 Good evening as friends, welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankar A.S. Akademi for the date 22 June 2023. Displayed here are the list of news articles we will be going through today. Now without wasting time, let's get into the news article discussion. Look at this news article. This news article is about the upcoming visit to the United States by our Prime Minister. In 2019, during our Prime Minister's visit to the United States, India-based oil and gas company Petronet LNG signed an MOU with US-based oil and gas company Tellurian. Here Petronet LNG Limited is an Indian oil and gas company formed by the Government of India to import liquefied natural gas and set up LNG terminals in our country. It is a joint venture company promoted by Gail that is the Gas Authority of India Limited, ONGC which is the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited, then IOC which is the Indian Oil Corporation Limited and the BPCL that is Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited. According to the MOU between Petronet and Tellurium, Petronet LNG planned to invest $2.5 billion in Tellurian. But by 2020, the MOU was terminated. India traditionally met its LNG requirements from Gas from Limited which is a Russian-based company. But currently, due to the Russia-Ukrain War, there have been some disruptions in the LNG supplies from Russia. So, India is looking for other suppliers of LNG. As a part of this exercise only, Gail which is one of the promoters of Petronet is looking to revive the MOU with a US-based Tellurium. This is about the news article. In this context, let us see some important points about LNG, its advantages, its disadvantages and how it is different from CNG. LNG stands for Liquefied Natural Gas. LNG's main component is natural gas which is none other than methane. LNG is natural gas that has been cooled to a very low temperature, that is minus 162 degree Celsius or minus 260 degree Fahrenheit. This is done to convert the natural gas into a liquid form. This process reduces its volume by around 600 times, making it easier to carry and safer to transport. Now let us see the advantages of LNG. First one is energy efficiency. LNG has a high energy density, meaning it contains lot of energy in a very small volume. This makes it an efficient fuel source. Secondly, LNG has lower environmental impact. When LNG is burned, it produces fewer emissions compared to other fossil fuels such as coal and oil. It emits lower level of pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. The third advantage is its versatility. LNG can be used in various applications including electricity generation, heating, vehicle for fuels, etc. The last major advantage is its abundant supply. Natural gas reserves are widely available around the world, ensuring a steady supply of LNG. These are some of the advantages associated with LNG. But it also has its fair share of issues. Let us see the issues with LNG one by one. The first issue is the initial cost of infrastructure. Building the facilities needed for liquefaction, transportation and re-gasification of LNG can be very expensive. Due to its high cost only, India currently operates only two LNG terminals. One is in Dahegh, Gujarat and the other terminal is in Kochi, Kerala. The second issue is the safety concern. Although LNG is non-toxic and non-corrosive, it can be hazardous if not handled properly. Special precaution must be taken to prevent leakages and ensure safe storage and transportation. This is the second issue. The last major issue is the methane leakage. As we saw earlier, methane is the main component of LNG. And we all know that methane is a potent greenhouse gas. So any leakage during LNG production and transportation process can contribute to climate change. These are some of the issues associated with LNG. Moving forward, let us see the difference between LNG and CNG. The main difference between LNG and CNG lies in their state of matter and the way they are stored. Here, LNG is liquefied natural gas and CNG is compressed natural gas. From the name itself, we can say that LNG is stored in a liquid form and CNG, on the other hand, is stored in a compressed gaseous form. This is the first major difference. Secondly, LNG needs to be stored at a very low temperature in specialized cryogenic tanks while CNG is stored at high pressure in cylinders or tanks. Thirdly, LNG takes up very small space compared to CNG as it is highly compressed into liquid form. This makes LNG more suitable for long distance transportation whereas CNG is often used for shorter distance application. These are some of the main difference between LNG and CNG. Note that both LNG and CNG has only natural gas which is none other than methane. So that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw the basic points about LNG, the advantages and disadvantages associated with LNG and finally the main differences between LNG and CNG. Now let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Take a look at this editorial article. This article speaks about the India-Napal relationship. Recently, the Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr. Prachanda, made a four day official visit to India because of this only, this editorial about India-Napal relationship appeared in the news today. The article speaks about the cooperation and the issues between India and Nepal. Now in this discussion, we will understand the India-Napal bilateral relationship and then about the areas of cooperation and the issues between India and Nepal. Before getting into the discussion, I have highlighted the syllabus regarding this discussion. You can go through it. Now let us start with the India-Napal relationship. As we all know, India-Napal are close neighbors. Nepal shares a border of over 1850 kilometers with India. The border runs along five states of India namely Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. India-Napal share a unique friendship and cooperation. It is characterized by an open border and deep rooted people-to-people contacts with kinship and culture. In addition to this, there has been a long tradition of free movement of people across the India-Napal