 Welcome to the Hindu news analysis by Shankar Ayes Akadamif. These are the news articles chosen for today's discussion. They are given along with the page number of different traditions. Link for the handwritten notes in PDF format and the time stamping for the discussed articles are given in the description box as well as the comment section for the benefit of the mobile viewers. Now let us start with the first article. Now let us take up this editorial article written by a former secretary general of Lok Sabha. He talks about election commission of India's role in ensuring free and fair elections. But in this regard he also criticizes some of the unlimited and arbitrary powers of election commission of India which can pose a danger to the democratic ethos of our nation. So let us discuss them in detail. The syllabus relevant is displayed on the screen as friends can go through it. See the election commission of India ECI is a permanent and an independent body established in 1950. The ECI is established by the constitution of India to ensure free and fair election in the country. ECI draws power from article 324 of the constitution. Article 324 says that the power of superintendents, direction and control of elections to parliament, state legislature, the office of president of India and the office of vice president of India shall be vested in election commission. An important point here is that election commission is not concerned with elections to the panchayats and municipalities in states. It is the duty of state election commission to conduct panchayat and municipality elections. Now let us see what the author has to say about ECI. First the author praises ECI for its role in conducting free and fair elections. He also talks about the role played by the supreme court in consolidating the powers of ECI. The supreme court in Mohinder Singh Gill vs chief election commissioner ordered that article 324 of the constitution gives plenary powers to ECI and this is to ensure free and fair election in the country. See the plenary power means a complete and absolute power to take action on a particular issue without no limitations. So article 324 and the orders of supreme court have been fortifying the powers of ECI. Now in this regard we should know the ECI adopts various measures to regulate the electoral process in India. One of such measures is the model code of conduct MCC. See the MCC is a set of guidelines issued by election commission. It is issued to regulate political parties and candidate before the elections. The code ensures free and fair elections and the code is in relation with article 324. See the code is based on consensus among political parties. The origin of MCC can be traced to a code of conduct for political parties prepared by Kerala government in 1960. The MCC continues to be in operation from the date the election schedule is announced till the date results are announced. But remember MCC is not enforceable by law that is it is not a statutory document. Our certain provisions of the code may be enforced by invoking corresponding provisions in other statutes such as Indian penal code, code of criminal procedure and representation of people act. In addition to that ECI also issues from time to time directions, instructions and clarifications on many issues which may pop up during an election. But there are some issues with respect to ECI's powers mainly with respect to the lack of legal backing for MCC. See in 2013 the Standing Committee on Personal Public Grievance Law and Justice recommended for making MCC legally binding and it also recommended that the code should be made a part of representation of people act 1951. But the election commission is against the idea of making MCC to be legally binding. This is because election must be completed within a short time. So on such a case if MCC is made illegal then the judicial proceedings on violation may take a longer time period. Moreover any judicial pronouncement after the election would have little relevance. Also the enforcement of the code would delay the elections. So here the question is about the enforceability of the code and it remains undisolved. So with this issue in context the author criticizes the paragraph 16A of the election symbols order 1968. See according to the paragraph the commission may suspend or withdraw recognition of a recognized political party if it refuses to observe the MCC. See according to the author this provision is legally unsustainable. This is because the withdrawal of the recognition of a recognized political party seriously affects the functioning of political parties in India. And when the code is not legally enforceable this move by the election commission will be against the constitution. Second issues with respect to the powers of ECI to transfer senior officials working under the state governments by an order. See if the election observers report on the conduct of certain officials the ECA may apparently use its power to transfer those officials. This is on the assumption that the presence of those official will adversely affect the free and fair election in the state. Here the author notes that the transfer of official is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the government and Article 324 or MCC doesn't make it clear whether ECA has such powers. And if ECA abruptly