 Welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankar A.S. Academy for the date 26th of September 2019. Displayed at the list of news articles taken up for today's analysis, along with the page numbers of Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Trivandrum, and Hyderabad editions, the handwritten notes in PDF format, and the timestamping of all the news articles taken up for today's analysis, is available in the description section and also in the comment section for the benefit of the smartphone users. Let us now start our analysis. This news article talks about Nuclear Suppliers Group. Yesterday at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum, the Prime Minister of India has talked about becoming a participant in this nuclear suppliers group. This forum was held in New York City in the United States of America. Now the syllabus that is relevant to the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. Let us now see the news article. The main theme of this news article is with respect to India and with respect to nuclear suppliers group. So in this news article, we will discuss or analyze in this perspective. Before entering into the analysis, let us have a brief look into the Nuclear Suppliers Group first. To better understand this Nuclear Suppliers Group, we have to first see about the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. By the name of this treaty, we can say that this treaty is against the Nuclear Proliferation. That is, it is against the increase or proliferation of nuclear weapons and the use of nuclear energy for non-peaceful uses. But this agreement divides or discriminates the world nations into two categories. One category is called as the Nuclear Weapon States and the other category is called as the Non-Nuclear Weapon States. According to the treaty, only five countries in the world can be called as Nuclear Weapon States. All other countries should not possess nuclear weapons. These five countries are the five permanent countries of the United Nations Security Council, which are the countries of USA, UK, China, Russian Federation and France. This means that this treaty discriminates and makes the world unequal as nuclear haves and nuclear have nots. Now according to article one of this treaty, nuclear weapons or nuclear explosive devices or the control of such weapons cannot be transferred from the Nuclear Weapon States to the Non-Nuclear Weapon States. This means Non-Nuclear Weapon States cannot acquire nuclear weapons or even the control to such weapons. And according to article two of this treaty, any Non-Nuclear Weapon States should not manufacture or acquire nuclear weapons. They shall not to seek any assistance or receive any assistance with respect to the manufacture of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. So based on these two provisions of the treaty, we can say that it does not provide for transfer of nuclear weapons or proliferation of nuclear weapons among the Non-Nuclear Weapon States. The preamble of this treaty states that the treaty desires to facilitate cessation or the ending of the manufacture of nuclear weapons. Then it facilitates the liquidation of all the existing stockpiles of nuclear weapons. And this treaty also facilitates the elimination from national arsenals of nuclear weapons. The same is also reiterated in article six of this treaty. This means that the treaty aims to achieve nuclear disarmament. But we do know how the permanent five countries of the United Nations Security Council have sincerely respected and strictly adhered to these provisions of nuclear disarmament and the liquidation of existing stockpiles of nuclear weapons. At official records, they are saying that there was a reduction in the number of nuclear warheads possessed by these countries. Whatever be the case, at present, these five countries have around 97.4 percentage of nuclear weapons. They possess a total of 14,095 nuclear weapons. Know that this treaty came into force in the year 1970 and even now they have these 14,095 nuclear weapons. Only these countries were given such discriminatory leverage as they were recognized as nuclear weapon states. One main provision that does work against the interests of our country is in article three. The clause two of this article three states that any state which is a party to this treaty shall not provide nuclear resources even for peaceful purposes. Here, nuclear resources are fissionable material or equipment or material especially designed or prepared for the processing of fissionable material. It also means the equipment or material for the use or production of special fissionable material. If they have to provide for peaceful purposes, such a transfer shall be subject to the safeguards required by this article three of the treaty. So, what could be the basic requirement? Any non-nuclear weapons state should not possess any nuclear weapons now and forever. There will also be requirements under the International Atomic Energy Agency. The agency will ensure that the country that procures for peaceful purposes will never be able to use them for non-peaceful purposes. So, we can say that this treaty allows for transfer of nuclear technology and resources with appropriate safeguards under the treaty. This treaty is looking very good at its appearance with respect to non-proliferation and disarmament measures and also the liquidation of existing stockpiles etc. But if you see it is actually a discriminatory and an unequal treaty because it gives authority to five countries only to possess nuclear weapons and rest other countries should not be nuclear weapons states. We can state that this treaty to be a non-discriminatory treaty only if it mandates all the countries in the world to be non-nuclear weapons states without any exemption. Since this treaty is discriminatory in nature, India has not signed the treaty and therefore India is not a state party to this nuclear non-proliferation treaty. See there are 191 state parties and India is not one among them. So, if India becomes a state party in the future then India will not be a nuclear power. But if you see we are a nuclear weapons state with required safeguards without compromising the sovereignty and security requirements of India. But according to this treaty India is and India should be a non-nuclear weapons state once it becomes a state party to this treaty. See India carried out its first nuclear test in the year 1974 under the code Smiling Buddha. This test was not aimed at any other country but only to test our capacity to be a nuclear power. For the world at that time it meant two things. One was that India could develop nuclear weapons and the other was that India can use it for peaceful purposes such as for energy requirements. Therefore for the state parties to this