 Good evening aspirants. I have an important announcement to make the third prefit batch of Shankara is Academy is about to commence on 9th of March 2023 their total 71 tests and each test contains 50 questions It will be really helpful for you to brush up on the basics So kindly enroll in the program and make the best use of it with this note Now we will start with the Hindu Daily News Analysis for the newspaper dated 7th of March 2023 there are eight articles go through it Now we will start with the first article discussion Now look at this article from the text and context page This article is talking about the multilateral reforms that are being pushed forward by India through the G20 platform As we all know India assumed the G20 presidency in December Upon assuming the G20 presidency India stated that its agenda would be Inclusive ambitious action oriented and decisive India also said that its primary objectives are to Build consensus over critical development and security issues and thereby deliver global goods So India has placed multilateral reform as one of its top priorities And this is why the G20 idea bank that is the think 20 place Multilateral reforms as one of its priorities Besides this a task force was also created by the think 20 for this purpose It is called the T20 task force towards reformed Multilateralism that is TF7 this task force aims to construct a roadmap for Multilateralism 2.0. So this is the background in this discussion Let's understand some points about multilateralism as provided in the article before that the syllabus 11 to this discussion is Highlighted here. You can go through it first. Let's see some points about G20 See G20 is expanded as the group of 20 It is a premier forum for international cooperation on the aspects of International economic and financial agenda. It brings together the world's major advanced and emerging economies G20 was created in response to the financial crisis of the 1990s and this forum Recognizes the countries that are not adequately represented in global economic discussions so in December 1999 the finance ministers and central bank governors of Advanced and emerging countries met for the first time in Berlin, Germany an Informal dialogue was conducted on key issues for global economic stability So G20 was founded in 1999 as a forum for the finance ministers and central bank governors to discuss global economic and financial issues Know that India was also a founding member of G20 after 1999 the finance ministers and central bank governors met annually Know that G20 was raised to the summit level in 2008 This was to address the global financial crisis of 2008 the G20 countries together represent around 90 percentage of the global GDP they also make up 80 percentage of the global trade and Two-thirds of the world's population the members of G20 are displayed in the map here You can go through it also G20 has no permanent secret raid the presidency of the G20 rotates annually among its members So this time India assumed the G20 presidency as I said earlier India is placing Multilateral reform as one of the top presidential priorities now We will move on our focus to multilateralism first of all What is multilateralism the term multilateralism refers to an alliance of multiple countries or organizations? So they work together to achieve a common goal or deal with the pressing problem now What are the issues surrounding multilateralism see today multilateral cooperation is facing multiple challenges The first and foremost crisis is due to persistent deadlocks These deadlocks arise because of the difference of opinion among the countries on a particular issue Due to this issue Multilateralism has lost the trust of the majority apart from this Multilateralism is also facing a utility crisis This means the powerful member states are thinking that Multilateralism is no longer useful for them. For example many countries took an unilateral approach During the global vaccination drive against covid Countries wanted to protect their people first and they stocked up the vaccines There is nothing wrong in prioritizing our own country first But a crisis of this nature needed a multilateral approach Only if everyone gets vaccinated the spread of the virus will end But that was not the priority then in addition to these problems They're increasing great power tensions De-globalization populist nationalism the pandemic and climate emergency Added to the hardships in pursuing multilateralism So these roadblocks led countries to seek other arenas including bilateral plurilateral and mini lateral groupings This subsequently contributed to further polarization of global politics So these are all the issues surrounding multilateral cooperation Now let's see the importance of multilateralism See most of the challenges that the countries face today are global in nature And they require global solutions For instance climate change migration macroeconomic instability and cyber security All these can be solved only by collective measures Apart from this disruptions such as covid-19 pandemic have reversed the Social and economic progress that the global society made in the past couple of decades These issues stresses upon the importance of multilateralism So we can say that world is in the need of reformed multilateralism But reforming multilateralism is not an easy task And it is a very difficult task for variety of reasons Now we will see what are those reasons The first reason is that multilateralism is deeply rooted in global power politics So if we take any action to reform multilateral institutions or frameworks It would automatically seek changes in the current distribution of power See any modification in the current distribution of power is not at all an easy task This is because the modifications may have adverse implications on the world if it is not done cautiously So global power politics is one of the main causes that disrupts the reforms in multilateralism Then the other reason is that multilateralism is losing its importance because of the emerging multiplex global order See