 Welcome to the Hindi News Analysis by Shankar Ayes Academy. The list of topics chosen for today's discussion along with the page numbers is given here for your reference. Let us start today's news analysis. Let us take up this comment column which talks about issues associated with homogenizing of Assamese nationalism. We shall also see the importance of protection and promotion of linguistic diversity in this analysis. So the relevant syllabus for this discussion is given here for your reference. So when we say the homogenizing or homogenization, it means making everything uniform or similar by removing the diversities. For example, in India we have some hundreds of languages. Suppose government mandates that every citizen should speak only in one language and not allowed to speak other languages. It means we are bringing some kind of uniformity, which is also called homogenizing or homogenization. So the debate on homogenized Assamese nationalism is triggered by two events. First one, the enactment of Assamese Language Learning Act of 2020. If you see, this act is aimed to provide and ensure learning of Assamese as one of the language in all schools in Assam. However, a few areas are excluded from this act like Sixth Schedule Areas, Bodo Schools and Barak Valley Areas. In these excluded areas, Bengali, Bodo and other indigenous languages are prominently spoken and so they have to be given priority. And coming back to this Assamese Language Learning Act of 2020. It mandates that Assamese should be taught as a compulsory language from nursery to 10th standard from next academic year, that is 2021. And the second one, the Assamese Home Minister announced that the government is considering a one more legislation to make only those who learned Assamese till their matriculation will be eligible for government jobs in Assam. So one event mandating Assamese Language in schools and second one only those who learned Assamese till their matriculation suitable for government jobs. So what are the reasons for bringing these steps? So the answer is danger to Assamese Language. As said by author, the primary reason here is danger from Bengali speaking communities in Assam. And to support this view, statistical data is provided by the government. So what happened was the number of Assamese speakers as per 2011 census reduced to 48.38% from 60.89% in 1971. So this significant reduction in Assamese speaking population is threatening the Assamese culture as well as Assamese language in the state of Assam. So government has come up with these two measures to conserve and protect the Assamese language. But here the problem is the state government by protecting only one regional language, it failed to offer same protection to other indigenous languages. By doing so, the other indigenous languages spoken in the same region by other communities are treated as trivial or not so important. In addition, this eliminates the protection and promotion of linguistic diversity in Assam. So here what happens is this move which is non-inclusive is creating a homogenized Assamese nationalism. To understand even better we shall see what is the ground reality of indigenous tribal population in Assam. See as we all know the Northeastern states are known for many diversities. For example, there are many tribes like Missing, Diori, Rabba, Gero, etc. as you can see here. So the decision of Assam government to protect only Assamese language is going to affect the other indigenous languages spoken by these tribes. So other notes that the government failed to recognize the threat posed by these measures on other indigenous languages. If you see the tribal languages of Assam are already on a state of decline which is evident from these data. See it is clearly reflecting that the decadal increase in number of speakers has significantly reduced from 2001 census to 2011 census. So because of this reason for a very long time tribal communities in Assam have been demanding linguistic and territorial protection. But instead of promoting all the languages inclusively the state government is protecting only one language that is Assamese. Such promotion may lead to linguistic hierarchy and homogenization in the region. Such homogenization becomes a crucial element for constructing and stabilizing the regional political economic leadership. See we all know that there is widespread wedge or differences between indigenous Assam population and migrated Bengali population in Assam. And it is often alleged and accused that the native population are becoming minority in their own state because of this migrant population. So by doing such homogenization the government can ensure the majority of indigenous population in the state. This is because the linguistic and cultural heritage of these marginalized tribal communities is not recognized by the state and dominant communities. So the dominant communities as well as state feel that all the other languages other than Assamese are trivial or not so important. So this is why the author feels Assamist nationalism is a narrow minded and rarely inclusive. Interestingly author also recollect one incident where Assamist nationalism included even marginal communities as well. Here author is talking about the protest during Anti-Citizenship Amendment Act. So what happened was during the protest against the CAA a new definition of Assamist indigenous emerged. So the new definition includes all the tribal as well as non-Assamist communities. This definition is mostly based on the domicile rather than language alone. So simply we can say like this. So when protesting against citizenship amendment act all the indigenous population it means all the people belonging to different languages, different cultures, different tribes came together and represented the Assam. This is what author says as Assamist nationalism was inclusive during anti-CAA protests. These people together raised for protection of indigenous land, culture and languages. But unfortunately the state government is now taking a different view of Assamist nationalism which protects only Assamist language and leaves all other diversity of languages present in Assam. Here author fears that these laws will only increase marginalization of different communities present in Assam. So by mandating Assamist language it gives a message that even if you are not learning your own language you should definitely learn Assamist. So automatically the importance of Assamist