 Welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankar Ayur's Academy. These are the news articles chosen for today's discussion. They are given along with the page number of different traditions. Link for the handwritten notes in PDF format and the timestamping for the discussed articles are given in the description box as well as the comment section for the benefit of the mobile viewers. Now, let us take up this prelims question. In rural road construction, the use of which of the following is preferred for ensuring environmental sustainability or to reduce carbon footprint? We are given five products. One copper slag, two coal mix asphalt technology, three geotextiles, four auto mix asphalt technology, five Portland cement. Select the correct answer using the given quote below. Now, let us see about the products one by one. The first one is copper slag. See, copper slag is a byproduct obtained during smelting and refining of copper. Copper slag is non-assardous, non-toxic material, so it is environment friendly. The waste copper slag can be used as abrasive tools, it is used in road construction, and it is used as a ballast. The use of copper slag in construction of roads provides potential environmental as well as economic benefits. This is the reason why copper slag is being used in government road projects for the past few years. Now, let us move on to asphalt. See, asphalt is one of the most popular paving materials in the world. There are two main options when it comes to asphalt. One is coal mix, another is an art mix. See, in art mix asphalt technology, asphalt is heated and poured over stone, sand, gravel, then a heavy roller is driven over it to compact the road surface. This entire process results in emission of many gases because of eating. So, this is not an environment friendly process. Unlike art mix asphalt, coal asphalt mix does not require any eating, which makes it economical and relatively pollution free. So, so far we have seen about copper slag, we have seen about art mix asphalt technology, and we have seen about coal mix asphalt technology. Now, let us move on to geotextiles. See, geotextiles are synthetic permeable textile materials that are used for improving soil characteristics. They can separate, filter, reinforce, protect, and drain when used in the soil. Geotextiles are the perfect materials for several infrastructural works like roads, landfills, drainage, and other civil projects. Government has allowed the use of coir-based geotextiles for construction of rural roads under Pradhan Mantri, Grahamsadha Kewchana. Now, let us see about portland cement. See, portland cement is the most common type of cement. Portland cement is used in construction business all over the world. Portland cement industries are one of the major emitters of carbon dioxide. See, from the discussion we can see that the product 4 and product 5 are not environment friendly. That is, art mix asphalt technology and portland cement are not environment friendly and they do not reduce the carbon footprint. Whereas, copper slag, coal mix asphalt technology, and geotextiles are environment friendly and they are sustainable. So, the answer is A, 1, 2, and 3 only. Now, let us move on to the next question. A constitutional government by definition is an option A, government by legislature, option B, popular government, option C, multi-party government, option D, limited government. See, what is a constitutional government? A constitutional government is a government governed by a constitution. It is an easy concept to understand. Now, let us see the each option individually and assess whether that option is right. The first one is option A, government by legislature. This option is not always the case. For example, let us take United States of America, USA as constitutional government. We all know that. But USA is following presidential form of government along with constitutional government. What is presidential form of government? See, the presidential form of government is a government by the executives. So, the first option does not seem fit. So, we can eliminate the first option, government by legislature. Now, let us move on to the second option, popular government. See, popular government is a democratically elected government. Now, let us assess whether this option is right. See, this option is not always the case when it comes to constitutional government. For example, let us take UAE, United Arab Emirates. UAE as constitutional government. But in UAE, half of their MPs are elected and half of their members are appointed by the royal families. So, popular government is not fully fitting. So, we can eliminate this option also. Moving on to the third option, multi-party government. This option can be easily assessed with taking India as an example. See, India's constitutional government, we all know that. Also in India, there is no comparison to form a multi-party government. There have been instances in the contemporary times where in a single party, have formed the government with a clear cut majority. So, this statement is also not correct. So, now let us move on to the fourth option, limited government. This option is the correct one. The constitutional government is a limited government. In constitutional government, the powers of the government are limited by the constitution. For example, let us take India. In India, the power of the government are limited by means of fundamental rights enshrined in the patry of Indian constitution. These limitations are essentially given to us to protect us against the state action. This concept of limited government can be seen in other countries