the emerging global order seems to be more multipolar and multi-centered This situation facilitates the formation of new clubs concerts And collisions of like-minded countries This in turn challenges the reform of older institutions and frameworks Therefore this disrupts the process of multilateralism reforms Example the coffee club nations are opposing the UN Security Council reforms So these are some of the reasons that hinders the reforms in multilateralism Now moving on to see about the options that are available before India To bring reforms in multilateralism through its presidency To fix the issues with multilateralism G20 should devise multiple solutions Currently the idea of multilateralism reforms lies only with allied circles and some emerging powers Therefore G20 should first focus on setting proper narratives of multilateral reform In this line G20 should constitute an engagement group And that should be dedicated to bring the narrative of multilateral reform to the forefront We know India is now holding G20 presidency What India should do is that it should urge the upcoming chairs of G20 Such as Brazil and South Africa to place multilateral reform as its presidential priorities See both Brazil and South Africa have global high table ambitions So it would be an easier task for India to convince both these countries to pursue multilateral reforms As I said earlier many of today's problems need global solutions and global cooperation For example we can take the issue of climate change The effects of climate change are experienced all over the world So we need a global cooperation to tackle this issue Already some global platforms like the UN FCC or the UNEP are trying to limit the effects of climate change But there are some limitations in such multilateral cooperation This is because of competing interests and the dominance of powerful states Therefore while supporting multilateral cooperation G20 should continue to encourage mini-lateral groupings as a form of multilateralism And G20 must try to transform these mini-lateral groupings into multi-stakeholder partnerships This will help to promote multilateralism The other problem that is hindering multilateralism are the trust, legitimacy and ureliety crisis So to overcome these crises we need a model Therefore the G20 can be the one that would act as a model in resolving the crises surrounding multilateralism So in order to fit this purpose G20 need to be more inclusive without sacrificing efficiency For example inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member to G20 And making the UN Secretary General and General Assembly President as permanent invitees to G20 meeting is another move These decisions would be really helpful to enhance the legitimacy of G20 Then we have to address the crisis of trust and utility For this G20 should put all its efforts into solving one or more global pressing issues And G20 needs to showcase itself as a model of new multilateralism For example food fuel and fertilizers security can be one such issue that G20 can take up Because this issue spreads across the world So solving one such critical issue will make the G20 as a global model of new multilateralism So to conclude India should use the G20 platform to resolve the issues surrounding multilateralism And India should set an example for all countries to deal with multilateral issues So with this we have come to the end of this discussion In this discussion we saw about G20 then we saw about multilateralism And we saw what are the issues surrounding multilateralism and some ways to address the issues So with these 11 points in mind now we will move on to the next article discussion Now take a look at this opinion page article As the title suggests it deals with green hydrogen Recently the 2023 union budget has allocated Rs 19,700 crore for the national green hydrogen mission This huge funding has been done as a part of India's move towards clean fuel usage Know that India has committed to produce 50% of its electricity needs from non-fossil sources by the year 2030 This is one of India's panjamirth goals which were spelled out by our Prime Minister Modi during the 2021 glass host summit This is the premise based on which this article is written The article discusses about the ways which India needs to follow To become a green hydrogen superpower Now let's see the points given in this article in detail The syllabus relevant to this discussion is highlighted here You can go through it Firstly let's see about the term green hydrogen See green hydrogen is a type of hydrogen which is produced by splitting hydrogen from water This is done through the process of electrolysis Here the energy required for the electrolysis process is provided through Renewable sources of energy like solar or wind power So in order to produce green hydrogen we need water, electrolyzer and green energy This is all about the term green hydrogen Now let's see a few points about gray hydrogen See gray hydrogen is a type of hydrogen which is produced from methane So this methane is obtained by burning fossil fuels Since the production of gray hydrogen includes the burning of fossil fuels It is not a clean source of energy Now coming back to green hydrogen There are several benefits that are associated with green hydrogen It can be used as a fuel in long transport vehicles like buses and trucks You may ask why can't we simply use electricity produced from solar or wind energy to power these vehicles See normally electric powered vehicles have a very less mileage This is due to the fact that batteries used in these e-vehicles have only small storage capacity This in turn affects the mileage of the e-vehicles And if we increase the size of the battery the vehicle will become heavier Right? This is why green hydrogen as an alternative to electric powered vehicle is being contemplated now See green hydrogen can be stored in a very relatively small space This in turn increases the mileage of the long-distance vehicles This is the first major usage of green hydrogen Now coming to the second usage See green