 Welcome to the Hindu news analysis by Shankar Ayas 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 time stamping 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 start with the first article. Now let us take up this small article. It is about the lowering dependence on H1B visas. See in the last few years, various regions around the world have been under lockdown. We all know this because of COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the places around the world have been under lockdown. So because of these lockdowns, more and more people are working from home and remote locations. So the physical presence of employees is no longer required by the companies. This has led to the lower dependence on H1B visas. This is the gist of this article. So in this context, let us learn about H1B visa. See H1B visa is a favorite topic among Indian parents, IT employees and Indian matrimony sites. What is H1B visa? See H1B visa is a visa of United States. It is issued by United States of America under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The H1B visa allows US employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. This is the purpose of H1B visa. The keywords are temporary and specialty occupations. What is a specialty occupation? See specialty occupation is an occupation which requires application of specialized knowledge under bachelor's degree or an equivalent work experience. This is the official definition of specialty occupation. So if a person satisfies these conditions, he or she is eligible for a H1B visa. The duration of stay through H1B visa is 3 years. This can be extended to 6 years. And it is important to note that majority of the applicants of H1B visas are Indians. This is why I jokingly said it is an important topic among Indian parents, IT employees and Indian matrimony sites. Almost 70% of the H1B visas issued by the United States of America are given to Indians. So we can see majority of the applicants are Indians. See H1B visa is not the only visa issued by the United States of America. It is the most popular among a long list of other visas. Now let us see the other visas issued by United States of America. Have a look at this table. The first visa is L1. L1 is regarding intra company transfers. This visa is issued for intra company transfers. The next visa is J1. The J1 visa is issued for exchange of visitors. Similar to H1B, there is also another visa called H2B. It is also issued for temporary visitors. H2B visa is issued by the US to fill a transient vacancy. So far we saw about H1B, L1, J1, H2B. Finally, let us see about H4. The H4 visa is given to the dependents of H1B visas. For example, if an employee is taking his spouse or dependent to the US, they will go under H4 visa. So these are the important list of visas issued by the United States of America. See, many of these visas were suspended or under a lot of restriction during Trump's presidency. We all know that Trump was against immigration. He believed the job should be given to the Americans first. He worked under the slogan America first. We have already discussed about this. See, because of the Trump's policy of America first and ban on immigration, USA is now facing widespread vacancies and joblessness. See, because of the Trump policy of America first and ban on immigration, there is widespread vacancy in United States of America. So this anti-immigration stance is now reversed by the current United States of America administration. Joe Biden is the current president of United States of America. So he has removed the restriction on these visas. To be precise, he has removed the restrictions on H1B visas. Many experts believe this move will bring a lot of immigrants into the country and will fill the job vacancies in the United States of America. But to the contrary, the lockdowns have lower the dependence on H1B visas. So the demand for H1B visas has fallen. This is the cruel irony. As long as work from home and remote locations are continuing, the dependence on H1B visas will be lowering. This is the gist of this article. With this, we have come to the end of the discussion. In this discussion, we saw both the lowering dependence on H1B visas. We discussed about H1B visa. We also discussed about other visas like L1, J1, H2B and H4. Now let us move on to the next discussion. Now look at this article. This article is regarding the upcoming Padma awards. See, according to this article, the Central Government of India has asked the citizens of India to make recommendations for the upcoming Padma awards. This is the gist of this article. In this context, let us discuss in detail about the Padma awards. What are Padma awards? See, the Padma awards are one of the highest civilian honours of India. It is announced annually on the eve of Republic Day. The Padma awards are given in three categories. The first one is Padma Vibhushan. It is given for exceptional and distinguished service. The second one is Padma Bhushan. Padma Bhushan is given for distinguished service of higher order. And the final one is Padma Sri. Padma Sri is given for distinguished service. So these are the three categories of Padma awards. What is the purpose of Padma award? See, the Padma award seeks to recognize achievements in various activities and disciplines where an element of public service is involved. So the key word is element of public service. So to put it in simple words, Padma awards are given for recognition of public service. These Padma awards are given on the recommendation of a committee. The name of the committee is Padma Awards Committee. This committee is constituted by the prime minister every year. See, the beauty of Padma award is that the nomination process is