 Good evening friends, I welcome you all to the Hindu newspaper analysis brought to you by the Shankar IIS Academy. Today's date is 12th October 2023. A kind request to you all. For those who have not subscribed to our YouTube channel, please subscribe to get regular updates about our current affairs video. And also, do like, comment and share it with your friends. Before entering our discussion, I have two announcements to make. The first one is regarding the new initiative by the Shankar IIS Academy. We have started new weekly analysis of the Indian Express newspaper. And the video will be published every Sunday. This video will be sufficiently covering the important issues of the week. See, my second announcement is regarding the second batch of the pre-storming test series. This test series will start from 15th October. And the first test is on 22nd October. Interested aspirants can join the test series and boost your preliminary score. See, displayed here are the news articles which we are going to analyze today. So, without wasting time, let us get into the discussion. Look at this news article. Recently, some of the officials working under the CAG, controller and auditor general of India, were transferred by the central government. This decision of the government was opposed by many opposition parties. Yesterday, the main opposition party, Congress, accused the government of frightening the officials. This is all about the crux of the news. So, in this discussion, we are going to see about an important constitutional authority, which will be asked in both our preliminary examination and main examination. The authority is Comptroller and Auditor General of India, that is CAG. First of all, know that the article 148 of the constitution, provides for the office of CAG. See, the Comptroller and Auditor General is a person who heads the audit and account department of India. The CAG is often termed as an independent institution. Here, I am using the term independent with some reasons. The reasons are, the office of CAG is not affiliated to any other government departments or ministries. Note that the numerous accounts and audit officers are assisting the CAG in discharging its functions. So, put together, they are all collectively referred as Comptroller and Auditor General of India, that is CAG. As the CAG is mentioned in the constitution, it is a constitutional body. Now, we are going to see about the duties of CAG. See, the main duty of the CAG is to uphold the Indian constitution and the parliamentary laws in the field of financial administration. As I said earlier, the CAG is the head of Indian Audit and Accounts department. So, as a head of this department, the CAG is responsible for auditing all the financial transactions of the central and state governments. So, the CAG collectively controls the entire financial system of the country. So, due to this much importance, the CAG is also referred as the Guardian of Public Purse. Now, we are going to study CAG in a skeleton, which you can customize and use it for studying all other constitutional and non-constitutional body. The method is separating them into structural and functional part and studying and revising accordingly. So, in this way, you can answer the various nuances within the institutions, which will be half unasked in our preliminary examinations. So, now let us move on to the structural part. Here, we are going to see about the appointment and tenure of the CAG. See, the CAG is appointed by the President of India. And note that the CAG must take an oath before entering his office. And this oath is administered by the President of India. The CAG holds office for a period of up to six years or up to the age of 65, whichever is earlier. See, the CAG is provided with the security of tenure. That is, he or she can be removed with the President only based on the procedures as mentioned in the Constitution. So, despite the CAG is appointed by the President, she or he does not hold the office under the pleasure of the President. Note that the CAG is not eligible for further appointments under the state or central government, after she or he ceases the office. This is to ensure the independence in their working. Now, let us move on to the removal process of the CAG. See, the removal can be done in two ways. The first way is generally CAG can resign at any time from his office by addressing the resignation letter to the President. This is called voluntary resignation. Now, coming to the removal process. See, the CAG can be removed by the President based on the same ground and same manner of removal for the Supreme Court judge. So, the ground for the removal of CAG is proved misbehavior or incapacity. See, this resolution of removal can be initiated in any House of the Parliament based on the said grounds. And if both the Houses of the Parliament passes such removal with a special majority, then the CAG can be removed by the President. This means that the CAG cannot be directly removed by the President, which is implied in the world pleasure of the President. Now, these are all the structural part of the CAG. Now, let us study the functional part of the CAG. Firstly, the CAG audits all the accounts that are related to the expenditures which are taken from the Consolidated Fund of India, Consolidated Fund of each states and Consolidated Fund of each Unitary which are having a legislator of its own. He also audits the expenditures from the Contigency Fund of India and the Contigency Fund of each states. And he also audits the expenditures from the Public Accounts of India and