 Good evening aspirants. Welcome to the Hindu news analysis. The list of articles that have been discussed are given here. Now let us see the first article of the day. The news is that the Union Culture Ministry announced that January 23rd that is the birth anniversary of Subhash Chandra Bose would be celebrated as Parakram Divas that is the day of courage. The ministry said that the government had decided to celebrate the 125th birth anniversary year starting from January 23rd 2021 in a befitting manner at national and international level. Now let us try to know about Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in brief. Subhash Chandra Bose was born on January 23, 1897 in Kattak, Orissa. He was a brilliant student right from the childhood and was strongly influenced by Swami Vivekananda's teachings and was known for his patriotic zeal. To fulfill his parents' wishes he went to England in 1919 to compete for Indian civil services. In England, he appeared for the Indian civil service competitive examination in 1920 and came out fourth in order of merit. However, Netaji was deeply disturbed by the Jalyan Vallabhag massacre and left civil services training midway to return to India in 1921. After returning to India Bose came under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi and joined the Indian National Congress. On Gandhiji's instructions, he started working under C.R. Das. So in prelims if they ask who is the political guru of Netaji, you should know that it is C.R. Das. Now let us continue with the article. Soon Netaji showed his leadership mettle and gained his way up in the Congress hierarchy. In 1928, the Motilal Nehru committee appointed by the Congress declared in favor of Dominion status. But Subhash Chandra Bose, along with Javallal Nehru, opposed it. Both asserted that they would be satisfied with nothing short of complete independence for India. Subhash Chandra Bose was jailed during civil disobedience movement in 1930. He was released in 1931 after the Gandhi Irvind Pact was signed. He protested against the Gandhi Irvind Pact and opposed the suspension of civil disobedience movement, especially when Bhagat Singh and his associates were hanged. Later, after the 1936 elections, Congress came to power in seven states and Subhash Chandra Bose was released. Shortly afterwards, he was elected president of the Haripura Congress session in 1938. During his term as Congress president, he talked of planning in concrete terms and set up a national planning committee. So from preliminaries' perspective, what you should know, in 1938, Haripura session, Netaji was president and he set up the national planning committee. Now let us continue with the article. At the end of his first term, he was re-elected in Tripuri's Congress session of 1939, defeating Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramaya who had been backed by Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress working committee. So 1938, Haripura session, 1939, Tripuri session, who did he defeat? Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramaya. So what happens after that? By 1939, clouds of World War II were on the horizon and he brought a resolution to give the British six months to hand India over to the Indians, else there would be a revolt. There was much opposition to his rigid stand. So he resigned from the post of president and formed a progressive group known as the Forward Block. Subhash Chandra Bose then started a mass movement against utilizing Indian resources and men for the Second World War. There was a tremendous response to his call and he was put under house arrest in Calcutta. In 1941, Netaji disappeared from his home in Calcutta and reached Germany via Afghanistan. He worked on the principle that an enemy's enemy is a friend. So what he did? He sought cooperation with Germany and Japan against the British Empire. In 1942, he began his regular broadcast from Radio Berlin which aroused tremendous enthusiasm in India. In 1943, he took over the reins of the Indian independence movement in East Asia from Rashbi Hari Bose and organized the Assad-Indu Fawj, that is the Indian National Army, comprising mainly of Indian prisoners of war. He was ailed as Netaji by the army as well as by the Indian civilian population in East Asia. Assad-Hind Fawj proceeded towards India to liberate it from the British rule. It liberated Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Later, the INS headquarters was shifted to Rangoon in January 1944. Assad-Hind Fawj crossed the Myanmar border and stood on the Indian soil on March 18, 1944. However, the defeat of Japan and Germany in the Second World War forced the Indian National Army to retreat and it could not achieve its objective of liberating India from the British rule. Subhash Chandra Bose was reportedly killed in air-crash over Taipei, that is in Taiwan, on August 18, 1945. So, as we have seen about Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, he was also one of the most prominent leaders of the Indian freedom struggle. Though Mahatma Gandhi and Javarlal Nehru have garnered much of the credit for successful culmination of Indian freedom struggle, the contribution of Subhash Chandra Bose is no less. Let us now move on to the next article. Let us now move on to the next news article. It says that India will receive the first batch of S-400 Long Range Air Defense System by this year end. So, the first group of Indian military specialists are going to Moscow soon to undergo training courses on the S-400. In October 2018, India signed a $5.43 billion deal with Russia for five S-400 Triumph Regiments despite objections from the US and the threat of sanction under Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. Now, let us see what is S-400 missile and why is it important? The S-400 is one of the most sophisticated surface-to-air defense systems in the world. The S-400 is one of the most sophisticated surface-to-air defense systems in the world. The S-400 Triumph is a mobile, meaning a moving, multi-channel air defense missile system. It is designed to engage current and future air threats. It has aircraft jammers, early warning and direction aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, and it can attack a strategic aircraft carrying airborne missiles, medium-range ballistic