following the constitutional government. So, the answer is option B. A constitutional government by definition is a limited government. Now, let us move on to article discussion. Look at this news article. Nature has been subjected to constant attrition under anthropological pressure and mangroves are no exception. So, we have started using technology to save nature and mangroves. For example, recently, Mumbai mangrove cell have started using CCTV and drones to keep an eye on mangroves. Use of such technology to monitor mangrove will help us to minimize mangrove destruction. This article is related to that. In this context, let us see about mangroves. What are mangroves? See, mangroves are diverse group of salt tolerant plant community. They commonly occur in tropical and subtropical intertidal regions. That is usually in the latitude between 24 degrees north and 38 degrees south. These are the common occurrence of mangroves. See, mangroves live in intertidal regions. So, they face a lot of challenges. In intertidal regions, there is a lack of oxygen. It has high salinity and it has diurnal tidal inundations. So, in order to survive these challenges, mangroves have developed some kind of adaptations. Mangroves have succulent leaves. They have sunken tomatoes. They have aerial breathing roots called new metaphors. They exhibit vivipary. They have stilt roots and they have buttresses. So, this kind of adaptation helps mangroves to survive in intertidal regions. The mangrove ecosystem is extremely sensitive and fragile. So far, we have seen about mangroves and its adaptation. Now, let us see about its distribution. The total mangrove cover in the world is 15 million hectares. This is 1% of the tropical forest of the world. See, 40% of world mangrove is in south and southeast Asia. When it comes to India, it houses about 3% of mangrove cover of South Asia. When we talk about India, West Bengal has the highest mangrove cover at over 40%. This is followed by Gujarat at over 20%. Andaman and Nicaragua Islands has the third highest mangrove cover in the country. So, make note of these points, especially the states which has highest mangrove cover. You can expect a statement in prilams. Some important species of mangroves are displayed here for your reference. Interested aspirants can go through it. So far, we saw about mangroves, its adaptation, its distribution. Now, let us see why mangroves are very important. See, mangroves have a complex root system. This complex root system protects coastal areas from tsunamis, storm surges and soil erosion. For example, India experienced tsunami in 2004. Mangroves played a huge role in protecting the coastal areas. Moving to the next point. Mangrove roots slow down water flows and enhance sediment deposition. So, by doing this, they arrest coastal erosion and seawater pollution. Mangroves also act as a fertile breeding ground for many fish species and other marine fauna. Mangroves are significant economically as well. They act as an important source of livelihood for coastal communities who are dependent on mangroves for collection of any tannins, wax and fission. They also act as important carbon sink. But such an important ecosystem is now being threatened. The threats to the mangrove ecosystem could be broadly classified into two groups. The first one is natural, next one is anthropogenic. What are the natural threats? For example, climate change, cyclone and physical process. These are all natural threats for mangroves. Diseases, deterioration, pollution, grazing, agriculture, aquaculture and human encroachment are some of the anthropogenic threats to the ecosystem. So, recognizing these threats, governments has come up with various measures to mitigate the destruction. For example, central government has launched a scheme, centrally sponsored scheme for conservation of mangroves and coral reefs to protect the mangroves. Another example is Andhra Pradesh government. See, Andhra Pradesh forest department has formed eco-development committees and on some reaction summaries for joint implementation of projects in mangrove areas. So, these are some of the measures taken by governments to protect mangroves. With this, we have come to the end of the discussion. In this discussion, we saw about mangroves, mangroves adaptation, their distribution, threats faced by mangroves, importance of mangroves and the steps taken by government to protect mangroves. Now, let us move on to the next article. Now, let us take up this article. See, the IBM, the global giant, is planning to shift to hybrid cloud. This article is related to that. In this context, let us discuss in detail about cloud computing and hybrid cloud. First, let us see what is a cloud? See, cloud is a commercially provided IT service. A cloud must possess five essential characteristics. They are on-demand self-service, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, measured service, and broad network access. Now, let us see about cloud computing. See, cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of IT resources over the internet. So, instead of buying, owning, and maintaining physical data centers, you can access technology services on a needed basis. A cloud provider will provide these technology services. For example, Amazon Web Services. Have a look at this figure for understanding of cloud computing. The cloud computing is represented by the physical cloud in this figure. Inside the cloud, we have various technology services. For example, we have servers, virtual desktop, software platform, applications, storage data. The user will pay for the services and will access this