Public Accounts of states. So, simply put together, CAG audits all the expenditures which are related to the Public Accounts of India, Consolidated Fund of India and Contigency Fund of India and all the three accounts of the respective states. Now, moving on to the second function, the CAG audits the Recipes and Expenditures of all the bodies or authorities which are substantially financed by the Central or State governments. Here, an important point is, such bodies when they are substantially funded by the Central government or State government, then those bodies will automatically come under the purview of the CAG. And moreover, the CAG audits the Recipes and Expenditures of government companies, corporations or bodies. This is the second point. Thirdly, the CAG audits the accounts of any other authority when it is requested by the President or Governor concerned. Fourthly, the CAG submits the audit reports of the Central government to the President. The President intends to place such reports before both the Houses of the Parliament. And in states, the CAG submits the audit reports before the Governor. The Governor intends to place such reports before the State Legislatures. In this way, CAG plays an important role in ensuring the financial accountability of the government. And finally, the CAG advises the President in matters which are related to the accounts of both Central and States. Now, these are all some of the important functions which are performed with the CAG. Now, in this discussion, we saw about the institution of CAG. Next, we saw about the structural part of the CAG. Then, we discussed about the various functions of the CAG. I hope we have covered some important fundamentals regarding the CAG from our exam perspective. Now, let us take up the next article for our discussion. Look at this article. Yesterday, the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee, or CWRC, has directed the Karnataka government to release Cauvery Water to Tamil Nadu. The committee has directed to release 3,000 q-sucks of waters daily from October 15-31. See, this is all about the crux of the news. In this discussion, let us understand some points about Cauvery Water Management Authority, CWMA and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee, CWRC. So, for better understanding of the issue, let us go back to the history. Let us start with the Cauvery River. As we all know, the Cauvery River originates in Karnataka and passes through Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry before diving into Bay of Bengal. See, the catchment area of the river lies in four states and union territories, namely Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. So, over the time, Karnataka has constructed many reservoirs along the river Cauvery and its tributaries. It obstructed the natural flow of the water to the downstream states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pondicherry Union Territory. See, the situation will be normal during the abundant rain years, as the states like Tamil Nadu did not need extra water to feed their crops. But when there is a scarcity of rainfall, naturally the conflict rose between Karnataka and other states, particularly Tamil Nadu. This was because of the improper release of water from the dams by the Karnataka government. See, at times the conflict will be very very aggressive and widespread. So, to resolve this long-standing conflict, Government of India constituted the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal CWDT on June 2, 1990. It was constituted based on the Interstate River Water Dispute Act 1956. This Tribunal investigated the matters as referred to it by the party states. See, after several years, the Tribunal forwarded the final report to the Central Government on 2007. However, the party states are not satisfied with the report. So, they had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the Tribunal's final order. Finally, on 16th February 2018, the Supreme Court passed the final orders on the Water Dispute. With some modifications on the Tribunal's order, the Supreme Court directed the Central Government to frame a scheme to implement the Tribunal's order. As a result, Central Government notified the Cauvery Water Management scheme on 1st June 2018. So, under the scheme, the Central Government constituted two bodies, namely, Cauvery Water Management Authority and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee. See, this is how these two bodies came into existence. Now, let us see about them in brief. First, let us take Cauvery Water Management Authority. Basically, the CWMA ensures the compliance and implementation of the award, which is given by the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal. The CWMA deals with the issue of water sharing in the Cauvery River basin. See, it decides about the water sharing during different circumstances like normal water years, deficient water years, etc. Apart from this, it will also look into the matter of storage, appropriation, regulation and control of Cauvery Waters. In addition to this, the CWMA also advises to states to take suitable measures to improve the water use efficiency. Now, let us see about the composition of the CWMA. See, the CWMA consists of chairman and eight other members. All of them are being appointed by the Central Government. Out of the eight members, four members are from the party states. Here, know that the chairman of the authority would have a tenure of five years, or here she will serve till the age of 65, whichever is earlier. This is all about the CWMA. Now, let