uses such powers then it can seriously affect the functioning of state government. Further in Mohinder Singh Gill's case the Supreme Court had made it clear that ECA can draw power from Article 324 only when no law exists which governs a particular matter. And this means that ECA is bound to act in accordance with the law in force. And transfer of officials is governed by the rules made under Article 309 of the constitution which cannot be bypassed by ECA. Now the third issues with respect to the ECA's intervention in the administrative decision of state or union government. See according to the MCC ministers cannot announce any financial grants in any form make any promise of infrastructural developments or make any ad hoc appointments in the government. These are the core guidelines relating to the government. See recently the ECA stopped the government of Kerala from supplying relief kits containing food items in the wake of pandemic. Now the author questions whether distribution of food items to those in need in a pandemic will affect free and fair elections. Here the author notes the Supreme Court's order in as Subramanian Balaji vices government of Tamil Nadu 2013. In this case the court held that the distribution of Kala TVs, computers, cycles, cows etc by the government are welfare measures and they are in accordance with the directive principles of state policy. So they are permissible during an election. Further Section 123b of representation of people act says that declaration of a public policy or the exercise of a legal right will not be regarded as interfering with free exercise of electoral right. So these are all the issues pointed out by the author with regards to the undefined powers of election commission of India. See the author finally concludes by saying such separate powers given to ECA will negatively affect the functioning of our democracy. So in this regard the powers of ECA must be clearly defined and limited. With this let us move on to the next article. Now let us take up this article. It is about the Intellectual Property Appellate Board, IPAB. The syllabus for reference is displayed on the screen as prints can go through it. See recently the central government issued an ordinance called Tribunals Reforms Ordinance 2021. This ordinance is important because it abolished the Intellectual Property Appellate Board. Now let us see about IPAB. See IPAB was established in 2003. It was established under the Trademarks Act 1999. The IPAB exercised original and appellate jurisdiction under the provisions of Paytends Act 1970, Copyright Act 1957 and Geographical Indication of Goods Act 1999. The IPAB has its headquarters at Chennai and shall have sittings at Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad. Now coming back to the article. See according to the author the IPAB didn't function to its full potential. He gives various reasons for that. Let us see them one by one. Firstly, the IPAB was not seen as a serious institution. See the appeals regarding the Intellectual Property Cases were traditionally handled by the ICOAT. Even after the IPAB formation, the board existed in theory only and most of the IP cases were handled by the ICOAT. Secondly, the institution has been involved in various controversy challenging its constitutionality. There are questions regarding whether it is right to have this body, there are petitions seeking filling up of vacancies in the IPAB and there is even a petition to the Supreme Court for the extension of the term of the chairperson. Thirdly, IPAB was understaffed. IPAB did not have a head for about two years. Finally, in January 2018, the chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal for four-feetal property was given additional charge to this board. But still, the patent cases couldn't be heard because there were no technical members in IPAB. The appointment of the technical members finally came last year after the government was sued by the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association. So far we have seen three reasons. Now let us move on to the fourth one. The IPAB independence was flagged as consent repeatedly. Even one of the former chairpersons had publicly raised concerns regarding the judicial and institutional independence of the IPAB. The chairperson even called for closing of IPAB. Now let us move on to the fifth reason. The IPAB premises had basic problems like power supply. The Tribunal experienced lot of summer power cuts in Chennai. Imagine the country's highest protector of technology functioning with emergency lamps and phone flashlights. IPAB also suffered from tremendous workload. See the IPAB has jurisdiction over trademarks, patents, copyright and geographical indication. The IPAB also sat in five places. So one chairman had to fly between cities to decide on cases. This is a tremendous workload on any person. 