 Good evening aspirants. I welcome you all to the Hindu Daily News Analysis brought to you by Shankar IA's Academy for the newspapers dated 11th of June and 12th of June 2023 Displayed here are the list of articles that we will take up for discussion today. Go through it Now we will start with the first article discussion See this FAQ article explains about the working of rail interlocking system Rail interlocking system is in use because of the multi-train crash incident that happened in the Balasur district of Odisha on June 2 Almost 200 people have lost their lives and more than 1000 people have been injured because of this accident The Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnav told media that a change made in electronic interlocking and point mission had led to this accident It is also said that there is a possibility of sabotage or tampering of the interlocking system that could have resulted in this unfortunate accident So in this context, we will understand about the interlocking system of the railways Imagine you are on a train and you see a signal ahead showing a red light This red light indicates that the track ahead is occupied or there is a potential danger And the train must come to a stop the signal is controlled by the interlocking system Which ensures that the track is clear and safe before allowing the train to proceed So basically the interlocking system is responsible for changing the path of trains from one track to another It allows the train to proceed only if the route is clear and safe So this prevents collisions and it also ensures efficient rail operations Know that there are two types of interlocking systems The first type is the mechanical or electrical interlocking system In this system, the signaling apparatus is connected mechanically or electrically to the tracks or sometimes both This interconnection ensures that the signals and tracks which are coordinated properly to guide the train safely The second type is the electronic interlocking system This is an advanced version of signaling that utilizes computer-based systems and electronic equipment It is often deployed in accident-prone areas In this system, microprocessor-based interlocking equipment is used It reads input signals and processes them in a fail-safe manner to generate the required output The electronic interlocking system is managed using a software and electronic component Thus making it more efficient and reliable Now let's take a closer look at the components of this electronic interlocking system The first component is the signal Signals are crucial for controlling train movement They use a combination of colored lights such as red, yellow and green And this indicates whether a train can proceed or should stop Signals are positioned along the tracks and are controlled by the interlocking system The second component is the point Points are also known as switches or turnouts They are movable sections of the track They allow trains to move either in straight line or switch to a different track The interlocking system controls the direction of train movement by locking and unlocking the point switches The electronic point machines are only used for this purpose Lastly, we have the track circuit Track circuits are used to direct the presence of a train between two points of the track They ensure that it is safe for a train to proceed and prevent multiple trains from running on the same track simultaneously All the electronic systems and communication devices of the interlocking system are housed in a relay room This room serves as a control center and it provides a secure environment for these critical systems The relay room is typically equipped with dual lock access control And this ensures the safety and prevents unauthorized access Additionally, all the activities of the interlocking system are recorded and stored in a data logger This data logger is something that is similar to black box used in aircrafts In aircrafts, they are generally used for analysis and investigation purposes So this data logger is similar to black box Now understanding how the interlocking system works is important When the system receives input based on information collected from the yard It determines the appropriate route for the train It then aligns the signaling devices and interlocks at specific positions The interlocking system gives a signal to proceed based on two factors One is the set direction of the track And second is the status of the divergent track If there is an obstruction on the planned route, the system directs the train to an empty track Usually at a point where the two lines meet This ensures that trains can safely bypass the obstruction The track circuits continuously monitor the presence of trains And it prevents collisions by controlling the movement of trains on the same track Also, in the unfortunate event of a system failure or malfunction The interlocking system has built-in safety measures In such cases, the signals may display a flashing red light To indicate uncertainty regarding the safety of the route These safety features are designed to minimize the risk of accidents And ensure the smooth and secure operation of the railway system Now let us see how this accident happened Union Railway Minister said that the electronic system was manipulated Which ultimately led to this accident The change in electronic system resulted in a signaling issue Which directed the Coromandel Express to the loop line from its actual path Loop lines are tracks which accommodate trains until another train moves in the same direction In simple words, loop