us see about Cauvery Water Regulation Committee. The CWRC monitors the daily water levels, inflows, storage positions of outflows of the major reservoirs, which are storing the Cauvery Water. The committee also directs the Karnada government to release a particular quantity of water from their dams. Apart from this, the committee also collects data from time to time regarding the Cauvery Water storage. This committee also consists of chairman and several other members. That's all about this news discussion. Let us take up the next article. Look at this editorial article. This editorial article talks about an important geopolitical issue of our times. This issue is regarding the reforms in United Nations Security Council. Even though the talks about the reforms are as old as UNSC, this topic has become paramount recent days with the increased geopolitical and geoeconomic tensions. In this context, the author Mr. Sarshitarur highlighted the various issues with UNSC. He also highlighted the difficulties in making reforms to this body. This is about the editorial given here. So, taking cue from this article, we shall begin our discussion. Before getting into discussion, let us look into the syllabus. In preliminary, this discussion will fall under current events of national and international importance. In Main's topic, it comes under the GS paper too, under the topic of global groupings and agreements, which involves India and are affecting India's interest. It also can be clubbed under the topic of important international institutions, agencies and foras, their structure and mandate. Having said this, let us look at the question. The question is, discuss the role and relevance of UNSC in the 21st century. Comment on the need for reforms in the UNSC. So, guys, this question has two keywords. Discuss and comment. First, let us take the keyword discuss. When the keyword is discussed, the examiner is expecting a discussion from you. So, what would happen in a normal discussion with your friend? During this discussion, friends will share their thoughts, opinions, ideas or perspectives about any topic. Likewise, when the question has the word discuss, you have to write a written discussion in your answer. For example, in this question, you have to discuss the relevance of UNSC. You have to present some points stating that UNSC is relevant. And you have to give some points saying that UNSC is not meeting the up-to-date geopolitical tensions. The thing is that you have to ensure that to support each your argument, you are giving so many examples. Now, let us move on to the second keyword, comment. To understand this keyword, let us consider the hypothetical situation. Let us say you are walking down the road and a news reporter approaches you. The reporter is asking you to comment on the ongoing cricket world cup in India. And he is asking, which is your favorite team? In such a situation, you are expected to just share your opinion. It is not expected of you to provide data to support your opinion or to provide a solution. You just need to share your opinion. Likewise, when the question has a keyword comment, you just have to share your mind on this topic. For example, in this question, you have to share your opinion about the need for reforms in UNSC. So, this is how I am planning on approaching this question. If any of you have even better way of approaching the question, please let me know in the comment section so that we can also improve. Now, before answering the question, just pause the video and do brainstorming of your answer. It simply means write down the points related to various sections of the question, arrange them in an order. So that you can verify your answer with the model one which we are giving now. In this way, you can improve your mains answer writing skill. Now, let us start answering the question. Let us start with the introduction. Here, the question is very specific. Its main focus is on the relevance of UNSC and the need for reforms. So, in the introduction, you can write something about the role of UNSC. You can mention that UNSC was established in 1945 after the end of World War II. Then, you can write about the power of UNSC is derived from the UN Charter. You can also state that the main aim of the UNSC is to ensure global order and world peace. And you can also write about the UNSC membership. See, it comprises of 5 permanent members and 10 non-permanent members. This permanent member are also called as P5, includes USA, UK, China, Russia and France. In case of non-permanent members, they are elected from the UN General Assembly and will have a tenure of 2 years. You can also include the following points in your introduction. Like, the UNSC's main mode of operation is the global governance and diplomacy. The UNSC also have the power to impose sanctions, authorize military interventions and mediate in the conflicts which are happening worldwide. Now, remember, you have to add a link statement that leads us to the body of the answer. You can mention that in the last 7 decades, the world has witnessed lots and lots of changes. But the UNSC has remained the monolith for all these years. So, people have raised questions about the relevance of UNSC and the need for reforms in the organization. So, this statement can provide a link between the introduction and the body part of your answer. In writing such link statements, you can ensure the readability of your answer. So, these 4 to 5 points are enough for introduction. You can add more points if you want, but guys, my suggestion is to limit your introduction to 3 to 4 