 Welcome to the Hindi news analysis by Shankaray's Academy. These are the list of news articles selected for today's analysis and the page numbers in different editions of the newspaper. The link for the handwritten notes in the PDF format and timestamping of the discussed articles are provided in the description and also in the comment section for the benefit of mobile phone viewers. Now let us move on to the analysis of first news article. This news article is about the significance of dust and its role in impacting atmospheric circulations primarily herein we will talk its impact on Indian summer monsoon. The syllabus relevant to this article is highlighted here. See we see dust as a useless speck but this so-called useless speck has incredible power. It has potential to influence monsoons, it can also influence hurricanes and even fertilize rain forests. The study has detailed how the dust coming from the deserts in the West Asia, Central Asia and East Asia how these dust plays an important role in the Indian summer monsoon. In addition to that the study also analyzed the reverse effect that is the study also tried to explain how the Indian summer monsoon has a reverse effect and how it can increase the winds in West Asia to produce more dust that is how Indian monsoon can increase the winds in West Asia to produce more dust. See the climate of India is described as monsoon type. In Asia this type of climate is mainly found in the South Asia and the Southeast Asia. India experiences two kinds of monsoon which are South West monsoon and North East monsoon. South West monsoon is also known as the Indian summer monsoon which occurs between June and September. North East monsoon is also known as the retreating monsoon or winter monsoon occurring from the months of October to November. Now when it comes to Indian summer monsoon, there are five important factors that influences the onset of monsoon. What are they? Intense low-pressure formation over the Tibetan Plateau, then permanent high-pressure cell in the south of Indian Ocean, then sub-tropical jet stream, African Easter Legit, then inter-tropical convergent zone. Then the intensity of the monsoon is influenced by some factors that is the intensity of Indian summer monsoon is influenced by some factors. One is the strength of low pressure over Tibetan Plateau and the strength of high pressure over the south Indian Ocean, then Somali jet, Somali current, then Indian Ocean Dipole, then the Indian Ocean branch of Valker Cell. Now coming back to the article, let us see how dust and Indian summer monsoon interplay each other. See the dust swarms from the desert, they are lifted by strong winds. These lifted dust swarms then absorb solar radiations. As a result, these swarms become hot. Then these heated dust swarms that are present in the atmosphere cause heating of the atmosphere. As we know, the heating of the atmosphere changes the air pressure in the system that ultimately changes the wind circulation patterns. All these events finally influence transport of moisture and increase precipitation and rainfall. Similar to this, a strong Indian summer monsoon can also transport air to West Asia. This transported air again picks up a lot of dust in West Asia. Therefore, the whole system forms a positive feedback loop. In addition to that, the researchers also believe that the dust from the Iranian Plateau also influences Indian summer monsoon. Similarly, Indian summer monsoon also influences the dust over the Iranian Plateau. Now when we study this phenomenon on a global scale, the positive feedback loop is absorbed throughout the world. For example, the dust particle in West China influences East Asia's summer monsoon. That is, the dust particle in Thaklamakan Desert and Gobi Desert, they influence East Asia's summer monsoon. Similarly, East Asia's summer monsoon also influences the dust in these deserts. Now coming to Gobi Desert, it is a desert in East Asia. It is bounded by all-time mountains and steppes of Mongolia on the north. To the west, we can see Thaklamakan Desert. To the southwest, it is bounded by Hexi Corridor and Tibbadan Plateau. Then to the southeast, it is bounded by North China Plain. Now this Gobi Desert is a rain shadow desert. Now why we call it as a rain shadow desert? Because Tibbadan Plateau blocks precipitation from the Indian Ocean reaching the Gobi territory. That is, Tibbadan Plateau blocks the precipitation from reaching into Gobi Desert. Therefore, it is called as a rain shadow desert. Now coming to Thaklamakan Desert, it is a desert in southwest Xinjiang in northwest China. To the south, it is bounded by Kunlun Mountains. To the west, it is bounded by Pamir Mountains. To the north, it is bounded by Tian Shan Range. And to the east, it is bounded by Gobi Desert. Now let's come to the article. Now we have another example for the positive feedback loop phenomena in the world. That is the dust in the desert of southwest United States. The dust in southwest United States influences the North African Monsoon and the North African Monsoon influences the dust in southwest United States. So