language will grow at the expense of all other indigenous languages in Assam. So while concluding author says that the progressive sections in Assam should assert the inclusive ethos. That means the spirit of culture and community of Assam. When we say spirit of culture and community of Assam it includes all the native indigenous populations and their culture. So these progressive sections have to protect and promote the linguistic diversity of Assam as mandated by article 29 of Indian constitution. So according to article 29 any section of citizens having a distinct language, script or culture have the right to conserve it. Dear viewers here note that not just Indian constitution but also international and other instruments advocate for protection and promotion of linguistic diversity. See if you remember we talked about different initiatives for conservation of linguistic diversity in our target UPSC films 2020 series. See we talked about scheme for protection and preservation of endangered languages that is SPPEL. This scheme was set up by ministry of human resource development and is monitored by central institute of Indian languages. The scheme's only objective is to document and archive the countries languages which have become endangered are likely to be endangered. Here endangered language means which are no longer being encouraged to be used or which are not transferred to younger generation. See this possibility can be seen in Assam case which we discussed just now. Since except Assamese other languages are not being encouraged by Assam government. And one more initiative is Ulu or Uelu Proclamation. This proclamation was made by UNESCO in 2018 at Changsha of China. This proclamation recognizes that the protection and promotion of linguistic diversity is crucial to the achievement of sustainable development goals. And it says that to achieve this proactive accountable and measurable participation of all sectors of international community is required. And also know that the 2019 was proclaimed as international year of indigenous languages by United Nations. So this proclamation was done in order to raise awareness of indigenous languages. So when an year is proclaimed as international year of something the mechanism is dedicated to raise awareness of a topic of global interest. By doing so it mobilizes different players across the world for coordinated action. So dear viewers this is how you have to enrich your answer writing by taking out examples from different sections. If you haven't watched our target UPSC Prelims 2020 series please watch those videos as they are going to be very helpful for your Prelims 2020. So this is all about this news article where we have discussed a lot of things for conservation of linguistic diversity. Let us move on to next news article. Let us take up this oped article with reference to reforming India's digital policy. This oped article is written by former assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia. In this article the author links the India's digital policy is the factor of attracting foreign direct investment in digital services. So before going to discussion the relevant syllabus for this discussion is given here for your reference. Firstly the author says that even though pandemic is continuing its impact at the global level countries are trying to come back to normal state. This is mainly to come out of contracting growth rates or reducing growth rates and to boost economic growth. When manufacturing sector one way to boost economic growth is by attracting foreign direct investment. So when a lot of investment comes to India it helps in improving the manufacturing sector and consequently the growth rate of India will improve. So because of this reason there is a huge competition among countries to attract foreign direct investment. Though many countries are expecting a lot of foreign direct investment the reality is quite opposite. It means the quantum or share of foreign direct investment is falling amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This was even echoed by World Investment Report of 2020. The report which was released by UN Conference on Trade and Development that is UNCTAD mentions that global FDI flows are to decrease up to 40% in 2020. And particularly the foreign direct investment flows coming to developing countries in Asia are going to see a decline by 45% in 2020. So compared to developed countries the developing countries are going to lose an additional 5% of FDIs. So in this scenario the author states that there is one sector which can bring foreign investors despite the trend of falling FDIs across the world. According to the author that one sector which can attract huge FDIs is digital services. Here the term digital services refers to electronic delivery of information including both data and content across multiple platforms and devices like web or mobile. So in digital service the service delivery to the customer is only through online channel. For example eBooks, cloud based software, websites, music streaming apps, even the games like PUBG. So these services are delivered through online channel hence the name digital services. You can even talk about the UPSC prelims examination application where entire process is done through an online form filling. So in this context author notes that investments in digital services continue to flow at record levels globally despite the ongoing pandemic. And author also observes that India has a huge potential to attract such investments. This is mainly because India has a huge and increasingly digitized population. In the recent days we also saw many innovative startups coming in India to provide digital services. For example many Indian apps were developed in a very short span to rival the TikTok. But these startups are in need of foreign investments to grow and to boost their capacity. So the foreign direct investment in these services can be a huge boon or a very big incentive to the startups and other entities which are offering digital services. So if these startups and entities are provided with much needed investments in course of time they may have the potential to export these services as well. Even though India is offering a very good market or a very big market for investments there is one factor which is holding back the foreign investors. It is the digital policy of government of India. So here author outlines three pending measures with reference