lines. Because, this will ensure that you have ample space for the body of the answer. Okay, now moving on to the main body of the answer. First, let us discuss the relevance of UNSC. Let us start with some points stating that UNSC is relevant in the current time. The first point would be, UNSC is effective in peacekeeping and conflict resolution. To support this argument, you have to mention some examples from the 21st century. You can mention about the UNSC's role in ending the civil war in Liberia through the deployment of peacekeepers in 2003. You can also mention about the UNSC's role bringing down the border tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea by democrating the border. You can also mention about the active UNP's keeping missions in Congo, Sudan and Kosovo. And mention how such actions ensured peace in the region. See, I am giving 3 to 4 examples for your reference, but you can limit your examples accordingly the time and space in your answer sheet. Secondly, you can mention about the UNSC's role in combating terrorism. See, under Article 41 of the UN Charter, the UNSC can impose sanctions. So, using this provision, the UNSC has imposed sanctions on the various terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda, ISI and Taliban. The UNSC uses its power to impose sanctions as a non-military weapon to address the threats to international peace and security. Through this measures, UNSC acts as an active counter-terrorism agency. Then, in the third point, you can also mention about the UNSC's role in nuclear non-proliferation. Here, you can write about the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, which is technically called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. This Iranian deal was negotiated with the Active Involvement of United Nations Security Council. This deal helped to curtail the Iran's nuclear program. You can also mention that in 2022, the five permanent members of the UNSC pledged to prevent atomic weapons spreading and to avoid nuclear conflict. Finally, you can mention about the UNSC's role in addressing the humanitarian crisis. The UNSC passes resolutions to establish the humanitarian corridors, facilitate the aid delivery and call for effective cease-fires to address the dire needs of the affected populations. Here, you can mention about the role of UNSC in addressing the humanitarian crisis in the countries of Syria and Yemen. So, these are the points you can add to state that the UNSC is still relevant in the 21st century. Now, moving on to our discussion, let us see some points to argue that the UNSC is not relevant in the 21st century. In the subhead, the first point you can write that UNSC has put the world in a geopolitical gridlock. Who we are saying means this is mainly due to the functioning of UNSC. See, the function of UNSC will be like this only, where each member of the council will have a vote. Technically speaking, decision of the Security Council on any matter are made by an affirmative vote of nine members, including the concurring vote of the permanent members. See, to put it simply, it means each and every permanent member should say yes to any resolution, otherwise even one member saying no means the resolution will not pass. In addition to the five permanent members, four of the ten non-permanent members have to vote supporting it. So, due to this arrangement, the world is in a geopolitical gridlock. This has resulted in the UNSC not being able to prevent Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, US invasion of Iraq, or the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. See, the second point you can write is how UNSC was ineffective in preventing the genocides in the world. Here you can mention about the Rohingya genocides in Myanmar, Uyghur genocides in China, Yasidis genocides by the Islamic State ISIS, and the genocides of Pygmy in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Now, in the third point, you can mention about the lack of representation in the UN Security Council. See, UNSC was created after the Second World War, but a law has changed in the past seven decades. Firstly, the United Nations membership was expanded globally. When UN was formed in 1945, the UNSC was consisting of 11 members out of the total 51 members of the UN. That is, to put in percentage, in 1945, the UN Security Council had 22% representation. But currently, the UNSC consists of 15 members out of the total 193 members of the UN. It means less than 8% of the countries are being represented in the Security Council. This could be our criticism. Secondly, the UNSC does not represent the current realities of the world. It is still living in a post-World War II hangover. Let us give you an example. Japan and Germany, who are the second and third largest contributors to the UN budget, are not given permanent member states. Then, India, which is the most populous nation in the world, with the fifth largest economy, is also not a permanent member. This lack of representation has resulted in the reduction of relevance for the Council. On continuing our criticism, the last point you can mention is about the inability of the UNSC to ensure accountability of the nations that violates human rights and break international laws. Here you can mention about the UNSC's inability to prevent Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea. You can also mention about the inability of the UNSC to prevent human rights violations during the military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan. These four points will suffice as a counter