lines are like temporary parking space for trains Until another train passes that area The Coromandel Express which travelled at a speed of 128 km per hour Entered into the loop line where already a good strain was parked The Coromandel Express collided with the stationery good strain which carried iron ore The impact of collision was so high As a result of which many coaches of Coromandel Express Were derailed onto the adjacent tracks In one such track, the Ashwinpur Haura Express running at a speed of 126 km per hour came And it collided with the derailed coaches of the Coromandel Express So this is how one of the worst rail accidents of India had occurred Now you may have a question whether there is a malfunctioning in the system See, there is no concrete answer for this question yet But the railway officials suspect that someone might have manually sabotaged the electronic interlocking system Railway officials think so because this system is error proof If it worked in normal condition, it wouldn't have directed the Coromandel Express to the loop line The possibility of sabotage of the system might have directed the Coromandel Express to the loop line Where a good strain is already standing So as of now, outside intervention is the speculated reason for the failure of this system in that particular accident But we have to wait and see how this investigation goes on in future I hope this explanation gave you a better understanding of the interlocking system and its components With the learned points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion According to this news article, the Tamil Nadu Department of Archaeology has declared five men here That is single stone and mehalithic burial sites at Coromandel as protected monuments Coromandel is located on the northern banks of Noyal and about 42 km from the Ero district in Tamil Nadu It was made an archaeological site in 1961 itself In this background, let us learn about mehaliths So what are mehaliths? Here meha means large, lithic means stone So mehalith means built of large stone and a mehalith site means a site having large stone structures Generally, these mehaliths are huge undressed stones These structures often throw light on building activities and they formed a way of life in the past The one you see in this picture is a mehalith In the past, these mehaliths or big stone boulders were carefully arranged by people And mostly they were used to mark burial sites So, as such, mehalith is a grave or memorial stone Some mehaliths can be seen on the surface Other mehalith burials are found underground Sometimes archaeologists find a circle of stone boulders or a single large stone standing on the ground These are the only indications that there are burials beneath them Actually, there are various mehalith types First one is a stone circle It refers to standing stones arranged in a circle or in the form of an ellipse Or more rarely a sitting of four stones laid on an arc of a circle Then we have dolmens This is a type of mehalith which is a rectangular box like chamber It is constructed with four slabs and fifth slab is used as a capstone Then we have cyst burials Cyst is shaped like a coffin So it was used as an encasement for dead bodies Then we have pit burials It is a sepulchral mehalith That is, it contains the mortal remains of one or more human beings These are unlined excavations where the remains are buried with a variety of surface markers like cane or boulder A cane is a human made pile of stones often in conical form Then finally we have menhirs Menhirs means single long stone placed upright Know that often these burials have some common features in India Generally the dead people were buried with distinctive pots tools and weapons of iron skeletons of horses Horse equipments and ornaments of stone and gold etc Also know that the mehalith culture has no regional bounds So it could be found in Europe Africa and Asia Particularly in India it was abundant in our culture According to NCRT The practice of placing mehaliths began about 3000 years ago This practice was prevalent throughout the Deccan, South India, in the northeast and in Kashmir Some important mehalith sites are Adhichan Allur in Tamil Nadu and Brahma Keri in Karnataka So that's all regarding this news article Now we will move on to the next article discussion Look at this article from the editorial page As you can see in the title this article speaks about improving nutrition in adolescent girls The author says that the Indian government should give priority to the health and nutrition of adolescent girls To unlock the full potential of India's future Now why the importance should be given particularly to adolescent girls? See adolescents is a pivotal period of cognitive development Here cognitive development means the development of the ability to think and reason During this cognitive development phase We humans acquire and organize the knowledge and we will also learn to use knowledge As I said earlier adolescents is a pivotal period of cognitive development So improving access to nutrition during this adolescent period of girl child Will help to ease cognitive development in a better way Apart from this adolescent health is a significant indicator of women's labour force participation in India in the long term So better nutrition improves every young girl's prospect to participate in the nation's protective activities Overall India is having a better opportunity to enhance demographic dividend by investing in Nutrition interventions of adolescent girls So this is the background of the editorial Now in this