far, we have seen the effect of natural dust on atmospheric circulation. What about man-made dust and its impact on natural systems? See in general, when it comes to anthropogenic dust, some studies have found out that the anthropogenic aerosols can decrease the monsoon precipitation while some studies found that absorbing anthropogenic aerosols can strengthen the monsoon circulation. See, anthropogenic dust is man-made dust like dust from vehicles, mining, and from construction activities like that. Now coming to Indian subcontinent, researchers used a carbon model to simulate the impact of anthropogenic aerosols on Indian summer monsoon. The result of the study showed that these anthropogenic aerosols can strengthen Indian summer monsoon rainfall. So this finding was significant and was published in a journal called Earth Science Reviews. Now let's see what are other aspects and why we need to see into these roles of dust. As we saw, role of dust in atmosphere is huge. By studying dust, we can understand the sensitive intricacies in our atmosphere. See, many studies have shown that dust emission scheme is extremely sensitive to climate change. By understanding these mechanisms and the effects of dust, we will be able to understand our monsoon systems better. That is, it will help us to predict our rains better. Then it will also help us to fight global climate change. The researchers have taken this approach to the next level by studying the minor properties of the dust. See, the deserts across the globe will have different chemical compositions and this can influence the dust's properties. How can we say that? For example, dust from West Asia has more absorbing ability of solar radiation than the dust from the North Africa. Why is this difference significant? See, this difference in absorbing ability might influence monsoon systems differently. And by studying this difference, we can understand the monsoon better, which will help us a better prediction of rains. We can also use high spatial resolution remote sensing to identify source regions of dust. This will also help us to create a better dust emission map. Such a map will be a great support or a boon in understanding the working of monsoons. So these are some of the important aspects with reference to the analysis of this news article. In this article, we saw about the effect of natural dust on the atmospheric circulation, particularly on the Indian summer monsoon. Then we saw examples for the positive feedback loop that is found in the world with respect to dust and monsoon. We saw the factors that influence the onset of Indian summer monsoon and the factors that intensify the Indian summer monsoon. Now let's move on to the analysis of next news article. This news article is about the epidemiology of diphtheria and the new trends that are associated with this disease. Yesterday on the discussion of corona-based article, we saw what is epidemiology, which by definition is simply the study of distribution and determinants of health-related states and events that are found in specified populations. This might be population in a neighborhood, in a school, city, state or in a country or at the global level. That is, the sample can be any section of population, which is called as deem in biology. And this study, which we are saying, it must be a scientific study, systematic and data-driven study. Here, health-related states and events are not just restricted to diseases. In this context, today's article focuses on the pattern of diphtheria. So let us first know about this disease. See, it is a bacterial disease, which is caused by a bacteria called cornebacterium diphtheria, commonly called as C-diphtheria. See, according to the data available with the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, during the period from 2005 to 2014, India has reported 41,000 cases with around 897 deaths. On an average, 4,667 cases per year have been reported. And as you can see, the case fatality ratio is 2.2%. The transmission is commonly through bodily secretions. Sometimes, skin contacts on ulcers also cause transmission. Now, diphtheria, it particularly affects the children who are aged 1 to 5 years of age. Now, let us see how does this bacterium causes the disease. See, cornebacterium diphtheria, it primarily infects the throat and upper airways. Then, it produces a toxin that affects other organs. See, one type of diphtheria affects the throat and sometimes this affects the tonsils. Another type of diphtheria causes ulcers on the skin. Now, these are more common in the tropics. Now, the notable feature is that this bacterium has no invasive powers. However, it produces toxins that cause the disease. Now, this diphtheria toxin, it causes a membrane of dead tissue to build up over the throat and tonsils. As a result, this makes breathing and swallowing difficult. In more severe instances, complications like blocking of airway, damage to the heart muscle, that is called as myocarditis, and angina can happen. And there is also inflammation of nerves. This may cause nerve damage called as polyneuropathy and