to the digital policy of Indian government. The first one with reference to e-commerce when we say e-commerce you can think of lip-cart and a zone etc. Third in e-commerce the existing frameworks are not stable and in every year we are seeing some modifications. As a result there is some uncertainty with respect to the e-commerce policy. So because of this uncertainty the foreign investors are worried to invest in India. And the second factor is with reference to policy on protection of personal data. So in this regard we know that in December 2019 government introduced the personal data protection bill of 2019. This bill was introduced in Lok Sabha and later it was referred to Standing Committee. Still the bill has not yet materialized into an enforceable legislation. On the other hand if you notice the Reserve Bank has come up with strict data localization measures for digital transactions. One side the protection bill is pending on the other side RBI has come up with strict measures to enforce data localization. So this unpredictability or uncertainty is holding back the investors to invest in India. The third factor is foreign investors are expecting some amendments to Information Technology Act of 2000. If you recollect we talked about this IT Act yesterday in our discussion regarding the ban of 59 apps by government of India. So the foreign investors are expecting some amendments to this act to facilitate digital participation and in digital investments. So according to author the foreign investors are closely following these areas to decide investing in India particularly in digital services. So in all these areas there is some uncertainty or unpredictability whether these changes will be completed or implemented. So from government side these aspects are to be considered to attract foreign investment without compromising India's interests. Finally author also talks about one more uncertainty as he is talking about India-US trade relationship. Though India and US have come strategically very close in the recent years but the trade relationship between two countries is uncertain. We have seen how US excluded India from GSP and how India replied by increasing taxes or import duties on American products. So the frequent setbacks between the both countries in form of new restrictions, new barriers and opposing statements from political leadership are causing an uncertainty in the trade relations of both the countries. Particularly coming to the sector of digital services there are two things to note about USA. First one India and US are yet to conclude negotiation on a bilateral trade agreement to address some digital service issues. And second US has initiated a review on India under Trade Act. So under this trade act America is reviewing the digital services taxes levied by India on non-resident commercial entities. This levy is called as equalization levy and is covered under Finance Act of 2016. So what is this equalization levy? See this levy is applicable on payments made for specified services to non-resident service providers. Under this an Indian carrying out business with non-resident foreign firm will deduct specified amount from the payment to be made to the foreign firm. This amount deducted will be paid to Indian government. So this equalization levy is considered as a trade barrier by US. So US is expecting a change in policy in this area as well. With this we come to the end of analysis of this news article. In this analysis we talked about prospects in FDI amidst pandemic. Then we saw the potential of India in attracting FDI in digital services. Then we saw the factors considered by the foreign investors to invest in India. The displayed practice question will be discussed at the end of session. Now let us move on to the next news article. Next let us take up this news article which mentions Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts or in short IGNCGA. The news article states that the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts is planning to highlight the work of artists who have been entertaining and boosting the public's morale during COVID-19 pandemic. In this context let us discuss IGNCA in brief. In prelims point of view we shall also discuss Sahitya Academy, Sangit Natak Academy as well as Lalit Kala Academy. The relevant syllabus for this discussion is highlighted here for your reference. First let us start with Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts. If you see this body was established in 1987 in the memory of former Prime Minister Srimati Indira Gandhi. This is an autonomous body set up under Ministry of Culture. And talking about its mandate, IGNCA is concerned with research, academic pursuit and dissemination in the field of arts. When we say arts here it includes a wide range of subjects from archaeology to anthropology and from the visual to performing arts. Some of the aims and objectives of this body are given here for your reference. Please have a look over them. For upcoming primes 2020 we shall also discuss a few bodies which are under Ministry of Culture. The three bodies we are going to discuss here is Sahitya Academy, Sangit Natak Academy and Lalit Kala Academy. As you can see in this tabular column Sahitya Academy was set up in 1954, Sangit Academy in 1952 and Lalit Kala Academy in 1954. And these three bodies are registered as a society under Society's Registration Act of 1860. And these three bodies are also autonomous organisations under Ministry of Culture. As we just discussed Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts is also an autonomous body under Ministry of Culture. And talking about Sahitya Academy it is national organisation to work actively for the development of Indian letters. Here we mean Literature. And coming to Sangit Natak Academy know that it is apex body of performing arts in the country and preserves and promotes the vast intangible heritage of India's diverse culture. And if you see the Lalit Kala Academy is concerned with promotion of visual arts in the country. And talking about awards given by Sahitya Academy, see every year Sahitya Academy gives 24 awards to literary works in the languages it has recognised. These awards are called Sahitya Academy Awards. And these awards are given in languages recognised by Sahitya Academy which are 22 scheduled languages under 8th schedule of constitution as well as English and Rajasthani. So it means 22 languages which are under 8th