 A very good evening to all our friends. First of all, we are happy to inform you that Shankar IAS Academy is conducting all India online free mock test on 20th September 2020 and 27th September 2020. The link for the registration is given in the description section and also in the comment section. We request all the aspirants to make use of this opportunity for your upcoming prelims 2020. Now, welcome to the Hindu News Analysis of Shankar IAS Academy for the date 14th September 2020. The list of the news articles taken up for today's discussion along with the page numbers of five different editions is given here for your reference. Let us now begin our news analysis. Here we have this news article which states that the months and session of our parliament is to start from today. The article also says that the question hour has been removed from the business of the day. However, the questions that require written answers will be tabled and a 30 minutes zero hour has been added. In the analysis of this news article, let us see about the session of the parliament, the terms associated with the session of the parliament and then the question hour and the zero hour. The syllabus relevant for this analysis is highlighted here for your reference. Please go through it. See, it is the president who summons each house of the parliament to meet from time to time. The parliament should meet at least twice a year because the maximum gap between two sessions cannot be more than six months. This is as per article 85 of our constitution. So there are usually three sessions of the parliament in a year. One is the budget session which is held in the period of February to May, then the monsoon session which is usually held in the period of July to September and then the winter session which is held in the months of November and December and this year the monsoon session is delayed because of COVID-19 pandemic. Now when we say the session of the parliament, it refers to a period spanning between the first sitting of the parliament in a session and its prorogation. Here prorogation means discontinuation and when we say recess it refers to a period spanning between the prorogation of the house and its reassembly in a new session. Now let us see some of the terms which are associated with the session of the parliament and these are adjournment, adjournment sign-a-day, prorogation, dissolution and quorum. See a session of the parliament has many sittings and each meeting in a day consists of two sittings. A sitting of the parliament can be terminated by adjournment. So adjournment is defined as a termination of the sitting of the house. So after the termination of the sitting the house meets again at the time appointed for the next sitting. Now let us see about adjournment sign-a-day. It refers to the termination of a sitting of the house without any definite date being fixed for the next sitting. Here we should note that the power for both adjournment and adjournment sign-a-day lies with the presiding officer of the house. Now come to prorogation. See it refers to termination of a session of the house by an order made by the president. So it is not to be done by the presiding officer but by the president of India. Now let us talk about dissolution. As we know only Lok Sabha is subjected to dissolution. Since Raj Sabha is a permanent house, it is not subjected to dissolution. So what is the difference between prorogation and dissolution? While the prorogation terminates a session of the Lok Sabha, dissolution terminates the life of the existing Lok Sabha. So what happens after the dissolution? See as we know general elections are held and a new Lok Sabha is constituted. Now what is meant by quorum of the house? See it refers to the minimum number of members required to be present in the house so that the house can transit any business. Know that article 100 deals with the quorum of the house. And as per the article, the quorum to constitute a meeting of either house of the parliament shall be one-tenth of the total number of members of the house. So if there is no quorum at any time during a meeting, it shall be the duty of the chairman or the speaker either to adjourn the house or to suspend the meeting until there is a quorum. So these are some of the informations on terms pertaining to the session of the house or session of the parliament. Now let us talk about two important devices of parliamentary proceedings. These are the question hour and the zero hour. First let us talk about the question hour. Generally the first hour of the parliamentary meeting is devoted to questions. And this hour is called as the question hour. It has a special significance in the proceedings of the parliament. Asking of questions is an inherent and unfacted parliamentary right of the members of the parliament. So during the question hour, members can ask questions on every aspect of administration and governmental activity. During the question hour, every minister whose turn is to answer the questions has to stand up and answer for her or his acts of omissions and commissions or her or his administration's act of omission or commission. It is through the questions in the parliament, the government remain in touch with the people. This is because through the question hour, the members are unable to ventilate the grievances of the public in matters concerning the administration. Here we should know that the question hour is dealt by the rules of procedures of both the houses of the parliament. Therefore the question hour is a formal