 Friends, we have an important notice for you. Today we were supposed to declare the results for our free Main Scholarship Test 2020 but we are extremely sorry to inform you that due to technical reasons we were not able to declare the same. So please note that the results for our free Main Scholarship Test 2020 will be published tomorrow that is on 9th August 2020 at 6pm along with our Hindu News Analysis. The list of the news articles along with the page numbers of 5 different editions is given here for your reference. And also the time stampings for all the news articles taken up for today's discussion is given in the description section and also in the comments section for the best interest of the viewers. Before beginning our news analysis, let us pray for the souls of all our brothers and sisters who lost their lives in two big mishaps which happened in the state of Kerala in the past two days. One was in Rajamela near to the Monar in Iduki district of Kerala where a landslide in a tea estate took the life of many people. Still around 50 people are buried inside the mud and rescue operations are going on. Another mishap happened in Kaurikode International Airport which is situated in Malappuram district of Kerala where an Air India plane overshot the runway or skidded off the runway killing many people and also injuring many. So let us also pray for the speedy recovery of all the people who got injured in these two incidents. With this we'll begin our news analysis. Firstly, we will take up this editorial which talks about the efforts taken by some cadres of banned left-wing extremism groups to regain the lost territories. So in this context, we will discuss about left-wing extremism and its growth. And we will also discuss Mao's protracted war strategy and then we will conclude by discussing a few measures taken by the government for the development of left-wing extremism affected areas. The syllabus relevant for this particular topic is highlighted here for your reference. Please go through it. See the communist political movement first emerged in India in 1920s. It has grown into mini-streams and all the proponents wish and work to achieve a classless society or an equal society. But there are some disagreements about the appropriate political strategy for achieving this goal. For example, there are election-contesting political parties like Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India Marxist and there are also underground armed rebels like CPI Maoist, Maoist Communist Centre and also CPI Marxist-Leninist People's War Group. So we know that communist ideology is called as left or left-wing ideology. But when there is radicalism, violence and armed rebellion in the strategy to achieve their goals that is called as left-wing extremism. Some groups have aspirations to overthrow the government through armed struggle. However, this does not mean that the cause they are fighting for is morally invalid. Only the strategies are invalid and not acceptable under the law or we can say that the strategy contravenes peace and development. So you might have heard of Nexel uprising which happened in 1967. So let us see about this movement which is an expression of left-wing extremism in India. It was a peasant uprising that took place in Nexelbari police station area of Darjeeling Hills of West Bengal. It took place under the leadership of local cadres of the Communist Party of India Marxist and this movement which started from the police station spread to several states of India and this movement was called as the Nexelite Uprising or Nexelite Movement. In 1969, some members involved in this movement broke from CPI Marxist and launched a new group called as Communist Party Marxist-Leninist under the leadership of Charu Majumdar and this new group became an extremist organization as it opposed democracy and decided to adopt a strategy of protracted guerrilla warfare to lead to a revolution. And in this regard, there was also another organization called as Maoist Communist Center which was launched in October 1969. It indulged in squad activities mainly in forest and mountainous regions of West Bengal and it spread its influence to present day Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. So we should know that the Nexelite Movement used force to snatch land from the rich landowners to give it to the poor and landless and its supporters advocated the use of violence to achieve their political gains. While Nexelite activity and violence were reported from across the country, it mostly remained confined to West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh between 1967 and 1972. And by 1972, because of actions of the both center and state governments, this phase of Nexelite violence came to an end and this phase is described as the first phase of Nexelite violence. And after this phase, the Nexelism almost remained subdued till 1991. It was repeatedly fragmented on ideological grounds, strategies and personal crashes. And in 1980, the CPI Marxist-Leninist People's War Group was formed and they decided to persist an armed struggle and during 1980-85, the party formed armed squads called as Dalams. And it spread its areas of operation to other states also. So in this regard, we should know that they indulged in attacks on the police, kidnapping, extortion, killing of civilians and also