this may internally to paralysis. Lung infection, respiratory failure or pneumonia is also common with diphtheria. So, these are some complications that happen in more severe instances of diphtheria. One fortunate fact is there about this disease that is, it is vaccine preventable. In India, diphtheria forms a part of universal immunization program. That is, it is part of the trivalent vaccine, DPT, which stands for Diphtheria purchases tetanus under this universal immunization program. Then there are also antitoxins of diphtheria. They are also cultured and they are also available as a mainstay of treatment with the onset of this infection. Then this bacteria, they are susceptible or they can be killed by antibiotics like penicillin. See, penicillin belongs to a group of antibiotics called as beta-lactam group. That is, these group of antibiotics, they act on beta-lactam based bacterial wall. In the end, they will kill the bacteria. So, we so far discuss the basics of the disease and the treatment. But what is of concern is the circulating variants of this disease. In yesterday's discussion, we saw that mutations can cause variations in virus. And in terms of such mutations or variations, this diphtheria is also no exception. The emergence of variants of diphtheria has worried the medical fraternity. This fact is highlighted in this news article. See, researchers from India, UK and Russia, they have analyzed a large collection of around 502 genomes which were sourced from more than 16 countries, collected over a period of 122 years with reference to corneobacterium diphtheria. The results of this study hint that we need to anticipate increase in incidence of diphtheria. That is, in future and also in the present, diphtheria cases might increase. The study states three reasons for this, why we need to anticipate the increase in such incidence. One is that there is diversity of the diphtheria bacteria species. So, this means different diphtheria-based diseases causing mechanisms can be anticipated. Then the second reason is emergence of variant toxin genes. As a result, what can happen, the existing antitoxins that we culture know, this can prove obsolete or outdated in treating the disease or will have no effect. Thirdly, progression of antimicrobial resistance. This means that the existing antibiotics can do little to combat the disease in case resistance occurs to such antibiotics. So, what do we mean by antimicrobial resistance? See, this occurs when bacteria, virus, fungi, parasites, they change over a period of time and they no longer respond to medicines and this makes infections harder to treat. At the same time, this results in increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. Now, because of the drug resistance, antibiotics and other microbial medicines, they become ineffective and the infections become increasingly difficult to treat or kind of impossible to treat or we have to find new medicine for which there is no resistance. The main drivers of antimicrobial resistance, we can say misuse and overuse of antimicrobials or antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance occurs naturally over time, usually through genetic changes. For example, say a person is infected with diphtheria and for treatment penicillin is given, the person is cured of it. Now, imagine a case, this diphtheria has mutated into a variant or it has undergone some genetic changes. Now, this genetically changed diphtheria will offer resistance to the given antibiotic. As a result, the given antibiotic or the antimicrobial will have no effect. So, this is the challenge imposed on us by the antimicrobial resistance and they are saying these genetic changes occur mainly because of misuse and overuse of antimicrobials. The study believes that through genetic changes and through horizontal genetic transfers, antimicrobial resistance has become common among the diphtheria. However, thankfully, beta-lactam antibiotics are spared. That is, the penicillin kind of antibiotics, they have been spared according to research. Now, what does this mean? This means that there is still no resistance or there is still no antimicrobial resistance against beta-lactam antibiotics like penicillin. As of now, then the study points out about 18 variants of tox genes, that is the genes that are capable of producing 18 different varieties of toxins. Why we have to worry about this? Because we have developed currently only one kind of anti-toxin and only one kind of toxoid vaccine, but there are about 18 variants of tox genes. So, this is a challenge. Here, when we said toxoid vaccine, it refers to a vaccine where the milder version of toxin is made to illicit or to generate an immune response and this makes the body familiar to diphtheria toxin. Thereby, it makes the body ready to fight the disease. Then there is diversity in bacterial genetic composition that also has been noted through the study. This can push up the incidence of bacterial disease. See, there is an increasing trend in the number of cases of diphtheria at the global level because the number of cases in 2018 was