argument to the statement that UNSC is relevant in 21st century. So, having addressed the first part of the question, we can take up the second part of the question for a discussion. The second part deals with your comment on reforming UNSC. Here you can start this part of the answer like, as the UNSC's relevance is diminishing day by day, there is an urgent need to reform. Only a complete overhaul of the functioning will make it relevant again. So, after giving this, you can write some points supporting your argument. Here you can mention some points like lack of representation that is reducing the legitimacy of the organization. Secondly, you can mention about the misuse of veto powers by the permanent members. So, here the P5's resistance to change, slow response of the UNSC to the pressing problems of the world, the lack of equality in UNSC, and finally the inability of the UNSC to maintain world peace. The third statement, you can write about the rising aspirations of the 21st century powers. See, the structure of the UNSC is largely built on the winners of the post World War II. See, the world has moved leaps and bounds beyond the World War II. So, the increasing aspirations should be met. Fourth point, the inability of the institution to change will make the institution obsolete. And it may lead to the creation of a parallel organizations. You can give examples like New Development Bank and AIIB Bank giving a tough competition to Britain wood institutions. These are some points supporting the need for UNSC reforms. Now, we have addressed the body part of your answer. Now, coming to the conclusion part. In the conclusion, you can highlight the need for the consensus to bring about the UNSC reform. So, your conclusion can be like this. Achieving a meaningful reform requires a careful diplomacy. It needs consensus building and a willingness to compromise among the member states. So, UNSC reforms should be built on the consensus. It is crucial for addressing the complex challenges of the 21st century and for maintaining the global peace and security. So, this is a pretty decent conclusion for this question. Guys, if you have an alternative conclusion, you can post it in our comment section. Now, we came to the end of our discussion. As I said earlier, you continue our main answer rating practice with us. With time, you can see an increasing graph of your answer rating skill. Remember guys, Rome was not built on a single day. In each day, we need to build a small part. With this, we finished this article. Now, let us take up the next article for our discussion. Look at this news article. This news article talks about a report on the information commission. This report highlights the backlogs of cases which are pending before the information commission. So, in our discussion today, we shall see about the findings of the report and also some important information about the Right to Information Act. So, first of all, the report is called the report card on the performance of information commissions in India. This report was compiled by the civil society organization called Satharak Nagrik Sangadan, SNS. This organization is dedicated to promote transparency and accountability in governance. Now, let us back to the report. The results are shocking. It states that more than 3 lakh cases which includes both pending and complaints are currently pending in 27 state information commissions throughout India. Also, this backlog of cases has been steadily increasing. Now, we shall see the data which are provided in the report. See, Maharashtra has the highest number of pending cases with 1,15,000 cases. It is followed by Karnataka with 41,000 cases. The report reveals that in 2019, there were 2,18,000 pending cases and complaints in India. This number has substantially increased to 2,86,000 by 2021 and the numbers crossed 3 lakhs marks by 2022. So, this indicates a significant rise in the backlog of cases. Here, the exact numbers are not important from an exam perspective. But, we should be aware of the trends and we should present them in our answer. In addition to the backlog of cases, there are also vacancies of important positions in many information commissions. We should note that the vacancy in information commission is directly proportional to the backlog of cases in the commission. Now, let us see the vacancies in the commissions. The report reveals that 4 information commissions in Jharkhand, Telangana, Misuram, Tripura are not functioning at present. This is because new information commissions have not been appointed for these states. Further, Central Information Commission does not have a chief information commissioner. And also, the report states that state information commissions of Manipur, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Punjab does not have chief information commissioners. These are the worrying trends and facts as mentioned in the article. Now, let us be aware of some of the basics of RTA Act. As you know that RTA Act was enacted in 2005. It was enacted to provide the right of information to the citizens. The major objective of the Act is to promote transparency and accountability in the working of public authorities. This Act mandates for a timely response to the citizens when they are requesting information regarding the governmental acts, schemes, etc. Moreover, this information can be in the form of records, documents, memos, emails, opinions, press releases which are held in electronic form. Now, let us see the important amendments which are made in the RTA Act which is very important from our example's