 Welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankar Iyer's Academy, the list of topics chosen for today's discussion along with the page numbers is given here for your reference. Let us now take up this lead article from today's editorial page. In this article the other talks in relation to the recently commenced RCEP Agreement that is Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. So we are going to see various opinions of others and whether India could join RCEP in near future or not. The relevant syllabus is given here for your reference. See in our 16th November Hindu News Analysis we had a brief discussion on RCEP's background why India refused to join and what are the issues India has raised with respect to RCEP. So in today's discussion we are going to see the extra points or additional points with respect to RCEP. So coming to today's news article the author opends that the RCEP deal could contribute to strengthening of regional value chains in terms of trade. So this may prove advantageous for RCEP members in recovering from economic downturn because of COVID-19. So what is value chain here? See value chain refers to the process or activities by which a company adds value to an article. So this includes procuring raw materials, manufacturing functions, production, marketing and even provisions of after sale service. So for example, see INOR is mined from Chhattisgarh. So next is INOR is manufactured into steel in Vishakhapatnam and steel here is used in manufacturing of electronic goods say in Bangalore or Chennai and the final product is sold in Bangalore and service is provided obviously in Bangalore. So this entire process of developing goods from raw materials can be called as value chain wherein we have added value to basic INOR. Secondly several experts even commentators are comparing RCEP with trans-specific partnership and they have observed that RCEP is not likely to bring comprehensive economic integration in East Asia. So what is trans-specific partnership? See in 2016 12 countries signed trans-specific partnership which are specific countries like Canada, US, Mexico, Peru, Chile, New Zealand, Australia. So these countries which are in specific ocean they have signed a deal called trans-specific partnership. But in 2017 under the leadership of Trump the US has withdrawn from this partnership. So after US left the partnership the remaining countries agreed to move forward with comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-specific partnership which is shortly called CPTPP. So as said before some experts are comparing RCEP with trans-specific partnership and opined that RCEP may not likely bring comprehensive economic integration in East Asia. But here other refutes or refuses to agree this by saying that TPP's lack of progress is because of several regulatory issues. For example TPP requires members to take steps to liberalize their economies and protect their labor rights, environmental standards and intellectual property. So these regulatory issues had the potential to raise regulatory barriers to impede or obstruct trade flows. But RCEP does not require such steps to be taken and therefore such regulatory barriers won't arise in case of RCEP as opined by author. Then the main question is would RCEP be able to realize its primary objectives of trade and investment liberalization? So it means if RCEP members liberalize the trade and investment policies in their countries. Here others opinion is optimistic he says that maybe in a period of 10 years of implementation of RCEP that is by 2030 the tariffs are expected to become significantly lower than the tariffs in 2014. So why 2014? Because the year 2014 has been taken as base year under RCEP for tariff cuts. Even India asked for base year as 2019 to reduce the tariffs. It was not accepted in RCEP negotiations and it is one of the reasons why India has left RCEP. So here author says that China has agreed to cut its average tariffs from 9.4% in 2014 to 1.2% for Australia and all other ASEAN countries. This will be done by 10th year of implementation of RCEP. So now with India which is not in RCEP which country is the most vulnerable in current arrangement? See among the major economies in the region Malaysia is having lowest levels of protection. So the RCEP supporters are saying that this position of Malaysia will improve as it implements its commitments under RCEP. Here Malaysia can also be vulnerable why because it is having lowest levels of protection. It means any country can easily dump its goods in Malaysia. So there may be a possibility that the indigenous industry of Malaysia can be impacted. And the author observes that while trade in goods of the agreement looks significant the element of trade in services looks shallow or without much depth. Again this is one of the reasons why India has left out of RCEP. See with respect to movement of labour within the group RCEP members allowed relatively limited market access. That is only individuals in managerial positions or those of having high levels of skills could move between members of RCEP. So for example in India we are having a rich talent pool in services industry. But people cannot easily go to RCEP countries for work because only employees above managerial positions can move easily in RCEP countries. Additionally there are still some areas in RCEP on which there is no clarity. See this is with respect to rules on investment and dispute settlement procedures. So this leads to a doubt whether the controversial investor state dispute settlement mechanism is included in RCEP or not. So with respect to disputes in investment as well as trade more clarity is required in RCEP. And with respect to data