around 16,651. This was double the average during the period of 1996 to 2017. So, where India is standing in this numbers, there is a fact relevant to India which states that 50% of the cases that came up in 2018 were from India and the author believes that this epidemiological trend is a testimony to this research. That is, the increase to prevalence could be possibly be associated with factors like species diversity and other factors that we just discussed. These were brought to light by this research. That is why they are saying that the epidemiological trend is a testimony to this research. In addition to this, combating diphtheria can be complicated by phenomena like, as we saw, antimicrobial resistance. So, these are some of the information with reference to the analysis of this news article. In this news article, we saw about diphtheria, what causes it, how it causes, what are various complications it may lead into, what are the treatment methods that are available and what are the factors or that may accentuate more incidence of this disease in present and also in the near future. Now, let's move on to next news article discussion. See, this news article states that the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has said that no trade with India now. Earlier, Pakistan had decided to allow trade between India and Pakistan. However, Pakistan has decided to revoke its decision. In that light, let us have a glimpse on the contours of India-Pakistan trade. See, in August 2019, Pakistan decided to suspend bilateral trade with India. At that time, it was said that it is because of the fallout of constitutional changes made in Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian side. As we know, the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two union territories called as Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh. However, many experts and others believed that the underlying reason or the actual reason for suspending trade from the side of Pakistan in August 2019 was the 200 percent tariff that was imposed by India on Pakistani imports earlier that year. This happened after India revoked the most favored nation status to Pakistan and why India revoked MFN status to Pakistan because of the alleged involvement of state-sponsorment associated with Pulwama terrorist attack. It should be noted here that India granted MFN status to Pakistan in 1995. However, there was no reciprocal engagement from Pakistan as Pakistan never gave that status to India. Now, you can have a look at this infographic to have a glimpse on the trade items and the trade balance with reference to India and Pakistan. As you can see over the years, India has had a trade surplus with Pakistan. That is, India import less and export more. This means exporters from India are benefited and Pakistan was among India's top 50 trade partners in 2018-19 but it was pushed out of the list in 2019-20 and it had been anticipated that a trade ban between the countries would affect Pakistan more if we compare relatively and this is largely because Pakistan relied heavily on India for key raw materials, particularly for its textiles and pharmaceutical industries. So, what is the rationale behind Pakistani side to remove the ban on trade? Why they recently announced that they will start or carry out trade with India? Firstly, because of shortage in raw material. As there is shortage in raw material for Pakistan's textile sector, Pakistan decided to lift the ban on cotton imports. At the first place, why there was shortage in raw material for Pakistan's textile sector? This is because of low domestic yields of cotton there. Secondly, cheaper imports from India. Cotton and sugar imports from countries like US and Brazil, they are costlier for Pakistan and they are also taking longer time to reach Pakistan. Then thirdly, high domestic demand and prices. Particularly, the decision on sugar was dictated by high demand and high domestic prices. So, the decision to import sugar and other related items is a measure to stabilize the domestic market prices in Pakistan. But as we can see from the article, now Pakistan has reversed the decision. That is citing the Kashmir issue, it said we will not carry out trade with India. So, what can be expected as repercussions or consequences? Some experts say that this may lead to increase in illegal trade across borders because in Pakistan prices are high, across the border in India prices are low. So, smugglers will find it as fertile ground to smuggle essentials like sugar. Then people living close to the border would suffer the most. It is estimated that the suspension of trade ties between two countries is causing a monthly loss of 4.2 million US dollars to the bordering city of Amritsar and it has affected 50,000 people in the city. In addition to this, a potential area of cooperation will be lost, that is the sector of trade cooperation will be lost. If we ignore the political question or the political cooperation, this is one potential area. So, it is essential that India and Pakistan take care that the political differences does not spill