 A very good evening aspirants, welcome to the Hindu newspaper analysis brought to you by Shankarai's academy for the date 3rd of March 2022. So these are the list of news articles chosen for today's discussion. If you can see we have chosen 4 different news articles, firstly we will be discussing about Silver Line project, secondly we will be discussing about the recently released IPCC report, thirdly we will be discussing about waste management and finally we will end our discussion by discussing about an important article regarding Ukraine. In that we will be seeing the geography of Ukraine in detail. So without any delay now let us move on to the first news article discussion. See this article here, it is about the Silver Line railway project in Kerala. It is a semi high speed railway project. See this article is about getting approval from Centre and other works needed to be done by the Kerala Rail Department Corporation Ltd. It includes inspection, preparing tender documents and conducting soil and hydro surveys etc. So we are not going to go deep into the issue, instead we will be discussing about the project from Prilam's perspective. First of all let us see about the project. See the proposed 529.45 kilometre line will actually link Tiruvannanda Boram in the south to Kassaragod in the north covering 11 districts through 11 stations. See when the project is completed one can travel from Kassaragod to Tiruvannanda Boram in less than 4 hours at 200 kilometres per hour. On the existing Indian railway network it now takes 12 hours, note this. And as per the alignment the railway line begins from Tiruvannanda Boram will have stations in Kullam, Chenganur, Kotaayam, Yannakulam or Kakanad, then comes the Kocin Airport, Trishur, Thirur, Koli Kod and Kannur before culminating in Kassaragod. Having seen that now let us see why this railway project is needed. See Kerala even though known to be a linear state with a population of only 3.45 crores it is commonly divided and called Southern Kerala, Central Kerala and Northern Kerala. The highways are choked with vehicles and the existence of residential and commercial establishments along the major highways makes the road development difficult in the near future. Also know that new vehicles are entering the roads of Kerala at the rate of 1 million per year. So considering the capacity of traffic served by the rail corridor and comparatively less quantity of resources required for realising railway projects, the ideal option is a rail corridor connecting the north and south ends of Kerala. So the first thing is population, second one is highways are choked with vehicles and the existence of residential and commercial establishments along major highways make the road development difficult. And the third thing is entering of new vehicles into the roads of Kerala at the rate of 1 million per year. So what are the benefits that are being realised through this project? Let us see them. First, let us see the economic benefits. As you know firstly it saves time and money. Second thing is it helps in increasing business opportunities and it creates employment opportunities. It will be helpful in building new townships and smart cities. Then it will help in turning the area nearby the station into industrial hubs. Apart from this it will accelerate the development of tourism industry in Kerala. So these are some of the economic benefits. The next is the social benefit. Firstly it will facilitate fast, safe and comfortable mode of transportation. That is it will improve the condition of local commute. Then it will reduce accidents along with it. It will reduce the traffic congestion. Now let us see the economic benefits. The first one is the reduction of approximately 2,87,994 tons of CO2 by 2030 and 5,94,636 tons by 2050. Second thing is achieving sustainable development goal 13 that is climate action. Thirdly it will help in reducing greenhouse gas emission. And fourthly it also helps in regimenation of abundant paddy fields. So that is all about the Silver Line project. In this news article discussion we saw about Silver Line project. Then we saw benefits of the project in three dimensions. First we saw about economic benefits. Then we saw about social benefits. Thirdly we saw about environmental benefits. So with these take away points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. See this article from text and context page. It is about the report by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which is nothing but IPCC. See the report reviewed the scientific evidence on natural, ecological, social and economic spheres. And based on that the report concluded that the climate change has already produced irreversible losses and damage to land, coastal and marine ecosystems. So this is the brief of the report and in this discussion let us see about the report in detail along with it we will also see some of the key findings and threats etc. Before that the syllabus relevant to this article is highlighted here for your reference please go through it. First of all let us see about the report. See the report that we are talking about is called the Impact Adaptation and Vulnerability Report. And know that this report is a contribution by the working group to the IPCC's sixth assessment report and this sixth assessment report will be published in September 2022. So what is in this news report? See this report assesses various