missiles, and other air attack vehicles by its heavy electronic countermeasure environment. It has a range of 400 kilometers and can shoot down more than 50 targets simultaneously. Now have a look at this picture. The picture shows how the S-400 system works. The long range surveillance radar tracks objects and relays information to the command vehicle which assesses potential targets. Then target is identified and command vehicle orders missile launch. The launch data are sent to launch vehicle and it releases surface-to-air missiles. The engagement radar helps guide missile towards target. Now, this deal has created tensions between India and USA as US does not want India to have deal with Russia. So, India was worried that US may put sanctions on India for this under the KATSA or Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act which was enacted by the United States in 2017. Many times the US officials have warned India that if India purchases the S-400 missile system then India should not assume that it will get waiver from the US. The officials have also noted that this purchase can also hamper the future of Indo-US defense relationship and US may slap sanctions on India. Despite these threats from the US, India as a sovereign country decided to go ahead with S-400 system. And as I said before, first batch of missile system will be delivered to India by this year end. Now you may think why is US so stringent about India's defense relations with Russia? Because relations between the US and Russia have been strained since 2014 when Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine. Then Russia also allegedly interfered in the 2016 American presidential elections which further fuelled the tensions between US and Russia. So, US put several Russian firms under sanctions. Then the KATSA that is Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act was introduced to target Russia, Iran and North Korea with economic and political sanctions. The sanctions also prohibits any country from signing defense deals with these nations. Now in this context, let us know about this act that is the KATSA Act and what will be its implications on India. Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act is a specifically enacted legislation of USA. Its goal is to prevent revenue from flowing to the Russian government. Towards that aim, the sanctions were meant to deter significant transactions. But what is significant transaction? It is not defined in the legislation. However, the US government has classified the purchase of S-400 system as significant transaction and this invites mandatory sanctions. So, S-400 has come from Russia, India is going to buy it. Now let us see what other Russian items India is using when it comes to usage in Indian armed forces. Now, we saw India purchasing S-400 system from Russia. In addition to S-400, India is also purchasing KA-226T helicopters from Russia. On 26th December, we had an elaborate discussion on KA-226T helicopters. Further, much of India's current defence equipment including MiG-29 aircraft, Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets, KA-31 helicopters are also sourced from Russia. With this, we come to an end of this article. Now let us move on to the next article. Let us now see the next news article, which talks about the recent developments in Nepal, especially in its political arena. First, let us see the positive developments. This mainly includes a deeper engagement with India. It can be seen in the recently concluded 6th meeting of the India-Napal Joint Commission in New Delhi. India-Napal Joint Commission was established in June 1987. Meetings are held alternately in Nepal and India. Its last meeting was held in Kathmandu in August 2019. The Joint Commission comprehensively reviewed all aspects of multifaceted cooperation between the two countries and explored ways to further strengthen the traditionally close and friendly ties. Both sides discussed several areas of cooperation in connectivity, economy and trade, oil and gas, and water resources, and political and security issues. For example, expansion of the Motihari-Amlekganj Petroleum Products Pipeline was discussed. As part of emphasizing the need to facilitate the cross-border movement of people and goods between both countries, the recently inaugurated Integrated Check Post was discussed. It was inaugurated at Birganj and Birathnagar in Nepal. Here, note that Birganj is known as Gateway to Nepal and more than 60% trade of Nepal is done via Birganj. This development is an advantage to Nepal since it relies majorly on India's seaports for trading and for the goods that are transported by road. So, these Integrated Check Posts are expected to ease the trade and transit between India and Nepal. The most important positive development with regard to India-Napal relationship is that, recently, Nepal expressed support for India's permanent membership at the expanded UN Security Council. Now, let us see the negative developments. In the political front, the major negative development for the young democracy was when its PM dissolved the parliament. In late December 2020, Nepal's Prime Minister, Mr. Oli, recommended for the dissolution of the House of Representatives of Nepal and accordingly it was dissolved by Nepal's President. This was a result of split in the Prime Minister's own party. According to Nepal's 2050 constitution, dissolution of the House is allowed before ending of its five-year term only if there is a hung assembly and no party manages to form a government. So, this move has been challenged by the constitutional experts stating it is illegal, unconstitutional and undemocratic. And currently, the matter is in Supreme Court of Nepal. The second political turmoil is Nepal is facing a pro-monarchy agitation. Last month, large section of Nepal is started protesting to demand the restoration of Nepal's cultural monarchy and to declare Nepal as a Hindu state. They want the re-establishment of certain traditional ways of governance. This political shift of people is set to be due to the disappointment over the increased centralization of power, failure of the provincial system in addressing developmental issues, and misuse of presidential authority by Nepal's President and unprecedented corruption that has been taking place in