into other areas like trade and cultural cooperation. They should do this keeping in mind the welfare of people, particularly of both countries. Because from Indian side, who exports to Pakistan? Is it just our government? No, it is our people living close to the borders. As a result of such bans, the market of Indian exporters in Pakistan is lost. In addition to this, see trade sectors or trade avenues, they could also be used to minimize the differences in the political arena and this can be used as a parameter to achieve a long time solution for the disputes between India and Pakistan. And we can also utilize platforms like SARC to further the trade realization that can be considered as a welcome step. So, these aspects could be done to improve the Indo-Pak trade. So, these are some of the aspects with respect to the analysis of this news article. In this analysis, we saw about the decision of Pakistan in August 2019 and the recent decision to resume trade between India and Pakistan and the current decision to not carry out trade with India. We also saw some information about India-Pakistan trade and what should be done keeping in mind the welfare of people. Now, let's move on to the next part of the discussion. Now, this news article talks about the concerns expressed by Telangana High Court over the illegal encroachments on river Musi and the ecological destruction surrounding it. In this regard, the High Court has instructed the government authorities to file an action-taken report immediately. In this context, let us have a brief understanding about this river, Musi. See, it is a tributary of Krishna River. Remember, among the major tributaries of Krishna River, Gattaprabha, Malaprabha and Thungabhadra, these are principal right bank tributaries. On the other hand, Musi, Bhima and Muneru are the principal left bank tributaries. In the earlier days, this river, Musi River, was known as Mucchukunda River. It rises in Anandagiri Hill in Rangaready district of Telangana and it flows into the Krishna River at Vedapalli in Nalgonda district. It consists of two rivulets, Eci and Musa. These rivulets converge into Musi River. Remember that this river is the water source for Hyderabad for over a century. Hyderabad stands on the bank of this river and this river divides the Hyderabad city between the old city and the new city. The Purana Pool is the oldest bridge over this river in Hyderabad and there are two dams that are constructed over this river. They are Himayath Sagar and Osman Sagar. Now it is to be noted that until the early decades of 20th century, the Musi River was a cause of flood devastation in Hyderabad. Right now, untreated sewage and industrial effluents are flowing into this river. As a result, there is severe pollution. According to some sources, it is one of the most polluted rivers worldwide. And today we saw the news regarding the illegal encroachment on this river. Illegal constructions by real estate mafias are also a great cause of concern. There are also several slum settlements along the Musi River banks. The riverbed of this river is used by local communities for the purpose of bathing, washing clothes, cultivation and grazing. Know about these aspects that are around this river. According to a study by Osmania University, the polluted water of Musi River is the main cause of incidents of many communicable diseases and all kinds of pediatric problems in the area. Pollution has also directly affected the agriculture, stock breeding and fishing and this creates high risk conditions in the food intake. And all these has led to a decrease in purchasing power of inhabitants of this area. As they spend a lot of money with respect to health, they will have out-of-pocket expenditure, etc. So these are some of the information with reference to the analysis of this news article which talks about Musi River. We saw about the river, its importance, its association with Hyderabad and the study by the Osmania University. Now let's move on to next news article discussion. This news article states that US President has lifted sanctions that were earlier imposed by the Trump regime on two top officials of international criminal court. Earlier, the US had targeted these officials because of moving ahead with investigations into the alleged war crimes by the US and its allies, particularly Israel. In this context, let us discuss in detail about international criminal court. The syllabus relevant for the analysis is highlighted here for your reference. See the preamble to the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court. It states that the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole must not go unpunished. In the year 1998, around 120 states, they adopted a statute in Rome. This statute is known as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court which established this court. So international criminal court looks into such crimes committed by such perpetrators in their territories or such crimes committed by their nationals after the entry into force of the Rome Statute which happened on 1st July 2002. So here we must