device. Now there are three kinds of questions. They are starred questions, unstarred questions and short notice questions. A starred question requires an oral answer and therefore supplementary questions can follow. Now an unstarred question requires a written answer and therefore supplementary questions cannot follow. So to an unstarred question, a written answer is deemed to have been laid on the table after the question hour by the minister to whom the question is addressed. Now what is a short notice question? See, a member may give a notice of question on a matter of public importance and of urgent character for oral answer it a notice less than 10 days. Such a question is known as short notice question. So we should know that 10 days is prescribed as a minimum period of notice for asking a question in ordinary course. See in the question hour, questions can also be asked to private members. This is done when the subject matter of the question is related to some bill or other matters connected with the business of the house for which that private member is responsible. Here we are discussing about the question hour because recently the Lok Sabha secretary has decided to temporarily stop question hour for two reasons. One is due to the extraordinary situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the other is to avoid assembling of large number of officials in the galleries of the house during the question hour in order to practice individual distancing. So this is all about question hour. Now let us talk about zero hour. See, zero hour is not mentioned in the rules of procedures of the houses. Therefore it is an informal device and using this device, the members of the parliament rise matters without any prior notice. We should know that the zero hour starts immediately after the question hour and it lasts until the regular business of the house is taken up. The specialty of zero hour is that it is an Indian innovation in the field of parliamentary procedures and it has been in existence since 1962. So these are some of the information with reference to the analysis of this news article. In this discussion, we saw about the section of the parliament, the terms associated with the session of the parliament and the question hour and also the zero hour. With this, we'll move on to the next news. Now this news article talks about the enzyme replacement therapy which was started by a government medical college in Kerala to treat a rare disease called Pompey disease. In this context, let us discuss in brief about something called as the Lysosomal Storage Disorders or LSDs, then about the Pompey disease and finally about the enzyme replacement therapy. The syllabus relevant for this analysis is highlighted here for your reference. Please go through it. See when we talk about lysosomes, they are the microscopic recycle bins in the cells. That means they store, break down and recycle large unwanted molecules by utilizing very specific enzymes. So we can say that they function as the primary digestive units within the cells. Now coming to lysosomal storage disorders, they are a group of inherited or genetic metabolic diseases which results in an abnormal buildup of very toxic materials within the body's cells. See, LSD results in enzyme deficiencies within the lysosomes of the body's cells. It means the enzymes become deficient or defective and hence unable to digest the large unwanted molecules or toxic materials. It results in an accumulation of toxic molecules in the lysosomes resulting in the dysfunction. See, there are nearly 50 of these disorders all together and we can take the example of Gaucher disease, Pompey disease and also Fabry disease. And in this discussion, we will see about Pompey disease. See, it is an inherited disorder caused by the buildup of a complex sugar called glycogen in the body's cells. The accumulation of glycogen in certain organs and tissues, especially the muscles, impairs their ability to function normally. Now coming to the cause, mutations in the GAA gene causes Pompey disease. Now what is GAA gene? See, this gene provides instruction for producing an enzyme called acid alpha glucosidize. And this enzyme normally breaks down the glycogen into simpler sugar called glucose, which is the main energy source of most of our cells. And when mutation happens, it affects the breaking down of glycogen which allows this sugar to build up to toxic levels in our lysosomes. Know that there are three types of Pompey disease which differ in severity and also at the age which they appear. And these types are the classic infantile onset, non-classic infantile onset and late onset. Coming to the classic form of infantile onset Pompey disease, it begins within a few months of birth. And infants with this disorder typically experience muscle weakness that is myopathy, then poor muscle tone that is hypotonia, and an enlarged liver that is hepatomagalli and heart defects. The affected infants may fail to gain weight and fail to grow at expected rate and also have breathing problems. And if untreated, this form of Pompey disease leads to death from heart failure in the first year of life. Now the non-classic form of infantile onset Pompey disease usually appears by age one. It is characterized by delayed motor skills and progressive muscle weakness. The heart may be abnormally large that is cardiomegalli, but the affected individuals usually do not experience heart failure. The muscle weakness in this disorder leads to serious breathing problems. And most children with the non-classic infantile onset Pompey disease live only into early childhood. Now talking about the late onset type of Pompey disease, it may not become apparent until later in childhood, adolescence or adulthood. See the late onset Pompey disease is usually milder than the infantile onset forms and this is less likely to involve the heart. Here the individuals experience progressive muscle weakness especially in the lugs and the trunk including the muscles that control breathing. And as the disorder progresses, the breathing problems can lead to respiratory failure. Now coming to the treatment the enzyme replacement therapy or ERP is the only effective treatment for Pompey disease. And in this therapy the acid alpha glucosidase that is the enzyme that is deficient in Pompey disease is given via injection. And this allows the patient to break down the glycogen stored up in the tissues into more usable glucose. However the ERT treatment is available only for some of them and the cost is very high. To know more about LSD's rare diseases and the national policy for rare diseases 2020, refer to our 11th February 2020 news analysis. With this we will move on to the next news. Now this editorial talks about an important fear among the women during pandemic which is pregnancy. The editorial is authored by experts in the field and they try to answer objectively about whether pregnancy is safe in this pandemic. So let us discuss the expert's opinion in this matter. The syllabus relevant for this analysis is highlighted here for your reference. Please go through it. See when the pandemic hit the WHO and ICMR which is Indian Council of Medical Research issued directives and guidelines for vulnerable people such as pregnant women, the newborn babies in order to safeguard themselves from the infection. This is important because of the risks carried by SARS-CoV-2 that is the virus which is responsible for causing COVID-19 pandemic. The risk is that the virus affects the cells that form the inner lining of the blood vessels. Thus organs having large number of blood vessels are at risk and this includes the placenta too. See placenta is an organ that supplies food and oxygen to the baby during pregnancy. So we can say that the placenta nourishes the developing fetus in the uterus of mother. So according to the authors, it is already clearly demonstrated that the virus can infect the placenta when the mother is infected close to the time of delivery. It is known as the trans-placental transmission of virus. Here data revealed that 8 to 10 percent of mothers admitted for delivery are infected and around 1.4 percentage of newborn babies of such mothers have neonatal infections acquired from their mothers. Here neonatal means newborn. So what does it mean? This means that most newborn babies do not develop COVID-19 disease. But there is another issue here. It has been found that these babies present with rare neurologic problems. So this is an important risk of infection. So here the authors urge two things regarding the respective government organizations such as ICMR. First they should ensure that the treating team of infection are aware of the potential for trans-placental transmission of virus. Second proper protocols should be established for careful periodic follow-ups of the newborns of infected mothers. And this could reduce mortality. Here there is another risk also. According to the authors, there is a possibility that the placenta can be infected in the first trimester of the pregnancy also. See the first 12 weeks or three months of pregnancy are considered as the first trimester. So this is a crucial period for the development of organ systems of the fetus. For example five weeks after conception, the baby's brain and face grow. And at 12 weeks into pregnancy the fetus or baby looks like this. You can see it here. So here we can understand the importance of first trimester. And already this period is susceptible to many infections like the rubella, zika virus, etc. And these can cause severe congenital abnormalities in the fetus. See congenital means present from birth. So the authors infer that congenital abnormalities in baby can also be caused by viral infection during the first trimester of the mother. Till now it is stated as a possibility only because more research and studies are required to conclude this fact and also because the effects of infection are settled. But based on the expertise of the authors, this fact could not be fully discarded. This is because if this becomes true, then newborns will have congenital abnormalities or other medical problems. And that is why the authors want to be cautious and they have advanced a solution. So what is the solution here? The solution is using of effective contraception to postpone pregnancies till the probability of maternal viral infection is minimal. Effective contraception signifies no pregnancy which has certain advantages. Like it will reduce the anti-natal clinic visits during the pandemic. See anti-natal means during pregnancy. Thus the risk of contracting infection in the clinic will be reduced. And this intern will provide us with another advantage of less pressure or burden on the healthcare system of our country. And if the burden is reduced then the healthcare workers can be deployed for other works such as the care of COVID-19 patients, non-COVID illness and also the COVID-19 vaccination program in the future which obviously will not be an easy task for our nation. And this will also lead to low birth rate. So it will ensure that economically distressed families are required to take care of fewer children in the post-epidemic phase. It will also curtail disease transmission through children. Thus according to the authors, it is necessary for India to adopt this policy of effective contraception as India is among the countries with high birth rate. So what is the way forward? First the pregnant infected women should have a more intensive follow-up during their anti-natal period so that any fetal abnormality can be identified and documented. And this will help to state clearly whether any abnormality is attributable to the viral infection or not. Secondly ICMR and other professional bodies concerned have to formulate policies on practicing effective contraception so that the pregnancies can be postponed. So here the authors conclude that when the epidemic is over and when an effective and safe vaccine is available then women in the reproductive age group have to be considered for priority vaccination prior to conception. And this will help to have safe pregnancy and safe childbirth. So this is all about this news article. With this we'll move on to the next news. Now have a look at this question. It is framed based on this news article which says that almost 90,000 ineligible beneficiaries under the PM Kisan Nidhi scheme have been identified in Tamil Nadu. The recovery of cash subsidy transferred is under process. In this context, let us discuss in detail about Pradhanamantri Kisan Sambhan Nidhi or PM Kisan. Operationized since December 2018, it is a central sector scheme with 100% funding from Government of India. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is the nodal ministry for this scheme. See the scheme was started with a view to augment the income of the farmers by providing income support to all land-holding farmers' families across the country. Under the scheme, an amount of Rs. 6000 per year is transferred in three four-monthly installments of Rs. 2000. The scheme involves direct benefit transfer in which benefits would be directly transferred into the bank accounts of the farmers. So this would enable to take care of expenses related to agriculture and allied activities as well as domestic needs. And know that the entire responsibility of identification of beneficiaries rests with the state or the union territory governments. The scheme initially provided income support to all marginal and small farmers' families. Marginal and small farmers are those who hold cultivable land up to 1 hectare and 2 hectares respectively. But later in June 2019, its ambit was expanded to cover all farmers' families in the country and it is irrespective of the size of their land holdings. But there are some exclusions as well. For example, all institutional land holders and affluent farmers such as income taxpayers in the last assessment year, then professionals like doctors, engineers, lawyers and chartered accountants etc. are excluded from the scheme. It also includes farmer families in which one or more of its members are present or former holders of constitutional posts. Here the institutional land holdings are holding such as government farms, sugarcane factories, cooperative farms and lands managed by trusts. The complete list of excluded categories is given here for your reference. Please go through it. See PM Kisan has made special provisions for northeastern states where land ownership rights are community based. It also has special provisions for forest dwellers as well as for jargon state which does not have updated land records. And based on the estimates of agriculture census of 2015-16, the number of beneficiaries to be covered under this scheme is about 14 crore. And as of February 2020, over 8.46 crore farmer families have been given the benefits. Now let us see the question. See it is a two statements question. Consider the following statements regarding Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sambhan Nidhi. The first statement reads, it is a centrally sponsored scheme which provides income support only to small and marginal farmers families with combined land holdings up to two hectares. See this statement is incorrect. It is a central sector scheme with 100% funding from the center. In the beginning, the benefits were admissible only to the small and marginal farmers families with combined land holdings up to two hectares. And the scheme was later revised and extended to all farmer families irrespective of the size of the land holdings. Now the second statement reads, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is the nodal ministry for this scheme. See this statement is correct. So we have to identify the correct statement or statements from these given statements. Here statement one is incorrect and statement two is correct. So the correct answer is option B. With this we will move on to the next news. Now we have this question which is with reference to this news article which states that the aviation regulator clarified that passengers can take photos and videos inside the flights without causing chaos. But the passengers should not use any recording equipments that may disrupt the flight operations and violate safety norms. Also the passengers should not use any recording equipments that is banned by the crew members. Recently in an indigo flight, safety protocols and individual distancing protocols were violated by media persons to elicit response from a passenger. The Director General of Civil Aviation has asked the airline to take appropriate action against the violators. So in