 A very good morning aspirants, welcome to Indian Express Analysis brought to you by Shankar IAS Academy. So in this news article discussion today, we are going to see articles from the past week from the Indian Express newspaper. So without much delay, let us get into the first news article discussion. Take a look at this news article. This news article talks about the frothing in Yamuna River. See every year around the Chad Pooja, a layer of froth floats over parts of the Yamuna River near Kalindi, Kanch. So in order to tackle the poisonous phone, special boats filled with foot-graded enzymes has been deployed by the Delhi Jull Board, DJB. So in this news article discussion today, let us understand why the frothing happens, what is it constituted of and what can be done to solve the issue. So let's first see what causes frothing in Yamuna. See the release of untreated or poorly treated effluents is the main culprit. This includes sewage from those parts of the city that are not connected to the sewage network and industrial waste. Apart from this, the surfactants and phosphates from detergents in households and industrial laundry find their way into the river as all the sewage is not treated. Now talking about its composition, see about one percentage of the foam is made up of foaming agents like phosphates and sulphates. The remaining 99% is made up of yarn and water. This is the reason why they are lighter than water that floats on the surface of the water as a thin film. Remember foam bubble occur when organic matters decompose. One of the important characteristics of foam is that they have one end that ripples water and the other end that attracts water. So they act as a surfactant that disturb the cohesive forces between the liquid molecules at the surface. This way the foam reduces the surface tension of the water and aids in easy foam formation which gets accumulated over a period of time. Now here you might have a doubt why there is foam formation around this time of the year. The reason is the quantity of water carried by the river. See currently the river is in a lean phase and the water flow is less. So the pollutants remain undiluted. Secondly, they occur mainly near Kalindikunj, Okla Barrage because when water with surfactants or detergents like molecules fall from a height, they turn to form bubbles in water. So this is the main reason why the foaming occurs mainly during this period of time. Now let us see the harmful effects caused by these foaming in the river. Similar to the toxic foam in the MNR river can have both short term and long term effects. Some of the short term effects includes skin irritation analogies, gastrointestinal problems, diseases like thyroid. Some of the long term effects includes neurological issues, hormonal imbalances, skin diseases and eye irritation. So it becomes very important for the government to monitor the frothing in the river and to do the adequate measures to tackle the issue. Now we can see what measures can be done to tackle the issue. See in the short term, Okla Pondage can be ridden from water hair synth. Secondly, detergents that are biodegradable can be encouraged. In that line, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee in short called as DPCC banned the sale, shortage and transportation of soaps and detergents that are not conformed to the quality standards set by the Bureau of Indian Standards BIS. In the long term, states like UP, Haryana and Delhi can upgrade sewage treatment plants. Apart from this, industrial pollution has to be stopped by proper monitoring and steps can be taken to increase the flow of the river during the season. So these are all some of the important points that you have to remember about the frothing in MNR river with these learnt points. Now let us move on to the next news article discussion. This news article talks about the recent collapse of Silkehara Barcote Tunnel along the Yamanutri National Highways in Uttarakasi district of Uttarkand. So in this news article discussion, let us learn few points about the project and the causes of the incident. See the Silkehara Barcote Tunnel is part of the ambitious Char Dham All-Weather Road project of the central government. Here the Char Dham is a group of four Hindu pilgrimage site in India which includes Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Emonotri. The project aims to make the journey to these centres safe, foster and more convenient. The route will also connect to the Thanakpur-Pittoragar stretch of National Highways 125 which is part of the Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra route. So the Silkehara Barcote Tunnel is part of this Char Dham Pariyojana. The total length of the tunnel is 4.5 kilometres. It is meant to connect Silkehara to Dandal Geyon in Uttarkasi district. It is a double-lane tunnel and it is one of the largest tunnels under the Char Dham All-Weather Road project. Remember its aim is to reduce the journey from the Uttarkasi to Yamanutri Dham by 26 kilometres. So if this tunnel is established, they can travel from Uttarkasi to Yamanutri within 4.5 kilometres instead of going into a long route of 26 kilometres. This project was conceived in 2018. The construction of the tunnel was tendered to Hyderabad Headquartered Navayuga Engineering Company by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd in short called as NHID CL. See NHID CL is a fully owned company of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of Government of India. Now having looked into the background of the article, now let us understand the causes of the tunnel collapse. See the tunnel collapse occurred on 12th November 2023. It trapped around 41 members. Still many experts are working to bring out the trapped members. Talking about its causes, the Uttargan government has formed a committee to determine the exact cause of the Uttargan tunnel collapse. However, experts have pointed out several reasons which might have led to the