 Welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankar IAS Academy for the Day 25th of June 2020. The list of news articles along with the page numbers of five different editions is given here for your reference. The handwritten notes in PDF format and the timestamping of all the news articles taken up for today's analysis is given in the description section and also in the comment section on the best interest of the viewers. Let us now begin our analysis. Let us look at the first news article of the day. This news article mentions that the unit cabinet has approved the extension of the term of the commission appointed to examine the issue of subcategorization of other backward classes. So in this discussion, we will see the purpose of this commission, the terms of reference of this commission and other related details, the syllabus that is relevant to the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. See a commission to examine the subcategorization of OBCs was constituted under article 340 of Indian constitution with the approval of president in October 2017. So what is this article 340? See this article provides for the appointment of a commission to investigate the conditions of backward classes. Under this, the president may appoint a commission to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes and also to recommend the steps to improve their condition. And the report of this commission is to be placed before the parliament along with action taken memorandum. So under this article only, if you see in 1979, the second backward classes commission was appointed which is famously called as Mandel commission. The chairman of this commission was BP Mandel. So this Mandel commission assessed the situation of socially and educationally backward classes. So under this article 340 only in October 2017, a commission to examine the subcategorization of OBCs has been constituted under the chairmanship of retired justice Srimati G. Rohini. See this commission was to submit its report this month but it was not able to complete the task due to the lockdown and the restrictions imposed because of COVID-19 pandemic. Thus the term has again been extended by 6 months up to January 2021. If you see previously also the term of this commission was extended many times. Now let us see the objectives of the commission based on its terms of reference. See this commission aims to examine the extent of inequitable that is unfair distribution of benefits of reservation among the castes and communities that are involved in the broad category of other backward classes. This will be done with reference to such classes included in central list. Then if you see this commission aims to work out the mechanism criteria norms and parameters in a scientific approach for the subcategorization within such other backward classes. Next if you see this commission will also identify the respective castes and communities or subcasts or the synonyms in the central list of other backward classes and then classifying them into their respective subcategories. Finally this commission will also study the various entries in the central list of other backward classes and it will recommend correction of any repetitions, ambiguities, inconsistencies and errors of spelling or transcription. It is because certain castes are left out of the ambit of reservation because of a difference in the spelling in a state. So these are some of the main objectives of this commission based on its terms of reference. Now why there is need for such a commission? See reservation was introduced with the basic purpose of providing equal opportunities to the socially and educationally backward classes which faced exclusion from mainstream due to their backwardness. If you see reservation was given to them so that they can progress and be accepted in the general public. And considering this the Mandel commission also recommended that a quota or a reservation of 27% for OBCs should apply. But if you see even after decades the realities that the reservation policy has not achieved its basic purpose that is we have not achieved social justice, the reservation benefits have not reached the most backward people. There are also certain major challenges such as a few socially, educationally and economically strong castes take almost the entire advantage of reservation. This means that the weaker backward castes within the OBCs barely get any reservation benefits as they are unable to complete. So this commission was set up to provide recommendations benefiting those persons belonging to some of the castes and communities which are included in the central list but were not able to get any major benefit of existing scheme of reservation for OBCs in the central government posts and reservation for admission in central government educational institutions. So as a whole it is expected that the sub-categorization of OBCs will ensure that the more backward among the OBC communities can also access the benefits of reservation for educational institutions and government jobs. This is all about the discussion of this commission. We saw that this commission was constituted under article 340 of Indian constitution. See this article is in part 16 of Indian constitution. Now if you look at this part 16 it pertains to special reservations relating to certain classes and it is included in constitution to realize the objectives of equality and justice as laid down in the preamble. We know historically that there have been certain castes and groups that have faced exclusion from the mainstream due to their backwardness. So for their betterment constitution has made certain special provisions for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, backward classes and androindians. And some of these special provisions are contained in part 16 from articles 332, 342A and if you see they are related to reservation and legislatures, special representation and legislatures, then reservation and services and posts, then educational grants, then appointment of national commissions and appointment of commissions of investigation. So under this money we have article 340 which we saw during the discussion previously. This is all about the discussion