Nepal. So, these issues are changing the political scenario in Nepal, creating problems for its Prime Minister. As a conclusion, the author suggests Nepal to overcome its political instability and enhance its relationships with India, which will only help Nepal in the long run. With this, we come to an end of this article. Now, we will move on to the next article. Let us move on to the next article, Lokayukta police file closure report. This article talks about a closure report filed by the Karnataka Lokayukta police in the Belandur IT Corridor denotification case. In this slide, let us now see about Lokpal and Lokayukta. The first administrative reforms commission, which was set up in the year 1966, recommended the setting up of two special authorities designated as Lokpal and Lokayukta for addressing citizen grievances. Lokpal deals with complaints against ministers and secretaries at the center and state level, and the Lokayukta deals with complaints against other higher officials. They were set up in the pattern of ombudsman, which keeps a watch over all public officials, whether they function in accordance of law. Coming to Lokayuktas, much before the enactment of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013, which provided for their establishment, many states had already set up the institution of Lokayuktas. Note, Lokayuktas are responsible only to the state legislatures. Now, let us look into the structure of Lokayukta. Its structure is not same in all the states. Some states have created only Lokayukta, and some states have created both Lokayuktas and Upalokayuktas, whereas some states have officials designated as Lokpal. Now, let us see how the members are appointed. The members are appointed by the governor of the state in consultation with the chief justice of the state high court and leader of opposition in the state legislative assembly. In most states, the term of office is fixed for a duration of five years or 65 years of age, whichever is earlier, and they are not eligible for re-appointment. Now, let us look at the jurisdiction of Lokayukta. There is no uniformity regarding the jurisdiction of Lokayukta in all states related to the inclusion of chief minister, ministers, higher civil servants, members of state legislatures, and authorities of local bodies, corporations, companies, and societies. That is, in some states, chief ministers are included, higher civil servants are included, MLAs are included, whereas in some states, chief ministers are not included. In most states, the Lokayukta can initiate investigations based on a complaint received from the citizen against unfair action or on soya motto. However, in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal, and Assam, the Lokayukta doesn't enjoy the power to start investigations on its own. Likewise, in some states, it considers cases of grievances as well as allegations, whereas in some states, it is confined to investigating allegations or not grievances. Annually, the Lokayukta presents to the governor of the state a consolidated report on its performance. The governor places this report along with explanatory memorandum before the state legislature. It is to be noted here that the recommendations made by the Lokayukta are only advisory and not binding on the state government. With this, we'll move on to the next topic. Now, let us move to the next article, which talks about deep fakes, its consequences, and relative legislations along with measures to tackle it. The syllabus relevant for the news article is given here for your reference. Deep fakes are used as a new tool to spread computational propaganda and disinformation at a larger scale at a high speed. The cyber world is facing the problem of deep fakes in recent times. Before going further, first, let us understand about deep fakes. What does deepfake refer to? It refers to synthetic media, that is, media including images, audios, and videos that are manipulated or wholly generated with the use of artificial intelligence. It has got the ability to give people a voice, purpose, and can cause an impact. It is capable of creating possibilities and opportunities for all people regardless of differences. At the same time, it can also be weaponized to inflict harm. An example for this would be the chaos in Capitol Hill that resulted due to the belief that 2020 U.S. election was stolen by the Democrats. And this was largely a result of misinformation of which deep fakes was also a part. See, these deep fakes are capable of creating non-existent personalities, synthetic data sets, unreal activities of people, content manipulation, and in fabricating media, which can inflict damage to individuals, institutions, businesses, and democracy. Note, fabricated media here includes swapping faces, lip-synching, and puppeteer. These are mostly done without consent and can bring threat to psychology, security, political stability, and business disruption. Deep fakes can target anyone anywhere. They are mostly used to tarnish reputations, create mistrust, question facts, and also to spread a particular propaganda. They are done in such a manner that it becomes hard to identify whether it is real or fake. This deduction is often done only by artificial intelligence-generated tools. Some of the implications of deep fakes include targeting women through pornography, damaging a person's reputation by depicting them to be indulging in antisocial behaviors, and saying wild things, accelerating the already declining trust in news media. It can be used by nation states to undermine public safety and create uncertainty and chaos in the target country. It can be used by insurgent groups and terrorist organizations to stir up anti-state sentiments among people by representing their adversaries as making inflammatory speeches or engaging in provocative actions. It can also be used in altering the democratic discourse, it can be used to undermine trust in institutions, and it can be used to impair diplomacy. Having seen in detail about deep fakes, now let us have a look at its related legislations. Recently, on October 2020, the U.S. someone, the cyberworld giants including Facebook, Twitter, and Google, in order to find out the measures that they have adopted in tackling misinformation, disinformation, and fabricated content. When you take the