non-proliferation treaty this test gave an insight that a non-nuclear weapons state can develop nuclear weapons. And they also thought that even a non-nuclear weapons state could misuse nuclear resources for non-nuclear purposes that is for the production of nuclear weapons. To bring some controls and to prevent any non-nuclear weapons state from becoming nuclear powers the nuclear suppliers group was created in the year 1975 a year after India's nuclear test. The nuclear non-proliferation treaty allows to transfer of nuclear resources under certain safeguards as required by the treaty. As a result this treaty has led to the setup of Jhangar committee 1971 to deal with nuclear exports. It is this committee which has become to be known as the nuclear suppliers group in the year 1975. Know that this nuclear suppliers group is also called as the London club. This group seeks to contribute to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons through the implementation of guidelines with respect to nuclear exports and nuclear related exports. By this you need not confuse whether this nuclear suppliers group is an approving or denying authority with respect to exports. This is because this nuclear suppliers group is not a formal intergovernmental organization and it is also not a treaty based organization. It is just a voluntary association and a non-legally binding association of major supplier governments. Nuclear suppliers group has set a guideline for supply of nuclear resources. The very purpose is to establish a baseline or a benchmark of responsible and safe supply behavior among the suppliers with respect to nuclear and nuclear related transfers. There are currently 48 participating governments in this group and India is not one among them but India aspires to be one among them. Since India is not a participating government in this group, India could not get the access to nuclear resources or nuclear fuel from the supplier countries. And we saw that this is not a treaty based organization therefore the use of member state or member is not an official way to represent the entry into this group. And know that China opposes India in becoming a participating government in this group. It builds its argument based on the fact that India is not a signatory to nuclear non-proliferation treaty. According to China, India should become a non-nuclear power or a non-nuclear weapon state in order to be a participating government in nuclear suppliers group. Also know that there are certain factors that will be taken into account for participation in nuclear suppliers group. One among them is being a party to nuclear non-proliferation treaty. There are several benefits for India by becoming a participating government in this group if you see. In the light of this news article, if India could not get nuclear fuel from nuclear suppliers, India will not be able to significantly contribute to the global targets of moving away from fossil fuel based energy capacity to non-fossil fuel based energy resources. And if you see India has also committed to increase the share of non-fossil fuel based electricity at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. By this, India aims to achieve 40% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by the year 2030. Now if India could not access nuclear fissionable material suppliers, then it will be difficult for India to meet these targets. See, nuclear energy source is a zero emission clean energy source. It generates power through fission which is the process of splitting uranium atoms to produce energy. And the heat released by fission is used to generate electricity without the harmful byproducts which are emitted by fossil fuels. As a result, there will be no air pollution. So we request you to connect the present developments with respect to nuclear suppliers group to the statements made by the Defence Minister recently with respect to no first use of nuclear weapons. The Defence Minister of India has said that India is strictly adhered to no first use nuclear doctrine. So what happens in future depends on the circumstances. The concern for genuine participants of nuclear suppliers group is that will India misuse the traded nuclear materials from peaceful uses to the development of nuclear weapons if in case it becomes a participating government nuclear suppliers group. With this, we come to the end of the analysis of this news article. Have a look at the practice question. Let us move on to the next news article. This news article is about the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. The syllabus relevant to the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. Before seeing the news article, first let us see about Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. The name itself is self-explanatory. It is the advisory council to the Prime Minister on matters of India's economy. See it is an independent body which has been constituted to give advice on economic and related issues to the Government of India specifically to the Prime Minister. And nowhere in the constitution of India the term Economic Advisory Council is mentioned. So we can also tell that this Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister is a non-constitutional body. In the year 2017 the Prime Minister constituted the Economic Advisory Council. It was constituted as a five-member council and this five-member council consists of economists of high repute and eminence. And this five-member council included a chairman, a member secretary who were full-time members and three part-time members when it was constituted in 2017. Now let us see the news article. The news tells that the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister has been reconstituted. The Government of India has reconstituted the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister for a period of two years with effect from 26th September 2019. The chairman and member secretary are the full-time members and the reconstituted Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister will have two part-time members. So as per the recent reconstitution there are two full-time members and two part-time members in the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. So totally it is four members now. Initially we saw there were two full-time members and three part-time members and two of the three part-time members have been removed now. And one new person has been made a part-time member as per the recent reconstitution. So as of now there are two full-time members and two part-time members, totally four members. So we can see that there is no definite composition of the membership to this Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and also their tenure is not permanent. So we can tell the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister as a non-permanent body. Now let us see the terms of reference of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister which were issued when the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister was constituted. Here the terms of reference defines the scope of the activities that a particular body has to carry out or it has to do. The first term of reference is that the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister shall analyze any issue referred to it by the Prime Minister on economic and other matters. And it shall advise the Prime Minister on those matters. Next it shall address the issues of macroeconomic importance like on matters or issues regarding employment, economic growth, price stability, etc. And it shall present its views to the Prime Minister. Whatever matters or issues that this Council will take can be suomutu that is it can take the matters or issues by itself or based on the reference from the Prime Minister or anybody else. So this is the second term of reference. The third term of reference is that this Council shall attend to any other task as the Prime Minister wishes from time to time. So as and when the Prime Minister would like to give any task to this Council, this Council shall be in a position to attend to that task. So this is all about the terms of reference of this Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. So the news is that the Council has been reconstituted by Government of India. Now have a look at the practice question. Let us move on to the next news article. This editorial is about the biotechnology sector. Here the author has compared the information technology sector that is the IT sector with the biotechnology sector. The main theme which the author wants to convey is that the IT sector and biotech sector are two different peas in two different pots. That is it can never be considered as one and the same. And the author has given some suggestions in the later part of the editorial to improve the biotech sector in India. The syllabus that is relevant to the analysis of this editorial is given here for your reference. We shall discuss this editorial in four parts. In the first part of the editorial we shall see in brief about the biotechnology sector and about the problems faced by the biotech sector. In the second part we shall see the comparison between the IT sector and the biotech sector and why both the sectors cannot be looked as the same. And in the third part of the editorial we shall see the China model and the suggestions given by the author based on this model. And in the fourth and final part of the editorial we shall see the need for industry academia linkage for improving the performance of biotechnology sector in India. So this is all about this editorial. First let us see in brief about what is meant by biotech sector. It is necessary to know and brief about the basic details of any sector before you study the challenges or any other related issues to that sector. Now in simple terms biotechnology is the area of biology that uses living organisms or the biological processes or systems to manufacture products or technology. And these products or technology are intended to advance or improve the quality of human life. See biotechnology has been making breakthroughs or achievements in several fields such as agriculture where the genetically modified crops have come up and also in areas of health where new drugs have been developed and also in industry where the use of genetically modified organisms have been made possible. And it has also been used in many other fields. With the aim of developing and commercializing biotechnology the government of India set up the department of biotechnology in the year 1986. Know that this department functions under the Ministry of Science and Technology. With this India has become one of the few pioneer countries to set up a specialized institution for the development of free research and human resources in biotechnology. Now let us look into some of the problems that are existing in the biotechnology sector. Here the author tells that a published or perished culture exists in India. Now what is this published what is this perished published refers to the publication of the scientific research papers. So once the entire research is done the researcher will publish a scientific paper in a scientific journal. So this is called as the publication and the term perish means to die. So the condition is like either publish the scientific research paper or stay out of the competition. Here the author means to tell that such a situation has led to a condition where the focus has changed towards publishing more number of papers and the focus has become less on the quality of the papers where more focus actually needs to be there. Now why such a situation exists in India is because of the nature of the research activity in the biotechnology sector. The author is telling that biotechnological research is quite expensive that is it is very costly and it also requires trained and skilled workforce. Then it also requires a laboratory with sophisticated and expensive instruments. So these are all some of the reasons why only those institutions with better scientific infrastructure produce high quality research output while other institutions which do not have better resources produce mediocre or substandard publications. Also the author is telling that over the years the focus of research has shifted from basic research to applied research. So what is basic research and what is applied research? Basic research is also known as fundamental research or pure research. The main motivation behind basic research is to expand man's knowledge and not to create or invent something. So there is no obvious commercial value to the discoveries that result from basic research. It is like more of theoretical knowledge that a person gains. Now a classic example is E is equal to MC square which is Einstein's general theory of relativity. Now what is applied research? Applied research is designed to solve the practical problems of the modern world rather than just to acquire knowledge like in basic research. The goal of the applied scientist is to improve the human conditions and the discoveries that will be made will have some commercial value. For example, a new technology to improve agricultural crop production or a new drug using a new technology in order to treat or cure a specific disease etc. But it is important to understand that the basic research provides the platform for the applied research in order to solve the real life problems. The author says that the fruits of applied research will only come when we start investing in basic research without asking for quick returns when investing in basic research. Because we know that basic research