open to public. Public can nominate the award recipients. Another beautiful thing is even self-nomination can be made. So this is the beauty of Padma awards. Now, coming back to Padma awards committee. See, the Padma awards committee is added by the cabinet secretary. This committee also includes home secretary, secretary to the president, and four to six eminent persons. So the public will nominate the persons to this committee. Even self-nominations can be made to this committee. And based on the nominations, this committee will send the recommendation to the prime minister of India. And the prime minister will finally send it to the president of India for approval. This is how the entire process works. See, so far we saw about Padma awards and Padma awards committee. Now, let us see about the genesis of Padma awards. See, in 1954, the government of India had only two civilian awards, Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan. Later, the government of India added three classes to this Padma Vibhushan. The name of the three classes were Pahela work, Dasra work and Thisra work. These three classes were subsequently renamed as Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Sri. It was renamed in 1955. This is the genesis of Padma awards. Since we are discussing about Padma awards, let us discuss about Bharat Ratna in brief. See, Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the country. The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the prime minister to the president of India. Also, the number of Bharat Ratna awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular year. Padma awards does not have such restrictions. So, these are the important points regarding Bharat Ratna. Now, coming back to Padma awards. Government servants, including those working in PSUs, are not eligible for Padma awards. But there is an exception. Doctors and scientists who are working for government are eligible for Padma awards. Now, have a look at this list. This list contains the activities and disciplines for which Padma awards are given. Art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, civil service, sports and others. So, these are the fields of activities for which Padma awards are given. See, Padma awards is not normally conferred posthumously. So, it is not usually given to a person who has passed away. But exceptions can be made in highly deserving cases. Also, higher category of Padma award can be conferred to a person only after five years. For example, if a person receives Padma Shree this year, he or she can receive Padma Bhushan or Padma Vibhushan only after five years. However, exceptions are made in highly deserving cases. See, the Padma awards are presented by the President of India. The award is usually given in March or April every year. See, the winners of the award is usually announced on the eve of Republic Day. But the award is given usually in March and April. The awardees are presented a certificate signed by the President of India. In addition to the certificate, the awardees also receive a medal. It is important to note that Padma awards does not amount to a title. So, it cannot be used as a suffix or prefix to the awardee's name. So, legally, a person cannot use Padma Shree, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan as a suffix or prefix to the name. But illegally, many people are using it. So, these are the important points regarding Padma awards. With this, we have come to the end of the discussion. In this discussion, we saw about Padma awards, the three categories of Padma awards, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shree. We also discussed about Padma awards committee. We discussed about the genesis of Padma awards. We discussed about Bharat Ratna in brief. We discussed about the activities and disciplines of Padma awards. And finally, we discussed about Padma awards ceremony. With this, we have come to the end of the discussion. Now, let us move on to the next topic. Now, let us take up this news article. It is regarding Gaganian space program. So, in this slide, let us discuss about Gaganian program. The relevant syllabus covered by this article is highlighted in the screen. Interested aspirants can go through it. See, Gaganian program is a human space mission. It was formally announced by a Prime Minister on August 15, 2018. Gaganian program is our most prestigious space mission. Under the space mission, India plans to send astronauts to space on an indigenious launch vehicle. And we are trying to bring them back safely to earth. This mission is expected to send three persons into space for a period of seven days. And the spacecraft will be placed in a low earth orbit of 300 to 400 kilometers. These are the important points. For this mission, we will be using GSLV MK3 launch vehicle. We will be making use of this vehicle because this is the only vehicle which has the necessary payload capability. See, as the name says, GSLV MK3 has three stages. You can observe the three stages from this picture. Now coming back to Gaganian space mission, Gaganian space mission will be launched from Sri Arigota. If India succeeds in this space human mission, it would place India among a very allied group of countries. So far only USSR, that is current day Russia, United States of America and China have successfully conducted human space missions. So if India succeed in this mission, India will be the fourth country in the world to send successfully humans into space on an indigenous vehicle. So this will place India among a very allied group of countries. This space mission will also provide a unique microgravity platform. We can use this microgravity platform for conducting space experiments. We can