7. IPAB also took lot of time to dispose cases. See the intellectual property cases are complex technical cases. It requires lot of time to dispose them. So the IPAB during its first decade of operation just disposed 20 patent cases a year and nearly 70% of the patent cases file was either pending at some stage or had to be taken up. So at this rate it would take decades to dispose the existing cases. These are the issues and shortcomings discussed by the author. See India's patent policies are getting lot of recognition. Be it stands against evergreening of patents or the compulsory licensing stands and many other India shines as an example. But India still lacks behind in its legislative framework and the jurisprudence surrounding it. So it is important for India to have a robust framework that can attract technology which India doesn't have right now. The tenure of IPAB will be remembered as a missed opportunity. With this we have come to the end of the discussion. In this article we have discussed about IPAB and its issues and shortcomings. Now let us move on to the next article. Now consider this article. It talks about the corporate responsibility in achieving a sustainable future. See the huge levels of production, consumption and disposal of goods and services have lot of benefits. For example, it has reduced the scarcity of refined and processed goods. But these huge activities have also reduced the replenishment cycle of limited resources. See we take resources from the nature for production. Nature then replaces them. With increase in the use of these resources, nature is now struggling to replenish the resources that we use. As both consumers and corporations reap the benefits of large-scale manufacturing, they must equally share the responsibilities of loss of resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. So in this article, the author has focused on how the corporates can take responsibilities in the green sector. Here we also discuss how corporates can contribute in cutting down emissions through the process of green contracting. First let us see about green contracts. Green contracts are commercial contracts which mandate that parties of the contract to cut down greenhouse gas emissions. Green contracts can be done at different stages of production and delivery of goods and services. For example, it can be included in design, manufacturing, transportation, operation, waste disposal etc. For instance, green contract can be incorporated in the bidding stage through green tender. Here green tender may prescribe necessary green qualifications. What are the green qualifications? See, green qualifications can range from using a predefined percentage of green energy in service delivery or it can be an adequate on-site waste management or it can be about reduction of carbon emissions by a certain level over a period of time. It can be many activities. These green obligations can be binding and enforceable in the eyes of law. See, contracts are obligatory. That is, it is mandatory by nature. It binds the parties which are involved. It is this obligatory nature of green contracts that can help in bringing down the greenhouse gas emissions. It is important to note that green contracts are not recognized yet in India. So, enforcing them can be challenging. So, how can green contracts be enforced? See, the green contracts can be enforced through audit of services. See, the audit of services can make sure that the service providers adhere to these contractual obligations. Besides this, an organization may also choose to prescribe penalty for breach of any contractual green obligations. For example, if the contract says only ethanol blended fuel should be used in the manufacturing process or transport process, but it is found that it is not being followed, then the contractor provider can prescribe penalty like fines. Beyond everything, green obligations should be distributed across the supply chain. That is, not merely in transport and making stages, it should be distributed until delivery. The service recipients can also make sure if the green contracts are honored at the stage of delivery, thereby strengthening the green contracts more effectively. See, compared to a brown contract, enforcement of a green contract is going to be much more cost intensive. Brown contract is nothing but any contract that doesn't take into account of environmental consideration. In the absence of a robust enforcement mechanism of green contracts, it will be in the spirit of responsible behavior to ensure a green future. So, with this, we have come to the end of the discussion. In this discussion, we have discussed about green contracts and green qualifications. Now, let us move on to the next article. This article talks about the discovery of a pad near the Nong Kailam Wildlife Sanctuary. The Nong Kailam Wildlife Sanctuary is in Meghalaya. First, let us see about the bat. See, the newly discovered bat is a disc footed bat. It is scientifically known as Udiscopus denticulus. This bat is India's first bamboo dwelling bat with sticky disc. See, this bat is small in size with disc-like bats in the thumb. It also has a bright orange coloration. These kind of disc footed bats are known from specific localities in southern China, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar. In addition to that, the newly discovered bat was found to be genetically very different from similar bats which bear disc-like bats. See, with this discovery, Meghalaya's bat count has raised to 66. This is the most for any state in India. In this context, let us discuss in brief about the biodiversity of Meghalaya. See, the protected area of Meghalaya occupies about 5.06% of the state's geographical area. This protected area network includes two national parks, four wildlife sanctuaries and one