this context, let us discuss in brief about the Director General of Civil Aviation or DGCA. See the Office of Directorate General of Civil Aviation operates under the Administrative Control of Ministry of Civil Aviation and know that the office is the principal regulatory authority in the field of civil aviation. It is headed by the Director General of Civil Aviation and the Directorate has its headquarters in New Delhi. Now let us see some of the important functions of DGCA. Firstly it is responsible for regulation of air transport services to and from India and within India and it is responsible for formulation and enforcement of civil air regulations then air safety and worthiness standards. It provides for the registration of civil aircrafts and it grants certificate for air worthiness to civil aircrafts and it is the DGCA that provides license to pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers. It also processes amendments to aircraft act of 1934 and aircraft rules of 1937 with the view to implement the provisions of Chicago Convention. Know that the convention on International Civil Aviation was signed at Chicago on 7 December 1944. Therefore this convention is called as Chicago Convention. The convention entered into force on 4th April 1947 and based on the provisions of the convention the International Civil Aviation Organization or ICAO came into being on 4th April 1947 and in October 1947 it became a specialized agency of the United Nations linked to economic and social council. Know that the DGCA coordinates all regulatory functions with the International Civil Aviation Organization and another function of DGCA is investigating aircraft accidents and incidents and also giving technical advice to courts or committees of inquiry. So these are the important functions of DGCA. Now see this question. Consider the following statements with reference to International Civil Aviation Organization. We have three statements given here. The first statement reads it is a specialized agency of United Nations. Yes this is a correct statement and the second statement reads its headquarters is located in New York. Know this statement is wrong. The ICAO headquarters is located in Montreal, Canada. And the third statement reads all regulatory functions with the International Civil Aviation Organization in India is coordinated by the Foreign Secretary of Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. See this statement is incorrect. All regulatory functions with the International Civil Aviation Organization in India is coordinated by the Director General of Civil Aviation or the Directorate General of Civil Aviation under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. So here statement 2 and 3 are incorrect and statement 1 is correct. We have to identify the correct statement or statements from these given statements. So here the correct answer is option D 1 only. Now let us see the practice questions which are based on today's news analysis. Here is our first question. Consider the following statements. An un-starred question is one to which return answer is decided by the member and is required to be distinguished by the member with an asterisk. See this statement is incorrect. The first half of the statement is correct but not the second half. A starred question is required to be distinguished by the member with an asterisk. But at the same time a starred question is one to which a member desires a normal answer from the minister in the house and not the return answer. And the second statement reads Adjournment Sinidae means termination of the sitting of the house without any definite date being fixed for the next sitting. See the second statement is correct. Adjournment means termination of the sitting of the house which meets again at the time appointed for next sitting. And Adjournment Sinidae means termination of the sitting for the house without any definite date being fixed for the next sitting. Here we have to identify the correct statement or statements from these given statements. Here statement 1 is incorrect and statement 2 is correct. So the correct answer is option B 2 only. Now we have the second question. Consider the following statement regarding lysosomal storage disorders or LSDs. LSDs are a group of viral diseases which results in delayed motor skills and progressive muscle weakness and even death in infants and adults. See this statement is incorrect. LSDs are a group of inherited or genetic metabolic diseases which results in an abnormal buildup of various toxic materials in the body's cells. Examples are Gaucher disease, Pompey disease, then Fabry disease etc. Now the second statement reads Enzyme replacement therapy is an effective treatment for LSDs. See this statement is correct. For example in case of Pompey disease the Enzyme Acid Alpha Glucosidase is given via an injection and this allows the patients to break down the glycogen which is stored in their tissues into more usable glucose. So here we have to identify the correct statement or statements from these statements. Here statement 1 is incorrect and statement 2 is correct. So the correct answer is option B. Now we have a practice means question. Please read the question carefully and write your answers and post it in the comment section. Our feedback will be given in a reasonable time frame. And with this we will come to the end of analysis of all the news articles taken up for today's discussion and also the practice questions discussion. 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