does not have much of a commercial value. At present in case of India, only the government of India funds the research in biotech sector and majority of the funds that are funded by the government go into applied research. So the author is telling that like in the developed countries where the private sector play a big role in biotechnology research, Indian government should also encourage and incentivize the private sector to invest more in the applied research without compromising on funding the basic research as well. Now let us see the second part of the editorial. In the second part, we shall see the comparison between the IT sector and the biotech sector and why both the sector cannot be looked as the same. We shall discuss the content under the subheading field specific issues. Here the author is telling that India has a large pool of workforce especially English speaking workforce. But the nature of biotech sector is that the work is more specialized that is certain high level skills are required for the work. So specialized nature of work has created a condition that only experienced and skilled scientists are required in the biotech sector. So the demand for young and inexperienced individuals is quite low in the biotech sector. And this leaves them jobless so they do not have any job. Now they need a job and they end up in working in the IT sector and they are ready to work at low wages as well. Now this is what the foreign company also require that is work with low pay. So both these factors are the reasons why there is always a huge employment in the IT sector when compared to the biotech sector. Next the author tells that biotechnology research often requires access to laboratories with high end scientific infrastructure. Then there should be adequate supply of expensive chemicals and reagents and supply should be made quicker with minimum shipping time between the supplier and the user. And along with this there should be a disciplined work culture and also documentation practice due to regulatory and intellectual property filling requirement in the biotech sector. But the IT sector does not require all of these. So this is one difference between the IT sector and the biotech sector. Next the author is telling that the products and solutions of biotech sector is different from that of the IT sector. He tells that biotechnology products and solutions often require ethical and regulatory clearance. So this makes the entire process long expensive and cumbersome that is very difficult. Sometimes it may even take near to 10 years for a product to be marketed. But in case of IT products or solutions they usually take lesser time when compared to the biotech sector. So we can see that from manpower point of view, infrastructure point of view and end products or solutions point of view. There is a lot of difference between both the sectors and both the sectors can never be compared in terms of employment generation as well. Here the author has mentioned about BIRAC. BIRAC is the acronym for Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council. And know that this BIRAC is a not-for-profit public sector enterprise set up by the Department of Biotechnology. It is actually an interface agency that is it provides a connection between the industry and academia. So it acts as an industry-academia interface. In order to strengthen and empower the emerging biotech enterprise in India to undertake strategic research and innovation. The author is telling that the functioning of BIRAC has resulted in impressive outcomes. And the funding made by BIRAC has helped the startup companies to make nearly 50 biotechnology related products that are in the market today. So this is a point of appreciation given by the author. Next let us see the third part of the editorial where the author has discussed the China model. See China has a very advanced biotech sector and a clear cut advantage over India. Let us see how. The author is telling that China has more number of labs with the best of scientific infrastructure. And also the number of skilled human resources that is skilled manpower is more. The author has mentioned that the Chinese students and scientists outnumber Indians by nearly five is to one in most American universities in the field of life sciences or biology related disciplines. That is if there is one Indian student in a particular discipline that is in the science discipline then there are five Chinese students in the same discipline. Next the author says that Chinese universities and research labs enjoy flexible hiring system in order to recruit the scientists. And they also have a higher science budget to conduct research. So this attracts many overseas Chinese scientists that is the Chinese scientists who have studied abroad but are willing to work in China. So they are attracted because of the system in China. Based on this model the author suggests that Indian universities and research labs must make the process of hiring more simple in order to attract bright overseas Indian scientists. An adequate budget should be allocated by the government for research in biotech sector. So from both the second part of the editorial and the third part of the editorial we can see that funding which is the money then the infrastructure which is the material and the skill workforce which is man is required for the biotechnology sector. So man material and money is required. Now let us see the final part of the editorial. In the final part of the editorial the author has described the need for academia industry linkage along with these three. That is the man material and money. Let us see the different points stressed by the author to insist on this academia industry linkage. The first is the location aspect. The author has mentioned the examples of Boston in Silicon Valley in USA. He tells that both these places are successful hotbeds of biotech innovation. It is because of the close location to the world class institutions and universities and the biotech companies. So both the companies and the academic institutions are located at one place within reach that is within vicinity. The author tells that the ideas for biotechnology companies are initiated in the scientific research labs and these scientific research labs are owned by the academic institutions. So they are the parent institutions and these parent institutions or the academic institutions work as feeders of intellectual property. That is the ideas that have been created. The author tells that often technologies incubator refined and tested for years in the academic labs before it is being released into the market. So he is telling that a sustained innovation and product development model in the biotechnology field is not possible without enriching the academic institutions. So the enrichment