schedule plus 2 languages which are English and Rajasthani. Total 24 languages. Also note that along with these 24 awards an equal number of awards to literary translation from and into these languages are given every year. So 24 awards for new literature as well as 24 awards for translation works. But if you see India is home to hundreds of languages and dialects. So giving awards in these 24 languages is not sufficient. So Academy set up Basha Samman Award in the year 1996. This award is given to writers, callers, editors etc. who have made considerable contribution to the propagation, modernisation or enrichment of languages concerned. So this Basha Samman Award is generally given to the literary works in the languages other than the 24 languages recognised by the Sahitya Academy. And coming to Sangit Natak Academy, note that this is nodal centre for co-ordinating India's nominations for various lists developing and maintaining the national inventory of intangible cultural heritage along with UNESCO. We know that UNESCO recognises intangible cultural heritage. And in this regard Sangit Natak Academy is the nodal centre for co-ordinating India's nominations to UNESCO. And talking about Lalit Kala Academy, it organises national exhibition of art and present awards to the works of art of excellence both in terms of material application as well as aesthetic appeal. And these awards are called Lalit Kala Academy Awards. So this is all about three different bodies which are under Ministry of Culture. In addition note that there is one more body called National School of Drama under Ministry of Culture. This body was initially set up by Sangit Natak Academy as one of its constituent units in 1959. But in 1975 this National School of Drama became an independent entity and was registered as an autonomous organisation under Society's Registration Act of 1860. As we already said this body is under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. So all these four bodies, Sahitya Academy, Sangit Natak Academy, Lalit Kala Academy as well as National School of Drama, all are registered under Society's Registration Act of 1860 and are autonomous bodies under Ministry of Culture. These small details are very relevant in film's point of view. So this is all about this news article discussion. Let us move on to next news article. Let us take up this question which is based on this news article. This news article appeared in today's business page and talks about Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index that is PMI. The news article states that the PMI increased to 47.2 in the month of June from May. But it is still below the 50 point mark as you can see in this graph. So what is this PMI or Purchasing Managers Index? See this PMI is a survey based economic indicator designed to provide a timely insight into business conditions. It is widely used to anticipate changing economic trends in official data such as GDP. In addition know that it is also used as an alternative measure to official data about economic performance and business conditions in economy. So simply we can say like this it is a business indicator which reflects the health of economic sector. As you can see in this graph India's PMI is currently less than 50. So what does it mean? Anything below 50 denotes contraction and the figure above 50 denotes expansion in business activity. So if the value is more than 50 it is a positive trend and if it is less than 50 it is a negative trend. This index is compiled unpublished globally by a company called IHS market. And as of now this index is produced for more than 40 economists worldwide. Initially this PMI was compiled only for manufacturing sector. Now it is even extended to other sectors like services, construction and retail. And this index is the weighted average of 5 sub-indices which are new orders, output, employment, suppliers, delivery time and finally inventories of goods purchases. By looking into these 5 sub-indices the PMI shows the status of economy. So now the current manufacturing PMI report noted that India's manufacturing sector moved towards stabilization in June. This is because both output and new orders have contracted at much softer rates compared to April and May 2020. If you recollect yesterday we have seen one more similar index called index of 8 core industries which also said that the output of 8 core industries is reduced by more than 23% in May 2020. So this is all about this purchasing managers index. With this information let us get back to the question. The given question is the purchasing managers index often seen in news is compiled and published by. As you can see here the answer is option C a private company called IHS market. Let us move on to next news article. Let us take up this question. This question is based on this news article which talks about postal ballot. If you see in 2019 the election commission of India has given the postal ballot facility for absentee voters of essential services, senior citizens of more than 80 years of age and persons with disabilities. So these 3 sections of people were given the postal ballot facilities in 2019 general election. And today's article says that the election commission has proposed to lower the age of those who are eligible for postal ballots from 80 to 65 years. This proposal of reducing the eligibility from 80 to 65 years of age mainly to facilitate the upcoming state elections during COVID-19. So who is an absentee voter? An absentee voter is a person notified under section 60 of representation of people act 1951. As we just discussed in 2019 workers in essential services citizens of more than 80 years and persons with disabilities were given this absentee voter status. So when a person is given absentee voter status he or she is eligible for voting through postal ballot. So when we say ballot it means it is a device used to cast votes. Simply the voter slip on which the choice of voter is marked is called ballot or currently we can even consider the EVMS as ballots. When we say postal ballot the citizens can vote using the postal mechanism. So how this postal ballot mechanism work? See these postal ballot papers are printed and will be sent to each voter by returning officer. After casting their vote the voter has to put it in an envelope and sent back to returning officer. Here the main problem is identifying the present place of posting of the voter. As the addresses of each voter are not