discussion let us understand some important points provided in this discussion Before that the syllabus relevant to this discussion is highlighted here. You can go through it First let us understand the concern over nutrition in adolescent girls See adolescent girls are particularly vulnerable to under nutrition and anemia During adolescent stage there is an onset of menstruation in many of the girls Due to this fact adolescent girls are particularly vulnerable to under nutrition and anemia Now coming to the data See the findings of the national family health survey 5 confirms the concerns of under nutrition and anemia in adolescent girls The NFHS 5 said that 59.1 percentage of adolescent girls were found to be anemic Apart from this the NFHS 4 has also reported that over 41.9 percentage of school going girls are under weight From these data's we can say that the nutritional status of adolescent girls is worrying Further the lack of gender neutral entramment within a household also affects the nutrition uptake in adolescent girls Now what are all the problems associated with poor nutrition in adolescent girls? See undernourished adolescent girls are at a higher risk of chronic diseases and pregnancy complications So this can lead to a higher health burden on both families and communities This will in turn lead to financial instability and increased poverty Apart from this if the adolescent girls are less healthy then they are also less likely to participate fully in work Politics or community involvement So these are all the problems associated with poor nutrition in adolescent girls Now what about the government initiatives to overcome poor nutrition in adolescent girls? See there are various government initiatives like portion abyan that aims to provide adequate nutrition to women Through such schemes some progress has been made in improving crucial health indicators in women But the problem here is that the current health interventions do not specifically focus on the nutritional status of adolescent girls This means that the existing schemes mostly focus on the nutritional status of women as a whole And it not specifically focus on adolescent girls So what do we need at this point of time? It is none other than redefining the interventions See to ensure that no girl gets left behind the government should redefine its intervention The redefined interventions have to provide good nutrition to adolescent girls While doing this the government should also adopt a life cycle approach See the life cycle approach helps to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty See generally well-nourished girls are more likely to have healthy babies and they provide better care for their families So if the government follows a life cycle approach in providing good nutrition to adolescent girls It has the potential to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty This in turn will help the growth of our country Overall investing in adolescent girls nutrition not only fulfills the moral obligation of the state But there is also an advantage to the economic growth of the nation So following a life cycle approach is one intervention to improve the nutrition in adolescent girls In addition to this a few strategic modifications to existing interventions can also significantly expand the scope of nutritional outcomes in adolescent girls For example the convergence of various government initiatives such as the scheme for adolescent girls and sub law scheme Within the umbrella scheme of the potion 2.0 will expand the scope of nutritional outcomes Apart from this the routine training of health workers for effective implementation and monitoring of various schemes And to adopt with the evolving landscape will also help to improve the nutrition in adolescent girls To conclude the government has to prioritize the nutritional needs of indias adolescent girls for the upliftment of the nation I hope you understood the point from this editorial. Now we will move on to the next article discussion Take a look at this news article This news article talks about the savannah biome According to the article a study revealed that climate plays a significant role in predicting the distribution of African forest and savannah ecosystems So in this context let us quickly go through the savannah biome Firstly know that a biome is a plant and animal community found in large geographical areas The geographical extent of a biome is often determined by the climate There are five major biomes on earth which includes forest biome, grassland biome, desert biome, aquatic biome and high altitude biomes There are two types of grassland biomes one is a tropical grassland and the other is a temperate grassland Know that the savannah is a type of tropical grassland that can be found in different parts of the world such as Africa, Australia, South America and even India You can see the distribution of savannah in the image given here Now imagine a place that sits right between a tropical forest and a tropical desert That's where you will find the savannah biome The weather in the savannah biome is mostly warm and hot throughout the year It's not as dry as a desert, but it is not as wet as a forest either In the savannah we get a moderate amount of rainfall ranging from 50 to 125 centimeters per year It's not as much as the rainforest, but it's enough to support some plant life Speaking of plants the savannah is mostly covered with tall grasses and in some areas You might find a few small trees scattered around Now here's something interesting about the plants in the savannahs. They