production in relation to e-commerce RCEP members have agreed to allow cross border transfer of information by electronic means. So they will allow if cross border transfer of information is required for the conduct of a business. And again here India is not much happy about data sharing because there are lot of privacy issues. We know that India had left RCEP due to certain circumstances. So the question is will these circumstances become any better in the future so that India can join RCEP. The answer seems to be very clear that the circumstances have not improved so far in two counts. First one India had raised a number of concerns. One is with respect to China. India asked special tariffs to be imposed on imports from China because India has around 50 billion dollars of trade deficit with China. But India's concerns with respect to China were not accepted in RCEP negotiations and due to recent standoffs and border clashes India has imposed number of import restrictions on Chinese products and has also subjected investment flows from China to greater scrutiny. So if India joined RCEP RCEP would have tied India's hands from taking actions against China. Second issue is India is now primarily focused on strengthening domestic value chains that is through Atma Nirbar Bharat Abhyan. But RCEP like any other free trade agreement is mainly focused on promoting regional value chains. It means value chains will be developed across the countries not in one country. So in the near future India's circumstances actually obstructs our bars India from joining RCEP. So these are the different opinions given by other with respect to India joining RCEP in near future. So this is all about the discussion of this news article. Let us move on to next news article discussion. Now let us take up these two news articles. First one is editorial and second one is regarding national digital health mission and Aishman Bharat. We are going to see these two news articles and try to integrate what are all the important points we need in the exam perspective. So the editorial was written on the wake of Prime Minister's speech in Tech Summit 2020 wherein Prime Minister declared that digital India as a way of life particularly for the poor marginalized and for those in government. So we all know that there is something called digital India mission which is a flagship program of government with a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. When talking about this digital India PM has said that our nation has witnessed a more human centric approach to development. Also the large scale use of technology had brought about several life changes to the citizens. But the author of this editorial says that it would be premature to declare digital India as a way of life. He mentions out some important areas where digital technology should be used so that India can be transformed into a true digital nation. So let us look into the points which were discussed by the other which can be used in our main answers. The relevant syllabus is given here for your reference. See here author is not disagreeing with the fact that India is on its way to become a digital nation. India has around 750 million internet connections and a thriving financial technology sector which was made possible due to availability of cheap and affordable smartphones, cheap internet access and also due to initiatives like UPI etc. So we all know that previously in order to pay an electricity or telephone bill or even apply for a government services we have to stand in long queues before offices. But now we are doing all the applications, all the bill payments by sitting in our home through a mobile application and not just that even these platforms are now providing services like online goods and services, online education, telemedicine etc. And this has grown vigorously during COVID-19 pandemic period. We have seen online consultations were there, online telemedicine deliveries were there etc. Further government to citizen services are also greatly improving using common service centers, advice to agricultures, DBT that is direct benefit transfers and even legal advice online under telelaw scheme. See telelaw means use of communications and information technology for delivery of legal information and advice. An example for G2C that is government to citizen services is now we can apply birth certificate or change in other through a common service center or even we can do it from home through internet. In spite of all these author tells that this is not enough to declare digital India as a way of life because a lot more have to be done to make India digitally empowered. To substantiate this first author takes the example of universal health coverage scheme. See UHC means all individuals and communities receive health services without suffering much financial hardship. It includes full spectrum of essential quality health services from health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation as well as palliative care. And in this regard especially, US 12 planning commission had presented a roadmap to achieve UHC by 2022. But the successive governments had failed to achieve this promise. This was clearly reflected even during COVID-19 period where in the structural issues in healthcare were clearly displayed. And the present government had also come up with something called Aushman Bharat. See Aushman Bharat is a flagship scheme launched as recommended by National Health Policy of 2017. So the objective is to achieve the vision of universal health coverage. So Aushman Bharat is an attempt to move from sectoral and segmental approach of health delivery system to a comprehensive, need-based healthcare service. So this