perspective. See, the RTA Act of 2005 was amended by the RTA Amendment Act of 2019. This amendment made changes to the Section 13, 16 and 27 of the Act which dealt with the issue of tenure, salary of the chief information commissioners and other information commissioners. Now, let us see the amendments in a brief. Firstly, with respect to the amendment of the tenure, Section 13 of the RTA Act prescribes the tenure of CIC and ICs to be 5 years. But the amendment removed this provision stating that the term of office for both CIC and ICs at both central and state levels will henceforth be determined by the central government. Secondly, original Act mentions that they will be paid in equal terms with the members of the election commission. It means, to put it simply, the salary of the chief information commissions and ICs at the central level will be equivalent to the salaries which are paid to chief election commissioners and other election commissioners. Similarly, at the state level, the salary of the CIC and ICs will be equivalent to the salary paid to the election commissioners and chief secretary of the state. This provision was also removed by the amendment and it stated that the salaries, allowances and other terms and conditions of office of the central CICs and ICs and state CICs and ICs will be determined by the central government. The final change is with respect to the detections in the salaries of the members. Here, the original Act says that if a person at the time of their appointment is receiving any pensions or any other governmental benefits because of their previous government services, then their salaries will be reduced by the amount which is equivalent to the pensions. But the RTI amendment removed this provision completely. So, these are all about the amendments of the RTI Act. Now, let us be aware of some of the success stories of RTIs. These case studies and information can be quoted in your main answer which will enrich your answers. Now, let us see the success stories. RTI can effectively use them combating corruption and bribery in our country. See, the RTI applications have revealed numerous cases of corruption and misuse of public funds. The first and foremost among them is Aadarsh housing society scam. See, this structure was designed to be a six-storey building to house war widows and heroes of the 1999 Kargil war. But this six-storey structure was eventually turned into a 31-storey building called Aadarsh housing society. This structure was located at a premier location in Mumbai. Then, RTI applications were filed by activists like Simpreet Singh and Yogacharya Anandji. The results were shocking. The results uncovered an unholy nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and military officials. This has led to an uproar in the society and it eventually led to the resignation of then Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan. On continuing in our discussion, RTI applications in 2010 revealed a scam in the construction of toilets in the rural schools of Uttar Pradesh. In the same year, RTI Act also exposed a scam which involves the sale of fake degrees by the Government University. Moreover, in 2013, RTI applications disclosed violence in the mining activities in Goa. This resulted in suspension of mining license and it gave significant environmental benefits. Now, moving in our discussion, RTI also helped in effectively implementing the schemes. See, in several instances, RTI applications revealed the irregularities in wage payments under the Engineering Act. This led to the corrective measures and ensured that the rural labourers received their entitled wages. These examples shows how RTI Act has played a crucial role in exposing the corruption, ensuring accountability and fostering transparency across various sectors in India. Now, I want to conclude by saying the quote of former US President and Philosopher Thomas Jefferson that, Information is the currency of democracy, a seamless flow of information which will bring good governance triangle. Here, the sites of the good governance triangles are efficiency, transparency and accountability. Now, that's all about the discussion about RTI and we shall take up the next article for our discussion. Look at this news article. Recently, India and China held the 20th round of commander level talks at the Chusul Moldow border meeting point. See, this border point is situated near the Phangong Lake in Ladakh. The meeting, however, failed to bring any consensus to end the standoffs which is along the line of actual control in eastern Ladakh. However, the two sites have agreed to continue the dialogues and negotiations regarding the border issues. See, this is all about the news. In this discussion, let us understand some points about the line of actual control that is LAC. First of all, know that the line of actual control is related to the India-China border. See, India shares 3488 kilometers of border with China. This border runs along the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Ladakh. But the problem is that the majority of these border lines are not fully demarcated. This was due to the difference of opinion between the two countries, that is India and China. As a result, both India and China made their own demarcations and they are stating it as their own boundary line. So, this has resulted in the numerous border conflicts between India and China. See, as of now, both the countries are maintaining their troops along these temporary border lines. This temporary border line is called line of actual control or LAC. So, to sum it