technology. See, organizations of every type, size, and industry are using the cloud for a variety of uses. For example, healthcare companies are using the cloud to develop more personalized treatment for patients. Financial service companies are using the cloud to power real-time fraud detection and prevention. And video game makers are using the cloud to deliver online games to millions of players. So, the potential of cloud computing is huge. See, cloud computing can be categorized into three general types. They are public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid cloud. First, let us see about public cloud. The public cloud refers to the cloud computing model in which the IT services are provided via the internet. This is the most popular model of cloud computing. The public cloud offers vast choices in terms of solutions and computing resources. Public cloud addresses the growing needs of organizations of all size and verticals. There are many pros when it comes to public cloud computing model. For example, public cloud has high elasticity, it has high scalability, and it costs low. But public cloud is the least secure. So, it is not best for sensitive mission critical to IT workloads. Now, let us see about private cloud. The private cloud refers to any cloud solution dedicated for use by a single organization. In the private cloud, you are not sharing cloud computing resources with any other organization. The data resource centers may be located on premise or operated by a third party vendor offsite. The computing resources are isolated and delivered via secure private network. This private network is not shared with other customers. The private cloud and public cloud are represented in this image. Go through it for further understanding. Now, let us move on to hybrid cloud. The hybrid cloud is any cloud infrastructure environment that combines both public and private clouds. So, hybrid cloud is an integration of private and public cloud. So, in an hybrid cloud, the user can share resources between the public and private cloud. It combines the advantages of both public and private cloud. With this, we have come to the end of the discussion. In this discussion, we saw about cloud, cloud computing, types of clouds, public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid cloud. Now, let us move on to the next article. Now, let us take up this editorial. This editorial discusses about mucormicosis infection, the issues that are hindering its treatment, and the suggestions to improve the public health overall. Let us learn about it. The syllabus relevant for this article is displayed on the screen. Aspirants can go through it. Before going into the editorial, let us learn about mucormicosis. See, mucormicosis is a serious, rare fungal infection. It mainly affects people who have health problems or people who have taken medicines which lower their immunity. It most commonly affects the sinuses or the lungs of the infected patient. What are the symptoms of mucormicosis? See, when a person is infected with this disease, there will be a facial swelling on one side. There will also be protrusion of the eyeball. The patient will experience visual disturbances, headache, vomiting, new onset of swellings, ulcers, blackish discleration, and prolonged fever, or some of the symptoms of this infection. So, we had a brief revision about mucormicosis. Now, let us go into the editorial. See, according to the editorial, there is an alarming rise recently in the incidents of mucormicosis in India. The rise is majorly among the patients who have been diagnosed and treated for COVID-19. See, because of COVID-19, the administration of dexamethasone and other steroids have increased during the pandemic time. So, because of the high use of steroids, the incidence of mucormicosis is also on the rise. Since the spread of infection is becoming a major concern, the author of the editorial prefers that treatment protocols need to differ from patient to patient due to the complexities in clinical presentation and an individual's tolerance to treatment. This is the key point. Now, steps are being taken by the governments to reduce the magnitude of cases being reported. For example, Tamil Nadu have declared mucormicosis as a notifiable disease under Epidemic Diseases Act. Now, let us see about Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897. See, this Act is a colonial era Act. It empowers the state government to take special measures and prescribe regulation in an epidemic. It also defines penalties for disobedience and provides immunity for action taken under the Act in good faith. In addition to this, Section 2A of this Act empowers the central government to take steps to prevent the spread of an epidemic. It also allows the government to inspect any ship arriving or leaving any port and the power to detain any person intending to sail or arriving in the country. So, this is a very powerful Act. The Section 3 of this Act provides penalties for disobeying any regulation or order made under the Act. These penalties are given according to the Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code. And most importantly, Section 4 of this Act gives legal protection to the implementing officers acting under this Act. So, it gives them immunity. So, these are the important points regarding Epidemic Diseases Act. Aspirants can refer to the image for more detailed knowledge about this Act. Now, coming back to the editorial. See, according to the Current Fungal Infection Report, the estimated burden of mucar mycoses in India is 14 per 1 lakh. This is almost 70 times higher than what is reported in other countries. See, mucar