the political leaders. By 1992, the Nexelite Movement sprinted into various parties and organizations. And this period of subdued activity was followed by a second phase of Nexelite violence. And this second phase is referred as Maoist violence to distinguish it from the earlier Nexelite violence or the first phase. The origin of Maoist violence can be traced to two factions of Nexelites. And they were the People's War Group, that is PWG of Andhra Pradesh and Maoist Communist Center, that is MCC of Bihar. So why the second phase is called as a Maoist phase? This is because in the second phase, the armed groups followed Maoist strategy very meticulously than the first phase. And the left wing extremism spread its influence to other states also. Also in the second phase, the Maoists chose more forested, inaccessible and remote areas. Know that every such group has its own guerrilla army. Now we will talk about Maoist protracted war strategy. See, it has three phases. In the first phase, a small revolutionary force starts operating in a remote area with mountainous and difficult terrain. And in the second stage, the force was supposed to establish other revolutionary bases and spread its influence in the surrounding regions. Finally, in the third stage, the movement is expected to have enough strength to encircle and capture the urban areas. And gradually they will cover the entire country. And going by this perception, India is still in the second stage since 1991. Currently, we have 90 districts in 11 states which are considered as left wing extremism affected areas in India. And the left wing extremism affected states as in February 2019 are given here for your reference. So we can see that Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are affected by left wing extremism. So the 90 districts are districts where Maoist violence is reported. And the experts say that the Maoists are not to have their presence in 21 states. So is there anything which is common in these Nexar affected areas? Experts say that these areas are very backward areas inhabited by ardiwazis and forest dwelling communities. And in these areas, the Shire Coppers or landless laborers and also the small cultivators are denied their basic rights in relation to security of tenure, all their share in produce and also in the payment of fair wages. Also forced labor, expropriation of resources by outsiders and then exploitation by money lenders are all common in these areas. And these were the conditions which led to the growth of Nexarite movement. And these conditions still contribute at varying levels to the presence of left wing extremism in India. So any strategies of government of India or the state governments must address these issues to redeem the people from the clutches of extremism. So in the course of addressing these issues, the armed groups will gradually lose their strength and purpose. Now let us see a few initiatives of the government for the development of left wing extremism affected areas. To holistically address the left wing extremism problem in an effective manner, the government has formulated national policy and action plan. And this plan adopts multi-pronged strategy in the areas of security, development, ensuring rights and also the entitlements of local communities. And there are schemes such as security related expenditure scheme, scheme of fortified police stations, etc. And under the scheme of fortified police stations, the home ministry had sanctioned 400 police stations in 10 left wing extremism affected states. And of these, 399 have been completed. And know that the central government also provides special central assistance for 30 most left wing extremism affected districts to fill the critical gaps in public infrastructure and services. And we also have a media plan or scheme. And this is to counter the false propaganda of left wing extremism groups against the security forces and the democratic setup. And under this scheme, activities like tribal youth exchange programs to different regions of the country is conducted. Then radio awareness, documentaries, giving pamphlets, etc. are also carried out under this scheme. And there are also skill development programs in such districts. So these are some of the initiatives of the government in left wing extremism affected areas. Then the home ministry reports that due to resolute implementation of national policy and action plan, there is a consistent decline in left wing extremism violence and also its geographical spread. However, at the same time, this news article reports that the violent groups are working very hard to regain their lost areas. And that is why this article is titled as the return of the Maoists. So with this, we'll come to an end of analysis of this Ground Zero article. Now, let us move on to the next news article. Now, as we can see in this news article, the COVID-19 cases in India are increasing day by day. Yesterday, that is on 7th August, the confirmed cases and deaths have crossed 60,900 respectively. With this, the total number of cases have now crossed 20 lakhs and death toll more than 42,000. Now that the recovery rate in India is 68.22 percentage. So in this context, let us refresh what we have learned about coronavirus, its signs, symptoms, treatment and other related details. The syllabus relevant for this particular topic is