updated properly the record officers faced a huge challenge in identifying the present place of each voter. So this led to low turnout of voters of about 3-4% in 2014 election. So to address this problem election commission came up with electronically transmitted postal ballot system. So here what happens is the postal ballots and the pin for postal ballot are generated online by each returning officer of each constituency. And this pin and as well as postal ballot are separately dispatched to service voter to maintain the security of each voter. So after receiving the postal ballot as well as postal ballot pin the voter has to open the portal and this printed slip or ballot will be posted to the returning officer by each voter. So by employing this electronic postal ballot system in 2019 the voter turnout increased to 60% from a mere 3-4% in 2014 election. So this is all about the absentee voters, the postal ballot system and electronically transmitted postal ballot system. There is one more category of voters who are eligible for postal ballot. They are service voters. These service voters are voters who are having service qualification which is defined under section 20 of representation of people's act of 1950. As you can see here a member of armed forces or a member of force to which provisions of army act apply or a member of armed police force of a state who is serving outside that state or a person who is employed under government of India and is working outside of India. So this is all about these service voters. With this information let us get back to the question. Which of the given category of voters are not eligible to get service qualification under RPA 1950? First one, a member of armed forces of union, yes correct. Second, a member of force to which provisions of army act 1950 have been made applicable, yes correct. Third, any member of an armed police force of a state, now this is incorrect. Because only a member of an armed police force of a state serving outside that state is eligible for service qualification. So option C is the correct answer since we are supposed to identify not eligible category of voters. And option D, a person who is employed under government of India and posted outside India. Yes these category of persons are also eligible for service qualification. Let us take up other practice questions. Which of the following bodies are set up under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972? So four bodies are given here and we should identify which of these bodies are set up under Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. First one, National Tiger Conservation Authority. Second, National Board for Wildlife. Third one, Central Zoo Authority. Fourth one, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau. The correct answer is option D, 1, 2, 3 and 4. All the given bodies are set up under Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. So this question has been framed based on this news article which appeared in today's newspaper which mentions Central Zoo Authority. Know that this Central Zoo Authority was established under Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. The main objective of this body is to complement and strengthen the national effort in conservation of rich biodiversity of the country, particularly the fauna as per National Zoo Policy of 1998. And the remaining three bodies that is NTCA, National Board for Wildlife and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau are extensively discussed in 28th May Hindu News Analysis. Finally watch that video to get a detailed understanding of different bodies established under Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Let us take up next practice question. Consider the following statements with reference to Keem for Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages, SPPEN. Two statements are given and we are supposed to identify incorrect statements. Statement one, it is a UN initiative under International Year of Indigenous Languages 2019. Know this statement is incorrect because this SPPEL is an initiative of Government of India under Ministry of Human Resource Development and this program was set up in 2013 and monitored by Central Institute of Indian Languages of Karnataka. Coming to statement two, its objective is to document and archive the languages that have become endangered or likely to be endangered in the near future. Yes, this statement is correct because this is the objective of scheme for protection and preservation of endangered languages. Here we should be little careful since we are supposed to identify incorrect statements. So the answer is option A, one only. Let us take up one more practice question. Consider the following statements with reference to Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts. Statement one, it is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture. Yes, the statement one is correct. Coming to statement two, it is the first National Academy of Arts set up by the Republic of India. No, the statement two is incorrect. See, the Sangeet Natak Academy is the first National Academy of Arts set up by the Republic of India in 1952. So the statement two is incorrect. Therefore, the correct answer is option A, one only since you are supposed to identify correct statements. Let us take up this main question. Discuss how bilateral trade relations impact the flow of foreign investments to India. So this question is based on that digital foreign policy article. So you can talk about all the points how the foreign investments are impacted by the relations between India and America. You can also talk about China example. Currently, India and China relations are not so great. So the investors in China may be worried to invest in India. You can talk about similar example with respect to European Union. European Union continues to be one of the prominent source of FDIs for India. And you know, India and European Union enjoys a very good relationship. Therefore, the foreign investments are coming in large numbers from European Union. So you can talk about different examples. You can also talk about the good bilateral relations between India and ASEAN. And you can end with a proper conclusion. Dear viewers, kindly write answers and please post them in the comment section. We will get back to you with necessary feedback within short time. Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Stay home. Stay safe.