mycoses is not transmitted from one individual to another. The most common causes uncontrolled diabetes that is raised blood sugar level. Some other causes are treatment of cancer, use of steroids, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, solid organ or stem cell transplantation. These kind of things also causes mucar mycoses. This Fungal Infection can cause damage to the nose, paranesal sinuses, eyes and brain. It can also cause pneumonia. Another disturbing fact is the high prevalence of diabetes was observed in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Delhi. And the crude prevalence of diabetes above 20 years of age has increased to 7.7% in 2016, from 5.5% in 1990. In addition to this, the treatment of COVID-19 is only worsening the situation. See, steroids form a very important aspect of treatment for COVID-19 because they lower death rates. Steroids when used excessively or prematurely and without medical supervision can be harmful. They can cause reduced immunity levels and they can also increase blood sugar levels. All these conditions can lead to mucar mycoses. So far we saw about mucar mycoses, its symptoms and causes. Now let us discuss about it treatments. See, the treatment of mucar mycoses requires a multidisciplinary team approach according to the editorial. This includes microbiology, pathology, radiology, infectious diseases, surgery, pediatrics and many more. According to the author, this multidisciplinary approach is simply not feasible on a large scale, especially in areas with limited medical access. The author also feels that there are limited anti-fungal drugs available for mucar mycoses. For example, the standard drug is Lifosomal amphotericin B, which is priced out of reach for many. Also, amphotericin B deoxiculate, which is a conventional drug is cheaper, but is associated with the unfavorable toxicity profile. See, all this medicine often have to be administered for prolonged duration, which makes it difficult for sustained treatments. So the article gives some suggestion to overcome these hurdles. Now let us see about those suggestions. According to the author, the steroid use at home for COVID-19 should be only under the supervision of a healthcare worker. In addition to that, monitoring of capillary blood glucose is essential for patients medicating themselves at home. The author also suggests teleconsultation with doctor if eye blood sugars are encountered. Going a step further, the author suggests that health authorities may consider arranging for blood glucose monitoring for patients at home on steroids and also promoting awareness campaigns on the importance of controlled blood sugar levels. The editorial finally concludes by highlighting other health issues such as hospital acquired infections, multidrug resistant bacterial infections, which needs emergency care. With this, we have come to the end of the discussion. In this discussion, we saw about mucus mycoses, its symptoms, its causes, and the way we can treat it. Now let us move on to the next article. Now let us take up this article. This article is regarding the recently introduced information technology, guidelines for intermediaries and digital media ethics code rules 2021. See according to this article, Facebook have expressed their readiness to comply with the rules. In this context, let us discuss in brief about the rules. The syllabus for reference is displayed on the screen as prints can go through it. See the IT rules 2021 was framed under the Information Technology Act 2000. The 2021 rules superseded the earlier information technology rules 2011. Mainly, it aims to provide a grievance redressal mechanism for users of digital platforms of all kinds. This includes social media sites, messaging apps, over-the-top streaming services and digital news publishers. The IT rules 2021 are expected to empower the ordinary users of digital platforms to seek redressal for the grievances and command accountability in case of infringement of their rights. See to understand these rules, we must know about a Supreme Court judgment in 2018. In 2018, the Supreme Court observed that center may frame necessary guidelines to eliminate child pornography, rape and gang rape imageries, videos and sites in content hosting platforms and other applications. Later in 2020, an ADOC committee of the Rajya Sabha recommended for enabling identification of the first originator of contents such as child pornography. Now coming back to the 2021 rules. See part two of the rules is administered by the Ministry of Electronics and IT and part three is administered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. See the part two of the rules is related to due diligence by intermediary and grievance redressal mechanism. Whereas part three of the rules is related to code of ethics and procedure and safeguards in relation to digital media. Once these rules come into effect, platforms like Google, Facebook or other intermediary will have to establish a grievance redressal mechanism for resolving complaints from the users. They shall also appoint a grievance officer to deal with such complaints and share the name and contact details of such officer. The grievance officer shall acknowledge the complaint within 24 hours and resolve it within 15 days from its reset. Next, they shall also appoint a chief compliance officer who shall be responsible for ensuring complaints with the act and rules. Such a person should be a resident in India. Then there shall be a nodal contact person for 24 x 7 coordination with the law enforcement agencies. Such a person shall be a resident in India too. Intermediaries are