aspects of climate change and also it gives some insights about the consequences. See it assesses the prospects for the planet if global average surface temperature exceeds 1.5 degree Celsius from the pre-industrial era and it warns of the severe consequences to food supply, human health, biodiversity laws and integrity of natural environment. And also it assesses the prospects for the planet if carbon emissions from human activity are not sharply reduced and lack of political will to review their policies. So this is the overview of the report Impact Adaptation and Vulnerability Report. Now coming to the key points in the report. See before going into the report's assessment you should know one thing know that the IPCC's conclusions are classified as having very high confidence to low confidence based on strength of the evidence. For example in the report it is given that human pressure on habitat will increase and it is classified as high confidence. See it means that a lot of reliable evidences suggest that the human pressure on habitat will change due to the climate change. So like this the report has classified each and every findings as either very high confidence or high confidence or low confidence. For your better understanding see this image here. See this is how the report will be. This particular part of the report shows you the assessment of the report that is the risk in the near term from 2021 to 2014. See the first line says that global warming reaching 1.5 degree Celsius in the near term would cause unavoidable increase in multiple climate hazards and present multiple risk to ecosystem and humans. And this assessment is classified as very high confidence. So what does that mean? See it means that the evidence that support this statement is very strong and global warming will definitely cause unavoidable increase in multiple climate hazards if it reaches 1.5 degree in the near term and that is why it is categorized as very high confidence. I hope you understand this classification. Now coming back to the key findings. See the scientific assessment in the report is that between 3.3 and 3.6 billion people live in areas that are highly vulnerable to climate change. And this includes people living along coastlines that are threatened by rising sea levels and extreme weather events such as cyclones and floods. See the unfortunate thing here is that India has several populous coastal cities. We know that right? It includes Mumbai, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata etc. And the worrying factor here is that these cities play an important role in manufacturing export and services. So the IPCC report says that there is a need for policy and the existing policies should be reviewed to help the cities adopt to climate change. And the next key point is that food production which is viewed as a fundamental determinant of human well-being and progress. Faces the climate threat. So the first key finding is that between 3.3 and 3.6 billion people live in areas that are highly vulnerable to climate change. And this includes people living along coastal lines that are threatened by rising sea levels and extreme weather events. Now the next point here is the food production. This food production is also facing a climate threat. See this is because agricultural development contributing to food security is coupled with unsustainable agricultural expansion. So here on one side there is agricultural development which is contributing to food security. On the other side there is unsustainable agricultural expansion. See this unsustainable agricultural practice is driven by unbalanced diet. And the report says that it will increase ecosystem and human vulnerability. Now moving on to the next assessment. See the predicted risk for 2 degree Celsius or worse or warmer world is severe. And the report says that with higher global warming level in the mid-term that is from 2041 to 60 food security risk due to climate change will be more severe. And according to the report it will lead to malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies which will be mostly concentrated in sub-Sahara Africa, South Asia, Central and South America and small islands. However see the report also talks about the adaptation options. However the adaptation measures should form part of an inclusive policy which includes rising food output through cultivar, improvements, agroforestry, community based adaptation, farm and landscape diversification and urban agriculture. So far we saw about some of the crucial findings from the assessment. First point is that higher number of people live in areas that are highly vulnerable to climate change which also includes region along coastal lines. Next point is that food production is facing climate threat. This is because agricultural development contributing to food security is coupled with unsustainable agricultural expansion. And the next assessment is that the predator risk for a 2 degree warmer world is severe because according to the report it will lead to malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies mostly concentrated in sub-Sahara Africa, South Asia, Central and South America and small islands. So the report also gives some suggestions. We will see them one by one. The first one is applying the principle of agroecology. See agroecology is a holistic approach using ecology and social concepts for sustainable agriculture. So the