also use this platform as a test bed for future technologies. See, when we are discussing about any space mission, one question comes to the mind. Why do we need this Gaganian mission? It takes a lot of money, it takes a lot of time. So why do we need to conduct these kind of missions? See, so far most of the countries of the world have explored land, sea and air. So the obvious next frontier of global dominance and exploration is going to be space. We can already observe this. We can see many countries rushing and competing among themselves to explore the vastness of the cosmos, discover new resources on the moon and also to find signs of microbial life beyond our orbit. So many countries are already competing in this field of space. For example, United States of America and Russia are dominating the field of space exploration. China is also slowly cruising ahead with its plans. China is building its own space station. It is collecting samples from asteroids. China is also keen in exploring planets like Mars. So many countries are keen to explore the field of space and they are planning to dominate the space. So India should also join in this fight. See, India has also achieved a lot of success in the field of space. We have reached Mars, we have reached moon, we have attained these missions in extremely low cost manners. We have launched a lot of satellites. So India is also fighting in the field of space. But till now, India has not launched an indigenous crew mission. So by launching an indigenous crew mission from India, it will put India at the center of this space exploration and dominance. It will shape the geopolitics of the world. So it is important that we continue with missions like Gaganyan. Another important thing is missions like Gaganyan increases global collaboration. For example, Israel is taking the help of France, Russia and United States in some crucial activities and supply of components. Russia and France are providing key training and equipment needed to carry out this mission. Similarly, a Russian company called Gagarian Cosmonaut Training Center is providing space suits for Indian astronauts. So as we can observe space exploration programs like Gaganyan increases global collaboration. India is getting the best equipments and knowledge from other countries. So these are the important reasons why India should continue with space programs like Gaganyan. With this, we have come to the end of this discussion. In this discussion, we saw about Gaganyan and its significance. Now let us move on to the next discussion. Now let us take up this article. It is regarding NABAD. See, NABAD stands for National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. Recently, NABAD has launched four projects in Kerala. This article is regarding that. First, let us see about those four projects. The first project. See, the first project is regarding an evaluation of vaccine. This vaccine was developed against the bacterial disease index. The name of the disease is Rhymeralosis. So vaccine was developed against its disease and NABAD has launched a project to evaluate the vaccine. This is the first project. Now let us see about the second project. See, the second project launched by NABAD is to provide long-distance wireless connectivity. This long-distance wireless connectivity will be provided to tribal settlements in Malapuram district. Malapuram district is in Kerala. So first project is regarding vaccine. Second project is regarding long-distance wireless connectivity. The third project is regarding skilling eng fisherman in repairing fishing vessel motors. So the third project is regarding skill development. The fourth and final project involves training under the additional skill acquisition program. So these are the four projects launched by NABAD. First project is regarding vaccine. Second project is regarding long-distance wireless connectivity. Third project is about skill development. Fourth project is regarding training under additional skill acquisition program. This is conveyed in this article. In this context, let us discuss about NABAD, its genesis and functions. The syllabus for references displayed on the screen. Interested aspirants can go through it. NABAD. See, as we discussed, the word NABAD stands for National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. This bank was established in 1982. It was established by an act of the parliament. See, NABAD is a development bank. It is mandated for providing and regulating credit. This will be used for the promotion and development of agriculture, small-scale industries, cottage and village industries, and handicrafts. This credit will be extended to other rural crafts and other allied economic activities in rural areas. So, we can see the main aim of NABAD is to promote integrated rural development. It also aims to secure prosperity of rural areas. So far, we have seen about NABAD and its aim. Now, let's see about its genesis. See, the importance of institutional credit in boosting rural economy has been clear to our government right from its early stages of planning. So, our government insisted RISO Bank of India to form a committee for this same purpose, that is to create an institution to provide credit to the rural economy. The name of the committee is Committee to Review the Arrangements for Institutional Credit for Agriculture and Rural Development, Graphic Card. This is the name of the committee. This committee was formed in 1979. It was formed under the chairmanship of Sivaraman. Sivaraman is a former member of Planning Commission. See, this committee, after reviewing the conditions of rural areas, submitted its report in 1979. In its report, it outlined the need for a new organizational