also required to publish a monthly compliance report mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken on it. According to this article, none of the three significant social media intermediaries Facebook, Instagram and Twitter had appointed a resident grievance officer, a chief compliance officer and a nodal contact person as per government norms. See under the 2021 rules, the IT ministry had asked all significant social media to submit a monthly report. This report shall be on number of grievance filed against the content on their platform, how many were taken up and the status of the rest. The rules also mandated that significant social media providing messaging services shall enable identification of the first originator of the information. This shall be applicable for the purpose of prevention, investigation and prosecution of an offense related to sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relation with foreign states. This provision had also drawn much attention with many privacy activists calling it the end of end to end encryption on instant messaging apps. So in conclusion, we can say that the government while implementing these rules shall go for a balance between regulating obnoxious online content and preserving our constitutional values and freedom of expression. Now let us move on to the next article. Now let us take up this article. According to this article, many European Union leaders are calling for airlines to halt flights over Belarusian airspace. In addition to it, Belarusian planes could soon be banned from Europe which could potentially isolate the landlocked country. In this contest, let us discuss about the geography of Belarus, the UN agency ICAO and let us discuss about Chicago Convention. First let us see about Belarus. See, Belarus is a country of Eastern Europe. It became independent in 1991. Belarus was formerly known as Belarusia or White Russia which was the smallest of the three Slavic Republics included in the Soviet Union. See, Belarus is a landlocked country bordered by Luthania and Latvia to the northwest, by Russia to the north and east, by Ukraine to the south and by Poland to the west. In area, it is roughly one-third the size of its southern neighbor Ukraine. Now let us focus on Chicago Convention and ICAO. The Convention on International Civil Aviation known more commonly today as Chicago Convention was drafted in 1944 by 54 nations. The Chicago Convention was established to promote cooperation and create and preserve friendship and understanding among the nations and people of the world. Chicago Convention is a landmark agreement which laid foundation for the standards and procedures for peaceful global air navigation. Also, it set out the development of international civil aviation in a safe and orderly manner as its primary objective. Now let us see about ICAO. ICAO is a specialized agency of the UN. ICAO works closely with the UN and particularly with the Economic and Social Council. ICAO Assembly is composed of all member states of ICAO. They meet at least once in three years. The ICAO Assembly is convened by the council at a suitable time and place. See, ICAO stands for International Civil Aviation Organization. The Assembly of ICAO has the power to approve amendments to Convention on International Civil Aviation Chicago 1944. Currently, there are 193 member states in the Assembly and India's own among them. In addition to that, India has signed and ratified Chicago Convention. With this, we have come to the end of the discussion. In this discussion, we saw about geography of Belarus, UN agency ICAO and we saw about Chicago Convention. Now let us move on to practice problems question. The first question. Consider the following statements with reference to cloud computing. The first statement. To use cloud computing, an organization should buy, own and maintain physical data centers and servers. Second statement. In a private cloud, data center resources may be located on-premise or operated by a third party vendor off-site. Which of the above statements is slash or correct? See, from the discussion of the article, we know that the first statement is not correct and the second statement is correct. So the answer is B to 1B. Now let us move on to the second question. Which of the following are adaptation to saline ecosystem? One still truth, two vivipary, three new metaphors, four sunken stomata. Which of the statements given above is slash or correct? See, as we saw in the discussion, all the four are adaptation to saline ecosystem. So the answer is D, 1, 2, 3 and 4. Now let us move on to the third question. Consider following statements regarding Chicago Convention. First statement. It is a convention on persistent organic pollutant and it is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods. Second statement. India has signed but yet to ratify the convention. Which of the statements given above is slash or correct? See, from the discussion, we know that the Chicago Convention is about peaceful global air navigation. It is not about persistent organic pollutants. The Stockholm Convention is about persistent organic pollutants, not Chicago Convention. So the first statement is incorrect. Moving on to the second statement. India has signed and ratified the Chicago Convention. Here it mentions yet to ratify. So this statement is also incorrect. The answer is neither one nor two. Both the statements are wrong. Main practice questions are displayed here. You can write your answer and post in the comment section below. With this, we have come to the end of the news analysis. 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