report here suggests to apply the principles of agroecology for sustainable agriculture. The second is ecosystem based management in fisheries and aquaculture. So instead of collecting everything which is available we have to understand the nature and should develop a sustainable ecosystem. And the last suggestion is use of natural processes where according to the report these measures can improve food security, nutrition, health, livelihood, biodiversity, sustainability and ecosystem services. Now let us move on to the next point. See the report says that in the current situation with the global warming and climate change and all between 3 percentage and 14 percentage of all species on earth face a very high risk of extinction at even 1.5 degree Celsius. So there will be a devastating losses if the temperature goes beyond that. This too will have an impact through ecological catastrophes. Having seen the assessment now we will see some pointers for India. See the report says that between 2010 to 2020 human mortality from floods, droughts and storms was 15 times higher in highly vulnerable regions compared to regions with very low vulnerability. And it is also a known fact that South Asia is a hot spot as it has the largest absolute numbers of people displaced by extreme weather along with Southeast Asia and East Asia followed by sub Saharan Africa. Now we will see the pointers for India. See the report says that heavy rainfall has increased in most of the Indian subcontinent especially Chennai along with Chittagong, Dhaka and Mumbai as well as the Gangetic Plain and Delhi Lahore Corridor are seen as future migration hotspots. So what can be done regarding this? See remedial measures such as heat health action plans can be implemented. These include early warning and response systems for extreme heat. See waterborne and foodborne diseases threat in popular settings can be reduced by improving access to portable water, reducing exposure of water and sanitation systems to flooding and extreme weather events and finally improving the early warning systems. And some of other measures suggested by IPCC or including the adaptation actions into institutional budget and policy making then creating statutory processes, thoroughly monitoring and evaluating frameworks and recovery measures during disasters. Moreover, the report says that introducing behavioural incentives and economic instruments will address market failures such as climate risk disclosure. And finally it says that inclusive and deliberative processes will strengthen adaptation actions by public and private actors. So now having seen about the findings of the assessment report and seeing some of the suggestions given by the report and seeing some of the pointers for India now will see the need for climate resilient developments. See in the IPCC's assessment it is clearly mentioned that the opportunity to curtail the rise in temperature to below 1.5 degree Celsius narrowing and this is the worrying fact. See there already exist a consensus under existing pledges by governments who signed the Paris Agreement and what was the consensus? It is nothing but accepting the truth that the goal of curtailing the rise in temperature is impossible and the average temperature could rise as high as 3 degree Celsius with catastrophic consequences. So in this helpless situation climate resilient development is the only solution. See it would align all stakeholders towards strong sharp cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, institution of measures to observe much of the stock of CO2 in the atmosphere and raise sufficient climate finance for adaptation. Here in the IPCC report it says that the global trend of urbanisation offers an immediate critical opportunity to advance climate resilient development. So here we should know what measures will not work in addition to knowing what will work. Such measures which do not help address the climate change or energy intensive and market led urbanisation, weak and misaligned finance, misplaced focus on grey infrastructure rather than ecological and social approaches, poor land use policies, isolated approaches to health, ecological and social planning. So instead of using these measures to address the climate change we should identify what will work in which place. Instead of applying one solution for all the problems you should know the area specific problem. As I already said these measures will affect resilient development in the bad way and the resilient development being the only hope. We cannot offer to waste finance and resources in wrong wishes, right? So according to the report it is important to know the intensity of the climate change and the rest of the current decade should be dedicated to steering the world towards a low carbon pathway. With this we came to the end of the news article discussion. With these key takeaway points let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now take a look at this news article. See this news article discusses about the failure of solid waste treatment measures in the city of Hyderabad. Why is this happening? Firstly this is mainly due to the absence of efficient equipment for solid waste treatment and there is also lack of proper servicing facilities for the existing equipment or machinery. Here we are talking about the municipal solid waste which is nothing but MSW. So in this discussion we will be seeing about municipal