hydrogen can power certain industrial sectors which are generally hard to electrify Say for example the steel production plants in India These plants are powered only through coal This is due to the fact that the production process of steel is difficult to be electrified Here green hydrogen can be used as an alternative for fossil fuels Other than this green hydrogen can also be used as power storage facility Since huge quantity of energy can be stored in a relatively less space Hydrogen can be used as an energy storage mechanism So these are some of the benefits associated with green hydrogen usage Now moving on to the priority areas in which the government needs to focus on to aid the growth of green hydrogen sector in India Firstly, Indian government should try to increase the domestic demand for green hydrogen This in turn will boost the production of green hydrogen in India Here note that the government of India has planned to introduce a fund called as the strategic interventions for green hydrogen transition fund or the site fund for five years This is to encourage people to consume green hydrogen So this demand inducing measure will ultimately reduce the price of production of green hydrogen Thirdly as I discussed earlier Electrolyzers form a part of production process of the green hydrogen Here the Indian government need to focus on indigenization of electrolyzer production technology Currently India imports the electrolyzers tax which are later assembled together here This scenario needs to be changed The electrolyzers tax production needs to take place in our country itself So that it will reduce the dependence of India on other countries for stack imports Fourthly the author warned India to sign bilateral agreements with developed nations This could be related to technology transfers with respect to the green hydrogen production Finally the author also says that India should use its G20 presidency to coordinate with major economies This can lead to setting up of rules for a global green hydrogen economy The protectionist measures taken by other countries need to be discussed This will streamline the supply chain record for green hydrogen production Then India should try to promote a global network of green hydrogen Through this companies could collaborate on a large scale So these are some of the steps which India can take to increase its production of green hydrogen With this we have come to the end of this discussion So through this discussion, we saw what is green hydrogen? We saw that it is a type of hydrogen which is produced by splitting hydrogen from water through the process of electrolysis Then we saw how it differs from gray hydrogen Since gray hydrogen is produced by burning of fossil fuels It is not a clean source of energy like that of green hydrogen Then we saw what are the benefits associated with the usage of green hydrogen And finally we saw what are the priority areas where the government needs to put its focus to aid the growth of green hydrogen sector So with this we have come to the end of this discussion with these points in mind We will move on to the next article discussion See this editorial article is written in the backdrop of the recent Maharashtra political controversy cases The author focuses only on two important provisions enacted in the 10th schedule And he tries to reveal the exact intention behind the anti-defection law So these provisions include the provisions for the split of a political party and the provisions for the merger of political party So in this context, let us try to understand some important points given in the article Before that the syllabus relevant to this discussion is highlighted here. You can go through it As you all know the 10th schedule popularly known as the anti-defection act It was included in the constitution through the 52nd amendment act of 1985 During its enactment the law had two goals in mind The first was to curb the act of defection by disqualifying the defecting member So a defecting member is a person who switches sides The second was to protect political parties from weakening due to instability Both of these are dangerous for a democratic country like India Indian democracy is fundamentally based on a party system That is in Indian context stable democracy cannot exist without stable parties But due to frequent defections even the most well-organized political party could not keep their flock together They ultimately become weak when politicians have a tendency to abandon one party for another Right? So our complex institution demands unity of purpose, ideological clarity and cohesiveness among elected representatives So in this manner the anti-defection law acts as a tool to promote stability The author here talks about the provisions related to split and merger of political parties See paragraph 3 of the 10th schedule talks about the provision of a split in the political party Here political party is a different term and original party is a different term This paragraph originally said that if a split occurs in a political party and this results in a faction And one third of the legislators move out of the party and join that faction Those members could get an exemption from disqualification The point to note here is that one third of the legislators would get protection only if there was a split in the original political party But this paragraph was removed from the Indian constitution by the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act of 2003 With the deletion of this paragraph a split in the original party is no longer a defense against disqualification So this is in order to prevent a political party from buying legislators from other parties Now coming to the provisions of merger of two political parties See if a member voluntarily gives up the membership of the party When his or her original party merges with another party, then they will not be disqualified Know that this condition is applied only when two-thirds of the members of a political party have agreed to such a merger Here merger of a political party is a precondition