scheme aims to undertake inventions to holistically address the healthcare system covering prevention, promotion and ambulatory care at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. So it basically comprises of two components. One is health and wellness center and second is Pradhan Mantri Jain R.G. Eugen. So in 2018, government announced creation of 150,000 health and wellness centers which are to be created by transforming the existing sub-centers and primary health centers. It means we are upgrading the existing medical facilities. So these centers will deliver comprehensive primary healthcare to the entire population in the area of operation. So they cover both maternal, child health services, services in relation to non-communicable diseases as well. So they provide free essential drugs and even diagnostic services. And second component is Jain R.G. Eugen. So this is the largest health assurance scheme in the world as it aims to provide health cover of rupees five lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization. Why are we not covering primary here? Why because the primary healthcare is already being provided under health and wellness centers, that is first component. So whoever needs secondary and tertiary healthcare that is advanced healthcare like operation surgeries, they are covered under Jain R.G. Eugen. So this Jain R.G. Eugen is aimed to cover 10 crore poor and vulnerable families which comes around 50 crore individuals. So these families are included or based on the deprivation criteria under socioeconomic cost census of 2011 for rural areas and based on occupational criteria for urban areas. And coming back to editorial where we are talking about digital nation other talks about national digital health mission which was launched by prime minister. See this NDHM aims to develop the backbone necessary to support the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country. So under the scheme a health account and ID card will be created for every Indian with the details like Aadhar and mobile number. So this account will contain details of every test, disease, doctor visits, medicines, et cetera. Simply put it is a health Aadhar. So the information account will be portable and easily accessible. So this will be helpful even if patient shifts to a new place or visits a new doctor. So the five digital systems which are established under this mission are given here. Health ID, digital doctor, health facility registry, personal health records, electronic medical records nothing but electronic prescriptions. So this mission is a voluntary healthcare program which will create a digital health infrastructure by integrating doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and insurance companies. As you can see in this picture all the related infrastructure is brought together under NDHM. So this NDHM is expected to cut the travel costs that are now spent by a lot of patients to access affordable and quality healthcare. So it is expected that this NDHM will reduce the out-of-pocket expenditure spent for health. And some 10 days back we have said that the out-of-pocket expenditure in India is very high compared to BRICS countries. So author is of the opinion that the Aishman Bharat program can achieve measurable success if national digital health mission infrastructure is extensively and efficiently used. For example, the digital health ID can be used to prescribe and dispense essential medicines free of cost. So digital technology can also be used in distributing COVID-19 vaccines which will be priority in the coming days. Secondly, author prescribes the usage of digital methods to other sectors such as road safety. So this can potentially reduce the accident mortality rate which is currently about 150,000 deaths a year. So we can use this digital infrastructure to improve the road safety. Thirdly, an efficient digital government depends on transforming internal processes fixing deadlines for service delivery. Actually, many states are having fixed deadlines to provide services to citizens. For example, if you apply certificate from government it should be given or it should be rejected within a period of 10 to 15 days. But rarely these timelines are being met. So author says that strict norms are to be made by governments so that digital services are delivered at pace without any delay. And finally, to make India truly digital government should use technology to create open participatory public systems which citizens consider trustworthy. So author talks about participatory governance which is digitally supported. And through this a reliable system of digital welfare should be achieved. So this is the end of these news articles discussion. We had a very extensive discussion on digital India mission, Ayushman Bharat national digital health mission. Actually, we had two separate news articles in today's newspaper. So for our discussion we had integrated these two news articles for proper understanding of these concepts. Let us move on to next news article discussion. This news article mentions that Association of Bharatanatyam Artists of India has requested the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu to reopen auditoriums for organizing dance and music performances. So still due to COVID-19 restrictions the auditoriums haven't been opened. So the artists are asking the government to open the auditoriums. So in this context, let us have a brief discussion on Bharatanatyam and other important classical dances. See, Bharatanatyam is a popular classical dance from in South India. The other important classical dances from South India are Kuchipudi, Mohini Atam, Katharkali, et cetera. It is the first of India's