up, LAC is the temporary border line between India and China. And there is no common consensus between India and China and the entire LAC. So, as of now, LAC is the line that separates the Indian-controlled Territory from the Chinese-controlled Territory. Now, let us discuss the different sectors of the line of actual control. See, as I said earlier, the border between India and China runs along five states and one Union Territory. So, the bordering areas of these five states are divided into three sectors named Eastern, Middle and Western sectors. Let us see the sectors one by one. Now, first let us take the Eastern sector. See, the Eastern sector comprises of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. India claims that the McMohen Line is the line of actual control in the Eastern sector. But China rejects this claim. In this context, let us briefly see about the history of McMohen Line. First of all, know that the McMohen Line was an outcome of the Simla Convention. See, Simla Convention is an ambiguous agreement which was concluded in 1914. It was concluded between the countries of Britain, the independent Tibet and China. See, this agreement delineated the boundaries between the British Indian Empire and Tibet along its entire west-east frontier. That is, the boundary between the present-day Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim and Tibet. See, before this agreement, Arunachal and Sikkim were part of the Tibet. But the Simla Convention granted the control of these areas to the Yestuile British India. And the borderline was also drawn for this purpose. And it was termed McMohen Line. See, India accepted this McMohen Line and took control over Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. But China rejected this McMohen Line. Let us see why China rejects this McMohen Line. This is because of the Article 2 of the Simla Convention. This article has given a conditional recognition to China. It stated that the Tibet will not be annexed and converted into a Chinese province. So, because of this provision, China did not agree with this Convention. So, China was also against the McMohen Line. Because of this only, now China is climbing control over the Arunachal Pradesh as part of its territory. But India is resisting the China's climb by stating the Simla Convention. This is the actual situation in the eastern sector of the LAC. Now, coming to the middle sector. See, the middle sector comprises of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Here, the border conflicts are less even though some skirmishes of border disputes are existing in this area. And finally, let us move on to the western sector of the LAC. See, the western sector includes the Ladakh region. In this sector also, there is a continuous clash between India and China. While, China occupies Akshayi Chinn of Ladakh. But India claims that it is an integral part of India. Now, this is all about the different sectors along the LAC. That's all about this news discussion. And let us take up the next article. Look at this news article. Recently, a mother of two children who is in the 26th week of her pregnancy approached a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court. Her petition is to allow her to end her pregnancy. The mother pleaded that she was taking medication for her mental condition and was not in a position to take care of the third child. In this case, there was a split view among the judges. One judge was of the opinion that the woman should not be permitted to terminate the pregnancy as it was against the MTP Amendment Act of 2021. But the other judge opined that considering the mental and socioeconomic condition of the petitioner she should be allowed to go ahead with the abortion. So, due to this difference of opinion, both the judges referred the case to the Chief Justice of India to form a three-judge bench. So, this is about the news article. In this context, let us see the general process of abortion in India and the important provisions of the MTP Amendment Act of 2021. Starting our discussion, India legalized abortion in 1971 by passing the Medical Termination of Pregnancy MTP Act 1971. Before the 1971 legislation, abortion in India was guided by Section 312 of the Indian Penal Code. See, this MTP Act of 1971 entitles the woman to have access to safe abortion services under a certain specific conditions. It also lays down the criteria and the conditions in which a pregnancy can be terminated. See, the MTP Act of 1971 was amended twice. The most recent amendment was done in 2021. So, the MTP Act provides for a set of conditions based on which the termination of pregnancy can be accessed in India. Now, let us see those reasons. First condition is that, if the continuation of the pregnancy would involve a risk to the life of the pregnant woman. The second condition is, if the continuation of pregnancy would involve a grave injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman. The final condition is that, if the child was born, it would suffer from serious physical or mental abnormality. These are the three conditions which are being set out by the MTP Act. A pregnant woman cannot ask for any termination of pregnancy without fitting in any of the reasons which we have discussed now. Moving on to our discussion, not just that, for accessing the medical termination of pregnancy, at least one of the three conditions should be satisfied. Along with this, the medical opinion of the registered medical practitioner is mandatory under the MTP Act. Now, the Act also sets out gestational limits for accessing the