accident. Let us see them one by one. Firstly, the presence of fractured or fragile rock. See fractured rock have a lot of joints, which makes it weak to sustain large over hit weight. This could have led to the collision of the tunnel. Secondly, water seepage. See water erodes loose rock particle over time, creating a void on the top of the tunnel. This might have led to the caving of the tunnel. Thirdly, landslide prone young Himalayan rock system. See the main central thrust in short called as MCT or barcode thrust of the Himalayas passes a few kilometers north and northwest of the incident site. So the seismic wave generated could have triggered a possible landslide in the tunnel. Fourthly, lack of geological and geotechnical studies. See experts have expressed doubts whether geological and geotechnical studies like petrographic analysis, seismic refraction waves analysis, were conducted before undertaking the tunnel excavation work or not. These experiments help to determine whether the rock can take the load of the over burden when a tunnel is created. Fifthly, improper study of shear zone and lack of protection measure. See experts have also pointed out that one of the reason of collusion could be the lack of proper geological mapping studies of the shear zone. There was also failure to take protection measures to prevent the collusion of the shear zone using steel ribs, rock bowls or short creed due to lack of regular monitoring. Finally, failure to design an escape tunnel is also an issue. The authorities failed to ensure that an escape tunnel is designed simultaneously with the main tunnel. Design and construction of an escape tunnel is a must for emergencies like collapse and fire. Also the escape tunnel helps in determining the geology of the main tunnel. For example, an escape tunnel was constructed in the case of 9km Chenani-Nashri Tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir. Now as I said already, still many experts are working to bring out the trapped members. So we have to wait and watch to know how they are rescued. So these are also some of the important points that you have to remember about. The Uttarkasi incident, hope they will be getting rescued sooner. So these learnt the points. Now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now take a look at this news article. According to the news article, nearly 27 companies including Dell, HP, Lenovo have received approval from the centre to manufacture laptops, computers and servers in India under the government's production linked incentive, BLI for IT hardware. So in this news article discussion, let us understand few facts about the PLI scheme in Prilam's perspective. See the PLI scheme was launched in March 2022, it was conceived to scale up domestic manufacturing capability, combined by higher import substitution and employment generation. To make this happen, the government has set aside nearly 1.97 lakh crore rupees for the PLI scheme for various sectors. An additional allocation of 19,500 crore rupees was also made towards PLI for solar PV modules in budget 2022-23. The scheme initially targeted three industries which includes mobile and allied component manufacturing, electrical component manufacturing and medical devices. Currently nearly 14 sectors are supported with PLI scheme. Now talking about the objectives of the scheme, see the government introduced this scheme to reduce India's dependence on China and other foreign countries. It supports the labour intensive sector and aims to increase the employment ratio in India. So the scheme provides incentives for this purpose, thereby the scheme works to reduce the import bills and boost up domestic production. PLI scheme also invites foreign companies to set up their unit in India and encourages domestic enterprises to expand their production units. So these are all the objectives of the scheme, now let us see the features of the scheme. See the first feature is that it is output oriented rather than input oriented. See the beneficiaries are rewarded for increasing their production and sales rather than for investing in capital or infrastructure. Secondly, it is time bound and have a sunset clause, that is they are valid for a period of 5 to 6 years depending on the sector. Thirdly, it is performance based and have a graded incentive structure. The incentive rate varies according to the category of the manufacturer, that is whether they are domestic or foreign, the level of value addition, the type of product and the year of operation. For example, the scheme will provide an incentive of 4% to 6% on incremental sales of goods manufactured in India to eligible companies for a period of 5 years. Fourthly, it is flexible in nature and it allows manufacturers to choose their own base year, investment plan and production targets within the prescribed guidelines. Finally, the scheme is aligned with the national priorities and strategic sectors. They aim to reduce import dependency, promote innovation and research and development, implement opportunities and enhance India's share in the global value chain. So, these are the features of the scheme. Now, talking about the effectiveness of the program, see I spelled the economic survey, the PLI scheme for large scale electronic manufacturing has attracted an investment of 4784 crore rupees and contributed to a total production of 2.04 lakh crore rupees including export of 8769 crore rupees. As per the data released by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, PLI scheme for large scale electronics has emerged as the most successful scheme while generating an employment of 28636 and leading to a 139% increase in exports of smartphones over the last 3 years. Similarly, under the scheme, the automobile and auto component industry has attracted proposed investment of 74,850 crore rupees over a period of 5 years. So, if you want current data, we have to wait for the economic survey. So, these are all some of the important