solid waste and the importance of waste treatment. Firstly we will have a brief understanding about solid waste and its types. The solid waste result from various sources and is majorly classified as industrial waste, municipal waste, biomedical waste and e-waste or electronic waste. Particularly municipal waste or MSW consist of household waste, construction and demolition debris which is also called inert waste, then sanitation residue and waste from streets. These are generated mainly from residential and commercial complexes. Now we saw about what the municipal waste consist of. Now we will see in brief about its components. See the components of municipal waste includes garbage which are highly decomposable objects like food, then trash which includes bulky items such as tree branches or old appliances etc. And also the rubbish which are the slowly decomposable items such as paper, glass or metal objects. Not only that the MSW or the municipal waste can also be classified based on its organic nature as organic waste or inorganic waste. It will be called organic waste if the waste degrades or breaks down by microorganisms over time. Note that all organic waste are essentially carbon based compounds. This organic waste is further classified as biodegradable and non-biodegradable organic waste. As you know biodegradable organic waste composes of agro residue, food processing, rejections, food waste, leaves from garden waste etc. And non-biodegradable organic materials or organics that are resistant to biological degradation or they have a very low degradation rate. This primarily includes woody plants, cardboard, containers, wrappers, discarded clothes etc. Next type is inorganic waste which is the waste composed of sand, dust, glass, mini synthetics and bad quality plastics. And these inorganic waste are non-biodegradable but overall when the MSW is biodegradable it is called the wet waste and when it is non-biodegradable it is called dry waste. So far we saw about the basics of municipal waste. We saw that municipal waste consists of household waste, construction and demolition debris which is also called inert waste. We saw some of the components of MSW. We saw it includes garbage which are highly decomposable objects, then trash which includes bulky items and then rubbish which are slowly decomposable items. Then we classified MSW based on its organic nature. Based on its organic nature they can be classified as organic waste and inorganic waste. If the waste degrades or break down by microorganisms over time then it is called as organic waste. These waste are further classified as biodegradable and non-biodegradable organic waste. Example for biodegradable organic waste includes food processing rejections, food waste, leaves from garden waste, agro-residues etc. And non-biodegradable organic waste. Examples includes woody plants, cardboard, curtains, wrappers, discarded clothes etc. Non-biodegradable organic materials can be broken down by microorganism but they have very low degradation rate. So that is why we are classifying them as these two categories. Next we saw about inorganic waste which composed of sand, dust, glass, mini, synthetics and bad quality plastics. And finally we saw that if MSW is biodegradable in general we call it as wet waste and when it is non-biodegradable we call it as dry waste. So knowing the basics of MSW or municipal waste now according to the data in the last few decades there has been a significant increase in the generation of MSW in India due to rapid population growth. And as per Central Pollution Control Board that is CPCB, Municipal Solid Waste generated from cities is expected to increase to 300 million tons per annum by 2047. So here the major problem associated with MSW is its disposal because most of it or disposed of unscientifically such practices leave waste unattended at the disposal sites which attracts birds, rodents, fleas etc. In turn this creates an hygienic conditions like order, release of airborne pathogens etc. So ultimately it adversely impacts the ecosystem and human environment and it causes air pollution, water contamination and soil contamination. So all these seems like a vicious cycle right? When MSW is not disposed properly they are attracted by birds, rodents and fleas which creates an unhygienic condition like bad order, release of airborne pathogens which ultimately impacts the ecosystem and human environment. Along with it it causes air pollution, water contamination and soil contamination. So to overcome these problems government of India notifies waste management rules and manuals. See initially in 2000 the municipal solid waste management and handling rules 2000 and municipal solid waste management manual were notified. But in 2016 the rules were revamped as solid waste management rules 2016 or which is also called as SWM rules and the manual was also revised. Note that as per the rules the local bodies are responsible for the collection, treatment and disposal of solid waste including municipal solid waste. Apart from this the manual and rules provide for integrated solid waste management or ISWM. See ISWM is based on the waste management hierarchy. Now we will see what is this integrated solid waste management is. As I already said integrated solid waste management is based on the waste management hierarchy. It aims to reduce the amount of waste being disposed and at the same time maximizing resource