given here for your reference. Please go through it. See, novel coronavirus was reported by China to the World Health Organization towards the end of 2019. Coronavirus has formed a large family of viruses. They are known to cause illness which range from common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East respiratory syndrome or MERS and severe acute respiratory syndrome that is SARS. And the new coronavirus is also called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 or SARS-CoV-2. The novel coronavirus originated in Wuhan is a new strain of coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans. Know that coronaviruses are zoonotic viruses which means they are transmitted between animals and people. For example, SARS coronavirus is thought to be spread from bats to seaweed cats and first infected humans in China in 2002. And MERS coronavirus was passed down from Arabian camels to humans in Saudi Arabia in 2012. And we should know that the source of novel coronavirus is still disputed. Now let us see the signs and symptoms of coronavirus. Common signs include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In severe cases, the viral infection can cause pneumonia, kidney failure and also death. The most dangerous aspect of COVID-19 is that human to human transmission is possible. And this is what which took the virus from Wuhan to each and every corner of the world. And another cause of worry is that the novel coronavirus could be transmitted in its incubation period also. See what is incubation period. It is the interval between initial contact with an infectious agent like a virus and the appearance of first sign or symptom of the disease. That is the gap between the initial contact with the virus and the appearance of the first sign or symptom of the disease. The current estimates for the incubation period of novel coronavirus range from one day to 12.5 days. Based on the information from other coronavirus diseases such as MERS and SARS, the incubation period of 2019 novel coronavirus could be up to 14 days also. This is very dangerous as we could also be a virus carrier but still we don't know about it until the symptoms occurs. Now let us discuss about the treatments available against coronavirus. Note that for most viral infections treatments can only help with the symptoms while we have to wait for our immune system to fight off the virus. There are anti-viral medicines to treat some viral infections. Several vaccines are available against the viruses which can help prevent us from getting many viral diseases. As of now there is no specific treatment for disease caused by novel coronavirus. At present we are treating the patients for the symptoms like fever, pneumonia, etc. And scientists across the world hope that a vaccine will be available by the end of 2020. So as we know there is no particular treatment for the novel coronavirus. So what is the best strategy here? The best strategy is prevention. So this is a time for us to be responsible citizens and keep ourselves safe. This in turn will break the chain of the infections. The preventing measures include regular hand washing, using face masks, keeping physical distance, etc. So this is all you need to know about coronavirus. We show in detail about the signs, symptoms and treatments related to novel coronavirus. And let us hope that a vaccine will be developed in the near future and our life will soon be back to normal. With this we will move on to the next news article. Now we have this news article which mentions that wind energy generation has increased in Tamil Nadu over the last few days. We know that wind is a renewable energy. So in this context we will discuss about renewable energy resources which are available in our earth. And we will also speak about their potential with respect to India. So the syllabus relevant for this particular topic is given here for your reference. Please go through it. Firstly, what are renewable energy sources? See they are sources that are continuously replenished by natural processes. A renewable energy system converts the energy found in sunlight, wind, falling water, sea waves, geothermal heat or biomass into a form that we use such as heat or electricity. Most of the renewable energy comes either directly or indirectly from the sun and it can never be exhausted so that is why it is called renewable. So renewable energy is also called as non-conventional energy because the conventional sources are finite and include fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. And we should know that most of the world's energy sources are derived from them. Now we will talk about the major types of renewable energy. So they include solar energy, wind energy, bio energy, hydro energy, geothermal energy, wave and tidal energy. So we will discuss some of them today. Now talking about solar energy, solar energy is the most readily available and free source of energy since prehistoric times. It is estimated that solar energy equivalent to over 15,000 times of the world's annual commercial energy consumption actually reaches the earth every year. And India receives solar energy of 5 to 7 kilowatt hour per meter square for 300 to 330 days in a year. So we should know that solar energy can be utilized through two different routes namely solar thermal route and solar electric route that is