of this news article. To summarize we have seen about the commission that has been appointed to examine the subcategorization of OBCs constituted under article 340 of Indian constitution. We saw the terms of reference, the purpose of this commission and the news related to the approval of the extension of the term of this commission. Now have a look at this practice question. Let us move on to the next news article. Next let us take up this lead column from the editorial page. In this article the author who teaches at the Jabaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, analyzes the impact of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act of 2019 on India's border problem with both Pakistan and China. See this bill was introduced on August 5th. That is why the author has named the topic of this editorial as China-Kashmir and the ghost of August 5th. The syllabus that is relevant to the analysis of this editorial is given here for your reference. See the author begins with saying that the Jammu and Kashmir bifurcation has aggravated the existing Indo-China tensions over Aksai Chin. In other words India's infrastructure building on its side of line of actual control and the China's ambitious China-Pakistan economic corridor project are already on the course of collision. See this bifurcation and the statements of India's political leadership as further confirmed the conflict between India and China. Yes the author is talking about the statements of Union Home Minister on Pakistan occupied Kashmir and the Aksai Chin. See in our recent discussions in the previous days we already talked about how bifurcation increased the border tensions between India with both Pakistan and China. With respect to violence in Kashmir which is attributed to Pakistan the violence posed bifurcation has not reduced as expected. The early trends of the present year 2020 show that the violence is going to cross the numbers of 2019. In addition many retired officials in Pakistan have claimed that India's decision on Kashmir is a breach of Shimla Agreement. Now you need to know about this Shimla Agreement and what this agreement says from exam perspective. First know that the 1972 Shimla Agreement was signed by the then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi and the then President of Pakistan Zulfiqa Ali Bhutto. It was much more than a peace treaty between India and Pakistan which sought to reverse the consequences of the 1971 war that is to bring about the withdrawals of troops and the exchange of prisoners of wars. So this 1972 Shimla Agreement was a comprehensive blueprint for good neighbourly relations between India and Pakistan. So under this agreement both the countries undertook to renounce conflict and confrontation which had affected the relations in the past and also to work towards the establishment of durable peace, friendship and cooperation. See the following principles in this 1972 agreement are particularly notable. One is the mutual commitment to the peaceful resolution of all issues through direct bilateral approaches. Next to build the foundations of a cooperative relationship with special focus on people to people contacts and then to uphold the inviolability of the line of control in Jammu and Kashmir which is the most important confidence building measure between India and Pakistan which is also a key to durable peace between both the countries. Here the term inviolability means never to be broken or dishonoured. See this 1972 Shimla Agreement also includes a provision pending the final settlement of any of the problems between India and Pakistan, neither side shall unilaterally alter the situation which means both India and Pakistan should not unilaterally change the status quo in Jammu and Kashmir. Now according to the Pakistani officials this provision was claimed to have been breached by India. The author tells that it seems ironical because Pakistan itself had altered the situation and Pakistan occupied Kashmir several times over the past. It means it has breached this particular provision. So in this context the author tells that if Pakistan decides to undermine Shimla Agreement by accusing India at already breached then this may have very serious complications for Kashmir dispute. For example it presses the reset button to India-Pakistan relations back to 1949 that is the time period of first Indo-Pakistan war. So these are some of the comments made by the author related to the tensions between India and Pakistan. Now coming to China the author discusses how China felt uneasy on India's decision of separating Ladakh from Kashmir followed by the statements from the political leadership of India. Here the author cites two reasons as reasons for the discomfort of Chinese say. One is India's strong official claim about Aksai Chin that has been under Chinese control and the second is bringing Ladakh under India's central drool as annoyed China since it considers Ladakh's borders to be disputed between India and China. Here the author notes a similarity between the Pakistani and Chinese positions on India's bifurcation decision that is both the sides argued that India changed the status of Jammu and Kashmir whose borders are still being negotiated with them. Now why Ladakh is of great significance for both India and China? The answer is for both India and China the region is of great strategic importance. For India the Chinese aggression close to eastern Ladakh could weaken its hold over Siachen Glacier. Now if the hold is weakened on Siachen then it might compromise India's security in the western frontier because of the close relationship that is present between Pakistan and China. Here it is important to know that the Siachen Glacier demarcates Central Asia from the Indian subcontinent and it separates Pakistan from China the region as you can see in this map. In addition to this the salt or the rich of the Siachen Glacier serves as a divide that prevents the direct linking of Pakistan occupied Kashmir with China stopping them to develop the geographical military linkages in the area. Further if you see Siachen also serves as a watchtower for India to keep a deep watch on Gilgit and Pakistan regions of Pakistan. Do you know that