traditional dancers to be refashioned as a theater art and to be exhibited widely both in India and abroad. Coming to its origins, Bharatanatyam dance is considered to be over 2000 years old. Several books provide information on this dance form which include Bharata Muni's Natya Shastra and as well as Nandikeshwara's Abhinaya Darpana. Additionally, there is also a great deal of visual evidence of this dance in form of paintings, stone and metal sculptures of ancient times. For example, on the goprams of famous Chidambaram temple in Tamil Nadu, one can see a series of Bharatanatyam poses on the stones. Further, the famous Tanjore Quartet in the early 19th century are said to have been responsible for the Bharatanatyam dance as we see it today. So here know that Tanjavur or Tanjore Quartet consisted of four brothers, Chinnaiya, Ponnaiya, Sivanandam and Vadivelu. These four brothers are credited with the development of Bharatanatyam as well as Carnatic music. Another important fact is, style of Bharatanatyam was kept alive by Devadasis. So Devadasis were young girls supposedly gifted by their parents to temples or dedicated to temples and were married to gods. So these Devadasis performed music and dance as offering to deities in the temple courtyard. So Bharatanatyam was earlier also known as Sardir Atam or Dasi Atam. And coming to its style, Bharatanatyam is known to be Ekaharya, which means one dancer takes on many roles in a single performance. So it typically involves intense and strong movements and is known to be a very beautifully showcased art of storytelling. Coming to themes of Bharatanatyam, its range is very wide, covering human and divine love. They are generally classified under categories of Sringara and Bhakti, that is love and devotion. Some of the components of Bharatanatyam are given here, that is Alaripu as well as Jethiswaram, just have a look over it. And also remember that as a solo dance, Bharatanatyam leans heavily on the Abhinaya, which refers to Mime aspects of the dance. Coming to recent developments of Bharatanatyam, two people are mainly created for bringing out Bharatanatyam out of boundaries of temples to the public stages. They are Krishna Swami Ayer and Rukmini Devi Arun Dalai. So this is the basic information regarding Bharatanatyam, which we study in our art and culture in prelims examination. So generally we will get questions on dancers, music, puppetry, et cetera. So having a brief idea of all the eight to nine classical dancers in India will definitely boost our scores in prelims examination. We will try to cover the remaining important dancers in upcoming videos. Let us move on to next news article discussion. This news article from editorial page focuses on India time use survey of 2019. In this article, author has explained the benefits and drawbacks of the survey in India. Before going further, the relevant syllabus is given here for your reference. So first question, what is time use survey? Simply, it is the survey of users of time or even more simply we can say it as how time is being used in a reference day. See this survey provides a framework for measuring time dispositions by the population on different activities. That is, this survey enables to measure the time spent by individuals on different activities. Now coming to India, the National Statistical Office conducted the first time use survey in India during January to December 2019. So the survey measures the participation rate and time spent on paid activities, care activities, and even on unpaid activities. So the primary objective is to measure participation of men and women in paid and unpaid activities. So it's an important source of information about the activities that are performed by the population and the time duration for which such activities are performed. For example, if a woman spends three hours of her time on taking care of her child, so the unpaid activity spent on children is around three hours. For your reference, the paid and unpaid activities according to survey are given here. Let us see some of its features. First, it is the first survey of its kind conducted by National Statistical Office. Second, the information on activity particulars was collected for each household member of age six years and above through personal interview. In foreign countries, generally this is done by every individual through an application or smartphone, but due to literacy issues in India, through personal interview, the surveyor has collected the data. Third, the activities reported by respondents were codified by following the international classification of activities for time use statistics of 2016. So this classification of all the activities on which a person may spend time during the 24 hours of a day. So the purpose is to serve as a standard framework for time use statistics based on activities grouped in a meaningful way as you can see here. So like this employment, unpaid training work, other work activities, the activity of each individual is codified. Then the survey covered whole of India except Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Further, in recent years, time use survey has gained much impetus among policymakers and other data users for their usefulness in measuring various aspects of gender statistics. Why because? Generally, unpaid work like household work, taking care of children, taking care of elders, is done by women. So if we have this data, we can effectively formulate policies for gender neutrality or gender equality. So this is the main benefit of time use survey. And what are the other benefits? Firstly, it is an important source of information on time spent in unpaid caregiving activities, volunteer work, domestic