to seek exemption from disqualification So here it is very clear that the legislators do not have the freedom to bring about a split or merger Because they are legally restrained by the anti-defection law Only the original party can do that and the legislators only have the choice to agree or not to agree to this split or merger So ultimately only a merger of a political party provides the basis for climbing protection from disqualification So this is the first thing that you have to note from the article Secondly in the Maharashtra case the first question to be decided by the court is whose whip is valid See an elected member of a house shall be deemed to belong to a political party By which he was set up as a candidate for election So a whip can be legally issued only by the original political party which sets them up as candidates in the election In this case the party which can legally issue the whip is the Shiv Sena led by Uttav Thakre Because this is the party which set them up as candidates in the last election So to conclude legislators have no freedom under the tense schedule To split or bring about a merger of their party with another Only the original party can do that and the legislators just have the choice to agree or not agree to it A whip can also be legally issued only by the original political party Which set them up as candidates in the election With this we have come to the end of this discussion In this discussion we saw about the anti-defection law and the provisions related to split and merger of parties With these points in mind we will move on to the next article discussion Now look at this article here according to our prime minister India is trying to ensure minimal dependence on foreign countries in healthcare He also said that two schemes namely the Pradhan Mandiri Jan Arogya Yojna and Jan Aushadi Kendra's have led to the healthcare savings of the patients This is about the news article given here using this opportunity Let us learn about Pradhan Mandiri Jan Arogya Yojna If you want to know about Jan Aushadi Kendra's watch our first march 2023 analysis Now this Aishman Marath Pradhan Mandiri Jan Arogya Yojna is a centrally sponsored scheme Under the ministry of health and family welfare So it was launched on september 25 2018 The aim of the scheme is to secure the lives of 50 crore individuals This comprises of 10.74 crore poor families in urban and rural areas Now coming to the components of the scheme see this scheme is an umbrella scheme of two major health initiatives One is the health and wellness centers and the other one is national health protection scheme First let us see about the health and wellness centers So under this component of the scheme 1.5 lakh sub-centers will bring healthcare system Close to the homes of the people So basically what these centers do these centers will provide comprehensive healthcare This includes non-communicable diseases also maternal and child health services are also included Here I have given some of the services provided by the health and wellness centers Now we will see about the second component which is the national health protection scheme This scheme provides a benefit cover of rupees 5 lakhs per family per year This cover will take care of almost all secondary care and most of the tertiary care procedures I repeat almost all secondary care and most of tertiary care Which means it does not concentrate much on primary healthcare Then this component of Pradhan Mandiri Jarnarogi Yushna involves direct benefit transfer The benefit cover includes pre and post-hospitalization expenses Besides this a defined transport allowance per hospitalization will also be provided to the beneficiary Most importantly beneficiaries under this scheme are allowed to take cashless benefits from any public or private impaneled hospitals across the country Before concluding the discussion finally let us see about the eligibility criteria for this scheme Since the scheme aims at providing healthcare to poor families The beneficiaries are decided on the basis of deprivation criteria Which is given in the socio-economic cast census database So some of the beneficiaries include families having only one room with kucha walls and roof Families having no adult member between age 16 to 59 Female headed households with no adult male members between the age of 16 to 59 Disabled members and no able-bodied adult member in the family SC or SC households So similarly you can go through other criteria as well So with this we have come to the end of this discussion in this particular discussion We saw about Pradhan Mandiri Jarnarogi Yushna So we saw that there are two components for the scheme one is the health and wellness center And other is the national health protection scheme under the first component The scheme seeks to upgrade more than 1.5 lakh health facilities and under the second component The scheme provides a benefit cover of rupees 5 lakh per family per year So with these points in mind now we will move on to the next article discussion Take a look at this data point. This data point talks about the trend in post pandemic recovery of the Indian economy So in this background, let us understand few facts given in the data point See GDP grows when demand for goods and services produced in an economic grows Because with more demand manufacturers produce more to meet that demand GDP is nothing but the value of all the goods and services produced within an economy over a period of time Right? So there are basically four sources from which demand originates First is the household which consumes goods and services Then there are businesses that has small and large business spending on building factories offices etc Then there is government spending on social sector schemes And finally the rest of the world contributes to the GDP in terms of net exports A part of each of the source is imported Which means they contribute to the GDP of those countries from where they come from That's why from the total demand we subtract the imports to arrive at the net domestic demand With this basic