points that you have to remember about PLI scheme, very, very important scheme. With these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now, take a look at this news article, it talks about PEMS Vanidhi scheme. See, recently the beneficiaries of the scheme were provided with a sound box, QR code and a check. This is why the scheme is in news. So, in this news article discussion today, let us understand some of the features of PEMS Vanidhi scheme. See, PEMS Vanidhi stands for PEMS Street vendors Atma Nirbar Nidhi. As you are aware, Atma Nirbar means self-reliance and Nidhi means fund or it means loan in this context. So, the scheme is aimed at street vendors. This is because street vendors represent an important part of the urban informal economy. In addition to this, they play a significant role in ensuring availability of the goods and services at affordable rate to city dwellers. During the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated lockdowns, the livelihood of street vendors were adversely affected. They were cash strapped due to the lockdown. To revive this business, the street vendors needed credit. To address this need for credit, the scheme was introduced during the lockdown period in June 2020. So, who is a street vendor under the scheme? See, any person engaged in vending of goods or services to the public in a street, food path, pavement, etc. are called street vendors or hawkers. The goods supplied by them include vegetables or fruits, ready-to-eat street foods, egg, textile, books or stationery and etc. And the services includes barbershop, cobblers and etc. So, the scheme was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. It is a central sector scheme. That is, it is fully funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Small Industries Development Bank of India, in short, called as SIDB, will be the implementation partner of the Ministry for Scheme Administration. Talking about its objective, its objective is to provide working capital loan up to 10,000 rupees. Also, to incentivise regular repayment. See, the working capital loan has a 10-year of one year and to be repaid in monthly installments. For this loan, no college will be taken by the lending institutions and on timely or early repayment of the loan, the vendor will be eligible for the next cycle of working capital loan with an enhanced limit. It also has the objective to reward digital transactions. The scheme will incentivise digital transactions by vendors through cashback facility. They can get a monthly cashback in the range of rupees 50 to 100 according to different criteria. Additionally, an interest subsidy at 7% or timely or early repayment of the loan is available. So, the scheme will help to formalise street vendors with these objectives and will open up new opportunities to this sector and help them to move up the economic ladder. So, if you are asking who are all eligible for the scheme, specifically the scheme is available to all street vendors engaged in lending in urban areas as on or before March 24, 2020. The street vendors surrounding peri-urban or rural areas are also eligible. So, if you are asking who can lend, scheduled commercial banks, regional rural banks, small finance banks, cooperative banks, NVFCs, microfinance institutions and self-help group banks established in some states or union territories can also lend. Finally, when the scheme was implemented in 2020, the government planned to discontinue it by March 2022. But right now, the scheme has been extended to December 2024. These are also some of the important points that you have to remember about. PM Swannidhi, with these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. This ad from the front page of the newspaper talks about the integrated ombudsman scheme of RBI. So, in today's discussion, let us understand some of the basic points that you have to remember regarding the scheme. So, firstly, what an ombudsman mean? See, it refers to an official who is appointed to investigate compliance of individuals against a company or organization or a public authority. So, we can say that an ombudsman is the grievance redressal officer or system. In this manner, major public sectors have ombudsman. For example, in banking, we have the banking ombudsman who is a senior official appointed by the Reserve Bank of India. This banking ombudsman redresses the complaints of customer that was against the deficiency in certain banking services, like non-payment or inordinate delay in the payment of checks and etc. These services are covered under the grounds of complaint specified in clause 8 of the banking ombudsman scheme 2006. So, for banking, we have the scheme and such ombudsman schemes or redressal systems on financial matters. Similarly, RBI has a separate ombudsman scheme for non-banking financial companies, NVFCs and for digital transactions. The schemes are the ombudsman scheme for NVFCs that was launched in 2018 and the ombudsman scheme for digital transactions launched in 2019. And now with the new scheme of Reserve Bank Integrated Ombudsman Scheme in short called as RBIOS, RBI is adapting a one nation one ombudsman approach. And for this, RBI is merging the above three of its own ombudsman scheme into one. That means currently all customers of RBI regulated entities like banks, NVFCs, for all of them there will be a single redressal system. So, through this system, RBI aims to further improve the grievance addressal mechanism for resolving consumer complaints against the entities regulated by it. So, what are the features of the scheme? It will have one portal, one email and one address for the consumers to launch their complaints. There will be a single point of reference for consumers to file their complaints, submit the documents, track status and provide feedback. Also with this, a multilingual toll-free number will be provided to get all relevant information on grievance addressal and assistance for filing complaints. So, the