border. The special relations that currently exist between India and Nepal is due to the Friendship Treaty. In 1950, India-Napal Treaty of Friendship and Peace was signed and this forms the bedrock of India-Napal relations. As per the provisions of this treaty, the Nepali citizens are availing various facilities and opportunities in India on par with Indian citizens. The treaty permits the Nepali nationals to apply for any government job except for the Indian Foreign Service, Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service. Currently, many Nepali nationals work in the Indian private and public sector. Some of them have joined even the Indian Revenue Services and they are serving in the Indian Army also. Note that nearly 8 million Nepali citizens are living and working in India. Around 6 lakh Indians are living in Nepal which include businessmen, traders, professionals and labourers. So, for diplomatic purposes, the Government of India has its embassy in Kathmandu and a consulate general in Birgunj which is located in the south-central part of Nepal. The Government of Nepal has an embassy in New Delhi and a consulate general in Kolkata. This is the basic information about India-Napal relations. Moving on, let us deep dive into the area of cooperation between India and Nepal. Let us first take defence cooperation. India and Nepal have a wide range of cooperation in the defence sector. India has been assisting the Nepal Army in its modernisation by supplying military equipment and providing training to the soldiers. The other aspects of defence cooperation between India and Nepal include assistance during disasters, joint military exercises and adventure activities. As part of the defence cooperation, the India-Napal battalion level joint military exercise named Suryakiran is conducted alternatively in India and in Nepal. In addition to this, considerable soldiers in the Gurukha regiment of Indian Army are recruited from the hill districts of Nepal. Currently, about 32,000 Gurukha soldiers from Nepal are serving in the Indian Army. This is all about defence cooperation. Now we will look at the cooperation in the connectivity and development sector. India is currently providing various developmental assistance to Nepal. The main focus is given to the creation of infrastructure at the grass root level. Under the assistance programme of India, various projects have been implemented in Nepal. The projects are being carried out in the area of infrastructure, health, water resources, education and rural community development. Apart from this, in recent years, India has been assisting Nepal in the development of border infrastructure. India helped Nepal in upgrading of 10 roads in the Terai region, the development of cross-border railway links and establishment of integrated check posts at various locations. This is all about the cooperation in the connectivity and development sector. Now we will see the cooperation in the water resource sector. A large number of small and large rivers flow from Nepal to India. They constitute an important part of the Ganges River basin. And they are the major source of education and power for both Nepal and India. So, to better utilize the water resources, a three-tier bilateral mechanism was established in 2008. This mechanism helped both countries to discuss issues relating to cooperation in water resource, flood management, inundation and hydropower. Moving on, we will see about the cooperation in the energy sector. See, since 1971, India and Nepal have signed several power exchange agreements. The agreements were enacted to meet the power requirements in the border areas of the two countries. On 21st October 2014, an agreement on electric power trade, cross-border transmission interconnection and grid connectivity was signed between India and Nepal. The agreement is aimed at strengthening cross-border electricity transmission, grid connectivity and power trade between Nepal and India. Now, we will look at the economic cooperation. See, India is the largest trading partner of Nepal. Petroleum products, rice, medicine, cement, coal, vegetables, etc. are some of the main products exported to Nepal from India. Indian firms are among the largest investors in Nepal. Indian firms account for more than 30% of the total approved foreign direct investment in Nepal. Note that there are more than 150 Indian ventures operating in Nepal and they are engaged in manufacturing, services, power sector and tourism industries. This is about the economic cooperation between Nepal and India. Moving on, we will see about the cooperation in the education sector. See, India significantly contributes to the development of human resources in Nepal. The government of India provides around 3000 scholarships annually to Nepalese nationals for various courses. The scholarships cover wide spectrum of subjects including engineering, medicine, agriculture, music, fine arts, etc. Now, we will see the cooperation in the area of culture. India has taken many initiatives to promote people-to-people contacts in the field of art and culture, academics and media. India has organized several cultural programs, symposia and events in Nepal in partnership with the local bodies of Nepal. In 1951, the Nepal Bharat Library was founded in Kathmandu. It is regarded as the first foreign library in Nepal. Its main objective is to enhance and strengthen cultural relations and information exchange between India and Nepal. Then in August 2007, the Swami Vivekanada Center for Indian Culture was set up in Kathmandu to showcase the best of the Indian culture. The center has generated considerable goodwill through various cultural events as well. This is all about the area of cooperation between India and Nepal. Now moving on, we will see about the issues between India and Nepal. The first issue is regarding the Agnipath scheme. The Agnipath scheme is a recruitment process for the Indian Army which was launched by the Central Government in 2022. Under the scheme, the selected candidates will be enrolled as Agnivis for a four-year period in the armed forces. After that, 75% of the Agnivis will be relieved from the armed forces and the rest 25% will