have long roots and thick bark Can you guess why? These features help them to protect them from forest fire This is because the deep roots remain unharmed during the fires These roots with all their starch reserves will be ready to send up new growth when the soil becomes moist again The soil in the savannah is not very deep and so there is not a lot of humus in it Humus is the dark organic matter which makes the soil fertile So due to the lack of humus the soil in the savannah is not as rich for plant growth as in other biomes In the dry season which is the period of less rainfall the trees in the savannah shed their leaves This helps them conserve water and survive the drier times So if you ever visit a savannah during the dry season you might notice fewer leaves on the trees Now let's talk about the animals in the savannah It is a paradise for grazing animals because it is a grassland ecosystem We have giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, leopards, hyenas, elephants and many more But know that it is not just for big animals. There are also smaller creatures like rats, moles, snakes and insects So to summarize the savannah biome is a tropical grassland found between the tropical deserts and forests It has a warm hot climate with moderate rainfall The plants that have long roots and thick barks This is to protect them from fires and the soil is not very deep or fertile The savannah is filled with grazing animals like giraffes, zebras and buffaloes as well as smaller creatures like rats and snakes So this is all that I wanted to discuss regarding this news article. Now we will move on to the next article discussion Look at this article from the front page It says that the extremely severe cyclonic storm, bibarjoy is expected to make landfall on gujarat's kutch coast on thursday So now the gujarat government has started preparations by deploying teams from both national and state disaster response forces in the coastal areas This is about the news. In this context, let us understand about the tropical cyclones from our exam perspective See the tropical cyclones are basically violent storms that originate over oceans or seas in tropical areas The cyclones that formed in the oceans or seas will tend to move over to the coastal areas While reaching coastal areas, it brings about large scale destruction See the destruction is mainly caused due to violent winds, very heavy rainfall and storm surges And the tropical cyclones are meant to be one of the most devastating natural calamities Note that tropical cyclones are known by different names in different ocean regions They are known as cyclones in the indian ocean They're called as hurricanes in the atlantic, typhoons in the western pacific and south china sea and willy-billies in the western australia Now coming to the conditions for the formation of tropical cyclones See there are five major conditions that are favourable for the formation and intensification of tropical cyclones We will see them one by one. Firstly, large sea surface with temperatures higher than 27 degree celsius Is needed for the formation of tropical cyclones. Secondly, the presence of Coriolis force Now what is this Coriolis force? See the Coriolis force is an apparent force caused by the earth's rotation To put it simply, the rotation of the earth about its axis affects the direction of the wind Here the force which is responsible for affecting the direction of wind is called as the Coriolis force Note that Coriolis force has a great impact on the direction of wind movement That's why it is one of the major conditions favourable for cyclone formation Then the third condition is small variations in the vertical wind speed in the ocean areas Fourthly, a pre-existing weak low pressure area or low level cyclonic circulation And finally, upper divergence about the sea level system These are the conditions that are favourable for the formation and intensification of tropical cyclones Now let's see about the stages of tropical cyclones See there are generally three stages associated with cyclones They are the formation stage, mature stage and dissipation stage Now let us see them one by one. First, let us take the formation stage See, basically the cyclone is formed due to the condensation process The condensation is the process through which water vapor in the air is converted into liquid water This condensation process only helps in cloud formation So, the condensation process along with the five conditions we just saw Encourage the formation of vertical cumulonimbus clouds These clouds are formed around the centre of the storm This leads to the formation of cyclones See, with the continuous supply of moisture from the sea, the storm is further strengthened Now comes the mature stage A mature tropical cyclone is characterized by the strong spirally circulating wind around the centre of the cyclone Know that the centre of the cyclone is called as the eye See, the eye is the region of cum with subsiding air Around the eye region, there is the eye wall In the region of the eye wall, there is a strong spiralling accent of air to a greater height Which can reach up to the tropopause The wind reaches maximum velocity in the eye wall region Reaching as high as 250 km per hour Then from the eye wall, the rain bands will radiate and clouds may drift into the outer region This makes the cyclone even stronger This is what happens in the mature stage Now comes the final dissipation stage As we saw earlier, the cyclones that formed in the oceans or seas Will tend to move over to the coastal areas or land So, after the maturation, the