MTP. Here, we should know about the gestational limit. Here, the gestational limit is nothing but a point in the pregnancy period within which the medical termination of the pregnancy is permissible. Here, up to 20 weeks of gestational age, with an opinion of a single registered medical practitioner is enough to do abortion in India. So, when the gestational age crosses 20 weeks, but below 24, then opinion of the two registered medical practitioner is required. See, this gestational limit will be extended to certain categories of women, like women who are the survivors of sexual assault or rape or incest. Second point, when a pregnant woman is a minor. Third, when a woman experiences a change of marital status during pregnancy, that is, widowhood or divorce. Fourth point, women with major physical disability. Fifth point, women with mental disability. Sixth point, if the child is born, it will be seriously handicapped. Now, even after the 24 weeks limit, pregnancy termination is allowed in some extraordinary conditions. Here, it means, when medical termination of pregnancy is sought for after a 24 week limit, in case of fetal abnormalities, the decision should be taken by a medical board as set up in each states under the MTP Act. Finally, the Act also provides for an exception. The exception is that the termination of pregnancy can be done at any time to save the life of the mother. It can be done by a single registered medical practitioner. The exception should be resorted to only when the likelihood of death of the pregnant woman is immediate. So, this is all about the legal provisions regarding the abortion in India. That's all about the news discussion. With this, let us move on to the next part of our video that is to discuss the preliminary practice questions. Today, we are having four questions. Let us solve them one by one. See the first question. The question is, consider the following statements regarding the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. First statement, the CAG holds the office till the pleasure of the President. See, from our discussion, you could easily eliminate this because in our discussion, we saw that the CAG is having a security of tenure. He is removed by the President based on the resolutions passed by the Parliament with special majority. So, the first statement is wrong. The second statement, the office of the CAG comes under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance. See, the second statement is also incorrect because as we saw in our discussion that the CAG is an independent office. See the third statement. The CAG annually summits the audit report of the central government directly to the Parliament. See, this statement is also wrong because we saw that the CAG summits the report to the President. The President, in turn, will place this report into the consideration of Parliament. So, we can easily see that all the statements are wrong and the correct option is option D. Let us take the second question. Consider the following reverse. Hemavathi, Indravathi, Shimsha, Manchra and Bhavani. How many of the above rivers are the tributaries of river Kaveri? See, of the given five rivers, Hemavathi, Shimsha and Bhavani are the tributaries of river Kaveri. Here, the rivers Indravathi and Manchra are the tributaries of river Godavari. So, out of five, only three are correct. So, the correct option is option B. See the third question. Consider the following states. Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Sikkim. How many of the above states share border with both China and Nepal? See, out of the given four states, only Uttarakhand and Sikkim are sharing borders with both China and Nepal. So, we can eliminate Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal. So, the correct option is option A. See the last question of the day. It is a previous question. Asked in UPSC preliminary examination 2019. See the statement. Which of the following statement regarding the maternity benefit act 2017 is correct? See the first statement. Pregnant women are entitled for 3 months pre-delivery and 3 months post-delivery leave. See, the statement one is wrong. Because, as per the maternity benefit act, it provides for the 26 weeks paid maternity leave for the women employees. It does not provide for 3 months pre and 3 months post paid leave. So, it does not provide 3 months pre-delivery and 3 months post-delivery paid leave. So, the first statement is wrong. See the second statement. The enterprises with CREACH must allow the women minimum 6 visits daily. See, the statement two is wrong. Because, as per the maternity benefit act, the enterprises with CREACH must allow the women minimum 4 visits only. So, here the 6 visits is given. So, it is wrong. See the third statement. Women with two children get reduced anti-treatments. See, this statement is correct. Because, women who are having already two children get reduced anti-treatments. For example, for a woman who is expecting a child after having two children, the duration of the paid maternity leave will be 12 weeks. So, we can see that the statement one and statement two is wrong. Out of three, only statement three is correct. So, the correct option is option C. See, displayed here is the main question based on our today's discussion. So, the interested aspirants can write the answer and post it in the comment section. See, if you like today's video, like, comment and share it with your friends. For more updates regarding the UPSC Civil Services preparation, subscribe to the Shankar IAS Academy. Thank you for listening. Thank you.