biosphere reserve. Important species like endangered western oolok gibbon, Bengal slowloris, stump-tailed mecca, Assamese mecca, northern pigtail mecca, Bengal tiger, clouded leopard, sunbear, asiatic black bear and the sloth bear are found here. Now have a look at this list of protected areas in Meghalaya. See, the Nocrack National Park is the most famous national park in Meghalaya. It is spread over the east Garoils and the west Garoils. The UNESCO also added Nocrack National Park to its list of biosphere reserve in 2009. See, the Nocrack Biosphere Reserve is one of the least disturbed forest tract of the Sabhimalian range. Important animals like Indian elephant, oolok gibbons, capelangar, stump-tailed mecca, clouded leopard are found in this region. Now let us discuss about the Non-Kailam Wildlife Sanctuary mentioned in the article. See, this sanctuary falls in the eastern Himalayan global biodiversity outspot. This area is rich in flora and fauna wealth. See, the forest in this area have more number of species compared to the south Indian forest of western Guards. A bird survey conducted in this area had recorded over 400-plus species of birds in this region. The survey also revealed the presence of a species such as Rufus nectonbil. So with this, we have come to the end of the discussion. In this discussion, we saw about Udiscopus denticulus, the newly discovered bat. We also discussed about Non-Kailam Wildlife Sanctuary and Nocrack Biosphere Reserve. Now let us move on to the next article. This editorial is about a forecast given by the Indian Meteorological Department, IMD. See, according to the IMD, the southwest monsoon rainfall is most likely to be normal this year. And when it comes to the seasonal rainfall, it is likely to be 98% of the long period average of the entire country. So in this context, let us discuss some of the important monsoon-related terms given in the editorial. The syllabus for reference is displayed on the screen. Aspirants can go through it. See, as we know, the southwest monsoon normally sets over Kerala around 1st June. It advances northwards and covers almost the entire country around 15th July. Southwest monsoon is our most important source of rainfall. So it is important to understand the terms associated with southwest monsoon to predict it better. The first term is All India Monthly Rainfall. See, the All India Monthly Rainfall is the amount of accumulated rainfall received over India for a particular month. For example, for June 2018, it was 115.7 millimeters. Similarly, All India Seasonal Rainfall is the amount of accumulated rainfall received over India for a particular season. For example, the All India Seasonal Rainfall was 80.1 millimeter for the southwest monsoon of 2018. Now, let us understand the most important term, the long period average of rainfall. See, the long period average of rainfall is the rainfall recorded over a particular region for a given interval average over a long period like 30 years, 50 years, etc. See, the long period average is very important because it acts as a benchmark while forecasting the quantitative rainfall for that region for a specific month or season. For example, LPA of southwest monsoon over Kerala for the months of June, July, August and September are 556 millimeters, 659 millimeters, 427 millimeter and 252 millimeter respectively. When it comes to India, the LPA of southwest monsoon over the period 1961 to 2010 is 880.6 millimeters. By having these numbers, we can predict the rainfall better. We have seen about the terms associated with the rainfall. Now, let us see about the categories of rainfall. See, the categories of rainfall are large excess, excess, normal, deficient, large deficient rainfall. These categories are used to describe realized rainfall average over various periods like daily, weekly, monthly, etc. So, accordingly, when the realized rainfall is greater than or equal to 60 percent of LPA, it is called as large excess rainfall. And when the realized rainfall is 20 percent to 59 percent, it is called as excess rainfall. And when the realized rainfall is minus 19 percent to plus 19 percent of LPA, it is called as normal rainfall, minus 59 percent to minus 20 percent of LPA is called deficient rainfall, minus 99 percent to minus 60 percent of LPA is called large deficient rainfall. You can use these numbers as value addition in your mains answers. It can also help in your plumes elimination technique. Now, let us understand the classification of rainfall distribution followed by IMD on all Indian scale. See, the rainfall distribution is categorized as normal when the percentage departure of realized rainfall is within plus or minus 10 percent of the LPA. The rainfall is below normal when the percentage departure of realized rainfall is less than 10 percent of the LPA. The rainfall distribution will be considered as above normal when the percentage departure of the realized rainfall is greater than 10 percent of the LPA. Also, we will have an all India drought year when the rainfall deficiency is more than 10 percent and when 20 to 40 percent of the country is under drought condition. Similarly, all India severe drought year is when the rainfall deficiency is more than 10 percent and when more than 40 percent of the country is under the drought conditions. So far, we have seen about the terms