of the quality of the academic institutions is a must. Now the author has discussed the scenario of India. He tells that the Indian government is quite encouraging and promoting the entrepreneurship but it will take some time for the institutions and scientists to become really entrepreneurial. For this the author has given some suggestions. First the author suggests that flexible policies required in the institutes to allow scientists to incubate that is to develop startup companies in their research labs while retaining their academic positions. So they can act both as an academic and also as an entrepreneur. Second the government should let scientists from the research institutions and universities to take unpaid leave so that they can join the industry for a fixed period. In the same way the government should relax schools in the academic institutions and universities to appoint researchers from the industry in the faculty positions so that they will have the freedom to teach, participate and also take the students. So it should be either way from the academia to the industry and from the industry to the academia. So all these comprise the academia industry linkage. Now if this linkage is made possible this will help to really communicate and understand the problems at both the ends so that proper solutions are achieved. So this is all about this editorial. Finally the author has concluded that the biotech sector is not going to displace the information technology sector that is the IT sector. Many times soon in terms of employment generation. Next the author has mentioned two points for biotechnology led innovation in India. One is that there should be a sustained effort in encouraging and promoting science driven innovation in our academic institutions. Next there should be a robust that is an active academia industry collaboration. So this kind of biotechnology led innovation will help in India's economic growth is what the author is coming to tell. Finally he has mentioned that India should make use of artificial intelligence based tools and applications of big data in biology so that it will help to market the biotech innovations in a faster manner. And such innovations and discoveries in the biotechnology field will help us to solve some of the pressing issues that our societies face at present like cleaning a rivers where the process of bioremediation can be used. So it is a process of treating contaminated water soil and subsurface material by altering the environmental conditions in order to stimulate the growth of microorganisms so that they can degrade the target pollutants. So this is the bioremediation process. Then biotechnology can also be used in producing life saving drugs. Then also feeding our growing population with nutritious foods like by making new crop varieties and by also helping to clean the air that we breathe. So all these innovations and discoveries in the biotechnology sector will help us solve some of these pressing issues in the society. So this is all about this editorial. Let us move on to the next news article. This news article is regarding the drug called ranitidin. The syllabus relevant to the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. This news article says that the Indian doctors have started to advise the patients to avoid the use of the popular over the counter drug which is called ranitidin. It is followed by the rising concerns over contamination of the drug by cancer causing substance. Now let us see in brief about over the counter drugs. These are generally the medicines which are sold directly to a consumer without a prescription from a healthcare professional. Note that ranitidin or Zantac is a popular antazid. It works by reducing the amount of acid your stomach produces. It is also used to treat and prevent ulcers in the stomach and intestines. This news article says that ranitidin is a prescription drug included in schedule H. It means that it should be sold by retailers only under a prescription of a registered medical practitioner. This schedule H is a class of prescription drugs in the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945. These are the drugs which cannot be purchased over the counter without the prescription of a registered medical practitioner. Note that the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules of 1945 are the set of rules under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940. Earlier this month the United States Food and Drug Administration that is the US FDA had raised a global alarm over the presence of a probable cancer causing substance which is called as N-nitrosodimethyl amine at low levels. This news article says that the Central Drug Standard Control Organization has started the process of checking for the adverse reactions of this drug. This organization has informed the state level regulators to communicate to the manufacturers of ranitidin under their jurisdiction to verify their products and take measures to ensure patient safety. Now according to this news article the Drug Controller General of India said that the probable cancer causing substance which is called as N-nitrosodimethyl amine has been classified as probably carcinogenic or cancer causing to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Now let us see in brief about this International Agency for Research on Cancer. It is the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization of the United Nations. The objective of this International Agency for Research on Cancer is to promote international collaboration and cancer research. It was formed in 1965 and its headquarters is at Lyon, France. Also know that the Drug Controller General of India is the head of Central Drug Standard Control Organization. This organization functions under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It is the central drug authority and it discharges functions assigned to the central government under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940. Its important functions include regulating the import of drugs, then the approval of new drugs, then the approval of clinical trials, etc. So this is all about this news article. In this news article we have seen what is meant by over the counter drugs, then schedule H drugs, then about the cancer causing substance which is present in this particular tablet, then about the Central Drug Standard Control Organization and also about the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Now have a look at the practice question. Let us move on to the next news article. This news article is based on a special report that has been released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The syllabus relevant to the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. See this Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a