service, et cetera. It also provides information on time spent by household members on learning, socializing, leisure activities, self-care activities, et cetera. Socializing can be meeting friends, relatives, et cetera. Self-care activities can be exercising, meditation, et cetera. So this information makes time use survey different from other household surveys. So this survey is also better than Indian employment or unemployment surveys. Because employment or unemployment survey generally underreport informal workers due to the nature of informal employment. Because mainly informal employment is scattered temporary. So this employment service generally underreport the informal employment in an economy. But here, time use survey provides improved estimates of workforce and also focuses on important characteristics of workforce. So compared to other surveys, time use survey is efficient in case of gender statistics and also with regard to informal employment. And next, generally the time use survey data is required for understanding and monitoring the major socioeconomic concerns of countries. For example, if more number of women in a country are doing unpaid activities like domestic work, caregiving activities, we can say that the women empowerment is comparatively low. But India's time use survey cannot give such data because the survey did not incorporate two developments required to know the socioeconomic concerns. Actually, these two developments were the primary reason for the global demand of time use survey. But unfortunately, those two were not incorporated in time use survey of 2019. So now we are going to see those two developments and also drawbacks. First one is commitment to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030. As you all know, Indian government is already committed to achieve sustainable development goals. Here, it is to be noted that time use survey is related to many SDG targets. For example, it is needed for implementing sustainable development goal that is unpaid work, which comes under 5.4. This target is most important for measuring and valuing unpaid domestic services and unpaid care given by men and women. It is also important for reducing unpaid work through public services and infrastructure. For example, women's attention towards child can be managed a little by keeping child in crush or daycare schools. But issue here is the Indian time use survey data is not adequate. Because of this reason, this makes valuation not feasible. For example, there is no data collected in time use survey on the ownership of assets by gender. So valuation by gender will not be feasible. So making policy decisions with respect to gender by using time use survey may not be that much effective due to inadequate data. Second thing is 2013's Resolution International Conference on Labor Statistics of ILO regarding statistics of work, employment, and labor under utilization. This resolution presents a new definition of work, new forms of work, and new labor force status classification. Most importantly, the unpaid domestic services and unpaid care are formally recognized as work for the first time in this resolution. So according to this resolution, even the unpaid work done by women in case of household as well as care taking will be formally considered as work. And with respect to this resolution, India has indicated its willingness to implement it. But the Standing Committee, which designed India's time use survey, did not incorporate this 2013 resolution and published an independent time use survey. So the new definitions of work were not considered in time use survey, which is important to estimate the employment status. So the two developments, which led to global demand for time use survey, were unfortunately not incorporated in India, which are Sustainable Development Goal Number 5.4 and 2013's ILO Resolution. So this leads to another drawback, which is the time use survey cannot provide information on workforce or employment status of persons. So finally, we can conclude by saying that the National Statistical Office should incorporate these two things, at least in coming time use survey. So that the time use survey will be compatible with global time use survey. And also the data collected can be used in efficient formulating of policies. This is all about the discussion of this news article. So this concept is a little tricky. Just try to understand what is time use survey, how it will be helpful in gender policies, and try to use these points in your GS2 mains answers. Let us move on to practice questions discussion session. See this question is based on this news article, which talks about Malabar exercise. The news is that the 24th edition of Malabar exercise was completed on Friday, that is yesterday. Simultaneously Indian Navy also carried out coordinated patrol with Thailand in the Andaman Sea and also delivered food aid to South Sudan in western Indian Ocean under Mission Sagar 2. So three Navy operations were carried out at the same time, that is Malabar exercise, Corp and Mission Sagar 2. So now let us look at this question. Consider the following statements with reference to Malabar exercise 2020. Two statements are given here. Statement one, India, US, South Korea and Australia are the four participant countries. This statement is incorrect because it is not South Korea, it is Japan. India, US, Japan and Australia are the four countries which participated in Malabar exercise. So statement one is incorrect. Statement two, Australia has participated in Malabar exercise for the first time in 2020. This statement is also incorrect because Australia has already participated in 2007 along with India, Japan, US and