we spend almost 3000 crores per year to hold Siachen Glacier? So you can understand how important Siachen Glacier is for India from strategic perspective. Now if you look in case of China this region is important for its China-Pakistan economic corridor project and also for its access to Central Asia because both these are part of its belt and tour grand strategy. So these are some of the points by author related to the tensions between India and China. In the conclusion the author says that India's decision on Kashmir had unknowingly brought China and Pakistan much closer because for many years China somewhat maintained neutrality on Kashmir issue but since the bifurcation that happened in August it claims to be an agreed party to Kashmir dispute. Also if you see India's strategy continued to be weakening the China-Pakistan's relationship by engaging China economically, multilaterally and regionally as well. So the author tells that the consequences of the August 5 decision are opposite to what we have always tried for that is weakening China-Pakistan nexus. So finally in the context of this issue the author is of the opinion that India cannot afford to narrowly be tactical amidst foreign and security policy decision making because the geopolitics in this region that is Southern Asia is changing way faster than it was previously imagined. So the author tells that India's decision should not be made based on tactical and political considerations but it should be based on cold clear-headed strategic assessment by India. So this is all about the discussion of this editorial. To summarize this editorial we have seen about how the August 5 decision of India has increased the tensions between India and Pakistan and between India and China. In this context we saw the importance of Shimla Agreement of 1972 between India and Pakistan and also about the strategic importance of Seattle and Malaysia. Now if you see there are further more news articles related to the recent India-China conflict that has appeared in front column and also in other pages. Now this front page news article mentions that a top Indian official has said that India-China have agreed to disengage from three friction points in Ladakh region and pull back from their current positions. The three areas mentioned in this news article are Galwan, Hot Springs and the finger area near Panwamsa Lake in Ladakh that is along the contentious line of actual control between India and China. The senior official has noted that the process of forces pulling back from their positions are a part of de-escalation exercise between India and China and formal statement would be issued after the process is complete. Meanwhile if you look at this news article China has demanded that the Indian personal and the facilities in the Galwan Valley has to be withdrawn by India. We have seen during our previous discussions that on June 15th almost 20 Indian soldiers attained martyrdom due to the clashes between India and China in this Galwan Valley and if you see on June 15th the Chinese observation post that was present in this region was also destroyed by the Indian forces. Now this news article tells that the fresh satellite images that were captured on 22nd June show that an observation post has been erected by China in this region. So China has rebuilt the defensive positions in this Galwan Valley just across the line of actual control inside the Indian territory. So we need to wait and watch how the de-escalation exercise would move further and what would be India's reaction on this matter. This is all about the discussion of the editorial and the news articles related to the recent tensions between India and China. Now have a look at this practice question. Let us move on to the next news article. Now let us look at this news article which mentions about the decision of the central government to bring all the urban and multi-state cooperative banks under RBI's supervision. See recently we have seen the failure of Punjab and Maharashtra cooperative bank. The issues faced by cooperative banks were brought to limelight by this crisis. So in order to protect the depositors the central government has decided to bring all the urban and multi-state cooperative banks under the supervision of RBI. In this context let us discuss in brief about the regulation and supervision of cooperative banks in India from an exam perspective. The syllabus that is relevant to the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. First let us understand the present system of regulation of cooperative banks. See the urban cooperative banks if they are present within a state they will be registered under the respective state cooperative societies act. Now if the cooperative banks has presence over more than one state then it is registered under the multi-state cooperative societies act of 2002. And one more thing which you need to know is that the urban cooperative banks that function within a state is regulated and supervised by the registrar of cooperative societies of the state concerned. And in case of multi-state cooperative banks it is done by the central registrar of cooperative societies. Apart from this both these banks also come under the purview of the Reserve Bank of India through the banking regulation cooperative societies rules of 1966. So you can see that RBI also regulates and supervises the banking functions of the cooperative banks. It means that the cooperative banks are actually under duality of control. If you see we have elaborately discussed about this in our 6th February 2020 the Hindu news analysis we request the viewers to have a look at it for further subject clarity. Now today's news is that the union cabinet has approved an ordinance to bring about 1500 urban cooperatives and multi-state cooperative banks under RBI regulation. So in this context try to know about the Board of Financial Supervision of the Reserve Bank of India in brief. See we know that financial supervision is an important function of the Reserve Bank of India. Without effective supervision the financial system may face crisis. So in order to address this the Board for Financial Supervision was set up in the year 1994 in order to perform the supervisory