United Nations body for assessing the science that is related to climate change. It was created in the year 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization in short WMO and the United Nations Environmental Program that is UNEP. The membership of IPCC is therefore open to all the member countries of the United Nations and the World Meteorological Organization. This IPCC currently has 195 members. The objective of this IPCC is to provide the governments with scientific information so that they can use the scientific information to develop policies related to climate. It prepares comprehensive assessment reports about the state of scientific, technical and socio-economic knowledge on the climate change. And the special reports that are made on a special issue are also part of these assessment reports. Note that the reports of IPCC are key inputs to the international climate change negotiations. Now while carrying out the assessment of science related to climate change, IPCC does not conduct any research and it does not monitor any climate related data or parameters. So remember this. If you remember on 30th August 2019 we saw news article which spoke about a draft report on oceans and frozen zones of the earth. This report has now been released by the IPCC. This report is titled as the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate. This report states that the oceans are an extreme threat because of climate change. And as a result of climate change, terrible changes are taking place in oceans and also in the cryosphere. Here cryosphere refers to the frozen components of the earth system at the land surface and at the ocean surface. And it also includes the frozen components of the earth system below the land surface and the ocean surface. So these components include snow cover, glaciers, ice sheets, ice shelves, then icebergs, then sea ice, then lake ice, then river ice, then permafrost and also seasonally frozen ground as well. This report states that within a rough framework of 25 years the rate or the speed of ocean warming has more than doubled. To be specific, since the year 1993 the rate of ocean warming has more than doubled. This news article mentions that these changes in oceans and cryosphere are taking place because of increased temperatures and also because of ocean acidification, then because of marine heat waves and also because of extreme El Nino and La Nina events. So let us see each one of this in brief now. First let us see about ocean acidification. Ocean acidification refers to the reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period which is typically decades that is more than 10 years or longer. This reduction in pH is accompanied by other chemical changes that is the changes in the levels of carbonate and bicarbonate ions. Ocean acidification is caused primarily because of absorption or the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Next let us see about marine heat wave. Marine heat wave refers to the period of extreme warm sea surface temperature that persists for days to months and such a heat wave can extend up to thousands of kilometers in the ocean. If you see marine heat waves are detrimental to the coral reef systems that is it will affect the life of the coral reef systems and also the dependent life systems that are based on these coral reef systems. So fishery will be very much affected because of the loss of coral reefs. So there will be an effect on the fisheries. Next let us see about El Nino. El Nino event refers to a flow of warm water current along the coast of the countries of Ecuador and Peru which are both located in South America where they will disturb the local fisheries. In other words it is the warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean which lies east of the international data line. This oceanic event is associated with the fluctuation of tropical and subtropical surface pressure pattern at the global scale if you see. And the changes in the pressure pattern is called as Southern Oscillation. Together it is called as Enso that is El Nino Southern Oscillation. As a result of the changes in the pressure pattern and the atmospheric air circulation several regions receive no rainfall unusually and several regions will receive extreme rainfall at unusual levels. So both are the extreme either no rainfall or extreme rainfall. This change in the pressure systems is referred to as the El Nino Southern Oscillation shortly called as Enso. The cold phase of this Enso is called as La Nina. So whenever it is El Nino it affects the summer monsoon in June to September in India as this El Nino is associated with the weakening of tradements and the tradements are the driving factor for Indian summer monsoons. So once they get weakened because of El Nino the summer monsoon will get affected and because of this there will be increased droughts in India. And whenever India experiences La Nina then there will be extreme rainfall and associated floods because of La Nina. So this is the impact of El Nino and La Nina on the Indian subcontinent. This news article states that the major impact will be on the Hindukush Himalayan region. This region will witness more frequent and more severe floods in the future and also increase in the extreme rainfall or precipitation levels are also predicted. So such events could be a disaster for the areas that come under this region. See this region of Hindukush Himalayas extends to a length of around 3500 kilometer from the country of Afghanistan in the west to the country of Myanmar in the east. So it also includes the Indian territories and if you see this region is also the source for 10 major Asian rivers. It also includes those major rivers that flow in India which are the rivers of Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra river. And if you see parts of 12 Indian territories come under this region. These are the states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, then the Union Territory of Chamon Kashmir and then the state of West Bengal and all the 8 Northeastern states will come under this region. But this we come to the end of the analysis of this news article. See this report will be in news frequently in the future. So we will be analyzing as and when a relevant news article comes on this report. Now have a look at the practice question. Let us move on to the next news article. This news article is about Saskoff. We shall be focusing more about Saskoff in this news article. The syllabus that is relevant to the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. Before seeing the news article let us first see about Saskoff. Saskoff is the acronym for South Asian Climate Outlook Forum. This forum was established there 2010. It is coordinated by the India Meteorological Department. See this forum