Singapore. And after that again in 2020, Australia has participated in Malabar exercise. So both statements are incorrect. Here we are supposed to identify incorrect statements. So correct answer is option C, both one and two. See this question is based on this news article which talks about Gavi Alliance. So two statements are given here. Statement one, it is an international organization that was created to improve access to new and underused vaccines for children living in world's poorest countries. Yes, the statement one is correct. Statement two, it was a joint program of UNDP and World Health Organization. No, this statement is incorrect because it is the initiative or the important partners of Gavi Alliance are WHO, UNICEF, World Bank and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. So the correct answer is option A, one only. Also know that Gavi has started an initiative called COVAX. The aim of COVAX is providing innovative and equitable access to COVID-19 diagnostics, treatments and vaccines to all the countries in the world and mainly to poor and vulnerable countries. Now COVAX has the world's largest and most diverse portfolio of COVID-19 vaccine candidates and if clinical trials are successful, the Gavi gets the vaccines from pharma companies and distribute them in poor countries. Next question, consider the following statements about humpbacked mahasir. So this question is based on this news article. The news is that the Moya River which flows through Mudumalai and Satyamangalam Tiger Resorts is one of the last strongholds for this humpbacked mahasir fish. The scientific name of this fish is Thor Ramadevi and very importantly know that IUCN has registered this fish under critically endangered category. So coming back to the question, statement one, it is a large freshwater fish found only in the Kaveri River basin. Yes, the statement one is correct. As of now, this fish is found only in the Kaveri River basin including Kerala's Pambar, Karbini and Bhavani rivers. Statement two, it is designated under critically endangered category of IUCN Red List. This statement is also correct. So correct answer is option C both one and two. Next question, consider the following statements. Statement one, Aishman Bharat is an attempt to move from comprehensive need-based healthcare service to sectoral and segmented approach of health service delivery. This statement is incorrect because Aishman Bharat is moving from sectoral healthcare to comprehensive need-based healthcare. So the statement should be like this. Aishman Bharat is an attempt to move from sectoral and segmented approach of health service delivery to a comprehensive need-based healthcare service. So as the goals are interchanged, the statement one is incorrect. Statement two, both health and wellness centers and Prime Minister's Jen Aragyojana are components under Aishman Bharat. Yes, the statement two is also correct. Health and wellness centers is about upgrading the existing medical facilities and Jen Aragyojana is health assurance scheme based on socioeconomic cost sensors of 2011. So statement two is correct. Therefore, correct answer is option B, two only. This is a previous year question on Bharatanatyam. How do you distinguish between Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam dances? Statement one, Dancers occasionally speaking dialogues is found in Kuchipudi dance but not in Bharatanatyam. Yes, the statement one is correct. Statement two, Dancing on the brass plate by keeping the feet on its edges is a feature of Bharatanatyam but Kuchipudi dance does not have such a form of moments. This statement is incorrect because dancing on the brass plate by keeping the feet on its edges is known as Tarangam and it is another unique feature of Kuchipudi only not Bharatanatyam. So the correct answer is option A, one only. Next, which of the following statements these are are correct with reference to Bharatanatyam dance? Statement one, Tanjore quartet and Devadasis played important role in the development of Bharatanatyam dance. Yes, the statement one is correct. Statement two, E. Krishnaswamy Ayer and Rukmini Devi Arun Dalai are related to this art form. Yes, the statement is also correct. Therefore, correct answer is option C, both one and two. Next question, consider the following statements with reference to India's time use survey 2019. Two statements are given here. Statement one, its primary objective is to measure participation of men and women in paid and unpaid activities. Yes, the statement one is correct. Statement two, it is connected by Ministry of Labor and Employment in collaboration with international labor organization. The statement is incorrect because the survey has been conducted by National Statistical Office. So statement two is incorrect, but we have to identify not correct statements. So correct answer is option B, two only. Be careful here. Let us take up main questions. COVID-19 pandemic has helped in brewing what can we call this digital revolution 2.0 which has the potential to help India become a digitally empowered nation. But to make digital India as a way of life for Indians, a lot more have to be done, analyze. So this question is based on today's editorial. We have talked in depth about this concept. Try to answer this question and upload your answer in the comment section. Next question, currently it is not in India's interest to enter RCEP because it would have fairly immediate negative consequences for Indian economy, justify. With this, we conclude today's news analysis. If you find this session resourceful, click on the like button, show your appreciation in the comment section and don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel.