then we saw about the functions performed by the BIS. And finally, let us see the benefits offered by the BIS. Now with these points in mind, let us move on to the next part of the video. That is to discuss preliminary practice questions. As friends, today we are having four questions. I will solve four of them and one will be a quiz question for you. Look at the first question. This question is regarding Indira Gandhi price. Here three statements are given. We have to find how many of the statements are correct. Look at the fourth statement. The price is awarded annually by the Government of India in honour of the former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. See this statement is incorrect. The award is given by Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust in honour of Indira Gandhi's vision and legacy and not given by the Indian Government. Now coming to the second statement, it recognizes individuals or organizations for their exceptional contributions to global peace, disarmament or development. See this statement is correct. Indira Gandhi price is awarded for contributions in these fields. Now coming to the third statement, the first recipient of this award was Nelson Mandela for his remarkable efforts in reconciliation and nation building in South Africa. See this statement is incorrect. The inaugural award was given to Julius K. Nairari who was the former president of Tanzania and not given to Nelson Mandela. Here only one statement is correct. So the correct answer for the question is option A, only one. Moving on, let's take up the second question. This question is regarding e-cigarettes. Here three statements are given. We have to find how many of the statements are correct. E-cigarettes are handy battery-powered devices that emit doses of vaporized caffeine. See this statement is wrong. See e-cigarettes are handy battery-powered devices but they emit doses of vaporized nicotine and not caffeine. Now coming to the second statement, unlike regular cigarette, e-cigarettes do not produce smoke. See this statement is correct. E-cigarettes have a heating element that automizes a liquid solution known as e-liquid. So unlike regular cigarette, e-cigarettes do not produce smoke but it produces an aerosol which is inaccurately referred to as vapor. So second statement is correct. Now coming to the third statement, liquid solution used in e-cigarettes contains propylene glycol and glycerin. This statement is correct. The main ingredients in the e-liquid usually are propylene glycol, glycerin, nicotine and some flavoring substances. However, there are liquids sold without propylene glycol, nicotine or flavors. But mostly the liquid solution contains 95% propylene glycol and glycerin. Propylene glycol and glycerin are used to produce the vapor while the flavoring provides the taste and aroma. So third statement is correct. Here only two statements are correct. So the correct answer for the question is option B, only two. Moving on, let's take up the third question. Here three statements are given but to find how many of the statements are correct. Now coming to the third statement, the CARIF season starts with the onset of the southwest monsoon. See this statement is correct. The CARIF crops are sown with the onset of southwest monsoon. Now coming to the second statement, Robby crops are sown in the winter season mainly from October to March. This statement is also correct. Now coming to the third statement, Z crops are typically grown between Robby and CARIF seasons. This statement is also correct. So option C, all three. Moving on, let's take up the final question. Here two statements are given. We have to find which of the statements are correct. Look at the fourth statement. The standard mark of Bureau of Indian Standards is mandatory for automotive tires and tubes. See this statement is correct. The standard mark of Bureau of Indian Standards is compulsory for certain types of electronics and IT goods, cement household, electrical products, food products, steel materials and all types of automotive tires and tubes. So statement one is correct. Now coming to the second statement, the FPO mark is a mandatory certification mark for all processed and packaged fruits in India. See this statement is also correct. FPO stands for Fruit Products Order. The FPO mark is a mandatory certification mark for all processed and packaged fruits in India. It is issued by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries. Both the two statements are correct. So the correct answer for the question is option C, both one and two. Displayed here is a quiz question for you today. I will post this quiz question in a community section. Try to answer it. With this we have come to the end of the video. If you found our video to be useful, do like, comment and share it with your friends. And don't forget to subscribe Shankaray's Academy YouTube channel. Thank you for listening.