associated with the rainfall, the categories of rainfall. Finally, let us understand the forecasting system followed by IMD. See the present forecasting system for southwest monsoon rainfall is done in two stages. The first stage forecast is issued in April and the second stage forecast or update forecast is issued in June. The first stage forecast predicts the rainfall from June to September. The second stage forecast is an update on the first stage forecast. The second stage forecast is also more specific and give the monsoon season rainfall over four broad geographical regions of India. They are northwest India, central India, south peninsula and northeast India. With this, we have come to the end of the discussion. In this discussion, we learnt about all India monthly rainfall, all India seasonal rainfall, long period average, categories of rainfall and finally the forecasting system followed in India. Now let us move on to the next article. Now let us take up this news article. It talks about a request from the Myanmar shadow government to ASEAN leaders to allow Myanmar shadow government to represent itself in crisis talks which will happen next week. In this regard, it also urged ASEAN not to recognize the military government that seized power in February coup. See in February 2021, Myanmar's military had seized power against the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The reason cited by the army for overthrowing the government was the November general election of Myanmar had several irregularities. So in this context, let us have a brief understanding about ASEAN. See the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN was established on 8th August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand. It was established with the signing of ASEAN declaration which is also known as Bangkok Declaration. The founding fathers of ASEAN are Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Later, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia were joined as full-time members. At present, there are total of 10 members in ASEAN. Now let us see about the important aims and purpose of ASEAN. The first important aim is to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region. This should be done through the joint endeavours in the spirit of equality and partnership. Therefore, by doing so, it will strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations. The second important aim is to promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and rule of law in the relationship among the countries of the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter. The other important aims are given here for your reference, you can go through it. So, in short, ASEAN promotes inter-governmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, education and social cultural integration among its members and other countries in the Asia Pacific region. Another important point to note is, during the 9th ASEAN Summit in 2003, the ASEAN leaders resolved that the ASEAN community shall be established. See, the ASEAN community is comprised of three pillars, ASEAN political security community, ASEAN economic community, ASEAN socio-cultural community, each pillar as its own blueprint. The most important point from Prilam's perspective is, India is not a member of ASEAN. India is only the dialogue partner of ASEAN. And remember, India is a member of ASEAN Regional Forum, ARF. So, that is the end of this discussion. Now let us move on to the Prilam's practice question, the first one. With reference to the Indian Monson, consider the following statements. The long period average LPA of rainfall is the rainfall recorded over a particular region for a given interval over a long period like 30 years. Second statement, at present, the LPA of all India's southwest Monson rainfall, based on the average rainfall over the period 1961 to 2010 is 1500 millimetres. Which of the above statements are correct? See, the first statement is correct, but the second statement is incorrect. The current LPA of all India's southwest Monson rainfall, based on the average rainfall over the period 1961 to 2010 is 880.6 millimetres. So, the answer is A, one only. Moving on to the second question, consider the following statements with reference to ASEAN. It is an inter-governmental organisation of 10 Southeast Asian countries. Second statement, India is a dialogue partner of ASEAN and also a member of ASEAN Regional Forum, ARF. Which of the above statements are correct? See, the first statement is correct. ASEAN is an inter-governmental organisation of 10 Southeast Asian countries. The second statement is also correct. See, India is not a member of ASEAN, but it is a dialogue partner of ASEAN and it is a member of ASEAN Regional Forum. So, the answer is C, both one and two. Now, the third question. Recently, a disc footer bat was discovered near Non-Kailam-Vailek Sanctuary for the first time. It is located in A, Meghalaya, B, Manipur, C, Arnachal Pradesh, D, Assam. The answer is A, Meghalaya. Main practice questions are displayed here. You can write your answer and post in the comment section below. With this, we have come to the end of the Hindu news analysis. If you like this video, don't forget to click, like, share and comment. Subscribe to Shankar Aiyaz Academy channel for more UPSC updates. Thank you.