covers the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The idea of establishing Saskoff was originated in a meeting convened by the World Meteorological Organization, then the Director General of the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services in South Asia and the permanent representatives of the respective countries which we saw with the World Meteorological Organization. This meeting was held at Italy in August 2009. And all those permanent representatives of the South Asian nations with the World Meteorological Organization had unanimously agreed to implement Saskoff for the Southwest Monsoon season from the year 2010 onwards. So, we can see that it is an initiative of the South Asian nations. The main activity during all the Saskoffs is that they will prepare and issue a consensus outlook for the Southwest Monsoon rainfall over South Asia. And based on this outlook, the national level outlooks will be prepared by the respective countries. And as we saw, India Meteorological Department coordinates the annual regional forecast outlook for the Southwest Monsoon season rainfall. So, initially if you see it was only for the Southwest Monsoon from the year 2010 till 2015. But Saskoff recognized that it is also necessary to provide an outlook during the winter season as well since South Asia received significant amount of rainfall during the months of October to February. So, winter Saskoff sessions were initiated since year 2015. During the winter months, South Asian climate is influenced by two circulation systems. One is a tropical circulation system that is the North East Monsoon from the months of October to December. And the other is the temperate mid-latitude circulation systems from the months of December to February. And if you see, Northeast Monsoon influences the southern parts of South Asia which includes your Peninsular India, then the country of Sri Lanka, Maldives and also the southern coastal areas of the country of Myanmar. And the northern parts of the South Asian region including Afghanistan, Pakistan, the northern part of India, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar, they all get influenced mainly during the months of December to February by extra tropical activity which is dominated by the western disturbances. Therefore, seasonal forecast for the winter season are issued at two stages. One during the September-October months for the southern region and the other during the November-December months for the northern region. Now, let us see the news article. The 15th session of Saskoff was held at Thiruvananthapuram in the state of Kerala from 23rd to 25th September. And the Chief Minister of Kerala has released the climate outlook for the season prepared at this 15th Saskoff. We saw that the main activity during the Saskoff is to prepare and issue the consensus outlook for the monsoon rainfall. So, this outlook predicts that the 2019 Northeast Monsoon which will last from the months of October to December is likely to be normal over the southern Peninsular. The Director General of Meteorology, India Meteorological Department has said that a normal rainfall is expected in the Northeast Monsoon in Southeast India but it is likely to be on the positive side that is there will be excess rainfall. And the amount of rainfall is highly variable that is it will keep varying. The rainfall varies from one year to another and sometimes within the season itself there can be large variations. But if you see for the region as a whole a normal rainfall is expected. On the other hand, most parts of Sri Lanka, Maldives and eastern parts of Myanmar are likely to receive above normal rainfall during this period. And above normal rainfall is also likely over some northern parts of South Asia. However, below normal rainfall is likely over the southern parts of Myanmar and some areas of the foothills of the Himalayas. So, Chaskof has developed this outlook by assessing the prevailing global climatic conditions that influence the South Asian climate and also by assessing the seasonal forecast from different climate models around the globe. And Chaskof has said that currently neutral El Nino southern oscillation conditions are prevailing in the Pacific Ocean. And the Indian Ocean Dipole is in the positive mode over the Indian Ocean. And all these parameters are likely to continue at their current level from the months of October to December. So, a normal rainfall is expected. In the last news article we have seen about El Nino. In this news article we will see in brief about the Indian Ocean Dipole. The Indian Ocean Dipole is defined by the difference in the sea surface temperatures between two equatorial areas of the Indian Ocean. One is the western pole which is located in the western Indian Ocean. And next is the eastern pole in the eastern Indian Ocean. So, the western pole is near the Arabian Sea and the eastern pole is closer to the Bay of Bengal. And this Indian Ocean Dipole will affect the climate of Southeast Asia, Australia and other countries that surround the Indian Ocean basin. Now, we need to know that a positive Indian Ocean Dipole leads to a greater monsoon rainfall and a more active monsoon rainfall. So, there will be huge number of above normal rainfall days. Whereas a negative Indian Ocean Dipole leads to less rainfall and more monsoon break days that is days without any rainfall. Usually the El Nino conditions result in diminished monsoon rainfall if you see. However, if there is a positive Indian Ocean Dipole then it can bring good rains to India despite if that particular year is an El Nino year. So, this is all about the Indian Ocean Dipole you need to know. If you see there was also a question in the year 2017 UPSC prelims regarding this Indian Ocean Dipole. Now, let us come back to the news article. We saw that neutral El Nino Southern Oscillation conditions are prevailing in the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean Dipole is in the positive mode. Just now we saw if the Indian Ocean Dipole if it is going to be in positive mode then there will be a good monsoon rainfall. So, we are likely to expect a normal rainfall if not above normal rainfall. Now, have a look at the practice question. Let us move on to the practice questions discussion session. See the first question, consider the following statements. They have given two statements and they have asked you to choose the correct statements. The first statement tells that India is a signatory to the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. During the discussion we saw that India is not a signatory till now because if India signs the treaty then it has to become a non-nuclear weapons state. We saw that the treaty is unequal and discriminatory which is the main reason why India has not become a party to this