get a permanent service till their retirement. Now, how is this scheme impacting the India-Nepal relations? As we saw earlier, the Indian Army is recruiting some constable soldiers to the Gurkha Regiment from the hilly districts of Nepal. The Agnipath scheme does not provide clear information about the recruitment of the soldiers from Nepal to the Gurkha Regiment. This creates issues in the long-standing defence cooperation between India and Nepal. So, the author says that the term of Agnipath scheme needs to be discussed between the defence and financial officials of both India and Nepal to resolve the issue fruitfully. The second issue is the Kalapani boundary issue. Kalapani is a area located in the easternmost corner of Uttarakhand's Pithrogad district and it is currently administered by India. In 2020, the Nepal government hinted by the previous Prime Minister, Mr. Sharma Oli had made a constitutional amendment. The amendment brought new changes in the Nepal map and it included areas of India like Kalapani and Loup Lake to Nepal map. This affected the ties between India and Nepal. The Kalapani boundary issue is still ongoing. So, author says that the boundary issue must be resolved with political wisdom and mutual understanding for long-standing cooperation between India and Nepal. And finally, there is the issue with the India-Nepal Treaty for Peace and Friendship of 1950. As we saw earlier, the treaty enables equal treatment for Nepal in nationals in terms of employment in India. The treaty permits the Nepali nationals to apply for any government job in India. This provision has been consistently opposed by the Indian government. So, they have been demanding to review the treaty. The previous summit between India and Nepal have included a reference to reviewing and updating the treaty. But the talks have not taken place between India and Nepal in this regard. So, the author says that the discussion should be carried out between India and Nepal to address the concerns of both the countries. These are some of the issues in the India-Nepal relationship. So, that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we will discuss the relations, the area of cooperation between India and Nepal and the current issues between India and Nepal. Now, let us conclude this and take up the next news article. Take a look at this editorial article. This editorial article talks about the challenges faced by psychiatric caregivers and it tries to give some solutions to address these challenges. You will see about them in this discussion. But before getting into the discussion, I have highlighted the syllabus regarding both of it. According to the National Health Mission, nearly 6-7% of India's population suffer from mental disorder. That is, one in four families is likely to have a member with behavioral or mental health disorder. Different segment of population experience different type of behavioral issues. For example, grown-ups show changes in behavior due to attitudinal issues, marriage-related trouble, financial problems or job issues. While love affairs and examination stress are the reasons in case of teenage behavioral issues. This situation got worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 90% of psychiatric patients in India live with their families. The pandemic exposed them to long periods of isolation, the fear of losing loved ones, financial difficulty and uncertainty about the future. This in turn increased the stress level across different social segment. This is the current status of mental health situation in India. If that is the case then just think about the caregivers. Now let us quickly go through the challenges faced by the psychiatric caregivers. Psychiatric caregivers are none other than members of family who provide care to the people who are facing behavioral disorders. The caregivers provide physical and emotional care-givings to patients who are socially isolated with financial difficulties and troublesome behavior. The stress levels of caregivers reach to the next stage when a patient refuse to adhere to the treatment. This is the first challenge that the psychiatric caregivers face. The second challenge striking a balance between caregiving and familial responsibility. In this case the woman caregivers are the most affected. With the reduced family size the familial responsibilities fall mostly on the woman and the woman caregivers face challenges in balancing caregiving, career, child rearing and household chores. The third challenge being unaware of negative impacts of psychological well-being of caregivers due to prolonged caregiving. See mostly caregivers use various strategies to cope with the issues they face like sharing spirituality, hobbies and self-gas leading. But unhealthy coping mechanism can also negatively impact both the caregivers and the patients. In most of the cases the caregivers never realize that they are having a negative impact. The fourth challenge is the lack of institutional support. See India has 43 state and mental health institutions with 3800 psychiatrists and 900 clinical psychologists. That is one psychiatrist for every 4 lakh and one psychologist for every 16 lakh citizens. But both the national mental health program and the decentralized district mental health program focus only on the patient and neglect the caregiver. Insufficient budget allocation also hinders the development of intervention for psychiatric caregivers. Apart from this, mental illness are excluded from the list of ailments covered by leading medical insurance in India. Lack of these institutional support is also a challenge faced by the psychiatric caregivers. Now we will see the solution to address these challenges. The first solution is to establish a structured intervention program to educate and support the caregivers of psychiatric patient. In this program the caregivers should be educated about the illness and their role and responsibility. This will lead to a better sense of control over their own life and helping to cope with the caregiver's role. Secondly, to reduce the burden faced by caregivers families who take care of the patient should be educated through psychoeducational meetings. In such meetings, family members should be given brief overview of the condition. They should also be educated about the current symptoms, early warning signals of relapse, available therapies and their effectiveness, safety of treatment, side effects, treatment related expenses, burden and coping mechanism. Through this step, burden of taking care of a patient can be shared between the caregivers and the families. Thirdly, caregivers should receive behavioral intervention, counseling and help lines to manage their anxiety and stress. This can save caregivers from negative impacts of psychological well-being of caregivers due to prolonged caregiving. And finally, improving institutional mechanism like insurance coverage and enough budget allocation can also help the caregivers. These are some of the steps suggested in the articles that can be taken to address the challenges faced by psychiatric caregivers. So that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw the challenges faced by psychiatric caregivers and the solutions that are available at hand. Now with this, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Look at this article here. Recently the 26th edition of Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum was held in Russia's second largest city, the Kremlin. As we all know, Russia is currently facing unprecedented Western sanction due to its war with Ukraine. But in the recently held Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russia mailed its message clear to the entire world. Russia said that the economy of Russia is holding up despite economic sanctions. Russia also insisted that it keeps looking for alternative economic and geopolitical partnerships to navigate the challenging times. This is all about the news given here. In this context let us learn some points about the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum or SPIEF. The SPIEF is an annual business event that is usually held in any of the cities of Russia. It is one of the biggest and the most important business event in the world. The forum has been held since 1997 and since 2006 the forum has been held under the space of Russian president who used to participate in each year's event. The event is annually organized by the Russian government. Every year thousands of people from over 120 countries take part in the event. The forum brings together various stakeholders like the chief executives of international companies political leaders and head of states and government from various countries. The forum provides a platform for participants to exchange best practices and expertise in the interest of sustainable development. Moving on let us see the objectives of the forum. The main motive of the forum is to provide practical solutions and expertise to overcome the economic barriers between Russia and other countries. The forum mainly aims to attract foreign direct investment into Russia. Apart from this the forum also acts as a platform to discuss economic policy of Russia. To put it simply, the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum helps the Russian government to project a global image that Russia was open to global business. Over the past 25 years the forum has emerged as a leading international event by focusing on key issues on the global agenda. That is all regarding this discussion. In this discussion we saw few points about the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum. Now let us conclude this and take up the next news article. Look at this article it discusses about the recent born climate conference and the need for a new finance goal for addressing climate change. It focuses on the financial support needed by the developing countries to tackle climate change and the challenges faced in meeting the funding targets. Now let's break down the points in the article in this particular discussion. See the born climate conference took place in Germany recently. It was an important meeting because world leaders discussed the political agenda for the upcoming conference of party 28 in Dubai. One of the main topics of discussion was the climate finance architecture. This refers to how money is allocated and is used to address climate change. See there is a significant funding gap for climate action. This means that there is not enough money available to support the necessary actions to combat climate change. This gap has resulted from a disagreement between developed and developing countries. There is an issue on where the money for climate change policies should come from and in what form it should come. So we need a new finance goal. To understand why a new finance goal is needed let us talk about the previous target set in 2009. In 2009, at the conference of parties, developed countries committed to provide 100 billion dollars per year to developing countries until 2020. However, estimates since then has shown that addressing climate change requires a lot more money. There have been challenges in meeting the funding 100 billion dollars per year. Developed countries provided 83.3 billion dollars in 2020, according to a report. But Oxfam did an analysis and it found that these figures may be misleading because the figures given here are inflated by as much as 225 times due to dishonest reporting. So they have not even met the target of providing 100 billion dollars per year but this 100 billion dollars per year is not sufficient for addressing the climate change. So the actual amount of money is reaching the developing countries could be a lot more lower than promised. I hope this explains why we need a new global finance goal. So in 2015, Paris Climate Agreement a need for a new collective quantified goal for climate financing before 2025 was recognized. See at that time a need for a new goal was recognized but no number was fixed. The new collective quantified goal is an important goal because it determines how much financial support should be provided to developing countries. It takes into account the specific needs and priorities of these countries based on scientific evidence. It was also supposed to address the increasing funding required for loss and damages. Here loss and damages means the cost incurred due to impacts of climate change. Now why was there a discrepancy in achieving the target set in 2009? One of the reasons for this discrepancy is that the funds available for climate finance has increased in quantity but it is still not accessible to the developing countries. This is because they often come in the form of developing countries have to borrow money and accumulate debt. This might create a debt crisis and make it harder for the developing countries to invest in sustainable development. Also developed countries argued that the new collective quantifiable goal should be a collective goal for all countries and not just for developed countries. Such approach might place the burden of achieving net zero emissions solely on developing countries but unfortunately the developing countries may not have the financial resources to do that. Besides the developed countries also emphasize the importance of mobilizing private sector investment and loan as a crucial part of climate finance. These are the two reasons why there was a discrepancy in achieving the target set in 2009. Now what is going to happen? In 2023 the focus is on reaching an agreement on NCQG before 2024. There is no official number yet but the transition to a low carbon economy worldwide requires an investment of at least 4 trillion to 6 trillion each year. Some suggest that instead of setting a single funding target what NCQG can do is it could establish separate goals for specific areas such as mitigation adaptation and loss and damage. The aim is to concessional financing which means providing financial assistance with more favorable terms and low interest rate. This would stop creating more depth for developing countries. Also it would make the NCQG a process rather than a fixed goal. This approach would contribute to a fair and people led transition towards a sustainable future. Okay that's all regarding this discussion. Let us sum up what we discussed here. Firstly we discussed about the challenges faced in financing climate change actions and we saw why there is a need for new finance goal. Then we saw how the previous target of 100 billion dollars per year fell short and why the new goal that is the NCQG is very crucial for achieving the climate change goals. We also saw the arguments put forward by the developed countries and finally we saw the importance of finding a balanced and equitable approach to climate finance. That is all regarding this discussion. Now let us conclude this and take up the next news article. Look at this news article. This news article talks about the draft delimitation policy released to be the election commission for the state of Assam. In this context let us revise about the powers and functions of the election commission. Election commission of India is an independent constitutional body. It is constituted under article 324. Election commission of India conducts elections to parliament, legislature of state and even the election to the office of president and vice president. It constitutes of one chief election commissioner and two other election commissioners. Now we will see about the powers and functions of election commission. The first and foremost function of election commission is to conduct free and fair elections. It has to remain unbiased and ensure peaceful electoral process. Then it prepares electoral role during the election time. Here electoral role is nothing but the list of persons who can vote in the coming elections. Next the election commission of India issues voter ID cards for citizens who are above 18 years of age and eligible to vote. While conducting elections it can appoint election observers to avoid any incidents of violence and mob practice. Then it observes political parties during election times and it ensures that political parties comply with the model code of conduct. Model code of conduct here is nothing but the rules that should be followed by the political parties and candidates who are contesting in the election. With respect to the political parties, the election commission of India has the power to recognize the new political parties. It also allots the party symbols to the political parties. Then the election commission of India is responsible for the banning of election schedule. First the election commission will prepare the schedule then it will release them through a press conference. Election commission of India also conducts by election in any constituencies whenever the need arises. Mostly the by election will happen for a constituency if the present MLA or MP has resigned or if he or she has passed away. Election commission of India also has the power to postpone or cancel the election if the situation is not conducive to conduct free and fair election in a peaceful manner. The most important power of election commission of India is its quasi-judicial power. The ECA performs quasi-judicial functions when enforcing the model code of conduct. Note that the election commission of India can initiate delimitation exercise for an assembly or parliamentary constituency as per section 18A of the representation of People's Act in 1950. Based on this provision only the election commission has recently released the draft proposal for delimitation for the state of Assam. So that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion we saw some of the powers and functions of the election commission of India. Now let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Look at this news article. This news article is about India-US relation. The US House of Representatives Committee on China recommended to confer India with the NATO plus 5 defense status. In this context US senator Mark Warner will introduce the legislation to give the NATO plus 5 status to India. Mr. Warner said that this agreement will enable India and US to transfer defense equipments with very little bureaucratic interference. NATO plus 5 status will also deepen the defense ties between US and India and it will be useful for countering China's assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region. But India's external affairs Mr. Jay Shankar politely turned down the framework for India. This is about the article given here. In this context let us see some points about NATO and NATO plus 5 briefly. First let us look at NATO. NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was created in 1949 and US started this organization to provide collective security for its members against USSR at the Cold War era. At present NATO has 31 members. The list of member countries are given here for your reference. Have a look at it. The purpose of NATO is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means. The motto of NATO is that one for all and all for one. This means that if you attack a member of NATO then all the member countries of NATO will come together for its rescue. Moving forward we will see about NATO plus 5 status. NATO plus 5 includes 31 member countries of NATO along with 5 more member countries. These countries include Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Israel. Now US is ready to include India in this grouping. If India joins this group then it will have greater military backing and can have access to many advanced military technologies that US have. But our external AFIS minister turned down this offer because joining the NATO plus 5 could affect India-Russia ties. This expresses India still stands by the non-aligned policy but we cannot be sure what will happen in the future so we will have to wait and see how the progress develops. Ok, so that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion we saw the basics about NATO and NATO plus 5. Now let us conclude this and take up the next news article. Look at this article. This article is about the Global Gender Gap Index 2023. Recently the World Economic Forum released the Global Gender Gap Index 2023. In that report India was ranked 127 among 146 countries. The report says that India has closed 64.3% of the overall gender gap. India had performed well in areas like parity in wages and income, political empowerment and gender parity at birth. India has registered 25.3% parity in political empowerment with 15.1% of women MPs. One important point note here is that India had achieved 44.4% of women representation in local governments. Similarly India has achieved 92.7% in gender parity at birth which is almost on par with top scoring countries. But when it comes to parity in economic participation and opportunity, India has reached only 36.7%. These are the key highlights of the report. So today in our discussion we will look at the Global Gender Gap Index. The Global Gender Gap Report is released annually by the Economic Forum. It was released for the first time in 2006. Global Gender Gap Report evaluates the gender parity of countries based on four key dimensions. The four key dimensions are economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival and political empowerment. In the recently released report, Iceland has secured the first position consecutively for the 14th time. And as we discussed earlier India has secured the 127th rank. That is all regarding this discussion. In this discussion we saw some points from the Global Gender Gap Report 2023 and we also covered some basics. We have four practice problems questions today. Let us see them one by one. Let us take up the first question. This is a three statement question. Three statements about election commission of India is given. We have to find how many of the given statements are correct. Let us take up the first statement. It is an independent statutory body. This statement is incorrect because the election commission of India is a constitutional body and not a statutory body. Let us take up the second statement. It was always been a multi-member body. This statement is also incorrect because the election commission of India was a single-member body till 1989. In 1989 through the 61st Constitutional Amendment Act, the voting age was reduced from 21 to 218. Hence to ease the burden of the election commissioner, two more election commissioners were appointed and then only the election commission of India became a multi-member body. So statement two is incorrect. Moving on to the third statement. It conducts election for the office of president and vice president. This statement is correct because from our discussion we know that the election commission of India is responsible for conducting elections to the state legislature, parliament and for the office of president and vice president. Since only one statement is correct here, the correct answer here is option A, only one. Moving on to the second question. Here four countries are given. We have to find which of the countries are part of the NATO plus 5 arrangement. From our discussion we know that Australia, Japan, South Korea New Zealand and Israel are the five countries which are part of the NATO plus 5 arrangement. Here Ukraine and Taiwan are not the part of the NATO plus 5 arrangement. So the correct answer here is option B, only two. Moving on to the third question. Two statements about the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is given. We have to find whether the statements are correct or not. Look at the first statement. It is an annual business event organized by the Russian government. This statement is correct. This we saw in the discussion itself. Moving on to the second statement. It is a global platform to discuss the key economic issues faced by Russia and the emerging markets of the world. This statement is also correct. Since both the statements are correct, the correct answer here is option C, both one and two. Look at the last question. This is a quiz question for you today. Here one side indices are given and on the other side publishing organizations are given. We have to find how many of these four pairs are correctly matched. Interest aspirants can post the answer for this question in the comment section. The main questions based on today's discussion are displayed here. Interested aspirants can write the answers for these questions and post it in the comment section. If you like today's video, like, comment and share it with your friends. For more updates regarding UPSC preparation, subscribe to Shankar Ayes Academy's YouTube channel. Thank you for listening.