solar photovoltaic route. The solar thermal route uses sun's heat to produce hot water or air. And it also uses this heat to cook food and dry materials. Now solar photovoltaic uses sun's heat to produce electricity for lighting homes, buildings or running motors, electric appliances etc. And know that recently India achieved fifth global position in solar power deployment by surpassing it. In India solar power capacity has increased by more than 11 times in the last 5 years from 2.6 gigawatt in March 2014 to 30 gigawatts in July 2019. So this is about solar energy and its potential in India. Next is wind energy. See it is basically harnessing of wind power to produce electricity. In this the kinetic energy of the wind is converted to electrical energy. See when solar radiation enters the earth's atmosphere different regions of the atmosphere are heated at different degrees. This is because of earth's curvature. So this heating is higher at the equator and it is lowest at the poles. Now since air tends to flow from warmer to cooler regions this causes what we call as winds. And it is these air flows that are harnessed in windmills and wind turbines so wind power has been used for centuries and now it is harnessed to generate electricity in a large scale with better technology. And know that the basic wind energy conversion device is wind turbine. So in order for the wind energy system to be feasible there must be an adequate wind supply. So a wind energy system requires an average annual wind speed of at least 15 kilometer per hour. And know that a recent assessment indicates gross wind power potential of 302 gigawatts in India at 100 meter above ground level. And out of the total estimated potential more than 95% of commercially exploitable wind resources are concentrated in seven states. And they include Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Now in today's news in Tamil Nadu the wind energy generation has increased and is expected to further increase due to the peak windy days. Know that as on March 2019 Tamil Nadu has an installed wind energy capacity of 8,968 megawatts. Now this is about wind energy. The next renewable energy resource is biomass. See bio energy is derived from biomass only. So biomass is derived from a carbonaceous waste of various human and natural activities including bi-products from the wood industry, agricultural crops, raw materials from forests, household wastes, etc. And biomass materials used for power generation include bagasse, rice husk, straw, cotton stock, coconut shells, soya husk, de-oiled cakes, coffee wastes, jute wastes, ground net shells, sow dust, etc. And know that biomass can be burnt directly or it can be converted to liquid biofuels or biomass that can be burned as fuels. And about 32% of total primary energy used in the country is still derived from biomass. Estimates suggest that biomass availability from agricultural and forestry residues correspond to a potential of about 18,000 megawatts. And adding to this about 7,000 megawatt additional power could be generated in the country's sugar mills through bagasse based cogeneration. Total capacity of 9,806 megawatts has been installed in biogas power and bagasse cogeneration sector. And the leading states in implementation of bagasse cogeneration projects and biogas power projects is given here for your reference. And finally know that as of March 2020 the total installed capacity of renewables in India is more than 87 gigawatts and each renewable energies breakup is given here. Wind power is 38 gigawatts, solar power is 35 gigawatts, bio power is 10 gigawatts, small hydropower is 5 gigawatts and totally more than 87 gigawatts. So in this topic we have discussed about different types of renewable energy resources and also about their potential with respect to India. With this we'll move on to the next news article. Now have a look at this question. The given question is based on this news regarding the recent mischiefs that happened in Kerala. We know that Kerala suffered from severe floods and landslides in 2018 and also in 2019 due to unusually high rainfall during the months own season. And as we discussed in the beginning of our analysis the article tells that ongoing floods and landslides have killed at least 18 people in a tea estate in Iduki district of Kerala. And we also talked about the air crash which happened yesterday. So as per the news article the national disaster response force, the forest department officials and also the fire and rescue services personnel are involved in the rescue operations. So here the national disaster response force was involved in the rescue operation at both the sites that is in the tea estate accident site as well as the aircraft accident site. So here the recurring floods and associated losses tell us the relevance of recommendations made by the western guards ecology panel that is the Gargill Commission. So if we had implemented the report submitted by this commission to the Union Environment Ministry in 2011 it would have helped us to minimize the scale of devastations caused by these heavy rain and floods. And we have explained these recommendations in our 26th August 2019 Hindu news analysis. So today let us discuss in detail about NDRF or National Disaster Response Force. Know that India witnessed some of its worst natural calamities in the beginning