device for providing undivided attention and pointed focus to credit-related issues linked with rural development. To put it in simple words, the committee recommended for a new organization, which will be focusing only on credit-related issues for rural development. This is the gist of the recommendation of the committee. So, based on this committee recommendation, NABARD was formed. It was formed by an act of parliament. Like we already discussed, NABARD came into existence in 1982. It took the agricultural credit functions from RBI. It also took the refinance functions from the ARDC. See, ARDC stands for Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation. Before NABARD, this organization was responsible for the refinance function in agricultural sector. From this organization, NABARD took the control of refinance functions. NABARD was set up with an initial capital of 100 crores. Now, it has grown into a huge organization. As on 31st March 2020, its paid-up capital was around 14,080 crores. So, we can see from 100 crores, it has grown into an organization of 14,000 crores approximately. It has become a huge organization. And currently, NABARD is fully owned by the Government of India. This is the key point. It is fully owned by the Government of India. So, these are the important points regarding the genesis of NABARD. Now, let us discuss about functions of NABARD. See, as we know, the Government of India encourages farmers in taking up projects by subsidizing a portion of total project cost. So, the Government gives a lot of subsidies to farmers to initiate a lot of new projects. These new projects will help in rural development. NABARD has been a partner of the Government in some of these projects. Now, let us discuss some of these projects and schemes. First, let us discuss about farm sector schemes in which NABARD is a partner. The first important scheme, Diary Entrepreneurship Development Scheme. Second, Commercial Protection Units of Organic Inputs. Third, Agri-Clinic and Agri-Business Center Scheme. Fourth, National Livestock Mission. So, these are the important farm sector schemes in which NABARD is a partner of the Government. Other schemes in which NABARD is a partner are Interest Subvention Scheme and New Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme. So, so far we have seen the farm sector schemes in which NABARD are a partner. Now, let us discuss about our farm sector schemes, that is, non-farm sector schemes. The first one is Credit-Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme, CLCSS. This subsidy scheme is for Technology Upgradation of Micro and Small Enterprises. So, this is the first off-sector scheme in which NABARD is a partner. Another important off-sector scheme is Day NRLM, that is, Dindaya Anthodaya Yojana, National Rural Livestock Mission. NABARD is a partner of this off-sector scheme. And finally, NABARD is a partner of CHDS. CHDS stands for Comprehensive and Looms Development Scheme. So, these are the off-sector schemes in which NABARD is a partner. Finally, have a look at this list. This list consists of Clients of NABARD. They are the Credit-Related Partner Institutions of NABARD. Scheduled Commercial Banks, State Governments, State Owned Bodies and Corporations, Regional Rural Banks, State Cooperative Banks, District Central Cooperative Banks, State Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks, Scheduled Urban Cooperative Banks, Non-Banking Finance Companies, Farmers Collective and Producers Organization, Corporates, Companies, Individual Entrepreneurs, SPV under PPP mode. So, these are the important institutions who are Clients of NABARD. Just go through it once. With this, we have come to the end of this discussion. In this discussion, we saw about NABARD, the four projects launched by NABARD in Kerala, the aim of NABARD, Genesis of NABARD and Functions of NABARD. These are the important topics we have discussed in this discussion. Now, let us move on to the next discussion. Now, look at this news article. It is about the measures taken by the government to clean a thousand years old temple. The name of the temple is Sri Vasudeva Pirmal Temple. See, this temple was built during the Chola era. It was built during 12th century. So, in this slide, let us discuss some important facts related to Chola Empire. Let us also discuss about Chola achievements. See, the Chola Empire was founded by Vijayalya Cholan. Vijayalya Cholan led to the rise of mighty Cholas by defeating the Pallavas. The Chola dynasty originated in the rich Kaveri River valley. Urayur was its oldest capital. The current name of Urayur is Tirucharapalli. After Vijayalya Cholan, its successors conquered neighboring regions and the kingdom grew both in size and power. See, Chola Empire ruled for five centuries, from 9th century to 13th century. There were strong foes in the south. And when we are talking about the kings of the Chola Empire, we have to necessarily talk about Raja Raja I. He is considered to be the most powerful Chola ruler. He is remembered for expanding the control and reorganizing the administration of the empire. Raja Raja Cholan was succeeded by Rajendra Cholan. He was the one who expanded Chola Empire to the north. He ventured into the banks of Ganges. The empire, the new empire capital under the Rajendra Cholan was called as Gangaikonda Chola Brahm. See, the period under Rajendra Chola is considered as the golden age of Cholas. Because after the Rajendra Chola, Chola empires are widespread downfall. See, when we are talking about Cholas achievements, during the reign of Cholas, the society and its culture saw massive developments in the reign of Cholas. Cholas were art and patterns of art, poetry, literature and