recovery and efficiency. So its main goal is to reduce the amount of waste which is being disposed and at the same time maximizing resource recovery and efficiency. See the hierarchy first includes minimization of waste generation at source and reuse of products such as reuse of carry bags or packing jars. This is a waste prevention strategy. So in the first stage the municipality tries to minimize the waste generation at source itself. This might be done through segregation of waste at the source itself. Segregation actually allows us to identify the products which can be reused. So this first step is a waste prevention strategy. Next comes waste recycling. See this helps in recovering material resources through segregation, collection and reprocessing to create new products. So after identifying the products which can be reused, this stage helps in recovering material resources through segregation, collection and reprocessing which can be used to create new products. Next one of the organic material recovery process is composting. As you know under natural conditions the organic waste continuously decomposes right. This natural decomposition releases strong foul order and also produces gases like methane or CO2. But when this decomposition is done in a controlled environment scientifically and technically in aerobic conditions it result in the production of stable humus like product. This product is called the compost and the process involved is called as composting. This compost is used to improve soil health and agricultural product. Now for composting machinery is used. According to the news the machinery installed in Hyderabad city as per government's direction is malfunctioning and there are no proper servicing facilities also. So it is affecting the treatment of waste generator. Next comes waste to energy step. See this is when material recovery from waste is not possible. So energy recovery from waste is preferred through production of heat, electricity or fuel. So here many processes or technologies are involved like biomethanation, pyrolysis, gasification, waste incineration etc. Next is waste disposal. See this is the residual waste at the end of the hierarchy which composes of inert waste. These are to be disposed in sanitary lined landfills which are constructed as per SWEM rules 2016. So basically these steps are involved in ISWM or integrated solid waste management. So overall if we see the benefits of waste treatment includes reduction in air pollution, better contamination and soil contamination caused by municipal solid waste. It reduces the need for land for waste. Plastics are recycled in safe manner thus protecting from toxic fumes. Fourthly waste prevention helps in reducing handling costs, treatment and disposal costs plus recycling helps you to get money and finally SWEM also conserves energy and produces us with renewable energy like biogas. So these are all the important points that you have to make note of from the news article. Make note of each point. You can use it at value addition in your main examination. So with these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. This news article talks about the recent Russia-Ukraine issue. See we have seen about this issue quite a lot of times right. So today we are not going to see what are all the factors which led to the situation but instead we will be seeing about what is happening in the region. As per the article see there is widespread airstrikes and bombardments in Ukraine which is causing further devastation in cities especially Karkiv in the east and as per the news article Ukrainians are now battling on the port of Kyrgyzstan. See this attack is significant because the port of Kyrgyzstan is the first significant city which is claimed to be seized by the Russians. Apart from this see Russia's weak old invasion has yet to achieve its goal of overthrowing Ukraine's government. Even though Russia still did not achieve an overthrowing Ukraine's government it has sent more than 875,000 people fleeing to neighbouring countries and shook the global economy as governments and businesses joined together to isolate Moscow. The bombing of Karkiv which is a city of 1.5 million people left the city's centre to become a wasteland of shattered buildings and garbage. At least 25 people has been killed by shelling and airstrikes in Karkiv in the past 24 hours and the roof of a police headquarters in central Karkiv collapsed in flames after an airstrike yesterday. So this is the story on the Ukraine side, on the Russian side see Moscow they deny targeting civilians and claims to conducting a special military operation to disarm Ukraine. This is what said in the news article. So according to Russian news agencies Russia said it would hold a second round of peace negotiations with Ukraine on the border with Belarus today. Now having seen what is happening in the region now let us quickly go through the geography of Ukraine which might be asked as a question in UPSC preliminary examination. As you know Ukraine is an Eastern European country it is situated both in the northern and eastern hemisphere of the earth Ukraine is bordered by seven European nations it is bordered by Belarus in the north by Hungary Slovakia and Poland in the west by Moldova and Romania in southwest and by Russia in the east and northeast it is bounded by the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov in the south the