understanding, let us approach the charts given here See chart one shows the contribution of these factors in net exports Here the line shows the growth rate and the bars shows the contribution of the factors in achieving that growth rate There are two significant upward movements in the growth rate One in 2021 to 22 quarter and second is during the 2022 to 23 quarter one The first one was achieved due to the great role of investment and the second one was achieved because of both consumption and investment Now look at chart two chart two shows the role that consumption and investment may have played in this recovery Particularly if you see chart two a it shows that the share of consumption and GDP growth have moved in opposite directions This means that the household consumption had a minimal impact on this recovery See chart 2b it shows that investment moved concurrently with the growth rate This means that investment has played a significant role in this recovery So if you ask me can investment and consumption continue to play No, both the investment and consumption have to cooperate with each other Otherwise the recovery might be hampered Consumption can be induced through financing from our current incomes as well as consumer credit that we can take from the bank Similarly investment can be financed through the profits that firms retain for reinvestment and business credit They are awarded by the banks. Now look at chart three chart three presents consumption and investment Together with the total credit in the economy The two have moved co-terminously, right? This means credit has played a very crucial role So the availability of credit also assumed importance particularly when there are signs of tightening Now we may think why can't we make more credit available to people so that we can speed up the recovery But unfortunately in a world of globalized finance It is difficult for countries to have the cost of loans Determined according to their own needs So if the US federal reserve increases the interest rate the rba has to follow suit Irrespective of its impact on inflation See chart four shows the reality that the rba was forced to do See finance flows into developing countries because they offer higher returns I'll explain you the link between the two rates. See to control inflation US Fed has been aggressively increasing its policy rates Why they do so to make borrowings costly so that people in us will have less money with them and the inflation can be controlled But this affects the other developing economies How see generally emerging economies such as India tend to have higher inflation and higher interest rates To utilize this financial institutions Particularly the foreign institutional investors would borrow money in the US at low interest rates in dollar terms And then they will invest that money in government bonds of emerging countries such as India in Local currency terms by doing this they will earn a higher rate of interest because of the difference in the interest rates But when the US federal rises its domestic interest rates The difference between the interest rates of the two countries decreases This makes India less attractive for currency carry trade Consequently some of the money may be expected to move out of the Indian market I'll explain this using an example suppose you borrow rupees 1000 on an interest of 5% from me Here I am the US Fed and you the foreign institutional investor lend this 1000 rupees Out to your friend at 10 interest assume this friend is India now You will pay me that is US Fed and interest of rupees 50 But you will get rupees 100 from your friend as interest So this difference is your profit this same principle applies here as well But now if I say I lend to you only at 10 percent Then you can't lend it to your friend and earn a profit if he is going to pay you the same interest of 10 percent, right? Investors find no use or find it less attractive to invest in India This is a cost of worry for emerging economies like India the extra written that investors get can be seen in Chart 4 as the gap between the fed rate and the repo rate if the US fed rate rises The rba has to increase the repo otherwise capital will fly out and this will lead to loss the value of our currency In fact despite this rise in repo capital has still flown out Which has devalued the rupee in the absence of this rise There would have been a greater flight and further loss in the value of rupee See if the US Federal Reserve increases the interest rate Rba has to follow suit irrespective of its impact on inflation But if we increase the interest rates our currency will also get devalued So keeping in mind that we are at a crucial stage. We need to take calculated moves So we can conclude that in the post pandemic the contribution of households and business is very low to improve that We can increase the consumption and investment by financing through credits in this news article discussion We saw the post pandemic trends of recovery in the Indian economy So with the long points in mind now, we will move on to the next article discussion For our next discussion. We are going to take this small article here It says that the south tourism minister signed an agreement with the turkish central bank governor This is to make a five billion dollar deposit in turkish central bank This is about the news article given here in our discussion today We are not going to go into the details of this agreement Instead we are going to see about the location of turkey see turkey is very frequently occurring in the news now So you should know about the water bodies in and around this area from prillams perspective Firstly, we will see about the location of turkey. Look at this image. Can you locate where turkey is? It is this small part in the violet color its location is quite unique actually It is a transcontinental country It is located in western asia and a small enclave in threes in the balgan region is in the southeast europe Now, let us see about the bordering countries of turkey for that look at this map here Turkey