U.S. legislation, as per Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, it says, No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider. This means that companies are not responsible for the post on their platforms. However, some feel there is a need to revisit the law since it is outdated. Coming to India, it has got its fair share of domestic misinformation problems involving major political parties and associated cyber-army groups. There is no specific provision in Indian law that specifically deals with fake news. However, there are some provisions in the Indian Penal Code that criminalize certain forms of speech that may be relevant to fake news and may apply to online or social media content, including the crimes of sedition and promoting enmity between different groups. A list of them is given below for your reference. Have a look at it. The Information Technology Act 2000, in addition to regulating electronic commerce, provides for certain cyber crimes. Section 66A of this Act prohibits the dissemination of information that a person knows to be false by means of a computer resource or a communication device for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred or ill will. But this provision has been stuck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of India. So, the IT Act 2000 and the Information Technology Intermediaries Guidelines 2011 also established limited immunity for social media and other internet communities. For any illegal content posted by third parties and outlined the due diligence to be observed by intermediary companies for removing such content. Though the Information Technology Act 2000 covers certain cyber crimes, this law and the Information Technology Intermediary Guidelines Amendment Rules 2008 are inadequate to deal with content manipulation on digital platforms. In the year 2018, the government proposed rules to curtail the misuse of social networks. Similarly, the social media companies agreed to take actions to prevent violations by volunteering themselves during the 2019 general elections. Though the Election Commission issued instructions on the use of social media during the election campaigns, but still reports show that social media platforms like WhatsApp were used as vehicles for misinformation and propaganda by major political parties during the election. When you look at the current laws, it is clear that they are inadequate to safeguard individuals and entities against the threat of deep fakes. Only artificial intelligence-generated tools can be effective in detecting it. So this proves the need to invent artificial intelligence-based automated tools. Similarly, blockchains, which refers to a system of recording information in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to change, hack or cheat the system are found to be robust against many security threats and they can be used to digitally sign and affirm the validity of a video or document. Equally important is to educate media users about the capabilities of artificial intelligence algorithms. On July 2020, the University of Washington along with Microsoft convened a workshop to discuss on how to prevent deep fakes technology from affecting the 2020 U.S. presidential elections based on six themes. These six themes include broader framework of malicious manipulated media, computational propaganda and disinformation campaigns, collaborative multi-stakeholder response with experts in every sector to find solutions since they cause multi-dimensional issues, directing deep fakes, fourth, you have adequate training and resource to journalists to scrutinize image, video and audio, fifth, need for policy makers to understand the threats and finally, it is the idea that existence of deep fakes causes enough distress than any true evidence can be dismissed as fake. At present, no single technology can resolve the problem of disinformation since it comes in varied forms. With the evolution of deep fakes, artificial intelligence-backed technological tools should also evolve as a measure to curb it. Along with this, the need for a multi-stakeholder, multi-model approach, collaborative actions and techniques along with the responsibility of a critical consumer of media proves to be the need of the R. With this, we have come to the end of the Hindu News Analysis. Now, let us move on to the practice questions discussion. The first question is, What is S-400 Tri-MF, sometimes seen in the news? An Israeli Radar system, B, India's indigenously built nuclear-powered submarine, C, a Russian air defense system, D, a military exercise between India and the U.S. What is the answer? C, a Russian air defense system. Let us move on to the second question. Consider the following statements regarding Lokhayugtas. The first statement says, The Lokpal and the Lokhayugtas Act 2013 introduced for the first time the setting up of Lokhayugtas. Second, there is no uniformity regarding the jurisdiction of Lokhayugtas in all the states. Third, the recommendations made by the Lokhayugtas is binding on the state government. Which of the statements given above is or are incorrect? Which of the following are incorrect statements? The first one is incorrect and the third one is incorrect. Let us now see practice main questions. The first question we will see with regard to Subhash Chandra Bose. The question reads, Highlight the difference in the approach of Subhash Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi in the struggle for freedom. So, you know how to answer this. Subhash Chandra Bose, write what all he did, Mahatma Gandhi, write what all he did, and then compare both of them. Let us move on to the next question. The next question is with regard to India-Napal relations. India-Napal relations is entering a new transition amidst the domestic political turmoil in Nepal. Discuss. This is a 10 marker, so give 10 points for 150 words. Let us move on to the next question. Discuss the need for a comprehensive legislative policy in the light of deep fakes as a serious artificial intelligence threat. So, this is a 10 marker. You can write answers for these questions and post them in the comment section below. With this, we come to the end of the daily Hindu news analysis. If you appreciate our work, please like, comment and share it among your friends. Thank you.