overall benefits of the scheme includes firstly, the customer can file their complaint from anywhere at any time. Secondly, it eliminates the need to identify any specific ombudsman Thirdly, the new scheme removes the jurisdictional limitations and limited grounds for complaints. Now, you have to remember one thing, not all the complaints can be lodged with RBI ombudsman. Only complaints that are not resolved within 30 days or complaints are not resolved satisfactorily by banks or NVFCs or credit information companies or payment system participants regulated by RBI can be lodged with RBI ombudsman. All complaints regarding deficiency in services are covered under the scheme. Now, remember RBI's executive director in charge of consumer education and protection department is the appellate authority under the integrated scheme. These are all some of the important points that you have to remember about RBI integrated ombudsman scheme. So, with these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now, take a look at this news article regarding sickle cell anemia. Now, first, let us quickly go through what is sickle cell anemia and then we shall understand some of the important points mentioned in the news article. See, sickle cell anemia is a group of inherited red blood cell disorder that affects hemoglobin. Here, hemoglobin is the protein that carries oxygen through the body. Normally, these red cells are disc shaped and they are flexible enough to move easily through the blood vessels. But in sickle cell disease, red blood cells become crescent or sickle shaped due to a genetic mutation. These sickled red blood cells do not bend or move easily and can block blood flow to the rest of the body. Secondly, these sickle cells die early which can cause a shortage of red blood cells. So, both the ways the disease causes severe harm to a person. Now, talking about the causes of the SED, as I said earlier, it is a genetic disease. So, it is caused by hemoglobin which is inherited from both the parents. Remember, if either one of the parents contain this hemoglobin S, then it is called sickle cell trite. People with sickle cell trite can live a normal life without any symptoms. So, remember this difference between sickle cell trite and sickle cell disease or sickle cell anemia. Now, let us move on to the symptoms of sickle cell disease. See, generally the symptoms do not occur until the age of 4 months. Some of the common symptoms includes shortage of RBC. This makes the patient anemic and it can lead to less oxygen supply and causing fatigue. The common symptoms is the pain caused due to the clogging of blood. It is technically called as crisis. CRI is CES. They can last from hours to days. Some of other symptoms include chronic organ damage. This can happen in extreme cases like spleen damage, then delayed growth and puberty, painful joints caused by arthritis and etc. Generally, with SCD, the symptoms may differ according to the organ blocked by the SCD cells. So, how can we diagnose this disease? See, a very simple basic blood test is enough to know about the deformity. Currently, all the states of India are in screening program to identify the disease earlier as much as possible. Talking about the prevention, see, the first prevention is to identify the person with sickle cell trite. If two individuals with sickle cell trite marry each other, that is a high possibility that their child will have sickle cell disease. So, by screening individuals with sickle cell trite before marriage, the spread of the disease can be prevented. Then on the treatment aspect, a CD can be cured only by bone marrow transplant or stem cell transplantation and the blood transfusion can combat anemia and give cure from pain. So, these are all some of the basics that you have to remember about a CD. Now, let us see what the news article is about. The news article talks about the story of Victoria Gray, who is the first patient to undergo a gene editing therapy called chris gas 9 to treat sickle cell anemia. She has shared her positive experience after suffering from the disease for 35 years. The therapy involves modifying the patient's DNA by replacing the faulty hemoglobin gene with a healthy one. This offers a potential cure for a lifetime. So, Victoria Gray, she has become the first person in the world to be treated under the therapy and getting positive results. She has been undergoing this treatment since 2017. She has been given the drug called Cascavi, which uses the innovative gene editing tool chris Cas9. So, by seeing her consistent recovery and the drug's efficiency on November 16th, the UK gave approval to the use of the therapy for the patients of sickle cell anemia. As I already said earlier, currently the only remedy for sickle cell anemia is bone marrow transplants. But this gene editing therapy gets approved in India also, it will be very significant. This is because an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 children in India are born with a disorder every year. But the issue here is, despite the promising results, the highest expected cost of the gene therapy in India might exceed 1 crore rupees. This raises concern about the accessibility in India. However, some experts have suggested that the government interventions, subsidies, crowdfunding and philanthropy could help make the treatment more affordable. Apart from this, the UK's approval would also inspire Indian researchers to develop their own innovative therapies of CRISPR like they did with CAR-T for blood cancer. If such a thing happens, then the treatment for sickle cell anemia using the gene editing therapy will be more affordable and saving a lot of lives in India. So, these are all some of the important points that you have to remember about sickle cell anemia. So, with this, we came to the end of the news article discussion. If you like the video, hit like, do comment and don't forget to subscribe to Shankar IAS Academy YouTube channel.