is bordered by eight countries Bulgaria to the northwest Greece to the west Georgia to the northeast Armenia, Iran and Azerbaijan to the east and Iraq and Syria to the southeast Apart from this the country has water boundaries as well It has the mediterranean sea to the south Agan sea to the west the black sea to the north So this is about the location of turkey. Now, let us see about the black sea Look at this map here. The black sea is located at the southeast in extremity of europe It is bordered by ukraine to the north russia to the northeast Georgia to the east turkey to the south and Bulgaria and romania to the west Now, let us see about Caspian sea as you see in this image Turkey is closer to the caspian sea The caspian sea is bordered by five countries Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia Finally, let us see about the mediterranean sea Today 21 countries have coastlines on the mediterranean sea. They are Spain, France, Manaco, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Syria Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco With this, we have come to the end of this discussion. So in this particular discussion We saw the location of turkey and we also saw the water bodies surrounding it With these learned points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion Have a look at this news article See, this year nearly 6.37 lakh olive ridley turtles have arrived for mass nesting on the Rishikulia coast in Kanjem district of Uriza This is a new record for the beach Last year, only around 5.5 lakh olive ridley turtles came to this site for mass nesting But this year it has increased So this is the crux of the news article given here In this backdrop, let's understand some points about olive ridley turtles from our exam perspective See, the olive ridley turtles are the smallest and the most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world It inhabits the warm waters of Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans These turtles spend their entire lives in the ocean Olive ridleys migrate thousands of kilometers between feeding and mating grounds in the course of the year You should note one interesting fact here The female olive ridleys return to the very same beach to lay their yaks from where they first hatched During this phenomenal nesting, up to 6 lakhs and more female olive ridleys emerge from the water to lay yaks And this happens over a period of 5 to 7 days So this unique mass nesting phenomenon is called Aribada Know that the coast of Uriza in India is the largest mass nesting site for the olive ridleys This is followed by the coasts of Mexico and Costa Rica Now talking about the characteristics of olive ridleys Olive ridleys grow to about 2 feet in length and about 50 kg in weight Know that the olive ridley gets its name from its olive coloured shell which is hard shaped and rounded The male and females grow to the same size However, the females have a slightly more rounded shell as compared to the male Now talking about their food habits, olive ridleys are basically carnivores They feed on jellyfish, shrimp, snails, crabs, malasks and a variety of fish and their yaks Now talking about the threads that are faced by olive ridleys Olive ridleys face serious threats across their migratory root habitat and nesting beaches The threats are due to human activities such as unfriendly fishing practices Development and exploitation of nesting beaches for ports and tourist centers In addition to this, olive ridleys are extensively poached for their meat shell and leather Apart from this, the most common threat faced by olive ridleys is the accidental killing through entanglement in trawl nets and kill nets This is occurring due to uncontrolled fishing during their mating season around the nesting beaches Now finally, let's see about the conservation status of olive ridley turtles Firstly, olive ridleys are categorized as vulnerable under the IUCN Red List of the retinaled species Then, olive ridleys are protected under Appendix 1 of the sites With this, we have come to the end of this discussion In this discussion, we saw about the olive ridley turtles We saw about the unique mask nesting phenomena called the aribada Then, we saw the characteristics of olive ridleys We saw that it grows to a length of 2 feet and it weighs around 50 kgs And we saw about its food habits We saw that olive ridleys are carnivores and they feed on a variety of fish We then saw what are the threats faced by olive ridleys And finally, we saw about the conservation status of olive ridley turtles With these points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion Now, look at this news article It says that persistent cough that lasts for longer than usual is one of the predominant symptoms of influenza Usually, the flu season begins in September And after January, the cases start to dip slowly But this year, the flu season is still not over The main reason cited is the change in viral strains And also because of low immunity after COVID-19 outbreak This is the crux of the news article given here In this context, we are going to understand about influenza virus from exam perspective See, influenza is commonly called as flu It is an infection of the nose, throat and lungs So these are the parts of respiratory system Which means this influenza virus infects the respiratory system of the organisms Know that this flu is not the same as stomach flu Which causes diarrhea and vomiting So we can say that influenza is an acute respiratory infection caused by influenza virus There are basically four types of seasonal influenza viruses They are type A, B, C and D Influenza A viruses are further classified into subtypes According to the combination of the hemaglutin and neuraminides These are the proteins found on the surface of the virus Examples include the H1N1, H3N2 etc So these are the currently circulating influenza A type viruses Secondly, influenza B viruses are not classified into subtypes Instead, they are broken down into lineages Currently circulating influenza type B viruses belong to either