function of the Reserve Bank of India. Here I have an idea that the Board is drawn from the members of the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India. It is chaired by the governor of RBI and one of its deputy governors act as vice chairman. This Board for Financial Supervision oversees the functioning of Department of Banking Supervision, then Department of Non-Banking Supervision, then Department of Cooperative Bank Supervision and it gives directions on regulatory and supervisory issues. So all these departments come under RBI. Now if you look at the primary objective of this Board for Financial Supervision it will undertake consolidated supervision of the financial sector and this comprises of scheduled commercial and cooperative banks, all India financial institutions, local area banks, small finance banks, payment banks, credit information companies, non-banking finance companies and primary dealers. With this let us discuss the significance of the decision made by the central government. See this news article says that the 1500 cooperative banks have a deposited base of 8.6 crore and they have a savings of around 4.84 lakh crores. So when the ordinance comes into effect, deposits up to 5 lakh rupees will get insurance from the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation which is a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India. Not just this, these cooperative banks would also be regulated under the RBI's banking guidelines and their auditing would also be done as per RBI norms. Also if you see the permission of RBI will be required for the appointment of key positions in these banks. So the RBI would lay down the qualifications for appointments into the cooperative banks. Not just that the RBI will also deal with issues such as loan waivers. So with all these measures the cooperative banks will effectively come under RBI's purview. Hence we can conclude by saying that all these measures will make the administration of cooperative banks more transparent and efficient because this is necessary for a healthy financial system and also to maintain depositor confidence in our cooperative banks. This is all about the discussion of this news article. To summarize we have seen the decision of the central government to bring all the urban and multi-state cooperative banks under the supervision of RBI. In this context we also saw the vote for financial supervision of the Reserve Bank of India, its functions and objectives. Now have a look at this practice question. Let us move on to the next news article. Now let us look at this question which has been framed based on this news article which speaks about the Global Education Monitoring Report. The question is the Global Education Monitoring Report is released by here the correct answer is option B UNESCO. Know that it is an independent annual publication funded by a group of governments, multilateral agencies, private foundations and supported by UNESCO. See the theme of this 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report in short GEM Report is inclusion in education. It looks at the social, economic and cultural mechanisms that discriminate against vulnerable children, youth and adults that are keeping them out of education or marginalized in it. So the theme is inclusion in education. Now these are some of the major findings of this report. See even today many countries still do not collect report or use data on those children who are left behind, not just that only few countries provide some form of affirmative action for the marginalized sections. So the report suggests that teachers, teaching materials and learning environment should be provided in order to embrace diversity, that is accepting students with special needs, third gender etc. Now focus on the recommendations made in this report, we saw that the theme was inclusion in education. This report says that all means all, it means that gender, age, poverty, ethnicity, sexual orientation etc. should not be the basis to discriminate against anyone in education. So the report recommends to widen the understanding of inclusive education including all the learners. Next if you see apart from the general funding that is being provided by the countries, this report recommends for targeted funding to help those children who are left behind. So this report recommends that expertise and resources must be shared to ensure inclusion of all. It tells that the governments should engage in meaningful consultation with communities and parents while making the policies. Next if you see this report tells that inclusion in education is a subset of social inclusion. So it recommends that the governments at different levels and their respective departments must collaborate in identifying the needs and designing inclusion programs. Next this report has also touched upon the non-governmental organizations that is the role of NGOs, it tells that NGOs have the potential to fill the gaps in the education system. So it recommends that the governments must give enough space for the NGOs to make sure that their policies meet the standards and are aligned with the national policy. One more suggestion given in this report is to provide for a flexible, relevant and accessible curriculum for all. If you see in this report it has mentioned the example of the state of Odisha from India because it uses around 21 tribal languages to instruct the tribal students in its state. So the report recommends that the assessment of the student should allow them to demonstrate their learning in varieties of ways. They should have a flexible, relevant and accessible curriculum and at the same time the curriculum should also exploit the huge potential that is offered by the technology. So these are some of the major recommendations made in this report. You can make use of these recommendations in any of your main answers where you need to address the concerns of inclusion in education. So here the correct answer is option B UNESCO. Now let us move on to the next news article. Now let us look at this question which has been framed based on this news article which talks about the projections of the World Economic Outlook update by the International Monetary