of 21st century. And this include the Orissa Super Cyclone of 1999 the Gujarat earthquake of 2001 and the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. So the need for a comprehensive disaster management plan led to the enactment of Disaster Management Act of 2005. And National Disaster Response Force was established under this act for a specialist response to natural and manmade disasters. So in 2006 the NDRF was formed with 8 battalions and NDRF is functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs within the overall command control and leadership of Director General NDRF. So at present the NDRF has a strength of 12 battalions and this consist of 3 each from the Border Security Force and the Central Reserve Police Force and 2 each from the Central Industrial Security Force that is Indo-Tibetan Border Police and also the SSB that is Shastral Seemable. So each battalion consist of engineers, technicians, electricians dog squads and medical or paramedics. And the total strength of each battalion is 1149. And see all the 12 battalions are equipped and trained to respond to natural as well as manmade disasters. They are also equipped for response during any chemical, biological radiological or nuclear emergencies. So these battalions are located at 12 different locations in the country based on the vulnerability profile of the country and also to cut down the response time for their deployment at the disaster site. So you can see this in the picture given here. And finally let us see some of the important operations carried out by NDRF. Their operation during the Cyclone Maha which happened in 2019 or Cyclone Bulbul and Cyclone Fenni of 2019 were remarkable. And they were also involved in the Kerala floods of 2018. Then several Borewell rescues boat capsize etc which happened in Andhra Pradesh in 2018 and also in many building collapse and train accidents. The NDRF has also played an important role in the 2011 tsunami as well as the 2015 Nepal earthquake. So this is all about NDRF. Now have a look at this question. Consider the following statements regarding the National Disaster Response Force. It was established under the Disaster Management Act of 2005 to respond to natural as well as man-made disasters and during chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear emergencies. Yes this statement is correct and we have the second statement. It is headed by the Prime Minister of India. So this statement is incorrect. NDRF is functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs within the overall command, control and leadership of the Director General of NDRF. And know that the National Disaster Management Authority which was established under the same Disaster Management Act of 2005 is headed by the Prime Minister. So we have to identify the correct statement or statements from these given statements. Here statement one is correct and statement two is incorrect. So the correct answer is option A1 only. With this we will move on to the next news article. Now have a look at this question. This question is framed based on this news article which talks about the Tablighi Jamaat Congregation issue which happened two months before. Here the Supreme Court of India decided to wait for the responses from News Broadcasters Association as well as the Press Council of India before passing any orders on this issue. So in this context let us discuss about Press Council of India as well as National Broadcasters Association. See when we talk about Press Council of India or PCI set up in 1966 on the recommendations of the first press commission. So it was set up with an objective of preserving the freedom of press and also for maintaining and improving the standards of press in India. So the press and council functions under the Press Council Act of 1978. And know that it is a statutory quasi-judicial authority which is functioning as a watchdog of the press for the press and by the press. It adjudicates complaints against the press for the violation of ethics and it also adjudicates complaints by the press for the violation of freedom of press. So it has two infold functions. First one preserving the freedom of press and second one maintaining and improving the standards of press. Therefore to discharge its responsibilities it acts as a quasi-judicial authority with the same powers of a civil court. We should also know that it has an advisory role. In this regard it guides the press as well as authorities on any matter that may have a bearing on the freedom of press and its preservation. And know that the Press Council of India is headed by a chairman and 28 other members. And by convention a sitting or retired judge of Supreme Court is appointed as chairman. And the members are from press, the two houses of the parliament and also from cultural, literary and legal fields who are nominated by Sahitya Academy, University Grants Commission and the Bar Council of India respectively. Now let us discuss about News Broadcasters Association. See NPA represents the private television news and current affairs broadcasters. So it is a collective voice of news and current affairs broadcasters in India. And it is an organization funded entirely by its members. So it presently has 26 leading news and current affairs broadcasters as its members. NPA presents a unified and credible voice on matters that