autonomous Republic of Crimea borders Ukraine to the south. Along with that know that Ukraine is the second largest country by size in Europe after Russia its capital is Kiev which is the largest city in the country. Now talking about the history of Ukraine see Ukraine emerged as fully independent nation in the last 20th century after the fall of Soviet Union I hope you know that the country was earlier ruled by Poland Lithuania Russia and USSR it became independent for a brief period from 1918 to 1920 but some western regions were ruled by Poland Romania and Czechoslovakia between the two world wars subsequently the nation became part of the Soviet Union as Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or SSR. After that with the fall of Soviet Union in 1991 the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic became a sovereign nation in 1990 and it became independent on 24th August 1991. See after gaining independence the country changed its name to Ukraine and did away with its Russian imperial legacy. So the issue here is the western region of Ukraine wants to integrate with the west while the eastern region want to integrate with Russia. Know that the total population of Ukraine is more than 4 crore. Around 78% of people in the country are native Ukrainians while 22% of them are from other countries. Talking about the language see although many languages are spoken in the country the official language of the country is Ukrainian. The official currency of the country is Ukrainian hymenia. Now talking about the hydrology of the country see as I already said the territory of Ukraine is bordered by the waters of Black Sea and Sea of Azor in the south more than 95% of the rivers are part of these two seas drainage basins. There are seven major rivers in Ukraine which includes Dysna, Nipro, Nistar, Downup, Pripyat, Siberian Donuts and Southern Bo. So these are all the important points or facts that you have to know about Ukraine there might be question in preliminary examination using these points so please go through it. With this we came to the end of the new statistical discussion now let us move on to the next part of the new statistical discussion which is the practice preliminary questions. Now look at this first question this question was asked in the year 2020 preliminary examination here on the left side the rivers are given and on the right side the sea into which the river flows into are given so you have to pick the correctly matched pair see UPSC do ask questions like these this is the reason why I chose the Ukraine topic and we saw in detail about the geography of Ukraine see to attend these kinds of question you don't have to know everything but something about everything so now let us try to solve this question in this the first pair is Mekong and the one C second pair is Thames Irish C third pair is Olga Caspian C and the fourth pair is Zambazi Indian Ocean which of the pairs given above is are all correctly matched option A 1 and 2 only option B 3 only option C 3 and 4 only and option D 1 2 and 4 only see the correct answer for this question is option C because pair 1 and pair 2 are incorrectly matched pair 1 is incorrect because the sea actually originate in icy headwaters of the Tibetan highlands then the Mekong river flows through the steep canyons of China known as the upper basin and it flows through lower basin countries like Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia and finally it ends up fanning across an expansive delta in Vietnam and emptying into the South China Sea so Mekong river they actually drain into South China Sea not Andaman Sea so this pair is incorrect now pair 2 is also incorrectly matched because the Thames river is the longest river in England if you have watched a lot of movies you would have known that most of the movies which is shot on England will show the Thames river see this river flows 215 miles from the courts world to the North Sea they drain into North Sea and not Iris Sea so the second pair is incorrect pair 3 and pair 4 are correctly matched see the Volga is the longest river in Europe and its catchment area is almost entirely inside Russia it belongs to the closed basin of the Caspian Sea and it is the longest river to flow into a closed basin so pair 3 is correct and pair 4 is also correctly matched the Zambasi is the fourth longest river in Africa the largest east flowing river in Africa and the largest river flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa so the correct option for the question is option C 3 and 4 only now moving on to the second question this question is about silver line project silver line project often seen in news is related to which of the following option A metals and precious stones option B highways sector option C different sector and option D railways sector the correct answer for the question is option D railway sector see in our discussion itself we saw that it is proposed 529.45 kilometer railway line right it will link Thiruvananthapuram in the south to Casagot in the north covering 11 districts through 11 stations in Kerala so the correct answer here is option D railway sector here I have displayed the mains questions please go through it write an answer and post it in the comment section with this we came to the end of the news article discussion if you like the video hit like do comment and subscribe to Shankarai's academy youtube channel thank you