note that this court is not a substitute for national courts and it can only intervene when a state is unable to carry out the investigation and to prosecute the perpetrators or when a state is unwilling genuinely to carry out the investigation and to prosecute the perpetrators. The primary mission of this court is to help to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. That is they must not be left unpunished. Now let us have a look at its jurisdiction. See this statute grants the court jurisdiction over four main crimes. What are they? They are crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. When we say crime of genocide it refers to a crime that is characterized by specific intent to destroy a group of members. This group could be group of a nation or part of group of a nation or an ethnic group or a racial group or a religious group. They could be destroyed by killing its members or by other means. Secondly, this court can prosecute crimes against humanity. See these are serious violations committed as part of large scale attack against any civilian population. Some of the crimes against humanity that are listed in Rome's statute we can see offenses like murder, rape, enforced disappearances, enslavement particularly of women and children, sexual slavery, torture, apartheid and deportation. And third comes war crimes. See these are grave breaches of Geneva Conventions in the context of armed conflict. See Geneva Conventions of 1949 gives a list of war crimes which are willful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, unlawful deportation, taking hostages and other grave breaches of Geneva Conventions listed here for your reference. And finally the fourth crime falls within the jurisdiction of ICC is the crime of aggression. It is the use of armed force by a state against the sovereignty, integrity and independence of another state. The definition of this crime was adopted by amending the Rome statute in 2010 and this happened at the first review conference of the statute in Kampala in Uganda. Finally, let us see some important facts about this court. See the seat of this court is in the Hague in the Netherlands. The Rome statute provides that the court may sit elsewhere whenever the judges consider it desirable. This court is funded by contributions from state parties and also by voluntary contributions from governments, international organizations, individuals, corporations and even other entities. Most importantly, note that this court is not an agency of the United Nations. On the contrary, if you take International Court of Justice, it is one of the six principal organs of United Nations, but ICC is not. It is a ICC is an independent body whose mission is to try individuals for crimes within its jurisdiction and for this there is no need for a special mandate from United Nations. See ICC prosecutes individuals, not groups or states. Any individual who is alleged to have committed crimes within the jurisdiction of ICC may be brought before it. And with reference to India, note that India did not sign the Rome statute and therefore we are not a member of international criminal court. The same applies also to our neighbors such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, China, Myanmar. So these are some of the information with reference to the analysis of this news article. In this analysis, we saw about international criminal court, the Rome statute and the jurisdiction of this court. Now let's move on to the analysis of next news article. This article states that Jordanian security forces arrested a former advisor to King Abdullah on security related grounds. In this context, let us discuss in detail about Jordan, its geography, political history and few other aspects. See Jordan is an Arab country in the southwest Asia. It is located in the rocky desert of northern Arabian Peninsula. In the north we can see Syria to the east, it is bounded by Iraq and in the southeast and south we could see Saudi Arabia and it is bounded to the west by Israel and the West Bank. This West Bank area is named as it lies just west of the Jordan River and this West Bank region was under Jordanian rule from 1948 to 1967. After that it was occupied by Israel. Jordan has a very small coastline of nearly 26 kilometers on the Gulf of Acaba which we can see in the southwest. Now let us talk about the political history of Jordan in brief. See from the ancient history until the turn of 20th century Jordan lacked a clearly defined political and territorial identity. In ancient times Jordan was characterized by small settlements. These settlements were on both sides of Jordan River. After 2000 BC it was characterized by a number of small tribal kingdoms and these kingdoms were based primarily on the east bank. In subsequent centuries we could see succession of Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians then Greeks. Succession of these entities they held sway over this Jordan region or they held this region. In 395 AD Jordan came under the control of Byzantine Empire. So this happened after the division of Roman Empire in 395 