affect the growing industry of news broadcasting. See its objectives are given here for your reference. Please go through it. And know that the News Broadcasting Standards Authority is an independent body set up by NPA. And its task is to consider and also adjudicate upon complaints about broadcast. Here the News Broadcasting Standards Authority administers the core of ethics and also the broadcasting standards. So these ethics and standards are voluntarily drawn by NPA for its member broadcasters to demonstrate their commitment to responsible broadcasting and also to self-regulate themselves. Further, the NPA has no involvement in the day-to-day operations of the broadcasters. NPA also does not monitor programming and nor does it pre-clear or pre-censor programming. So the broadcasters have complete creative and editorial independence. Now look at this question with reference to the News Broadcasting Standards Authority. Consider the following statements. We have two statements here. It is an independent body set up by the Press Council of India. See this statement is incorrect because it is set up by News Broadcasters Association. And the second statement goes it administers the core of ethics and broadcasting standards. See this statement is correct. So in these given statements we have to identify the correct statement or statements. Now here statement one is incorrect and statement two is correct. So the correct answer is option B2 only. With this we will end the discussion for this particular topic. Now we will move on to the practice questions based on today's news analysis. Here we have the first question. Consider the following statements with reference to security related expenditure scheme in left-wing extremism affected areas. We have two statements here. Under the scheme the central government reimburses security related expenditure of 90 districts relating to training and operational needs of security forces to the state governments of 11 left-wing extremism affected states. Yes this statement is correct. And we have the second statement. It also reimburses the states for expenses incurred as compensation to the left-wing extremist cadres who surrendered in accordance with the surrender and rehabilitation policy of the concerned state government. Yes this statement is also correct. So under the security related expenditure scheme the central government reimburses the security related expenditure to the state governments of 11 left-wing extremism affected states. And here this expenditure includes training and operational needs of security forces then ex-gratia payment to the family of civilians or security forces killed or injured left-wing extremism violence then compensation to left-wing extremist cadres who surrendered in accordance with the surrender and rehabilitation policy of the concerned state government then community policing and also for the security related infrastructure for village defense committees and publicity materials. So in these given statements we have to identify the correct statement or statements. So here both the statements are correct. So the correct answer is option C both one and two. Now we have the second question which is related to coronavirus with respect to coronavirus which of the following statement is not correct. We have four statements given here. Statement A reads Middle East respiratory syndrome and Ebola virus disease are caused by coronavirus. Statement B COVID-19 is a zoonotic disease and statement C human-to-human transmission of coronavirus is possible and we have statement D vaccines are not available for all types of coronavirus. Here statement B C and D are correct and statement A is incorrect. Know that Middle East respiratory syndrome and severe acute respiratory syndrome are caused by coronavirus but Ebola virus disease is caused by the Ebola virus which is from the family of Phyloviridae. See the Phyloviridae virus family includes three genera they are QR virus Marburg virus and Ebola virus. So within the genus Ebola virus six species have been identified and they are Zaire, Bundy Bugio, Sudan Thai Forest, Ruston and Bombay. So we have the incorrect statement that is statement A. So the correct answer is statement A. Now we have this third question which is related to renewable energy. Consider the following statements. In 2019, India was ranked as fourth most attractive renewable energy market in the world. See this statement is correct and the statement 2 goes under the Paris Agreement, India has targeted to achieve 40% cumulative electric power installed capacity from fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030. See this statement is incorrect. Read this sentence carefully it should be non-fossil fuel based energy resources and not fossil fuel based energy resources. That is it is from renewable energy sources. So here we have to identify the correct statement or statements. So here the statement 1 is correct and statement 2 is incorrect. The correct answer is option A, one only. And with this we'll come to the end of analysis of all the news articles taken up for today's discussion and also the practice questions discussion. If you like this video press the like button, comment and share and do subscribe to Shankar IAS Academy YouTube channel for latest videos and updates relating to civil service preparation. Thank you.