drama. They also built a lot of temples. Temples were the main center for all social and religious meetings. See, the Cholas were known for building huge temples. They were also known for making bronze images. The bronze images made during this period were most distinctive. Apart from these cultural developments, the Cholas were also remembered for new developments in agriculture. See, the societal structure during the Chola dynasty was divided among Brahmins and non-Brahmins. During Chola dynasty, several gods and goddesses were worshipped. Among all god and goddesses, Shiva was the most popular god during the period of Cholas. Art, religion and literature benefited greatly during this period. And as we know, Tanjavur temple still stands to be the biggest and tallest among all the temples in India of its time. And many of the temples built during the Chola reign are recognized as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. And many of the temples built by the Cholas are considered as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. For example, Bredeshwara temple, Gangekonda Chola Varam temple, Ayuravateswara temple, they are all recognized as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Now, let us discuss about the administration of Cholas. See, during the Cholas, the entire administration, the entire southern region, was brought under the umbrella of a single governing force. The Cholas ruled in a sustained monarchy, but they separated their territories into provinces or mandalams. The mandalams or provinces were further divided into districts which were called as Nadu. So, these were the divisions when we considered the administration of Cholas. King remained the central authority. He would take the major issue. The king would take the major decisions. He would carry out the governance. The decisions made by the king will be passed on to the mandalams and Nadus. So, these are the important points regarding the Chola Empire. With these details in mind, let us move on to the next part of the discussion. See, the next topic is regarding inflation. We have discussed about inflation in detail in our June 16th video. In our June 16th daily news analysis, we have discussed about inflation in detail. Interested aspirants can go through it. Now, let us move on to the next topic. The next topic is about ASEAN. Again, about ASEAN, we have discussed in detail in our 19th April daily news analysis. Interested aspirants can go through it. The final topic is about black fungus. We have discussed about black fungus in our 8th June video as well as 12th May video. So, the interested aspirants can go through the mentioned daily news analysis for deeper understanding of black fungus. With this, let us move on to the practice problems question. Practice problems question. With reference to the Padma wards, which of the following statements are correct? First statement. It is the highest civilian award of India announced annually during the Republic Day. Second statement. The Padma wards are conferred on the recommendation made by the Union Ministry of Culture. Select the correct answer using the code given below. A, 1 only, B, 2 only, C, both 1 and 2, D, neither 1 nor 2. Now, let us take up the first statement. The first statement is incorrect. Bharathratha is the highest civilian award in India. It is not Padma wards. So, first statement is incorrect. Now, let us move on to the second statement. See, the Padma wards are given based on the recommendations of Padma awards committee. It is not given based on the recommendation of Union Ministry of Culture. The Padma awards committee is constituted every year by the Prime Minister of India. So, the first statement is incorrect. Second statement is also incorrect. The answer is option D, neither 1 nor 2. Now, let us move on to the second question. Consider the following statements. First statement, Chola temples are the nuclei of settlements and centres of craft production. Second statement, Chola bronze images consisted of both deities as well as devotees. Which of the statements given above are correct? A, 1 only, B, 2 only, C, both 1 and 2, D, neither 1 nor 2. Now, let us take up the first statement. The first statement is correct. See, the Chola temples often become the nuclei of settlements. They also were the centres of craft production. So, first statement is correct. Moving on to the second statement. See, as we discussed in the article, Chola bronze images are considered among the finest in the world. And Chola bronze images consist of both deities as well as devotees. So, second statement is also correct. The answer is C, both 1 and 2. Moving on to the third question. Consider the following statements regarding NABAD, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. First statement, it is a statutory organisation which regulates credit facilities for the development of agriculture and small-scale industries. Second statement, at present, Reserve Bank of India holds 49% stake in NABAD. Which of the statements given above are correct? A, 1 only, B, 2 only, C, both 1 and 2, D, neither 1 nor 2. See, from our discussion, we know that the first statement is correct. NABAD was established by an act of a parliament, so it is a statutory organisation. It also regulates credit facilities for the development of agriculture and small-scale industry. First statement is correct. Now moving on to the second statement. See, at present, NABAD is fully owned by Government of India. Before 2019, RBI had shares in NABAD, but after 2019, NABAD is fully owned by Government of India. So, second statement is incorrect. The answer is option A, 1 only. The first statement is correct. Second statement is incorrect. Thank you.