AD. Under Byzantine rule Christianity became the official state religion of this region. Then in 6th century AD the direct rule over the Jordan region and Syria was transferred to Christian Arab dynasty called as Ghassanid dynasty. Actually this was a vassal state or vassal kingdom of the Byzantines. That is they were kingdom dominated by Byzantines. They served as vassal state. Later by 632 AD under the leadership of Prophet Muhammad and with the new monotheistic faith of Islam the eastern deserts of Arabian Peninsula had been united. After the death of the Prophet Arab armies entered this region and they initiated a campaign of conquest and conversion. And then through the centuries this region was held by Islamic empires. We could see empires of Umayyads, Abbasis, Fatimids, Seljuks, Ayyubids and Mamluks. Before Ottoman Turks the region was held by Mamluks and these Mamluks were displaced in 1517 AD by the Ottoman Turks. Ottoman Turks they dominated the region for next 400 years. Actually the World War I it provided Arabs of the region an opportunity to rise up against the weak Turk rulers. But even the end of Ottoman domination of the region actually did not indicate or signal the rise of or the anticipated rise of Arab self-determination. But what happened after World War I Middle East region it came under the mandate of League of Nations. French received Syria, British obtained Iraq and Palestine. The eastern portion of the Jordan River was called as Trans Jordan and in this part an Arab administration that was headed by Abdullah was operating this new entity on the east bank. It was held by Abdullah under the supervision of British commissioner for Palestine. However after the World War II Jordan became independent in the year 1946. So these are some of the information in prelims perspective with reference to Jordan. In this analysis we saw the location of Jordan, the political history associated with St. Saint's in times and we conclude the discussion with its independence in 1946. Now let's move on to next part of the discussion. This news article is about a high level probe panel appointed by the Supreme Court. This panel was appointed to investigate the cops who caused tremendous harassment and immeasurable anguish to rocket scientist Nambi Narayanan with reference to the 1994 espionage case. Some of you might have seen the trailer of the film to be released called as Rocketry, the Nambi Effect. Let us use this article as an opportunity to see about ISRO and its special achievements. See ISRO is a space agency that comes under department of space of government of India. It is headquartered in Bangalore city in the state of Karnataka. Now the vision of ISRO is to harness space technology for national development while pursuing for space science research and planetary exploration. See the space journey began after Dr. Vikram Sarabhai formed Incospar in the year 1962. Incospar stands for Indian National Committee for Space Research. In seven years that is in 1969 Incospar was renamed as Indian Space Research Organization. This was done on the independence day of 1969. Initially it launched small rockets of just 30 to 70 kilogram payloads. From there it has transformed to payloads of 4000 kilogram being carried to outer space. So ISRO has much to celebrate when it comes to space achievements. Let us see some key achievements of ISRO space journey. The first important achievement in Indian space program is Aare Bhatta. See it was India's first satellite that was built by ISRO. It was launched by the Soviet Union in the year 1975. Next important achievement is Rohini. It is the first satellite that is to be placed into orbit by an Indian made launch vehicle called as satellite launch vehicle 3. The next important achievement we can say one that actually shifted the scale of Indian space program was the launch of Chandrayaan-1. This was done by ISRO in the year 2008. Chandrayaan-1 aimed to send an unmanned lunar orbiter into moon's orbit and it was a successful mission. The next important achievement was the launch of Mars Orbiter Mission or Mangalyan or MOM mission. It was launched in 2013 and it made India the first nation to succeed on its maiden attempt to Mars. ISRO also became the fourth space agency in the world and also the first space agency in Asia to reach the orbit of Mars. Then in February 2017, ISRO launched 104 satellites in a single rocket that was PSLV C-37 and at that time it was a world record. ISRO also launched its heaviest rocket or launch vehicle called as GSLV Mark III in June 2017 and it also placed a communication satellite GSAT-19 through the vehicle into the orbit. In 2018 November ISRO successfully launched GSAT-29 satellite. Why this satellite is special? See this is the heaviest satellite which weighed 3423 kilograms and it aimed at providing better communication for the remote areas of the country. In one of the recent achievements and a project wherein ISRO has learned a lot so as to achieve huge success in the near future is what happened in 2019 as in July 2019 ISRO launched India's second moon mission Chandrayaan-2. Chandrayaan-2 