B. Yamagata or B. Victoria lineage Then influenza C virus is detected less frequently And they usually cause mild infections Because of this reason they do not present public health importance Then influenza D viruses primarily affect cattle And they are not known to cause illness in people So these are the types of influenza virus Now coming to the symptoms Influenza is characterized by sudden onset of fever Cough which is usually dry cough And patients also experience headache, muscle and joint pain Severe malice, that is the patients feel uneasy and unwell Then sore throat and runny nose The cough can be severe and it can last up to two or more weeks Know that more people recover from fever And other symptoms within a week But influenza can cause severe illness or death in people at high risk That is people with chronic medical conditions Or vulnerable section That is children, pregnant women and old age people Now how does the virus transmit? See, it transmits very easily When an infected person coughs or sneezes Droplets containing the virus are dispersed into the air These infectious droplets can spread up to one meter And when these droplets loaded with viruses infect people They get the flu The virus can also spread by hands contaminated with influenza viruses So to prevent transmission People should cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when they cough Apart from this People should also wash their hands regularly With this we have come to the end of this discussion In this discussion we saw about the influenza virus We saw that influenza is a virus that infects a respiratory system of the organisms We saw what are the types of influenza virus And then we saw about the symptoms and the transmission of the virus With this we have come to the end of the news article discussion Now we will move on to the next part of our discussion Which is practice questions First we will start with a prelims practice question Today we have five questions Four questions will be discussed by me And the remaining one will be the quiz question for the day Question number one Which among the following are eligible for Avaling benefits under national health protection scheme One, households having motorized two or three or four wheeler or fishing boat Two, households paying income tax Three, households having household member as a government employee Four, households owning a refrigerator Which of the given statements are incorrect Here all the statements are incorrect Because all these categories are excluded from availing benefits The answer for this question is option D One, two, three and four The list of categories that are eligible under this scheme is given here You can go through it Question number two Which among the following countries have border with Persian Gulf One, Iran Two, Turkey Three, Kuwait Four, Bahrain See the countries that surround the Persian Gulf are Bahrain Iran Iraq Kuwait Qatar Saudi Arabia And the United Arab Emirates So the correct answer here is option B One, three and four only Question number three Consider the following statements regarding influenza Statement number one Of all the types Influenza type D virus Is the most contagious among humans Statement number two Influenza type A virus affects only children Which of the above statements is rare correct Here statement number one is incorrect Influenza D viruses primarily affect cattle And are not known to cause illness in people Here statement number two is also incorrect All age groups are affected by influenza A virus But there are groups that are at more risk than others They include pregnant women, children under 59 months The elderly, individuals with chronic Meltical conditions And individuals with immunosuppressive conditions So the correct answer for this question is option D Neither one nor two Question number four With reference to the Indian economy Consider the following statements Statement number one If the inflation is too high Reserve Bank of India is likely to buy government securities Statement number two If the rupee is rapidly depreciating RBI is likely to sell dollars in the market Statement number three If interest rates in the US or European Union Where to fall That is likely to induce RBI to buy dollars Which of the statements given above are correct See here statement number one is incorrect If the inflation is too high Reserve Bank of India is likely to reduce The money supply in the economy To control inflation Right? Thus RBI sells the government securities So as to suck the excess of money supply from the economy And to control inflation Here statement number two is correct The Reserve Bank of India intervenes in the currency market To support the rupee As a weak domestic unit Can increase a country's import bill There are a variety of methods by which RBI intervenes It can intervene directly in the currency market By buying and selling dollars If RBI wishes to prop up rupee value Then it can sell dollars And when it needs to bring down the rupee value It can buy dollars Here statement number three is also correct When the US rises its domestic interest rates This tends to make India less attractive For the currency trade This we saw in the discussion itself As a result Some of the money may be expected To move out of the Indian markets And flow back to the US Therefore this would decrease the value Of India's currency against the US dollar Thus if interest rates in the US Or European Union were to fall The value of rupee against the dollar increases And it is likely to induce RBI to buy dollars So the correct answer for this question Is option C, two and three only Now this is the quiz question for the day I hope you will be able to answer the question Based on the discussion we had today Read the question carefully And post the answers in the comment box below Displayed here are the main questions for your practice Interested aspirants can write the answer And post it in the comment box below If you have found a video to be useful Like the video, share it with your friends Subscribe to the channel, happy loving