treaty. However, the recent years have been a great success in terms of getting included in various strategic forums and arrangements. Like for example, India has become the member of the missile technology control regime that is MTCR on 27 June 2016. See this missile technology control regime is an informal political understanding among certain states, that is among certain countries who seek to limit the proliferation of missiles and missile technology. Then in the year 2017, India joined the Wassener arrangement. This Wassener arrangement was formally established in July 1996. It is a voluntary export control regime where its members exchange information on the transfers of conventional weapons and they also exchange information on the transfers of dual use goods and technologies. Then in the year 2018, India joined the Australia Group which is an informal agreement which aims to allow exporting countries to minimize the risk of assisting chemical and biological weapon proliferation. In this way it controls the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons. So India joined on 19 January 2018 and India joined the Wassener arrangement on 8 December 2017. Now see the second statement. It tells that India is not a participating government at the nuclear suppliers group. As of now, this statement is correct. Till date, India is not a participating government at the nuclear suppliers group. Now this question is asked for the correct statements. The correct answer is option B2 only. Moving on to the next question. The question is considered the following statements about Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. They have given two statements and they have asked you to choose the correct statements. The first statement tells that it is a constitutional body. During our discussion, we saw that nowhere in the constitution the term Economic Advisory Council is mentioned. So Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister is a non-constitutional body. So the first statement goes wrong. Now see the second statement. It tells that as per the current terms of reference while constituting the present Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. It shall address the issues of macroeconomic importance taken Suomoto and shall present its views to the Prime Minister. Now this statement is correct. This is one of the terms of reference of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. So it can either take the issue Suomoto that is by itself or as referred to it by the Prime Minister and it should present its views to the Prime Minister on that particular issue. Now this question is asked for the correct statements. The correct answer is option B2 only because the first statement is wrong. Now see the next question. Consider the following statements. They have given two statements and they have asked you to choose the correct statements. The first statement tells that the Central Drug Standard Control Organization functions under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. During our discussion we saw that the Central Drug Standard Control Organization functions under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It is not the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizer. So this statement is wrong. Now see the second statement. It tells that it discharges functions that is the Central Drug Standard Control Organization discharges functions assigned to the Central Government under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940. This statement is correct. So it discharges functions assigned to the Central Government under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940. Some of its important functions include regulating the import of drugs, then approval of new drugs, then approval of clinical trials, etc. Now this question is asked for the correct statements. The correct answer is option B2 only since the first statement is wrong. Now see the next question. Consider the following statements. Again two statements are given and they have asked you to choose the correct statements. The first statement tells that cryosphere refers to the frozen components of the earth system that are above the land and ocean surface only. Now whenever the superlative only comes again read the statement. During our discussion we saw that cryosphere refers to the components of the earth system at and below the land and ocean surface that are frozen including snow cover, glaciers, ice sheets, ice shelves, icebergs, sea ice, lake ice, river ice, permafrost and seasonally frozen ground. So it includes that is all the frozen components of the earth system that are present at the land and ocean surface and also below the land and ocean surface. So the first statement goes wrong. Now see the second statement. It tells that north eastern region of India is a part of Hindu Kush Himalayan region. During our discussion we saw that parts of 12 Indian territories come under this region. These include the states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and West Bengal and the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and all the eight north eastern states of India. So all these come under this Hindu Kush Himalayan region. This question is asked for the correct statements. The correct answer here is option B2 only since the first statement is wrong and the second statement is correct. Now see the next question. Consider the following statements about South Asian Climate Outlook Forum. It has given two statements and they have asked you to choose the statements that are not correct. The first statement tells that it provides annual regional forecast outlook to the countries of this forum. For southwest monsoon season rainfall only. Again only superlative is there. The main news article was that the 15th session of South Asian Climate Outlook Forum provided the annual forecast outlook for the northeast monsoon. So since 2015 this forum issues focused outlook for the northeast monsoon as well. So the first statement is wrong. Now see the second statement. It tells that the countries of Myanmar and Thailand are covered under this forum. During our discussion we saw that the South Asian Climate Outlook Forum covers the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. So Thailand is not there. So the second statement also goes wrong. Now this question is asked for the statements that are not correct. Since both the statements are not correct, the correct answer is option C both 1 and 2. With this we come to the end of the analysis of all the news articles taken up for today's discussion and also the practice questions discussion session. Do like, comment and share the video and do subscribe to Shankar IA's Academy YouTube channel for latest videos and updates. Stay focused and motivated friends. Thank you.