aimed to conduct a soft landing on the moon's south polar region. Though this was unsuccessful, this mission achieved partial success by placing an orbiter around the moon. Actually the lander unit crash landed on the surface of the moon. Experts do say that it has crowned ISRO's all achievements. In the coming years ISRO is planning for Chandrayaan-3 which will be successor to the Chandrayaan-2 mission and it has also planned to send its first human spaceflight mission called Gaganyan so as to seal its deal as a key player in international space programs. Now when it comes to space-related initiatives India stands apart compared to all other countries who do not find a place as the permanent members of United Nations Security Council. And today if you take top five countries in the world with remarkable achievements in space India is undoubtedly one among them. This is because of scientists like Vikram Sarabhai, Abdul Kalam and others who have played a crucial role in space research for the national development of our country. With this let's move on to next part of the discussion. Now we have come to the last session the practice questions discussion session. See this question with reference to Dipteria. Three statements are given they're asking which of the above statements are correct. First statement it has a case fatality rate of 50 percentage. See this statement is incorrect it has a case fatality rate of around two to three percentage. Dipteria is caused by bacteria which is absolutely correct it is caused by cornei bacterium dipteria. Third statement India recently had been declared dipteria free. See this is incorrect if you take the year 2018 India has 50 percentage of global load of dipteria cases this is incorrect. So the correct answer for this question is option B 2 only. This question is with reference to international criminal court. They're asking which of the following statements are correct regarding international criminal court. It was established by the Rome Statute to put an end to impunity for perpetrators of the most serious crimes concerning international community as a whole. This statement is correct India is a founding member of international criminal court. This statement is incorrect India is not a signatory to Rome Statute. Once you know second statement is incorrect you can directly arrive at the correct answer by eliminating options B, C and D. Third statement ICC has jurisdiction over money laundering and global cyber crimes. So this is incorrect ICC has jurisdiction only over four main crimes such as crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crime of aggression. Correct answer is option A 1 only. See this question which of the following countries share border with Jordan? Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, Iraq, Iran. We can find that Kuwait and Iran they do not share border with Jordan. So the correct answer is option C. This question is with reference to river Mosey. Two statements are given which of the above statements are correct. It is a major tributary of river Krishna. Now this statement is correct. It is one of the three principal left bank tributaries of river Krishna others being Bhima and Muniru. Second statement at a particular stretch the Mosey river flows eastward through Hyderabad bifurcating the urban agglomeration. The statement is also correct. So the correct answer is option C both 1 and 2. See this river it originates in Anandagiri hills and flows into Osman Sagar and Himayath Sagar reservoirs. These reservoirs were constructed in the Nizam Srin in the aftermath of devastating floods that happened in 1908. Then this river flows eastward through Hyderabad where it bifurcates the urban agglomeration. The old Hyderabad city lies to the south of this river. In the north of the river we could see urban development particularly post 1960 urban development. Downstream from Hyderabad city this river has 24 diversion veers for irrigation. These were locally known as Kathuas. One of the important concerns with this river is that irrigation and drinking water for villages downstream is heavily polluted with waste from the Hyderabad city. So the correct answer here is option C both 1 and 2. This question is with reference to ISRO. Two statements are given they are asking which of the above statements are correct. Indian National Committee for Space Research was set up by Government of India in 1962 which was superseded by Indian Space Research Organization formed in 1969. The statement is correct. Antrix Corporation Limited is the commercial arms office role. See Antrix Corporation Limited and one another agency called us the New Space India Limited both are commercial arms office role. Correct answer is option C both 1 and 2. We have given two practice questions for means you can write the answer and post them in the comments section. With this we come to the end of today's the Hindu News Analysis. If you like the video click the like button, comment, share and subscribe to Shankaray's Academy YouTube channel for more updates and content on civil services exam preparation.