Fund. Note that the World Economic Outlook reports are a survey by the International Monetary Fund that is published twice a year. It presents the analysis of the International Monetary Fund of global economic developments during the near term and the medium term. It provides an overview and more detailed analysis of the world economy. It considers issues affecting industrial countries, the developing countries and the economies in transition. Recently, before the update if you see in the month of April 2020, the World Economic Outlook was released. Now the World Economic Outlook update has been released. If you look at the April 2020 World Economic Outlook, it indicated an unprecedented decline in the global activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the data released since then suggests an even deeper downturns for several economies than previously projected. Now let us see the projection by the World Economic Outlook update. The global growth is projected at minus 4.9% in 2020 which is 1.9% below April forecast. So the report notes that the pandemic has had a more negative impact on the activity in the first half of 2020 than anticipated. Hence the recovery is projected to be more gradual when compared to the previous forecast. Then if you see in 2021 the global growth is projected at 5.4%. The report also notes that the adverse impact on the low income households across the world is very severe. So this endangers the significant progress that was made by the countries across the world in reducing extreme poverty since 1990s. And if you see this report has also noted that the India's economy is projected to contract by 4.5%. We know the reason it is due to the longer period of lockdown and also due to a slower recovery in April month than anticipated. Next if you see in emerging market economies the report notes that the average fiscal response to the pandemic is now estimated at 5% of GDP which is less than the advanced economies. And with respect to India the report has pointed that India has provided liquidity support of around 4.5% of GDP through loans and guarantees for the businesses and farmers and equity injections into financial institutions and the electricity sector. So these are some of the forecasts made in the World Economic Outlook update which was released yesterday. Based on these forecasts the report has given certain suggestions. First all countries across the world should ensure that their healthcare systems are adequately resourced to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Then the report suggests that wherever lockdowns are required the economic policy should continue to mitigate household income losses with sizable well targeted measures as well as government should also provide support to the firms that are suffering the consequences of the lockdown. And if you see this report also notes that strong multilateral cooperation is essential. Also it notes that the policy makers must cooperate to resolve trade and technology tensions because they endanger the eventual recovery from the crisis. For example the ongoing tensions between US and China in matters of trade etc. So these are some of the important suggestions made by IMF in its World Economic Outlook update. This is all about the discussion of this news article. Now look at this question, the question is which of the following is published by International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook, Global Financial Stability Report, Global Economic Prospects. Here the correct answer is option B 1 and 2 only, World Economic Outlook and Global Financial Stability Report are released by the International Monetary Fund whereas the Global Economic Prospects is published by the World Bank. Now if you look at the Global Financial Stability Report it provides an up to date assessment of global financial markets and prospects and it highlights the imbalances and vulnerabilities which could pose risks to the financial market stability across the world. So the correct answer is option B 1 and 2 only. Now let us move on to the practice questions discussion session. Look at this question it is a two statement question and you need to choose those statement or statements which are correct. Look at the first statement it tells that under article 340 president may appoint a commission to investigate and recommend the steps to improve the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes. Yes this statement is correct it is as per article 340 cross one of Indian constitution. Look at the second statement it tells that the report of the above mentioned commission has to be laid before each House of Parliament. Yes this statement is also correct it is as per article 340 cross three of Indian constitution. So the correct answer to this question is option C both one and two. Now look at this question which is about the board for financial supervision of the Reserve Bank of India. It is a two statement question and you need to choose those statement or statements which are correct. Here the first statement is correct. It is the primary objective of the board for financial supervision which is to undertake a consolidated supervision of the financial sector which comprises of all these institutions scheduled commercial banks, cooperative banks, local area banks, small finance banks, payment banks, credit information companies and non banking financial companies. Now look at the second statement it tells that the board for financial supervision is chaired by the minister of finance. This statement is incorrect because we saw that it is chaired by the governor of the Reserve Bank of India. So here the correct answer is option A one one B. Now let us look at a mains question. The question is the Jamwon Kashmiri Organization Act of 2019 was brought to solve the internal issues of Kashmir and reduce the radicalization of Kashmiri youth, critically analyze. It is a 15 mark question answer this question in 250 words. 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. If you like the video press the like button, comment and share and do subscribe to Shankar IAS Academy YouTube channel for latest videos and updates. Stay focused and motivated friends. Thank you.