cyclone storms move slowly About 300 to 500 km per day over the coastal areas And while reaching coastal areas, the cyclones no longer get sufficient energy from warm ocean water Therefore, the moisture supplied to the cyclone storm is cut off And finally, the cyclonic storm dissipates Know that the place where a tropical cyclone crosses the coast Is called the landfall of the cyclone So, this is all about cyclones With the learned points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion Take a look at this news article This news article talks about the testing of a new kind of transgenic cotton seed Developed by the Hyderberg based bioseed research India Private Limited This seed contains a gene called cry2aI That perfectly makes cotton resistant to pink ballworm, which is the major pest But the news here is that three states namely Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana have rejected the plan to test these seeds approved by the Center's Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee In this context, let us learn about transgenic crops Before that, know that transgenic modification is a technology that involves inserting DNA into the genome of an organism To produce a GM plant, new DNA is transferred into cells of a plant These cells are then grown in tissue culture where they transform into plants The seeds produced by these plants will have new DNA The most common way of inserting is using gene-gun method The other genetic engineering techniques are electroporation, micro-injection and agro-bacterium There are three main types of genetic modifications which includes transgenic, cisgenic and sub-generic In transgenic method, plants have genes inserted into them that are derived from other species In cisgenic, plants are made using genes of the same species or species that are closely related And in sub-generic, they alter genetic makeup of a plant without incorporating genes from other plants So, the source of the genetic material used to modify their genome is the basic difference here So, what is the purpose of genetically modified crops? See, basically genes are modified to produce plants with desired rights which includes higher yields, enhanced nutritional value, longer shelf life, increased resistance to drops, increased resistance to insects, pests and increased resistance to herbicides See, BET cotton is the only genetically modified crop allowed in India It has been genetically modified to produce an insecticide which will compact the cotton ballworm which is a common pest The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, which is under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, is responsible for the assessment of proposals related to the release of genetically engineered organisms and products into the environment including experimental field trials So, this is all that I wanted to discuss regarding this news article With this, now we will move on to the next part of a discussion which is practice questions Today we have four questions, three questions will be discussed by me and one question will be the quiz question for today Question number one, name the transgenic crop in which three genes for synthesis of vitamin A are introduced through the technique of genetic engineering Here the correct answer is option D See, golden rice is a variety of rice produced through genetic engineering to biosynthesize beta carotene This beta carotene is a precursor of vitamin A So through genetic engineering, it will become the edible part of rice Golden rice is different from its parental strain due to the addition of three beta carotene biosynthesis genes to the golden rice These included two genes from the daffodil plant and a third from a bacterium Researchers used a plant microbe to ferry in the genes into the plant cell Question number two See, this is a prillian's question from 2015 In the south Atlantic and southeastern Pacific regions in the tropical latitudes Cyclone does not originate, what is the reason? See, the tropical cyclones originate and intensify over warm tropical oceans As we saw in this discussion, large sea surface with temperature higher than 27 degree celsius is one of the favorable conditions for the formation and intensification of tropical storms Now, if we take the south Atlantic and southeastern Pacific regions in tropical latitudes In these areas, the sea surface temperature is cooler than the ideal temperature for tropical cyclone formation This is even during the summer seasons in those areas Because of this reason, the cyclones do not originate in south Atlantic and southeastern Pacific regions in tropical latitudes So the correct answer is option A Sea surface temperatures are low Question number three Which one of the following is the characteristic climate of the tropical savanna region? Here the correct answer is option D Savanna regions have two distinct seasons A wet season and a dry season There is a very little rain in the dry season In the wet season on the other hand, vegetation grows including lush green grasses and wooded areas As you move further away from the equator, the grassland becomes drier and drier Particularly in the dry season Question number four Read this question carefully It is based on the Mahalits related discussion we had earlier Try to answer the question and post your answers in the comment box Displayed here are the main questions for your practice Interested aspirins can write the answer and post it in the comment box below If you found a video to be useful, share it with your friends Subscribe to the channel, happy learning